After leaving the military in the fall of 1974, Dan helped his Father and Mother opened Plaza Cutlery in South Coast Plaza which is
located in Costa Mesa California. To say Plaza Cutlery turned the knife
industry upside down is an understatement. Those first few years were such a
blur! Unfortunately, Dad passed away in August of 1976 and Mom took his place
with W. R. Case and Sons Cutlery as the first female sales person for a major
knife Company. Dad was a very successful salesman in the hardware industry and
in August of 1959 took over as the sales representative for the west coast for
W.R. Case and Son’s Cutlery.
Plaza Cutlery was so successful it spared many copy
cats; Shaver World, became Cutlery World, Hoffritz moved into shopping centers
and many small chains opened. A few were friends who we helped but many spent
days out in front of our store watching. It’s always said location, location
and location! The big advantage we had was South Coast Plaza. The Segerstrom
family also progressed to move “SCP” into one of the top 5 shopping destinations
in the world which continues today. Plaza Cutlery is now one of the longest
running stores next to Sears and See’s Candies in “SCP” and Dan has most likely
been in the center longer than anyone else at this time.
Also during these many years Dan’s love of knives lead
to the start of the “California Custom Knife Show” and a few years later the
“Hawaii Knife Show”. The “CCKS” is one of the longest running shows in
the country. The show continues to do well. The Hawaii Show was always a show
of love, as both Dan and Pam love Hawaii and the people there. We have just
recently turned it over to someone local in Hawaii to run, but will always
help. Also over the years Dan has helped many custom knife makers and
manufactures. In promoting knives in Plaza Cutlery, we have made many
collectors as only a store in a heavy traffic area can. In “SCP” there is the
opportunity for the public to see the quality of knives and a wide verity for
every interest. It’s a shame so many stores are now gone as there is not many
ways to introduce the public to the knife industry which will hurt in the long
run.
Dan always promoted knives in a positive way and also
insisted treating the customer like we would want to be treated. For 44
years, it has worked.