Viking Bling shopping;-) with the magic troll - flea market galore

 Oh the loot! Oh the loot! How it befits us so cute!;-)

On a recent flea market just round the corner the magic troll and I went for a bimble, not for buying anything, of course. We are both very sensible persons, you know, very prosaic and not at all prone to fall in love with bling and buying our heads off for some goodies.;-)

...errr... no...?!;-)

It was on just about the first booth we came across, that we found a lovely amber chain from raw amber, stuffed tight, and this beautiful dagger with a brass sheath. The guy at the booth claimed it was a Jemenite Jambiya, but some research showed it was of Syrian provenience. A quick check for hardness showed that it was actually even tempered, presumeably forged from spring steel. At the same booth we got the Kauri shells, for free! On another booth we got a silver "Kalevala" moon-goddess pendant, a beautiful interpretation of some Finnish Viking age finds, and an Afghan silver necklace pendant. Those files I got for 2 €, and the beautiful wooden turned container out of true Corse juniper with this lovely high-lustre shellac finish, and the antler cost 5 € total.

 A closeup of the dagger and the sheath, the lunula pendant and the other delicacies:-).

Let me give you some thoughts about it. We talked a lot to the people who sold the stuff, and, treating them with the respect everyone should deserve, we soon learned a bit about their stories. Most were common people selling what was on the attic to gain some space, and some were actually traders doing it for fun. But all of them related to the same problem.

"Most customers nowadays lack any respect. They rummage through the display as if their life depended on it, and like jackals they vomit on what they cannot eat."

 I have witnessed this kind of behaviour myself countless times. And then those "customers" offer ridiculous prices, or throw insults at the trader. Theft is common.

The pictures above tell a story. To us these goodies are cherished treasures, valuable resources and a source of joy. And the stories behind these make them even more valuable to us, as do the people who formerly owned them. Of course did we do some bartering, that´s part of the game, but you can barter without belittling your business partner. It can be quite a fun game, if it is kept polite and nice.

I daresay the people we bartered with were more willing to offer their goods at a lower price because we were polite and nice to them and gave them the feeling that what they did mattered to us (it did).

Many of the traders announced that they will be giving up on it. That would eventually lead to flea markets being only composed of trash sales booth with special-waste-clothes and beeping toy cars.

By being polite and ready to pay a suitable price tag we can do something against this development.

All in all, however, it was a great day with a load of goodies to be had, and we went home with a huge grin, prepared some good food and chatted happily about our treasures no less.

But chance is, this will not be forever.

Oh the loot! Flea market finds....

On a recent flea market I came across a right heap of goodies I just wanted to share with you. The whole lot cost me 20 €;-). Two handforged  Yugoslavian hatchets, a huge piece of stag antler for scales and handles, an electricians knife (I will give you a close-up soon!), three files, two still working, one for damascus, and  a piece of roe deer antler.

It always pays off to keep a lookout!;-)

Spring flea market in Schwelm on May 6th.

It´s that time of year again! On Sunday, the 6th, the biggest flea market event in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Region will take place, with roundabout 1000 m of booths and up to 70.000 visitors, even from Belgium, France, the UK an dthe Netherlands. There is no junk permitted, no new goods, so no unused electronics and beeping and hooting electric toys, no feeble and toxic garments. To illustrate what I got on this market on the last occasions, here they come:

There certainly is an abundance of bushcraft-related tools in a very high quality for very reasonable prices. There even are army surplus booths, but the charme of the market certainly lies in the friendly and even party atmosphere amongst the traders and the slightly "burning man" feeling it implies.

If you want to participate, contact my empoyer, the GSWS Schwelm (Society of City marketing and Business Promotion Schwelm (GmbH & CO. KG), by whom this post was powered also. But since I visited the market even before I worked here, I am convinced it´s not just sponsor talk at all*ggg*.

Puma IP Tosca Flea market findings and a meeting with Bünyamin

 On Sunday I set out to visit a flea market around my place, just some streets away. I packed my pack and strolled casually over. And what did I find there?;-) This is Bünyamin Erdogan´s booth. I have met him several times now, but have not seen him for a long time, some four years or so. I even had his number once and we planned to stay in contact more, but as is, there were a load of other things on my head and my life took funny directions. But, as is, fate knows to guide you weird ways;-) so we met again. I really enjoyed it, for he is a very friendly Turkish gentleman and it´s always a privilege to talk to him! He has a load of Solingen cutlery, and I got myself some great knives at a really bargain price. This is one of them:

 Puma IP, Tosca, stag antler scales, 440C, nice thin spine and a convex bevel. The knife originally was designed by Jens Nettlich, a blacksmith, working in the tribal knifemaking tradition (even makes some hollow tang "bush knives" like the ones Taigoo makes) who inspired myself a lot.

 I especially like the dynamic lines of the knife. It screams "I CUT!" at the top of its lungs. The price I paid for my treasures was outright ridiculous in a positive way.

Many people know Maitland Othello and Othello Anton Wingen knives. They are very rare. I daresay every third knife at this booth was of the variety, at very reasonable prices. Historical Solingen hunting knives, "Nicker", bowie knives, skinners, everything you could ask for or dream of. This is a collector´s wet dream come true.  I especially like the traditional Bavarian attire knives in the pic below!

 Folding knives galore... many of them very rare

 Anton Wingen or Maitland Othello, Puma and Carl Schlieper knives.

 ...

 ...

 He also showed me this Anton Wingen razor with handforged damascus blade and staghorn scales.

 Detail of the damascus blade...

 And this is a very, very rare Puma skinmaster knife with ivory scales.

 The knife in its box, along with a certificate.

We chatted quite a lot and came to the conclusion that we should stay in contact more;-). he also makes knives himself and I invited him to the Industriemuseum hammer - in... maybe even with a booth? He certainly is a most friendly guy, and I really liked to meet him again after all those years. If you want to see more of his products, visit his ebay- shop of many quality razors, kitchen knives and sharpening tools.

Flea market in Schwelm-from dawn ´til dusk :-)

 On Sunday it was some good hard work again, this time for my employer on the famed flea fair:-) in Schwelm. Got a flea market? THAT´s a flea market*ggg*! Some 1000 m of booths, up to 80000 visitors, and the small town bursting with people. Shops open,  there´s an artist´s mile, and no new goods whatsoever. No beeping electric toys, no flying merchants praising their special refuse clothing, and a kick up the butt if you try to sell them.

 Those are our thugs kicking butts:-). I worked with them, and I am just kidding, of course. They are a very friendly crowd, and certainly know how to be polite. In fact, there´s a good-natured atmosphere on the market, people having fun, music and sharing food and drink. Some black sheep, of course, but those are few. Even if it became slightly difficult, it was a pleasure to work with those gals and guys!

 Enzo having "Bratwürst"*ggg* and obviously liking it:-). Thanks to Tschierse Catering which offered us delicious food at bargain prices!

 The squad ready for battle:-).

 This is one of the many reasons I like this market. Quality antiquities, and many tales to tell. Glassware, porslain, clothing, tableware and cutlery, I can tell you, I could hardly keep my countenance:-).

 This city is crammed full.

 ...

 ...

 Khalil was there again, and we had a nice, good-natured chat.

...und Katha kriegt was Schönes, lalalala.*gggg* nur was?*g*

 ...

 We sold those wildflower seeds like hotcakes. This was great, for we sold seeds for roundabout 2500 square metres, resulting in a huge increase in bio-diversity and loads of food for bees and insects, plus beautiful colours everywhere next year.

 We sold this hiking guide that the AGU wrote about the Schwelm region. It has many great pics and offers hiking trails to natural monuments in the region.

 There were many traders, and they were all kind of nervous, for the weather forecast spelled catastrophe. A very close friend:-), erm, a part of my soul*ggg* made some hard work pushing the clouds aside, though, and so it started to rain when all was said and done. Thanks for those kind thoughts, and thanks for everything, and all*ggg*.

This is Axel, my colleague, with whom I patrolled the booths to weed out those infidels who had not paid:-). Axel is a great man to work with, always with a good-natured joke, and a friendly and laidback guy to boot. ´twas a joy! This is a trader he was acquainted to since his childhood.

Checking the bill...

Oi, Axel, keep those hands ter yerself*ggg*!!!

 Many visitors in spite of the weather...

 ... and good business for the traders, too. Most were quite content and will return next year, to the 72nd fair, which will take place on May, 6th.

 Axel was pleased.... has  a  cool moustache...*ggg*

Of course, I had to work until late in the evening, resulting in some 18 hours of work and riding to work and back home. But it did not bother me any, for it was a great event. I was bonking hard when I came home, but I had a day off on Monday and relished in the luxury of sleeping late:-).

71. Flea market in Schwelm on 09th of October

 On 9th of October it will be mayhem over Schwelm again:-). Roundabout up to 70 000 visitors will stroll the aisles. I will work there for my employer, but if I´ll find a bit of time, chance is, there will be some feature on this blog about all the goodies I got there myself. Look forward to Khalil´s booth again, for he always has some great, slightly rotten stuff I covet. Old files and chisels galore, antler material falsely referred to as trophies:-), antiquities, and a load of good food to relish in. And if the sun´s out, the bazaar atmosphere will be even better. Now, you see, I MUST write this (got my meagre salary:-) or was that celary?*ggg by doing so), but it´s a great market I also visited before I worked here.

Many of my flea market finds I featured in my blog I found here. There are people from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and even the neighbouring towns*ggg* attending and visiting the fair, which will take place in the entire city. There will be an art expo in the periphery of the market, shops will be open on Sunday, and, here comes the real clincher, I will be there, too, wearing a funny jacket and being yelled at for my incompetence*ggg*.


More (in German)

Applying for a booth