I can promise you there is a huge gap between making the weapon and knowing it's been used. I've experienced it, when at a knife show in Las Vegas in 2003 a gentleman walked up to my table and told me that one of his teammates asked him to tell me that "one of my knives saved his life twice at Tora Bora, and he blooded it both times." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me to get my head around what he just said. Of course I designed the knife to do exactly what it did, but reality is at a different level and you experience an emotional rush that's difficult to describe. I will say this without hesitation, guilt or issues of conscience weren't involved. My thoughts had more to do with knowing exactly how the knife performed and what could improve it. We were and we remain at war with people who have killed our citizens and want to kill more of us. Anything I can contribute that will deter that is what keeps me in the shop. The simple fact is that the money isn't what draws people to making knives. It's passion for the craft and seeing a purpose in what you're doing. Granted, some are content in making and selling as many sharp items as they can. Others, and I like to think I'm one of them, look at the technology of knives and do what they can to make them better and more serviceable than those made before. "Cutting flesh" isn't one of them. Kitchen knives cut flesh better than anything made for other purposes. Knifemaking is a poor business, and rarely do makers earn what they could having a real job earning what they are likely able to earn doing anything else. I've always contended that behind every successful knifemaker is a wife with a real job, because at best and for the very best of us, getting started is a serious struggle and it takes many years to develop the skills and reputation needed to sell what you can make. There is a morality involved, but it has to do with making honest knives, and not the politics which are much of what this discussion is about. I'll go back to what I described of what I was told in Las Vegas. "It saved his life twice..." What else matters? That "it was blooded" simply means it did what it needed to do to effect the former. I'm proud it served its purpose and I take pride in making weapons for those who need them to protect themselves and others. I work hard at that. I spend many long hours studying how knives are used, what can make them more effective, and how I can improve on the last knife I made with subtle changes that will make the next one work better. Maybe this will put it in perspective. While by most standards I'm likely considered a successful knifemaker, I could not begin to feed, clothe, house, and educate my family on what I earn doing that. Thankfully, my wife has a real job and supports me in doing what I do.
If I have a moral issue, it is with those who sit in comfortable offices, live is lavish homes, and drive expensive cars while making moral judgements on those who risk their lives to make that possible, and questioning whether those people deserve the best weaponry they can carry while doing that. Some of these are my customers, buying the collector versions of what I make, but the knives of which I'm most proud have Micarta handles and are made to kill people.
There is a lot more to the Tom Maringer story than has been discussed here, and I won't go into it, but Tom's experience and mine were very different and his was much more profound.
