James K. Mattis Memorial Knife

Um... ya know... something just occurred to me. There are manufacturers out there that make puuko's already. While it would be better/best to: have our own special design; conceived especially in tribute to James; made at a reasonable price to generate donations; with high-tech steel.... we could also just get a quantity of a particular puuko that is already made and have those laser engraved. IIRC, several of the puukos (puuki? puukae?) that were carried by Chai Cutlery were reasonably priced. And we already have the means to laser engrave them. What does everyone think about that idea?

Either way, though... wee pen or puuko.... I'm in. Oh, and thank you REKAT for your most generous contribution to this effort.

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iktomi
 
Originally posted by rockspyder:
Um... ya know... something just occurred to me. There are manufacturers out there that make puuko's already. While it would be better/best to: have our own special design; conceived especially in tribute to James; made at a reasonable price to generate donations; with high-tech steel.... we could also just get a quantity of a particular puuko that is already made and have those laser engraved. IIRC, several of the puukos (puuki? puukae?) that were carried by Chai Cutlery were reasonably priced. And we already have the means to laser engrave them. What does everyone think about that idea?

Either way, though... wee pen or puuko.... I'm in. Oh, and thank you REKAT for your most generous contribution to this effort.
Click to expand...
I think its a great idea.
Thank you REKAT!

Shawn

 
Isn't the Fallkniven H-1 pretty close to his idea of a high tech puuko?

Puuko or wee knife I am in.

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Dennis Bible
 
Well, I'm gonna say it....
I hereby suggest a Throwing Star of David!

Yeah, I know that James wasn't into the Ninja stuff, but I just know he'd laugh.
smile.gif


Put me down for whatever's finally decided,
VG

[This message has been edited by Vampire Gerbil (edited 09-20-2000).]
 
While there are puuko's out there, let's keep this in reality, folks - I don't think a High Tech Puuko is going to fly. First, we have to locate a quality puuko supplier. Then we have to convince them to do a special run - and wait for them to get all the materials that would require. Then we have to get enough people to make the run possible. Then we have wait for them to be delivered and sent out again. We're looking at probably 90-180 days before we even get our hands on them, much less before any sort of donation makes it to the charity of choice.

The Wee Pen Knife, on the other hand, we could have in as little as 3 weeks because it is a current production item, is readily available, and is easier to work with.

In addition, because of the lower cost, more of the money goes to the charity, unlike a $90-150 puuko. With the Wee Pen Knife, since costs are significantly lower, the charity get's more money faster, especially since more people can take part.

Let me make this clear as well - both Camillus and BladeForums.com would only take enough money to cover costs - everything else goes to the charity. So, the lower we can get the costs on this project, the more money the charity gets. If you guys want a knife that winds up costing $100 - that eats significantly into what the charity winds up getting, and how many people can buy one.

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Thank you VG, I needed the laugh
smile.gif


Spark does have a point. . . let's do the wee pen knife, since it's so doable, and if someone can get a pukko project going as well, I'll be in on that one too.
 
Originally posted by Spark:
While there are puuko's out there, let's keep this in reality, folks - I don't think a High Tech Puuko is going to fly. First, we have to locate a quality puuko supplier. Then we have to convince them to do a special run - and wait for them to get all the materials that would require. Then we have to get enough people to make the run possible. Then we have wait for them to be delivered and sent out again. We're looking at probably 90-180 days before we even get our hands on them, much less before any sort of donation makes it to the charity of choice.
Click to expand...


First let me say the Wee Pen knife is fine with me. However, I believe you misunderstood my post. I'm not talking about having any special run of puuko's made. I'm talking about buying an amount of puuko's from stock, then having them laser engraved. That's all.

I'm not trying to force it, just explaining.
smile.gif


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iktomi
 
LMAO!!!!!

Ya know, you would think that this group is just screwed up enough to have ONE member who can come up with the Throwing Star of David.

OOOOOOHHH NO!

We also got a guy who can bring it to hilarious pictoral life. LOL! You guys rule! Thanx for the laugh.

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Sometimes I catch myself assuming that everybody knows their way around a pocket knife. Then I remember what the first three letters of "assume" are.
- James K. Mattis
 
Now, if we have learned from James, we should be able to come up with at least one peaceful use for this Ninja Star of David, any takers?
 
VG and PhilL - you rule!!!

Thanks for the laugh...

As for Spark - 1ox for addressing my question and I don't mean to put any extra trouble...

Just as rockspyder said: if we can buy a bunch of ready made pukkos and engrave them -ill go with that too.

Let’s start with the wee knife and take it from there...


 
As much as I'd like to see a "high-tech" puukko offered as a JKM Memorial Knife, I think Spark and the others are correct in suggesting a variant on the "wee pen knife" (for all of the reasons previously stated). I do have one suggestion, though…I think it would be a nice touch if the Memorial Knife package could include a pamphlet (or just a sheet of paper) with an explanation of the project and a brief sampling of some of James' elegant writings on knives. I was just thinking of some of the things that were posted on his website…an explanation of the "Chai" symbol and perhaps a few of JKM's paragraphs explaining his philosophy of knives as tools to improve life. Of course, this would have to be done with the permission of the Mattis family, but I think it would be a fitting way to commemorate James' enthusiasm and wisdom. It would also be a great way to share some of his thoughts with those who didn't have the privilege of knowing him. James was always an eloquent spokesman for our hobby, and I can't think of a better gift than a simple pocketknife with some of his musings on the role of cutlery in civilization and life. I'm not sure of what kind of cost and effort would be involved with assembling such a pamphlet (or if it's even legally feasible)…obviously it shouldn't be considered if it will significantly reduce the amount of the proceeds marked for charitable donation. I just thought I'd mention it…

As to the idea of a high-tech puukko…I understand why it probably isn't a feasible concept for the memorial knife project, but I can't help but think that it would still make an excellent addition to the product line of any one of several cutlery manufacturers (Camillus and Spyderco come to mind). James turned me on to these Scandinavian knives, and I've found them to be eminently practical utility designs. I think there would be a market for these knives that extends well beyond the (relatively) small number of consumers who would like to purchase a JKM Memorial Knife. Even if it isn't done in the context of a commemorative project, I'd dearly love to see the "high-tech puukko" concept come to fruition at some point in the future (and I think it would still be entirely appropriate to have the project associated with James and the causes he supported).

Jim
 
Originally posted by medusaoblongata:
Now, if we have learned from James, we should be able to come up with at least one peaceful use for this Ninja Star of David, any takers?
Click to expand...

James would find a use.

View
 
I like this idea... especially a "wee pen knife" that I can carry around and use (it would be sacreligious to not use a JKM memorial knife)

sign me up! i'd prefer to see the Chai engraved on the blade, perhaps with "JKM of blessed memory" underneath.

 
ok, so many misspellings here... it's puukko, not puuko or pukko. Also, if you have many of them, I'd say you have many puukkos. (The Finnish plural has... well simply put, many different forms, so you can't really take it from there. And I don't think you ahould either.)

Hugo.

Throwing Ninja Star of David... you guys!
smile.gif
 
You know every time i come into the forums I think about Jim. I have only ben a member for a short while but if I had a question about a knife he seemed to come up with the answer and a photo. So I guess all knives are memorial knives .
 
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