The first custom knife I bought was from Craig Stek. It was a small damascus skinner. I had been at the Houston Gun show a few weeks earlier and tried to talk to several of the knifemakers present. I was ignored as well as cut off mid sentence from the first four I tried asking questions of. I was 18 at the time and I got the impression I was being ignored partially due to my age and how I was dressed. I guess I didn't fit the "big spender" profile. Their loss...I ended up buying an AR-15 match HBar and a Win 300M. Amazingly enough, when I walked back by the tables holding a high $ amount of weaponry, everyone seemed to want to be my friend. I went to a PKA show in Dallas later that Fall and was shocked at the friendliness there. Craig was one that stood out from the others and I ended up buying a knife from him (His knives were really great as well as his attitude
). The other show, as well as a few other run-ins with custom makers that year at smaller shows, ticked me off enough I wrote a letter to Knives Illustrated and had it published.
Please don't judge your buyers based on age and looks. The kid blown off today may be the collector of tommorow!