- Joined
- Dec 3, 2000
- Messages
- 3,002
My son wanted my Benchmade Onslaught since he was a little guy. He finally got it a few months ago when I traded him for his BM Mini Reflex. He only had it for a couple of months when he loaned it to a co-worker who he thought was pretty intelligent. Right away, the guy starts prying at a wiring bracket and before my son could get the words out he hears that deafening “TINK!” of a broken tip. I was able to bring it back pretty well, but he was pretty broken hearted.
I commiserated with him and recalled the time in…late nineties or early 2000’s I had been the proud new owner of a large Chris Reeve Sebenza, and somehow in my deluded mind I thought a road construction crew was a smart place to carry it. The day came quickly that my foreman asked to borrow my knife. My time had come! He would surely be impressed by the fit, the finish, the smoothness, the consistent bevels! He would be blown away by my good choice and my wisdom in choosing such a fine tool! Instead he ran the edge straight down a brick wall to cut some landscaping fabric. I considered the performance of many unspeakable things unto him. Terrible things. But…even when I was seeing red, I knew I needed the job, and I darn sure needed to not go to prison. (Which ended up happening eventually anyways) I managed to quietly spit out “You just F-ed up my expensive knife…” He didn’t even take the cigarette out of his mouth before saying “Well, it’s a tool, it’s supposed to be used!” and then used yet another insult involving an expletive in reference to yours truly.
This brought us to the topic of…loaner knives. In the end, I think it was an exercise in futility. We came to consider the varying circumstances and the fact that instead of idiot proofing the tool, we should just.,,not lend our knives to idiots. Though sometimes, it can be hard to avoid.
In the area of idiot proof knives we came up with:
Friction folders: I can name two occasions that people have thrown away a perfectly serviceable knife because they couldn’t figure out how to unlock a blade. My daughter gave her friend a Gerber LST that Gramma couldn’t close, so she seized it and threw it away. The other was an Okapi I gave to a friend. He couldn’t figure out how to close it and threw it away.
Issue being they’re likely as not to try to stab something and lose a digit when it folds.
Fixed blade: Finger safe, stout, and hard to screw up, but…could leave a person waving around an unsheathed knife, tossing it on the deck, in the tool box, on the bench, etc. to hurt someone else.
Locking knives: it’s a nice double diaper safety measure, but…like previously mentioned, I have been very surprised by the amount of people who can’t figure out how to fold a locking knife. I simply will not lend an expensive knife anymore, and the locks on crappy ones can lead to a sense of false confidence. I get the sentiment of lettin’ a darn fool learn their lesson, but…when they amputate a finger, guess who gets to pull up their slack? Maybe it’s a more palatable suggestion a month or two before Christmas, when we could all use a little OT anyways? ( I speak in jest. I really don’t wanna see anyone hurt. Except maybe for the guy who messed up my Sebenza 25 years ago or so.)
As far as Particular candidates, I think we came away with:
Mora Eldris
Bugout clones
CRKT Razel of various iterations
and a handful of TOPS edged prybar types.
Of course, too late occurs the simplest and most practical notion of a folding utility razor knife…
Really, it’s just a theoretical thought exercise for me since we aren’t allowed to have knives in prison. If I were in that environment again, I think I’d keep a…better quality knife for myself. If someone wanted to borrow it, I’d explain that it has great sentimental value, and it’s carried merely for nostalgia and good luck or sumpthing. Make up some tale about how Grampa carried this Spyderco Endura through WW2….
I might would keep the loaner in a tool bag or sumpthing? If they need a knife badly enough, they’ll walk themselves over to get it.
Not looking for answers to a problem really, just wanna hear your thoughts and your own horror stories. We downed a good cup of coffee or two before deciding we were engaging in an exercise in futility. If I had to lay down hard and fast thoughts
Some people are too dumb to handle sharp things. Don’t enable them.
If you can, cut the thing for them, but sometimes they’re up on a ladder, a different scaffold level, pretzel wrapped around an engine, piping, etc.
If they do somehow merit your knife, take a second to ensure they will not pry with it, and they know how to close it.
“No” is an answer. And can actually result in positive results in the end…like them buying their own darn knife…
And finally, I should mention…that prison thing? That’s just a job thing, not a don’t drop the soap thing.
I commiserated with him and recalled the time in…late nineties or early 2000’s I had been the proud new owner of a large Chris Reeve Sebenza, and somehow in my deluded mind I thought a road construction crew was a smart place to carry it. The day came quickly that my foreman asked to borrow my knife. My time had come! He would surely be impressed by the fit, the finish, the smoothness, the consistent bevels! He would be blown away by my good choice and my wisdom in choosing such a fine tool! Instead he ran the edge straight down a brick wall to cut some landscaping fabric. I considered the performance of many unspeakable things unto him. Terrible things. But…even when I was seeing red, I knew I needed the job, and I darn sure needed to not go to prison. (Which ended up happening eventually anyways) I managed to quietly spit out “You just F-ed up my expensive knife…” He didn’t even take the cigarette out of his mouth before saying “Well, it’s a tool, it’s supposed to be used!” and then used yet another insult involving an expletive in reference to yours truly.
This brought us to the topic of…loaner knives. In the end, I think it was an exercise in futility. We came to consider the varying circumstances and the fact that instead of idiot proofing the tool, we should just.,,not lend our knives to idiots. Though sometimes, it can be hard to avoid.
In the area of idiot proof knives we came up with:
Friction folders: I can name two occasions that people have thrown away a perfectly serviceable knife because they couldn’t figure out how to unlock a blade. My daughter gave her friend a Gerber LST that Gramma couldn’t close, so she seized it and threw it away. The other was an Okapi I gave to a friend. He couldn’t figure out how to close it and threw it away.
Issue being they’re likely as not to try to stab something and lose a digit when it folds.
Fixed blade: Finger safe, stout, and hard to screw up, but…could leave a person waving around an unsheathed knife, tossing it on the deck, in the tool box, on the bench, etc. to hurt someone else.
Locking knives: it’s a nice double diaper safety measure, but…like previously mentioned, I have been very surprised by the amount of people who can’t figure out how to fold a locking knife. I simply will not lend an expensive knife anymore, and the locks on crappy ones can lead to a sense of false confidence. I get the sentiment of lettin’ a darn fool learn their lesson, but…when they amputate a finger, guess who gets to pull up their slack? Maybe it’s a more palatable suggestion a month or two before Christmas, when we could all use a little OT anyways? ( I speak in jest. I really don’t wanna see anyone hurt. Except maybe for the guy who messed up my Sebenza 25 years ago or so.)
As far as Particular candidates, I think we came away with:
Mora Eldris
Bugout clones
CRKT Razel of various iterations
and a handful of TOPS edged prybar types.
Of course, too late occurs the simplest and most practical notion of a folding utility razor knife…
Really, it’s just a theoretical thought exercise for me since we aren’t allowed to have knives in prison. If I were in that environment again, I think I’d keep a…better quality knife for myself. If someone wanted to borrow it, I’d explain that it has great sentimental value, and it’s carried merely for nostalgia and good luck or sumpthing. Make up some tale about how Grampa carried this Spyderco Endura through WW2….
I might would keep the loaner in a tool bag or sumpthing? If they need a knife badly enough, they’ll walk themselves over to get it.
Not looking for answers to a problem really, just wanna hear your thoughts and your own horror stories. We downed a good cup of coffee or two before deciding we were engaging in an exercise in futility. If I had to lay down hard and fast thoughts
Some people are too dumb to handle sharp things. Don’t enable them.
If you can, cut the thing for them, but sometimes they’re up on a ladder, a different scaffold level, pretzel wrapped around an engine, piping, etc.
If they do somehow merit your knife, take a second to ensure they will not pry with it, and they know how to close it.
“No” is an answer. And can actually result in positive results in the end…like them buying their own darn knife…
And finally, I should mention…that prison thing? That’s just a job thing, not a don’t drop the soap thing.
