"Tacticool" vs "Pocket Man Jewelry"

I wonder what hobby he will try to suck the life out of next... Obviously cigars are out.

(You could say he burnt that bridge)
 
He burnt some folks in that online community out of 5 figure dollars.
 
augustus88 said:
Let’s be honest, anything beyond an Ontario Rat 1 or perhaps a Delica is “pocket man jewelry.” I don’t care if you use it daily or “hard” a $200+ Knife with carbon fiber, super steel, anodized hardware, polished bronze washers or bearings, a $40 custom pocket clip and a drop or two of $20 oil in the pivot is “pocket man jewelry.” Very useful, but still pocket jewelry!

My Benchmade 940-1, Crooked River, Southern Grind Spider Monkey, two sprint run PM2s, Hinderer xm-18, ZT 0560, WE Knife 705, etc. are all EDC pocket jewelry. They all get used but they don’t do anything that my $28 Rat 1 couldn’t handle.

I enjoy pocket jewelry! Most if not all of you are fooling yourselves if you say otherwise.;)
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Cant say, that I agree.

However, the subject 'pocket jewelry' is of course relatively 'fluid' and its up to the individual, how one perceives pocket jewelry (PJ).

Personally, I dont consider most 'standard production' knives PJ.

You are off on a tangent; a cheap knife will cut just as good as a more expensive one.

You are right - in many/most cases it will.

Thats how you define PJ - not so I.

But on that tangent, there are many other factors to consider; ergos, joy of ownership, durability etc etc.

Think gas station knife vs bog standard PM2.

But again a fluid line between standard knives and PJ.

I deliberately say 'standard production,' because for me PJ is in the vicinity of for example a gussied up CRK Sebenza and up.

Nothing against Sebenzas - they are quality knives.

From then on an up into the custom stratosphere, its pretty much PJ.

jceckrosh said:
And while I am not going to invalidate your opinion, I was talking much further along the spectrum before things become pocket jewelry. I should have posted some picture, but I didn't want to use anyones photos without permission.
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I agree.

needler420 said:
Even the haters of mall Ninja gear own mall ninja gear themselves.
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What do you mean?
 
needler420 said:
Even the haters of mall Ninja gear own mall ninja gear themselves. It's the biggest hypocritical thing around the knife industry.
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In part you are right but when we, the knife enthusiast community, buys a tacticool knife we buy it not because of the advertise but because of what the knife is. We don't run out and buy that super tough all black knife because we saw how awesomely it can slice through a pig carcass. I bought an own a 5.11 Tarani Folding Karambit even though 5.11 is a fairly tacticool business. I bought it because it was a good sized folding karambit that wasn't going to break my budget for an intro karambit and made with solid materials.

The problem really isn't the products it is the advertising and the market. There is sadly a market for the tacticool that is profitable so business will rightfully try to capitalize on any market they can. The reasons this is bad are many and not everyone will share those reason. I will list some of the typical reasons we tend to view this unfavorably.

1. It is potentially a detriment to knife rights as tacticool is often marketed as a weapon
2. It is a fad or trend which when your hobby becomes a fad or a trend you might feel more ashamed of it than proud of it
3. It can flood the market with a variety of the same product
I am sure there is more but my train of thought has ceased here.

This is a stark contrast with pocket jewelry which has its negatives but they are primarily internal to the community. These items are sold to be shown and for their aesthetic values. These can still be fully functional quality users or a simple ornate piece intended for display. Most pieces I have seen even when they were made to be art are still capable as knives often having a hardened blade with a sharpened edge. They are merely a luxury item intended for people who love them enough to spend that kind of money for it. The only thing to "hate" on pocket jewelry is jealousy over not having that kind of money or the absurdity one might see in it from their personal view point. I would exclude for this all the replica and fantasy trash out there people buy that stuff is a beast all its own and shares more in common with tacticool.
 
Charlie Mike said:
Marketing is something I detest to the nth degree.

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I actually have a degree in marketing but I don't work in the field. Very good analysis. But I don't think this a new concept and instead only just being deployed in the cutlery business. To be an informed buyer is to be immune to this kind of selling. So much of this is being done via social media now. It's hard to even know it's happening when celebreties post things and you don't know if they were being paid or not to do so.
 
I also detest how military experience (real and fake) is used by the maker or front man to somehow convey that ownership of the product puts the buyer at shoulder height with actual operators... Who probably use some crap purchased at the PX.IMG_20180410_100226_343.jpg
 
I'd like to restate that I own almost NO practical EDC knives (2 Emersons and a Spyderco being the reasonable ones), all of which were designed by people who may or may not have a military background or possibly even lied about it, most of which cost far too much money, and likely all of which have been featured in a ridiculous YouTube video, probably featuring cardboard stabbing and possibly a home made tank top.

I have no illusions that any of these knives make me dangerous to anyone but myself and they convey exactly zero fighting or SD skill to me. I just like them.

The mistake I made is not forgoing a couple of the more expensive knives I own and instead buying a really brightly colored exotic material Toucan which would have let me live the life of a double agent, experiencing the other end of the spectrum. I do lack a really expensive car and watch to photograph with the aforementioned knife I don't have, but I think I could rustle up the cigar and Scotch.

I also have no nerf weapons.

And yeah, marketing is the devil. Anyone need a "ShamWow"?
 
I long for someone to even notice I have a pocketknife (tactical, jewelry, or otherwise) so that I might possibly experience what some of you report...an actual encounter with another knife knut.

Currently, I just bore my wife senseless with my latest musings on why the newest knife from G&G Hawk is awesome. She glazes over after 30 seconds or so.
 
I don't blame the knife manufacturers. It's hard to just stand by and watch your competitors rake in profits while you may have a superior product. You won't have it if you go out of business. Problem is once everybody in the market adopts this then the product quality can drop since sales are not base on that anymore.

The real root cause is the buyer. Their purchasing habits drive the market and it's behavior. Don't be a sheep! Not being one usually comes with age and experience.
 
BilboBaggins said:
I long for someone to even notice I have a pocketknife (tactical, jewelry, or otherwise) so that I might possibly experience what some of you report...an actual encounter with another knife knut.

Currently, I just bore my wife senseless with my latest musings on why the newest knife from G&G Hawk is awesome. She glazes over after 30 seconds or so.
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I have never run into another knife enthusiast. I have some friends who humor me by showing some intetest in whatever I am currently carrying. And I don't even mention anything with my wife, also safer for me that way. That way she never asks what something cost.
 
"Tacticool," "tactilol", "pocket jewellery" and other assorted terms are made up by people who like words more than knives. ;)
And then used by people who like to snidely feel superior to others based on what terminology they can impose.

I simply like knives (although words are okay), and don't need to label others to feel superior (my innate greatness takes care of that :D).
 
jceckrosh said:
I have never run into another knife enthusiast. I have some friends who humor me by showing some intetest in whatever I am currently carrying. And I don't even mention anything with my wife, also safer for me that way. That way she never asks what something cost.
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I’m starting to give inexpensive (but decent) knives away to those few people who do humor me from time-to-time on the minuscule chance I can convert one into an actual knife knut. If the universe won’t give me knife buddies, I shall create them!!
 
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