SNIP
I have always maintained and always will (even in a time of war) that military service does not exist on a higher plane than other "civilian" occupations. Words that are commonly applied to military service such as "duty" "loyalty" "bravery" "brotherhood" can be found in other areas of life.
That might be true of certain, intense, civilian occupations. Law enforcement, firefighting/EMS, SAR but don't try and sell us on the Brotherhood of the Cubicle or the Shared Sacrifice of the Showroom Floor. Maybe you are talking about the self imposed danger of mountain climbing or something, it matters not. Most people never conciously risk life and limb on a daily basis like people in the military do, even in peacetime.
There is a reason why there is a distinction between those who have served and those who haven't and those who haven't often fail to get it.
Some soldiers don't stay in the military for those reasons - there are many reasons that people choose to join and remain in the military. So mis-representing your military credentials is no worse to me than doing so in other walks of life (like say, a doctor where peoples lives are on the line).
It is only worse because doing such misrepresentation is the stealing of the deeds and accomplishments of folks who have often paid the highest price possible by saying "I did stuff like that" when they didn't. It's alright. You simply don't get it.
So you can belch at me all you want about the higher calling of military service, and how I am an outsider and can't possibly understand, but it won't change my mind.
Good, then you can just be called wrong on this point and we can move on.
In my profession, if you are found to have miscommunicated your credentials - you will be blackballed, period. Your chances of ever getting licensed as an Architect in any state are slim and none. It is a pretty high penalty because the profession is based on trust that you are acting in the interests of the public (health, safety and welfare) and of your client. Good or bad, liars are rarely presumed to ever be trustworthy again.
So far so good. . .
I dont' know that anyone using a Strider knife is harmed by what appears to be some falsification of credentials - I don't think it affects the integrity of a slab of 1/4 inch plate steel. There are many companies that use a "military" connection to try and outsell their competitors - Busse, Mercworx, Dark Ops, TOPS - the list goes on and on. The veracity of this stuff becomes fairly arcane to those on the outside, like me.
. . .and then the train leaves the track. True, nothing Strider has said or done
affects the physical properties of a slab of cutlery steel.
If a fake architect manages to design a sturdy house, is he/she still qualified to continue to design structures?
Mick Strider's inflated resume built in a presumption that his tools were the best available for the job. From "first-hand experience" he knew, as a designer, what it took to put the best tool in the hand of the American fighting man.
That turns out to be a load of crap. In fact, many other folks of more extensive "first hand experience" did and do not agree that unergonomical, cord wrapped stainless steel knives fit their mission requirements. Now they don't even have to wonder about the "combat inspired insights" that went into various designs. That insight only exists in the fake architect's mind.
That said, anyone in the public arena is fair game for criticism and I find it naive that people that use the various forums are surprised that Spark chose to post this information now, since from what has been posted, it is related to recent posts on other forums. Many knifemakers have been flayed on this and other forums, sometimes on fairly thin evidence.
When thin evidence is all that is available, one makes the most of it.
I think that most Bladeforums members would be more interested in Strider Knives business practices, which as far as I am aware, are pretty exemplary. They are timely, stand behind their product, provide re-finishing at a nominal fee and have an outstanding warranty. Mick's personal prior history is irrelevant as regards his life as a knife manufacturer (and Spark has posted as such many times).
Well, their advertising practices, (a business practice when last I checked) are redefining deceptive.
To finish - and I do have question, Spark - since Mick's statements were generated on other forums, and since Bladeforums is not a military club, and since as you state this has absolutely nothing to do with Strider Knives - why do you bother to put this post in the Good, Bad & Ugly? That area of the site states This is your area to tell about your experiences (Good or Bad) with dealers, sellers, and individuals you've bought, sold, and traded with.
You post should be properly located in Whine & Cheese, which is where personal rants are intended to go (and where moderators have put two of my opinion pieces in the past)- Go through the last 50 pages and that is pretty much what this thread is made of.
This is where prospective buyers get referred to when making inquiries about various makers.
The verdict here, such as it is, has been one of "nothing wrong with the knives per se, but don't be taken in by the mil-spec spook cachet." Not groundshaking, but a good deal closer to the truth than the knife buying community was last month.
), nomex undies and did a partial burn, picked up a couple foam pads a nearby high school was throwing out from track & field (I had guessed they would have been good for 40 ft. stacked) and even had an old beater I picked up at auction that I wanted to try hood rides on. Unfortunately, all my friends said I was crazy to try a fall or hood ride and wouldn't give me an assist. And now, some years later, one of them is asking when I'm going to do another burn
