Knife taxonomy - Order of KAI of a different sort

oregonknifenerd

oregonknifenerd

Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
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I'm proposing development of a taxonomy for knives! :)

I've found myself referencing the 056x when explaining features but the 0566 will break this. It still holds for the 030x as the 0350 doesn't fit that model pattern and the 0360 breaks it in a different fashion.
So, we should come up with a standard. (not really, I'm just being.. pedantic.. for the sake of entertainment)

You can then split the Order of KAI in to families: ZT, Kershaw, Shun.. the hierarchy breaks a bit because I'd split Kingdoms in to knife, razor, axe, etc. but you'd have Order of KAI under these different Kingdoms and Universal Razor family under that umbrella.

The 0560, 0561 and 0566 are separate species, but how do they fit in to a Genus. Are the 0560 and 0561 part of their own or would the 0566 fit in to the same Genus of something like "Hinderer Collab".

These are important things to figure out people!

Potential taxonomic structure for 0560
Kingdom Knife
Phylum Folder
Class Framelock Flipper
Order KAI
Family ZT
Genus Hinderer collab.
Species 0560
 
Way too much time on your hands...

Go put a nice edge on all of your butter knives or something. j/k
 
Hmmm.... Kyle you do bring about an excellent topic for discussion. It would be neat to catalogue such items! I dip my monacle for you good sir!
 
Interesting. Wasn't there a relatively recent expansion above Kingdom (I think?). Not that it would make a difference in your proposal, but just made me think about it.
 
I do not understand, can you elaborate? What I do know is I love my 560, and my 300, and all knives KAI produces.
 
jimw451 said:
Interesting. Wasn't there a relatively recent expansion above Kingdom (I think?). Not that it would make a difference in your proposal, but just made me think about it.
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Wow.. Now I feel old. According to Wikipedia they proposed Domain in 1990. "Domain is now widely used as one of the fundamental ranks, although it is not mentioned in any of the nomenclature codes."

I was just thinking about this and it ran wild in my brain.. I guess because there doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency in KAI naming conventions and the idea probably came a bit out of the thread on what CKT stands for and why some knives are labeled CKT and others BLK. It also came a bit out of my putting together a database to track what knives I own and track information on limited production knives. I wanted to have a central location of information for production numbers, MSRP, current sales prices, etc. There was a plan to open that up on a website I set up for KAI fans and charge a small fee for access. People could put a "sell at" price and others could find a listing. So if you really desperately wanted a 1670BRNS30V and were willing to pay $200, and someone had it listed as a sell at at $195, then it would show up in a search of the database (exact numbers hidden though) and both the buyer and seller would leave happy. I was also hoping with enough people entering data it would help me finish off some of my collection!

So, in my mind the 0566 is a distinct species. The 0360 though having a different model number is a subspecies of 0350 in my mind as it is the same in every way except for the reshaped blade. The same is true of the rescue Blurs.

It is all just a bit of mindless fun. I don't seriously think there is any point to trying to categorize or label this stuff. I just got back from my break walk and thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone got some entertainment value out of the crazy idea.
 
It took me like a hour, but I'm starting to get it! So if whe had the 1760 black g10 the 1760OR would be a sub-species same blade and handles just orange.....yay!
 
I still like the concept but then again, I electronically categorize and catalog automotive parts and models for a living, so I'm somewhat biased. :)
 
I get it. I think the idea is pretty neat. I would love visiting a page if I had any questions concerning rare or limited edition knives where I could get all the info from it and also possibly snag a knife from a fellow member to complete my collection. I, too, tip my hat to you. I have lots of OCD tendencies and love organization in my life, so I would fancy this.
 
Oh and yes, like prelude acknowledged, I like the features regarding info searches and potential purchases you mentioned as well!

So how far have you gotten on the database? Are you using Access?
 
oregonknifenerd said:
I'm proposing development of a taxonomy for knives! :)

Funny. As a biology prof, I applaud your effort. Those who don't wish to grow pocket protectors, ignore the rest of this...

So, are you going to be a typologist or a phylogeneticist? You're mixed at the moment. Your kingdom is based on function, your phylum on symplesiomorphy, your order and family and genus on ancestry, and your specific designation on autapomorphy. Maybe a better approach would be that of genealogy. At least it's internally consistent, though much less imaginative. (This is all joking, BTW, not criticism).

Back to grading. Thanks for the break.
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I'm picking up what you're putting down:D. Haven't used the word taxonomy since I had soil taxonomy in college. Anyway. I would like to see something like an expansion tree for models. Say you start off with just a Blur. Click on it and up pops a subgroup of finishes. Click on the finish and up pops pe or se. So on and so forth till you hit what you are looking for. Possibly link that model # to a "I've got 1 I want to get rid of" section. Sorry. Just rambling now.
 
foodplot said:
Your kingdom is based on function, your phylum on symplesiomorphy, your order and family and genus on ancestry, and your specific designation on autapomorphy. Maybe a better approach would be that of genealogy. At least it's internally consistent, though much less imaginative. (This is all joking, BTW, not criticism).

Back to grading. Thanks for the break.
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Great post, but wouldn't "cutting" be the function? I think "knife" fits well there. I like the ancestry and morphology of the current setup. I consider it evolution in taxonomy of knives. :D :p

Also, feel free to give me an F for this post, I was marginal at best in Biology. :)
 
Alright Kyle, I hereby knight you as "Dr. Professor O.K.N." or Professor for short! :D
All aboard the H.M.S. KAI!
 
daveb068 said:
I'm picking up what you're putting down:D. Haven't used the word taxonomy since I had soil taxonomy in college. Anyway. I would like to see something like an expansion tree for models. Say you start off with just a Blur. Click on it and up pops a subgroup of finishes. Click on the finish and up pops pe or se. So on and so forth till you hit what you are looking for. Possibly link that model # to a "I've got 1 I want to get rid of" section. Sorry. Just rambling now.
Click to expand...
This is how I've looked at a possible website being set-up. Easy to maneuver from place to place and pretty simple.
 
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