I've almost always carried some kind of knife. I'm not a knife aficionado or anything, but in all the jobs I've worked at, having a decent knife, in your pocket, has come in handy more times than I can count.
I really like my Benchmade knives, but sadly they need to be sent back to sharpen, as I just can't seem to put a decent edge on them.
Something else I need to learn!
My second most recent purchase was a Gerber. A nice, sharp knife with a "Tanto" blade, but I just HATE that damn stupid mechanism they have on it to fold the blade back in. It takes both hands for a clumsy doofus like me to fold the blade back, and that's just unacceptable for me.
So, I recently purchased a nice little SOG knife. It has assisted opening, and a release button like my Benchmade knives, so I can easily fold it back when I finished using it.
It's one of the "Rescue" knives, with a blunt tip, perfect for sawing through seat belts and such without putting a 22 stitch wound in the person you're trying to save!
And I've also got some serious "Survival" knives that I keep "just in case", and a sweet little Cold Steel tomahawk, just in case the Zombies show up.
So what brings me to talk about knives?
This hilarious post over at Tam's place.
Genius that woman is!
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What I've Been Up To....
Started this post on Monday, then came down with a head cold, which is now progressing South. Feeling better, but still a bit woozy...... To...
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Tam's right (as usual ;-) - but I have to wonder if that was indeed the knife that the intruder was 'armed' with. I'd be willing to wager it was probably more along the lines of a Swiss Army knife....................
ReplyDeleteAnd if one is only carrying one knife, they are considered 'underdressed' - don't forget Mark Twain's comment: 'a gentleman can never have too many good knives'.........................
BTW, you have good taste in knives, can't generally go wrong with any of those (among others) - and yes you do indeed need to learn how to sharpen your own! Not to hard, if a klutz like me can learn to, anybody can (won't say how many years it took to get it right though).........................
OTB MCPO sends
I have no idea how many knives I own. One day, maybe I'll count them. Nothing so nice as a Sebenza, or any other hand-made anything. Someday, after I satisfy quite a number of other itches, I'll pursue those sorts of things. Would like to get something by Ken Onion himself, and Allen Elishewitz. So far, no survival knives or tomahawks in my collection, but those are "wants" as well.
ReplyDeleteAs far as sharpening goes, I've used all sorts of things. Surprising to me, the Smith's Pocket Pal does well for a quick & dirty sharpening. In fact, for the price, I'm impressed with it. Sharpen with it, and followup with some red rouge on a piece of leather, and you'll have a nice edge. When I decide to really care, I use either Japanese water stones, or the sandpaper method, and I'm way more likely to use the sandpaper method. So, I'd say do some reading and/or watch some vids on using sandpaper. One article I saw used sandpaper and a mouse pad, but I'm not sure about backing the paper with something that gives. I use a piece of synthetic stone countertop, which I got free from a countertop shop. It was a remnant -- something that'd get thrown out. First I read about this method, the author used a long piece of glass, thus allowing him to have all his grits right there at once, whereas I have to replace the paper on the slab when I change grits. The flatter, the better. Again, finalize by dressing the blade on a piece of leather with red rouge. Or, if you have a low-speed buffing wheel, use that. I suppose a high-speed buff wheel could work, but take care not to heat the blade.
Main thing is to practice, practice, practice. Practice on a cheap knife, or a cheap scraper. I once put a wicked sharp edge on a painter's combination tool, just to prove a point -- it's very easy do do on steel that soft.
I bought one of the kits from Spyderco, the one that has the ceramic sticks and a base for them, but I could never get a good edge, regardless of how many times I watched the video and practiced.
ReplyDeleteI've also got a couple of new "Arkansas Stones" and some honing oil, but have yet to try them.
I should probably give them a try with one of my very dull Benchmade knives, as I really like those.
"Syperco"? Gah!
ReplyDeleteMy last knife purchase was an ESEE Izula. I put a paracord wrap on the handle.
Went looking at tomahawk reviews. Cold Steel, not so great, SOG very good.
Not the Spyderco knives, the sharpening kit they sell.
DeleteI'm a knife junkie and Benchmade makes fine fine knives. One of my coworkers started carrying a Leatherman Raptor, not a knife but medical scissors design and LOVES it. Most of our work (office) is cutting paper in some fashion and these work great. His reason - many places frown on knives, but these folding scissors get zero 'frownies'. An EMT probably thinks they are good too.
ReplyDeleteI always have a Victorinox Cadet with the Alox scales. It's small enough that I won't take it out of my pocket and set it down somewhere, so it's always on me. I use it every day for something, and not just the blade. The screwdrivers on it are truly useful, and the nail file blade is great for lots of very light prying applications.
ReplyDeleteAs to sharpening, I've never gotten the knack. My dad could sit down with a two-sided stone and some oil and produce a shaving edge. It's one of my life regrets that I've never been able to do that. So I default to the Lansky. I can produce a shaving edge with that. I've just go the three stones without the two that fill the gaps. I can put a good edge on just about anything from a small blade to a Kabar with it. I highly recommend it for interim use until you perfect your stone technique.
I just got my 'hawk out, and it's a SOG.
ReplyDeleteOne of my survival knives is another SOG, a "Pentagon".
And my big, bad knife is a Gerber "LMF II" Infantry Fighting Knife, with leg scabbard.
Man, I'd really look like a Mall Ninja if I ever strapped that sucker on!
Whew, I thought you might be talking about some massive Rambo monstrosity. Those two are pretty sane, actually. The SOG is similar to the Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn -- I have (tries to think) 3 or 4 of those, I guess. I'd like to get one (or more) of the Ontario survival knives, just not sure which.
ReplyDeleteFor the mall ninja look, I recommend the Cold Steel Recon Tanto. You need at least two, with forearm sheathes.
And one strapped on your leg, and one hid in your boot, and one duct taped to your back, and ...........
DeleteThis showed up in my RSS feed today.
ReplyDeletehttp://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/how-to-sharpen-any-knife-1641292517
Quckly scanned it, and didn't watch the videos. Again, the mousepad, which I suppose is fine if you want a concave edge.
Err, convex edge. Geez.
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