James,
This has become an issue of
Faith. I'd like to talk on that briefly without going into any discussion of who is right and who is wrong. Do you think that's possible?
I call it an issue of Faith because it involves a part of some people's world view that would be seriously altered if they concede to the opposite point of view, and they are naturally and fundamentally opposed to doing this. To alter their view would be so disastrous that they will undergo any mental convolutions necessary in order to avoid it and maintain their current view. I want to be clear that this is true for
both sides.
I can see four possibilities at this point:
1) Mike and Spark are pathological liars. Perhaps no tests took place at all. Or perhaps there were real test and they were misreported. Maybe they were reported accurately but the chips were made up. All or some of the string of investigations and information presented since then is pure fallacy. Everything they have ever said is thus thrown in doubt, as they clearly see no difference between truth/falsehood except as suits their ends.
2) Kevin and Terry McClung are pathological liars. They invented the "notch=reject" concept in an attempt to save face, and have subsequently concocted the "shop knife" theory and various other information about past employess, missing knives, etc. Everything they have ever said is thus thrown in doubt, as they clearly see no difference between truth/falsehood except as suits their ends.
3) Mike/Spark
and Kevin/Terry are all pathological liars. All parties have concocted imaginary and deceptive info on this topic. Everything they have ever said is thus thrown in doubt, as they clearly see no difference between truth/falsehood except as suits their ends. I consider this too unlikely to seriously consider.
4) All parties are telling the truth. The knife in question was, in fact, very old AND a "fake" or "shop knife" that somehow, among thousands of other "real" Mad Dogs, ended up (unwittingly) in Mike's hands for this honest evaluation, in which it chipped.
I think we can discout #3. We'd all like to see #4 be the truth, but I think we also see how improbable that is. So this leaves only two uncomfortable options:
Some people must accept that Mike and Spark are patently and wholly untrustworthy, and everything they have ever said is called into question (Was a 7" test done? Did Benchmade Ascents really fail a spine whack? Is Spark really the same moderator previously attached to knifeforums?)
OR
Some people must accept that the McClungs are patently and wholly untrustworthy, and everything they have ever said is called into question (Are MDs really O1? Does Kevin really grind them? Have there really been hundreds of warranty returns? What about the military contracts?)
Please note!
I am NOT asking you to evaluate which of these is the true situation, and I am certainly not looking for evidence taht some of the "questionable" statements above are true - I know how ridiculous they are to doubt.
I am simply trying to make a point that some people
TRUST Mike completely, and some people
TRUST Kevin completely, and it would be a harsh and difficult thing for either group to change their views. In fact, we should all be greatly dismayed that the honesty of either should come seriously into question.
This has become an issue of Faith. And yet, I have to wonder... we're not talking about the creation of the universe or the miracle of human self-awareness. we're talking about a bar of steel with some G-10 glued to it. How did this become an issue of Faith???
Your thoughts?
------------------
-Corduroy
"Why else would a bear want a pocket?"
Little Bear Knives
Drew Gleason:
adg@student.umass.edu
