Tony Bose Tribal Spear~New from Case!

STeven, i appologize and "exacting" is a more appropriate description of your expectations. I felt a little upset that your need for a centered blade might discourage those with only a little experience in Traditional folders.
Definitely the Tribal Spear is intended to be a user, your faithful companion, "main man", not a knife to stash away and just look at from time to time. A knife with off center blade will work just as well as a centered one, so for me it is not a reason to reject the knife.
But, each of us is 'bugged' by different things and that is fine. Basically if a person is bothered by an off center blade to the degree that he no long likes the knife, then for sure it should be returned, because ya gotta really like your knives as this is what imparts the enjoyment.
If i return mine (after i get it of course), it would be for reasons that impair function.
roland
 
Stu, "Speaking only for myself Roland, if you don't find this knife to be flawed:"
I see it as not perfect, rather than "flawed". to me "flawed" implies it has an impairment in function.
You can find an imperfection on pretty well any knife, so i see it as, pick which imperfection you can live with without distress.
Blade play, poor snap, etc. are things that distress me, but i can live with an uncentered blade as long as it does not rub against the liners.
I believe this is a reasonable approach for being happy in the real world.
roland
 
I'm posting pictures of my Tribal Spear so that people who are considering one may see what I received and similarly, what they may expect to receive if they decide to buy one. If anyone has comments I would encourage further discussion or you can email me directly.

DSC_0108.jpg


DSC_0097.jpg


TribalSpearblade.jpg
 
rprocter said:
STeven, i appologize and "exacting" is a more appropriate description of your expectations. I felt a little upset that your need for a centered blade might discourage those with only a little experience in Traditional folders.
Definitely the Tribal Spear is intended to be a user, your faithful companion, "main man", not a knife to stash away and just look at from time to time. A knife with off center blade will work just as well as a centered one, so for me it is not a reason to reject the knife.
Click to expand...

Gracious apology accepted, gracias.:)

I feel that it is important(as you know from Customs) to offer up both sides of the picture in a discussion....sometimes I am the ONLY negative or critical voice....that's ok.

As Charlie so kindly stated before, we(those that have exacting standards) are pushing them(other collectors, manufacturers, makers) to embrace a more discriminating eye and hopefully better work output is the result for us all.

I have nothing but admiration for Tony Bose, and the work produced by the collaborations has hopefully helped Case maintain a well-regarded position in the market, but I don't care if The Almighty himself came down and made the knife, if it doesn't look right.....I'm not genuflecting.:cool:

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I have one of these knives on order (Ebony) and this thread is stressing me out. I hope that the recent examples posted are exceptions. I expect much better quality than what is being shown...
 
I placed this order 6-8 weeks ago, and the (un-named per BF rules) online dealer finally came through just four days after notifying me the knives were in, and collecting my plastic money!
Today is the fourth day, and Pammy the Postie popped them in my P.O.Box!
I feel lucky that these knives seem to be more than acceptable!
Well centered and sharp blades, attested to by the bald spot on my arm. Snaps are good both ways, a little stiffer to close than open on the bone knife, dead even on the Ebony. I like them easy to open, but harder to close for the obvious safety margin.
When the knives are closed, I can barely detect proud springs. :eek: I can't feel them with my thumbprint, but I sometimes can just feel it with my nail - can't be more than a thousandth of an inch; probably much less! I don't think better is consistently possible. I dare say STeven, you would find them acceptable! I'm being real picky here.
There are some very minor grain flaws in the Ebony, fairly typical. I actually prefer them because then the handles don't look like plastic!
So, one is going into my pocket, the other gets to be a safe Queen.
Toughest decision I've faced in a long time!!:rolleyes:
Which one would you pocket??
Tribals1.jpg

The knives are leaning a bit causing them to look tight to one side, but the blades are indeed centered! You can tell by the points. Sorry for the flawed picture.
Tribals2.jpg

Tribals3.jpg
 
The bone handles seems to be a bit more rounded than the ebony, making for a superior using knife IMO. Use the bone and stick the ebony in the safe.

- Christian
 
A little update:

Case repair dept emailed me back and said that they agree that the knife could use some attention. I'll be sending it in for "adjustment" on Monday.

Also, I just received an ebony model to see which I liked better and would keep. The ebony model came perfectly centered and razor sharp!

- Justin
 
sleevefullofaces said:
A little update:

Case repair dept emailed me back and said that they agree that the knife could use some attention. I'll be sending it in for "adjustment" on Monday.

Also, I just received an ebony model to see which I liked better and would keep. The ebony model came perfectly centered and razor sharp!

- Justin
Click to expand...

Great. Group hug...! :D
 
waynorth said:
I
When the knives are closed, I can barely detect proud springs. :eek: I can't feel them with my thumbprint, but I sometimes can just feel it with my nail - can't be more than a thousandth of an inch; probably much less! I don't think better is consistently possible. I dare say STeven, you would find them acceptable! I'm being real picky here.
There are some very minor grain flaws in the Ebony, fairly typical. I actually prefer them because then the handles don't look like plastic!
So, one is going into my pocket, the other gets to be a safe Queen.
Toughest decision I've faced in a long time!!:rolleyes:
Which one would you pocket??
Click to expand...

Thanks for the writeup and the great pics, Charlie....those are indeed stunning examples of attention-to-detail wrt cutlery craft.

I echo the thoughts of the bone being more edc friendly.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I'm not going to go on a long rant, but for once in my life I agree with S"T"even (just kidding...I've agreed with him before on a limited basis) ;)

Some of us have exacting standards...it's the way we are made. We have knives we use, and we have knives we don't. If I want to blame someone for the uncomfortable feeling I get every time I see a knife with an off-center blade, then I'll blame the Almighty. It's the way I am. Doesn't matter if the knife is a user or a safe queen. I'm exacting, slightly OCD, and no matter how hard I try not to pay attention to imperfections, I end up paying attention to imperfections.

With respect to the Zulu being a user knife....that depends on the knife user. For some, it may be the most expensive knife they ever own and they are justified in wanting it to be of the best quality of any knife that they own. I own certain knives and the extent of their use is me looking at them for hours while laying on my couch. I also own certain knives that I'll throw (or stick) in a tree with little regard for what happens next. My tree-thrower might be another's treasure, and my couch-googler might be another man's stump cutter.

Here is the BOTTOM LINE...and it's been discussed at length both in this forum and in others. If it bothers you, do something about it. If it doesn't bother you, don't do anything about it and enjoy it. It can't get any simpler than that. For me personally, I'm not going to send back a $15 knife it it's off-center. But I'm going to send back a $300 knife if it's off center and I'm certainly going to send back a $3000 knife if it's off center. Others might have different standards, but those are mine and nothing anyone says is going to change the way my brain works.
 
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Campbell, c'mon!! Tell us how you REALLY feel!!:p

:D:D

Actually, I agree with you completely. If I don't love a knife, it goes back!
 
BTW, thanks for the opinions guys! I'm gonna walk around with each one for a while, and see which truly belongs in the pocket!
The semi-sunk joint is a real plus, and they are generally snag free.
The Ebony is thinner. The Bone is achingly beautiful to look at. Both will get nice "pocket character" after a while. Jeez!
 
Charlie,
I would hate to have to make that choice since you can't change your mind later if you really want to keep one a safe queen. They both look great, but I would have to carry the bone, that's the one I am looking at for myself.

And Campbell,
You nailed it!
 
cnas122 said:
I'm not going to go on a long rant, but for once in my life I agree with S"T"even (just kidding...I've agreed with him before on a limited basis) ;)

Some of us have exacting standards...it's the way we are made. We have knives we use, and we have knives we don't. If I want to blame someone for the uncomfortable feeling I get every time I see a knife with an off-center blade, then I'll blame the Almighty. It's the way I am. Doesn't matter if the knife is a user or a safe queen. I'm exacting, slightly OCD, and no matter how hard I try not to pay attention to imperfections, I end up paying attention to imperfections.

With respect to the Zulu being a user knife....that depends on the knife user. For some, it may be the most expensive knife they ever own and they are justified in wanting it to be of the best quality of any knife that they own. I own certain knives and the extent of their use is me looking at them for hours while laying on my couch. I also own certain knives that I'll throw (or stick) in a tree with little regard for what happens next. My tree-thrower might be another's treasure, and my couch-googler might be another man's stump cutter.

Here is the BOTTOM LINE...and it's been discussed at length both in this forum and in others. If it bothers you, do something about it. If it doesn't bother you, don't do anything about it and enjoy it. It can't get any simpler than that. For me personally, I'm not going to send back a $15 knife it it's off-center. But I'm going to send back a $300 knife if it's off center and I'm certainly going to send back a $3000 knife if it's off center. Others might have different standards, but those are mine and nothing anyone says is going to change the way my brain works.
Click to expand...

I agree with you completely Campbell.

Though I can't help but wonder what one of your "long rants" would look like. ;)
 
Hi Charlie, my name is Jeremy and I oil my joints :D

I vote for the bone... It's got some color going on :thumbup:
 
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