- Joined
- Jun 11, 2008
- Messages
- 1,409
Guys, I just sent this email to Andy but decided to quote the whole thing and post it here.
Hey Andy,
My name Is Kevin (Md25v on bladeforums). I know that there are a lot of satisfied customers on your forum that really use their knives but I think something I went through is kinda unique. I had wanted your knives for years and a few months ago I was able to buy three at once, a Snubnose, Small Nessmuk, and a Lady Finger. The Lady Finger quickly became my favorite "bushcraft" knife and I use it more than any I own.
Anyway, I happened to have the Snub on me today when something happened. I volunteer for an animal sanctuary and recieved a call from a woman that lived in an old house that used to be part of a farm property. She said there was some kind of animal in her wall. Thats not really uncommon but since she wasn't far I decided to go over and see what it was. Turns out that her cat, which was pregnant and missing for a couple days, was stuck in the wall and had had kittens. I figured this would be an easy fix since she said that cutting a hole in the wall wouldn't be a problem. This woman didn't have so much as a screw driver and although I hated to do it I cut the hole 12in square hole with my Snubnose. The wall was the old style thick plaster, not modern drywall. I inspected the edge and it seemed fine at that point. I was relieved and went about the removal of the cat and kittens. I pulled up the cat and two of the kittens while a third fell through a broken part of the subwall and into a ragged HVAC pipe that was not sealed and looked to be unused as I couldn't find anything it connected to. I was wrong! The heat turned on and the new born kitten was hit with very hot air. This would have quickly proven fatal. I ran down to the lower floor and without thinking shoved the knife through the HVAC, even though I knew I was destroying the knife it was just instinctual to act on it quickly. I used a can opener motion on the HVAC and got just enough opened to peel it down and reach up in to get the kitten.
The kitten is fine. There was a few scary minutes but everything worked out in the end. The woman who called me had a 12 year old daughter who was there. The cat was a family pet and they had decided to let the girl keep one of the kittens. It would have been a very sad story if this had turned out differently while the girl was there watching. She decided to name the kitten Lucky and that was the one she is keeping.
Now, on to why I am emailing you:
I did terrible things to my knife. I knew the consequences when I was doing it and couldn't even look at the knife when I was done. I just put it back in the sheath and went home. I am looking at the knife now.
The blade is scratched up like crazy but.....
THE DEEPEST CHIP MEASURES ONLY ABOUT 3MM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know what to say. Andy, your steel and heat treat is amazing. I am truly moved by the fact that I grossly and terribly abused this knife, thinking I would have to buy another for a replacement or at least pay you for a regrind. I am about to go up to my 1x30 and fix the damage. It is so minor that I will have the whole edge shaving in about ten minutes.
Andy, your knives are truly amazing.
Hey Andy,
My name Is Kevin (Md25v on bladeforums). I know that there are a lot of satisfied customers on your forum that really use their knives but I think something I went through is kinda unique. I had wanted your knives for years and a few months ago I was able to buy three at once, a Snubnose, Small Nessmuk, and a Lady Finger. The Lady Finger quickly became my favorite "bushcraft" knife and I use it more than any I own.
Anyway, I happened to have the Snub on me today when something happened. I volunteer for an animal sanctuary and recieved a call from a woman that lived in an old house that used to be part of a farm property. She said there was some kind of animal in her wall. Thats not really uncommon but since she wasn't far I decided to go over and see what it was. Turns out that her cat, which was pregnant and missing for a couple days, was stuck in the wall and had had kittens. I figured this would be an easy fix since she said that cutting a hole in the wall wouldn't be a problem. This woman didn't have so much as a screw driver and although I hated to do it I cut the hole 12in square hole with my Snubnose. The wall was the old style thick plaster, not modern drywall. I inspected the edge and it seemed fine at that point. I was relieved and went about the removal of the cat and kittens. I pulled up the cat and two of the kittens while a third fell through a broken part of the subwall and into a ragged HVAC pipe that was not sealed and looked to be unused as I couldn't find anything it connected to. I was wrong! The heat turned on and the new born kitten was hit with very hot air. This would have quickly proven fatal. I ran down to the lower floor and without thinking shoved the knife through the HVAC, even though I knew I was destroying the knife it was just instinctual to act on it quickly. I used a can opener motion on the HVAC and got just enough opened to peel it down and reach up in to get the kitten.
The kitten is fine. There was a few scary minutes but everything worked out in the end. The woman who called me had a 12 year old daughter who was there. The cat was a family pet and they had decided to let the girl keep one of the kittens. It would have been a very sad story if this had turned out differently while the girl was there watching. She decided to name the kitten Lucky and that was the one she is keeping.
Now, on to why I am emailing you:
I did terrible things to my knife. I knew the consequences when I was doing it and couldn't even look at the knife when I was done. I just put it back in the sheath and went home. I am looking at the knife now.
The blade is scratched up like crazy but.....
THE DEEPEST CHIP MEASURES ONLY ABOUT 3MM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know what to say. Andy, your steel and heat treat is amazing. I am truly moved by the fact that I grossly and terribly abused this knife, thinking I would have to buy another for a replacement or at least pay you for a regrind. I am about to go up to my 1x30 and fix the damage. It is so minor that I will have the whole edge shaving in about ten minutes.
Andy, your knives are truly amazing.