Buzzbait
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2001
- Messages
- 6,808
Hi all,
I just wanted you all to know that I havent fallen off the face of the earth. Ive just been terribly busy lately. The new house has got me up and working all night and all weekend long. This is also my busy work season, and work is busier than other years. Believe it or not, I havent even had time to go fishing yet, much less chat on the forums. I just cant seem to catch a break. At least Im expanding my horizons now, and learning the tradition of sharpening lawn mower blades.
Its been an interesting few months, as far as knife use goes. With all of the repair and fixing Ive been doing, my knives have really been put to the test. With my precious little free time, my knife priorities have become a little more realistic. Lack of time to constantly sharpen and strop my blades has led me to favor knives that dont necessarily have a scalpel-like polished edge. Im mostly carrying knives that will go for a week without sharpening, yet still get the job done. A chip to two has become something that Ive come to live with. Fortunately, I have enough knives that Ive been using one up, and then throwing it in the To Be Sharpened When I Have Time box.
Of all the knives that have gone through this ritual, the 440V Spyderco Military and Dozier Straight Hunter have worked out the best. While my other knives ran out of gas early on, the Spydie 440V and Dozier D2 have really proven themselves to be powerhouses for real world use. You get an entirely different perspective on steel properties, edge geometry, and ergonomics when youre forced into a knife abusive situation, with no end in sight. Both blades have taken their blows, yet still managed to get the work done. Im talking about chores like cutting up cardboard boxes for an hour straight, hacking down raspberry bush tendrils that piss you off while trying to mow around them, and opening untold numbers of plastic blister packs. You get up in the morning to a job of cutting carpet or insulation, and then moving on to scraping gaskets and cutting new pieces of vinyl siding. If youre lucky, you dont have to do any impromptu wire stripping. Cutting open bags of topsoil, powdered limestone and concrete has become a daily ritual, and is a real knife slayer. The most you do to maintain your knife is to wash it off under the garden hose and to try not to hit any staples that day.
Lots of other knives would have been fine if constantly maintained, but couldnt hold up to an 18-hour work environment. This experience has given me even more appreciation for the talents of Bob Dozier and Sal Glesser than I had previously, which is hard to believe. These men are knife making miracle workers. The differences in durability and ease of use of these two knives, in comparison to a bucket of production knives, are not small. I had knives with scales falling off, tips that snapped off, edges that rolled over like a dog, and other knives that developed blade play like a rag doll. Some knives were comfortable for an hour, but then began to blister my hands. Other knives cut fine when perfectly sharp, but took a terrible turn when the blade became even slightly dull. The devastation was terrible, and just two knives came through the ordeal without a single problem. If I ever hear anybody say that a Military or a Dozier K-4 is a bad design, Ill know in my heart that theyre a lying sack of lawn fertilizer. These are real knives for real men with real work to be done. They are miracles of design and execution. To tell you the truth, Im now in a position of not knowing what knife Id buy, if I were to purchase a new one. The Military and Dozier continue to get the job done when others will not, and Im incredibly thankful for it.
One other thing. My trusty SAK Cybertool34 has also traveled with me for the entire ordeal. The small blade was my scalpel when I needed ultimate sharpness, and the tools were incredibly handy. This knife is the ticket for convenience, so you dont have to go to the garage and collect tools for the small jobs.
Okay. One more thing. With all of the hell I put twenty folders through, I did not have a single lock failure. I guess it just goes to show how strong most locks really are. If you know how to use a knife properly, the lock is really the least of your worries. If youre an experienced knife user, worry about real issues like blade geometry, steel quality and ergonomics. Keep the lock clean and itll do its job.
Ill be tuning in here and there, but time is still precious. Ive still got just a few things to finish up on the house, and then Ill have a little more breathing room. Ive also got some vacation time coming up in July, where Im finally gonna get a week to wet a line. The fish are calling me I big way!!!
I just wanted you all to know that I havent fallen off the face of the earth. Ive just been terribly busy lately. The new house has got me up and working all night and all weekend long. This is also my busy work season, and work is busier than other years. Believe it or not, I havent even had time to go fishing yet, much less chat on the forums. I just cant seem to catch a break. At least Im expanding my horizons now, and learning the tradition of sharpening lawn mower blades.
Its been an interesting few months, as far as knife use goes. With all of the repair and fixing Ive been doing, my knives have really been put to the test. With my precious little free time, my knife priorities have become a little more realistic. Lack of time to constantly sharpen and strop my blades has led me to favor knives that dont necessarily have a scalpel-like polished edge. Im mostly carrying knives that will go for a week without sharpening, yet still get the job done. A chip to two has become something that Ive come to live with. Fortunately, I have enough knives that Ive been using one up, and then throwing it in the To Be Sharpened When I Have Time box.
Of all the knives that have gone through this ritual, the 440V Spyderco Military and Dozier Straight Hunter have worked out the best. While my other knives ran out of gas early on, the Spydie 440V and Dozier D2 have really proven themselves to be powerhouses for real world use. You get an entirely different perspective on steel properties, edge geometry, and ergonomics when youre forced into a knife abusive situation, with no end in sight. Both blades have taken their blows, yet still managed to get the work done. Im talking about chores like cutting up cardboard boxes for an hour straight, hacking down raspberry bush tendrils that piss you off while trying to mow around them, and opening untold numbers of plastic blister packs. You get up in the morning to a job of cutting carpet or insulation, and then moving on to scraping gaskets and cutting new pieces of vinyl siding. If youre lucky, you dont have to do any impromptu wire stripping. Cutting open bags of topsoil, powdered limestone and concrete has become a daily ritual, and is a real knife slayer. The most you do to maintain your knife is to wash it off under the garden hose and to try not to hit any staples that day.
Lots of other knives would have been fine if constantly maintained, but couldnt hold up to an 18-hour work environment. This experience has given me even more appreciation for the talents of Bob Dozier and Sal Glesser than I had previously, which is hard to believe. These men are knife making miracle workers. The differences in durability and ease of use of these two knives, in comparison to a bucket of production knives, are not small. I had knives with scales falling off, tips that snapped off, edges that rolled over like a dog, and other knives that developed blade play like a rag doll. Some knives were comfortable for an hour, but then began to blister my hands. Other knives cut fine when perfectly sharp, but took a terrible turn when the blade became even slightly dull. The devastation was terrible, and just two knives came through the ordeal without a single problem. If I ever hear anybody say that a Military or a Dozier K-4 is a bad design, Ill know in my heart that theyre a lying sack of lawn fertilizer. These are real knives for real men with real work to be done. They are miracles of design and execution. To tell you the truth, Im now in a position of not knowing what knife Id buy, if I were to purchase a new one. The Military and Dozier continue to get the job done when others will not, and Im incredibly thankful for it.
One other thing. My trusty SAK Cybertool34 has also traveled with me for the entire ordeal. The small blade was my scalpel when I needed ultimate sharpness, and the tools were incredibly handy. This knife is the ticket for convenience, so you dont have to go to the garage and collect tools for the small jobs.
Okay. One more thing. With all of the hell I put twenty folders through, I did not have a single lock failure. I guess it just goes to show how strong most locks really are. If you know how to use a knife properly, the lock is really the least of your worries. If youre an experienced knife user, worry about real issues like blade geometry, steel quality and ergonomics. Keep the lock clean and itll do its job.
Ill be tuning in here and there, but time is still precious. Ive still got just a few things to finish up on the house, and then Ill have a little more breathing room. Ive also got some vacation time coming up in July, where Im finally gonna get a week to wet a line. The fish are calling me I big way!!!
, heard about the move, figured you'd pop back up sooner or later. Where abouts did you land upstate?
. Looks like you're giving your collection a real workout, glad to hear that you have a couple that can keep up with your workload.
