No one's ever asked me, either. I was sitting around the waiting area of Microcenter a couple of weeks ago and some guy had a slipjoint knife and trying to open a thick bubblewrapped laser printer cartridge. It didn't take more than a few moments to realize that if I didn't do something, that guy's blood was going to be going all over the counter. So I reached in the nylon pouch next to my flashlight and brought out my Cold Steel Gunsite Voyager. I opened it and offered it to him, handle first. The fellow was an Asian of some sort, but he didn't waste any time staring at it. He looked at it, smiled, took it and said, "That knife should do the job." Even with that Gunsite 5-inch blade, that guy had to really work on that bubblewrap (huge air pockets that were taped and retaped). But within about twelve seconds, he had cut through the packaging and then he handed me back the knife and said, "I need to get one of those."
Years ago I had lodged my Boy Scout blade into a piece of wood I was whittlin'. I went to pull the blade out and it wouldn't come. So I began to wiggle the blade, which snapped forward and into my fingers. I had done quite a bit of aimless whittlin' as a Boy Scout, and I had escaped a few snaps, but this one got me. My first thought was, "Hey, no blood...how can that be?" As if on cue it suddenly came up out of the deep gash and pretty soon it was splattering all over the place. I got stitches and had to change my bandages. It was then that I determined that slipjoint knives weren't worth spit. I know a lot of you like 'em and to you the best of luck, but they aren't for me. There's got to be a lock and a good one at that! Liner locks are so-so, frame locks are better, then I like LAWKS, lock backs and then, the ultimate new Tri-Ad lock design offered by Cold Steel. The lock-backs are fine for me and I trust them and prefer the smaller, lighter models with VG1.
But as stated above, most knives, regardless of steel, are very usable. The 4- and 5-inch Voyagers now in production are one of my favorite knives, and I think Cold Steel's heat treat is outstanding regardless of the steel. I ordinarily hate 440A, but my Cold Steel 440A blades are pretty much indistinguishable in performance from my AUS8. Plus, those on my Night Force and Pro-Lite came so sharp people were complaining of getting nicks just trying to thumb the blade. Whereas cheap 440A I can't sharpen regardless of how long I work on it, the CS 440A takes just a few swipes to get back in proper shape.
Bottom line, the only problem I ever had with someone was a secretary in my office who needed a thick package opened. Her scissors just weren't making it, but I took out my Cold Steel 4-inch Voyager and opened it in seconds. Later my boss called me in and asked to see my knife. So like any clear thinking guy in an office full of women, I pulled out my 3-inch Voyager (same model as the 4-incher in my other pocket, but smaller). She had apparently been expecting the knife to be larger, but she told me that I didn't need a knife as part of my job requirements, and she asked me not to bring my knife to work anymore. And being a good employee, I took both knives home and left them there. The next day, I took my CS Voyager 5-inch and later that year, after being ganged up on by two Red Setter dogs and barely escaping without a bite. After that, I carried my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande, with a 6-inch serrated blade, but the secretaries never saw it. And next time they needed help cutting something, I wasn't available. Here I was getting in trouble for a 4-inch knife (3-inch, really), and here these two women were jabbing their 7-inch scissor blades into the package with complete impunity!
Only in Amerika. I'm just glad I outsmarted them. And I never brought those smaller knives back again!
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