The "Ask Nathan a Question" Thread

Galaxx said:
Hi Nathan, for the pre-sold kukri knives, are you planning to use 3V steel produced by the European factory, or the existing stock steel? Will all future products be made with European-produced 3V steel?
Click to expand...

The knives sold on pre-order are being made of US produced CPM 3V.
 
Hi Nathan, I’m thinking of getting one of the FK3, but I’m not sure if I I should go with the tweaked 3V, or the CW. Which type of steel would you prefer for this knife?
I’m kinda leaning towards the CW, because I have examples of all the other steels you have offered besides the 3V, but the tweaked 3V sounds interesting too. I would love to get a thin DEK1 in the tweaked 3V, do you think you might be offering that at some point?
 
Gusbuster said:
Hi Nathan, I’m thinking of getting one of the FK3, but I’m not sure if I I should go with the tweaked 3V, or the CW. Which type of steel would you prefer for this knife?
I’m kinda leaning towards the CW, because I have examples of all the other steels you have offered besides the 3V, but the tweaked 3V sounds interesting too. I would love to get a thin DEK1 in the tweaked 3V, do you think you might be offering that at some point?
Click to expand...

When I go to mcdonald's, I don't get the chicken or the fish
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
When I go to mcdonald's, I don't get the chicken or the fish
Click to expand...
Would the Cruwear technically have higher edge stability and strength since it's run harder? I realize the difference is likely small between the tweaked 3V and the CW, but if one was after the highest edge stability between those two, would the CW be slightly better?

Grain size, carbide size, and I'm sure other factors also contribute to this, so I realize hardness isn't the only factor at play here, so your expert input is appreciated.

This is to say nothing of why your 3V is so great and the better overall choice, I'm just curious about apex stability specifically between the two.

Thank you!
 
JearBeatus48 said:
Nathan,

Do you have any intention in offering Richlite scale options?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

We already use micarta. We don't usually use paper based because it is less durable and can break if dropped.

All of their competitors are also "sustainable" in the sense that cotton and wood based paper are sustainable. They don't virtue signal about it. And their competitors don't use recycled materials. I don't want recycled materials in this application, this is an application for prime virgin material.
 
Using recycled materials in high value applications is a pet peeve of mine. It serves absolutely no purpose and it is only done so that someone can say "we use recycled materials, we're saving the Earth."

Ford uses recycled materials in their electrical clips and other stuff throughout the vehicle

Those clips that break after about 15 years and cause endless problems

Why not use prime virgin material there. I mean, what possible benefit is there to using recycled material in a critical application. It's dumb. Save the regrind for disposable packaging etc, as God intended.
 
Actually

With sufficient cynicism. It does serve a purpose

Recycled materials cost less

And you can charge more for your product because of the value of virtue signaling

So you can save money while offering your customer an inferior product, and charge them more for it and they will like it.
 
Since this is the anaq thread, I shall ask the rhetorical question. Why do we recycle?

That's a good question Nate!

What are your qualifications to discuss this?

I'm a college-educated product designer with a focus on materials and processes and decades experience as a plastic product design consultant.

Glass can be recycled indefinitely. But, it's also made from one of the most common substances on Earth and disposing of it causes no long-term consequences because it's completely non-toxic. So, recycle it if you want. Don't if you don't. It doesn't matter.

Paper becomes drastically weaker every time it is recycled and pine tree farms is a real thing now. If we want more virgin would we just grow it. Recycle it if you want. Don't if you don't. It doesn't matter.

Aluminum can be recycled indefinitely. And it should because the cost of the material is greater than the cost to extract it from the recycled material stream. They will tell you it's because it's saving the planet but aluminum (one of the most common elements on the surface of the Earth) is non-toxic when it degrades, the only environmental consequence of its production is the electricity. And, when you look at the power requirements of Bitcoin mining and this new artificial intelligence industry, it is a rounding error that rounds down to zero. It is of no consequence. So, recycle it if you want. Don't if you don't. It doesn't matter.



Polyethylene terephthalate is a valuable engineering grade of thermoplastic that makes sense to recycle, under some circumstances. This is the clear PET drink bottles and if it is a thick bottle, it is valuable. It is recycled because the value of the material exceeds the price to recycle it and there is a need for second rate PET for things like synthetic fleece and cheap carpet. There are people who want it and it is readily recycled. Although they're really thin water bottles they make these days, the juice ain't worth the squeeze. Recycle it if you want. Don't if you don't. It doesn't matter.

Same thing is true for polyethylene. Milk jugs etc. this is a plastic that can be made from natural gas which is sometimes a discarded byproduct of oil production. It is literally cheaper than dirt. Recycle it if you want. Don't if you don't. It doesn't matter.

Pretty much every other kind of plastic that could be recycled probably isn't because the cost of recycling it exceeds the value of the finished product. There are people and places who claim to recycle but what they actually do is they put their waste plastic on the empty shipping containers going back to China as ballast. Where they either burn it or offloaded to other countries where the labor to sort it is lower. And it largely just ends up dumped in the ocean.

(In Archer Mallory's voice): do you want microplastics? Because that is how you get microplastics.

So you have things like Keurig K-Cups and their claim that their cups are "made from 100% recyclable polypropylene". Folks, the value of the plastic in that cup versus the cost to reclaim it, nobody is recycling these.* And Keurig knows that. But their claims that they are somehow ecologically conscientious are absolute nonsense and they know it.

*For clarity. Everybody is recycling these. Meaning they're putting this useless garbage into the plastic recycle stream and just creating a bigger problem. But it is not actually getting recycled. It is being dumped into the ocean and it is finding its way into your dinner.


So, why do we recycle? We recycle because the plastic industry recognized they had a huge problem on their hands and they created this recycling fantasy and the reality is, other than pet and polyethylene, it serves no purpose except makes their business model sustainable and makes you feel better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top