Does anyone know if there are any knife shows in the chicagoland area that the busse-kin fam. show up to. It seems like there are a lot of new releases that way. or any other way to get them without a plane ticket?

There are a couple of small shows at the Indianapolis gun show and the Columbus, Oh gunshows, thatmguy on bladeforums sets up a booth there.

Best way to get them without a plane ticket is to make friends on the forums and find someone who is willing to act as a proxy buyer for you. Basically you make arrangements for that person to buy knives on your behalf at the show, either by fronting them some cash up front, or if they trust you enough, paying them for the knives after they give you a total of what they will cost. The individual proxy arrangements are very much a private matter for the two folks involved to work out on their own.

gotcha, thanks. so what are the best shows to keep an eye out for?

Blade, Blade West, and Knob Creek seem to be the big shows with the best offerings. Blade West had an awesome selection of good prices on combat grade knives this year.