Take "Good" knives or Go Cheap?

anthony cheeseboro

anthony cheeseboro

Joined
Aug 8, 1999
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I'll be in Nigeria again this summer. At least part of the time, I'll be in the back country where a fairly stout blade will come in handy. What I am debating is whether I should take my customs or higher end production pieces like my Ralph/Wilson Elite or my Lone Wolf Tighe Tac? Last year, I took two customs, my small Obenauf Model 2 and my P.J. Tomes doouble lockback Moose. This year, I feel less comfortable with good knives since we can no longer lock our baggage. In all fairness, if I were to have a knife lifted, it would probably be in the States because Nigerians are not into knives beyond their necessity as tools.
 
Would it be possible to either mail the good blades to someone down there to hold for you, or take cheap ones with you and then have someone mail the good ones to you? I would think that it'd be important to have the high end stuff although I still wouldn't want to risk leaving them in unlocked baggage.
 
When travelling, never take anything with you whose loss would be considered tragic. If the knives hold no sentimental value for you and the financial loss is not a significant concern then you should only consider your practical needs for when you arrive at your destination.
 
I wouldn't take any customs. Theres to many production knives out there that will do anything you want without breaking the bank.
You might not be able to lock your luggage, but you can lock your knives to your luggage.
Run a small cable through the lanyard holes and then lock it to something on your luggage. Not completely safe by any means, but it definitely makes them put some effort to stealing it from you. And the airlines would have to pay for damaging your luggage too.
 
Anthony - I am headed to Puerto Rico on Saturday. I will definitely NOT be taking any expensive pieces of steel with me. I am just taking a Spyderco Worker PE.
 
Why not buy what you need there? Ya might run across a nice piece for next to nuthin'.
Greg
 
Anthony,
It was good meeting you at the St. Louis knife show! I would suggest the Wilson/Ralph but not anything more. I think that the combat folder would be more than sufficient for any needs you come across. It sure seems pretty stout to me.
Matt
 
I agree with st. james. There are too many potential occasions that might cause you to lose a well loved custom. Border crossings, customs checkpoint, military checkpoints, your local hotel bar...

I would bring a servicable folder that had a high ability for replacement if it got lost, stolen, or "held for safekeepping".
If it makes it back with you then you'll have a new EDC with some definite sentimental value.
 
I agree with the other posters....Don't take any customs. There are any number of choices of Good but Inexpensive knives that would perform well for you and you won't have the risk of losing a coveted custom. I would even leave the high end production stuff at home or at least split the difference; take an inexpensive user and a higher end production(as long as it could easily be replaced).
Good luck on your decision.
regards,
Webmaster - www.knifeworks.com
 
I can see myself leaving the nicer pieces at home. Jazzman, I think that I will take Ralph/Wilson. If I don't take it there I'll never use it. As for buying something there, the only knives I saw in Nigeria were way too cheap to use. It's not like South Africa where there are a lot of knifenuts. As I said earlier, the one advantage of being in Nigeria is that there are no knife nuts, so no one will value any knife that I might have. That includes soldiers and cops. The other thing about Nigeria is that no one pays attention to knives. One can be in the middle of huge city of ten million and see people walking down the street with machetes (cutlass in Nigeria) in their hands. No one even gives them a second glance. The machete is a common tool there, not unlike some with a Leatherman on his belt in the USA. BTW, it was good to meet you too, Jazzman. That is is fine small Sebenza that you showed me!
 
Take a tool, not a custom knife.

God only knows how you may lose a custom from here to where you are going.
 
If I were going to the back country of Nigeria, I think I'd want to take something along the line of a Camillus/Becker BK-7 Combat/Utility, or a BK-2 Campanion, and maybe my SOG PowerLock. Toss in a Spyderco Delica or Endura, and I'd be set.
 
I will be carrying a good fixed blade. A knife by Colorado Cutlery which has a stout 5" carbon steel blade with a convex grind and smooth black micarta scales. It's sharp as hell!:D
 
Sounds like a plan to me, Anthony.
A good production piece or two is definately the way to go. Something Spydie or Benchmade or even CRK&T won't break your heart if it suddenly gets the urge to take a walk on you. Unlike a custom P.J. Tomes or Obenauf or even a high end production like a Sebbie or Mnandi.:eek: Hell, I'd cry if that happened to me.

All the best,
Mike U.<--(big wuss):rolleyes:
 
......a Becker BK-7 or a CS SKS. Either will do anything you're likely to need. At 50 bucks apiece you could take one of each and not have a tragedy on your hands even if you lost them both.
 
The more I think about it, I believe that I will bring some of my more plain customs as work knives. I will probably take an Obenauf or some other sturdy custom that I own. I know that a custom knife is a substantial investment, but most of my customs were clearly designed as users. Most of us describe our knives as tools and we always say how tough our Sebenzas, Carson Model 4s, Obenaufs, etc. are. I would imagine that a plumber or electrician takes the best tools to a job whether he or she is in a chic neighborhood or in the 'hood. I understand that a knife could be stolen, but my knives are tools and it makes no sense to me to go to a place where I would likely need a knife more than I need one here and take a cheaper knife than I would carry here.
 
This is an interesting debate. Anthony, I hope you have a safe trip. When you get back, please let us know how it went and, in particular, whether your choice in cutlery was appropriate.
 
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