Went to a bonfire last night.

B

bladeboss

Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
3,530
Figured you guys might want a laugh. :D

I went to a bonfire last night.
Just as I got there, the hosts were still struggling to get the fire started. (They're probably 18-19 years old).
There was a bunch of cardboard, so I got out my Sebenza and got to work.
One of the other guys whipped out his knife and also started to cut it up.
It was a plastic handled no-name with partial serrations.
It was wicked dull, so he was sawing with the serrations.
Long story short, we both cut off some pieces and got the fire started.
We sit in our chairs, and the other guy with the knife sat on a truck tailgate with a girl.
She says:
"Lemme check out that knife."
"Sure, but be careful. This one has serrate (yes, serrate) portions on it."
"What?"
He points to the serrations.
"These. The serrated spots. Wicked sharp. You graze that with your finger it will bite right in like nothing."
She looks it over, and says:
"It doesn't click" In reference to the nonexistent detent.
"Its not supposed to. That's so you can get it opened a little bit with your thumb, and then give it one of these...."
He says as he full-arm-flicks it open. Like harder than I usually see.
"Oh...... You don't worry about it opening?"
"Not really. It didn't do it very good before, so I loosened it."

I thought the whole bit about "not supposed to click shut" was the best.

Needless to say, he wasn't handling my Small 21. :D
I managed to keep my mouth shut and just watch in shock.
 
I have only heard of this caliber of knife ownership in hushed talks around a campfire. But, I have yet to actually See one around a fire. I thought most people like this didn't leave the house unless to head to the mailbox to get their BudK mystery box...
 
Here's how I read the story-

A young man who sees the value of carrying a knife took out that knife to perform an appropriate cutting task.

The knife is an inexpensive one, but perhaps there is good reason for that. Perhaps he can't afford an expensive knife like a sebenza. Or perhaps his inexpensive knife serves his purposes just fine. Many people are well-served by inexpensive knives.

There is no mention of the young man doing anything dangerous or irresponsible with his knife.

As far as the detent, it's not unheard of for members of this forum to want to weaken a really stiff detent to produce an easier opening.

As far as flicking his knife open really hard, I'm sure there are several members on this forum who do that.

In short, what I see in your story is a young man who values the usefulness of a knife, modified it to his liking, and one who used his knife responsibly.

No offense, but your post sounds a bit like knife-snobbery. Like because he had some no-name knife with plastic handles, instead of a sebenza like you, that he is some kind of joke that deserves to be laughed at.

So he carries a cheap knife, doesn't always pronounce knife terminology properly, prefers a knife that flicks open easy, and likes to flick his knife open hard. That description might very well describe several members of Bladeforums, in part, or in whole.

I don't see anything to laugh at. In fact, I think it's a shame when knife enthusiasts look for reasons to tear each other down. Knife enthusiasts get enough criticism and judgement from non-knife people without doing it to each other. I don't see any reason to criticize the guy, make fun of him, or laugh at him. Instead, I think the guy should be praised for carrying a knife and using it responsibly.
 
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:rolleyes:
It would have taken all the strength I had to not have said something. He probably would have thought your Sebenza was crap anyway. It doesn't have serrate portions, and it clicks.
 
killgar said:
Here's how I read the story-

A young man who sees the value of carrying a knife took out that knife to perform an appropriate cutting task.

The knife is an inexpensive one, but perhaps there is good reason for that. Perhaps he can't afford an expensive knife like a sebenza. Or perhaps his inexpensive knife serves his purposes just fine. Many people are well-served by inexpensive knives.

There is no mention of the young man doing anything dangerous or irresponsible with his knife.

As far as the detent, it's not unheard of for members of this forum to want to weaken a really stiff detent to produce an easier opening.

As far as flicking his knife open really hard, I'm sure there are several members on this forum who do that.

In short, what I see in your story is a young man who values the usefulness of a knife, modified it to his liking, and one who used his knife responsibly.

No offense, but your post sounds a bit like knife-snobbery. Like because he had some no-name knife with plastic handles, instead of a sebenza like you, that he is some kind of joke that deserves to be laughed at.

So he carries a cheap knife, doesn't always pronounce knife terminology properly, prefers a knife that flicks open easy, and likes to flick his knife open hard. That description might very well describe several members of Bladeforums, in part, or in whole.

I don't see anything to laugh at. In fact, I think it's a shame when knife enthusiasts look for reasons to tear each other down. Knife enthusiasts get enough criticism and judgement from non-knife people without doing it to each other. I don't see any reason to criticize the guy, make fun of him, or laugh at him. Instead, I think the guy should be praised for carrying a knife and using it responsibly.
Click to expand...

I agree, Sebenza owners can be snobby like that... :eek:
 
killgar said:
Here's how I read the story-

A young man who sees the value of carrying a knife took out that knife to perform an appropriate cutting task.

The knife is an inexpensive one, but perhaps there is good reason for that. Perhaps he can't afford an expensive knife like a sebenza. Or perhaps his inexpensive knife serves his purposes just fine. Many people are well-served by inexpensive knives.

There is no mention of the young man doing anything dangerous or irresponsible with his knife.

As far as the detent, it's not unheard of for members of this forum to want to weaken a really stiff detent to produce an easier opening.

As far as flicking his knife open really hard, I'm sure there are several members on this forum who do that.

In short, what I see in your story is a young man who values the usefulness of a knife, modified it to his liking, and one who used his knife responsibly.

No offense, but your post sounds a bit like knife-snobbery. Like because he had some no-name knife with plastic handles, instead of a sebenza like you, that he is some kind of joke that deserves to be laughed at.

So he carries a cheap knife, doesn't always pronounce knife terminology properly, prefers a knife that flicks open easy, and likes to flick his knife open hard. That description might very well describe several members of Bladeforums, in part, or in whole.

I don't see anything to laugh at. In fact, I think it's a shame when knife enthusiasts look for reasons to tear each other down. Knife enthusiasts get enough criticism and judgement from non-knife people without doing it to each other. I don't see any reason to criticize the guy, make fun of him, or laugh at him. Instead, I think the guy should be praised for carrying a knife and using it responsibly.
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You are correct sir, you have shamed me.:o
 
I probably would have talked with him for a while. (Not correcting him, mind you, but trying to see if he was interested in exploring further)
If he was, I would've given him a knife. I always have at least one knife on me that I could stand to give away that I could replace easily later. A humble CQC-6K probably would've knocked the guy's socks off.
I'm sure nobody is born with a Sebenza in their pocket, nor an elitist attitude toward those less knowledgeable.
I'm not saying I don't laugh at some "knife guys". I do. But, it's usually at the ones who should know better.
 
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Sounds like an embellished story if I ever heard one. Kid probably nailed the chick while knife snob went home to make up better story.
 
I think it was less criticism of the knife that it was the show off way he was hard wrist flicking etc, and talking up how great his knife is.

There is also a difference between cheap and inexpensive. This sounds like a gas station knife. Maybe a jarbenza or one of its relatives that's very much overpriced.

The uneducated masses tend to buy what looks cool but is cheap, whether its from a gas station, wally world, or the local sporting goods store. If it gets the job done, more power to them. But I find that these type of people generally use their knife until its duller than a politician, then throw it out and buy another cheapo.
 
Why does everyone assume the guy is just good hearted little Timmy from down the way that just wants to carry a useful tool to be prepared but can't afford anything better?

Sounds more like he carries it to arm-fling it out to impress chicks and flash when he's trying to be tough.

Good story OP. I would have let out a scoff at the "if they catch your finger, they'll bite right in" line.
 
I used to wrist-flick my cheapo knives before I had any good ones...

And believe it or not, I used to prefer a serrated edge before I knew how to properly sharpen a blade...

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kniferbro said:
Why does everyone assume the guy is just good hearted little Timmy from down the way that just wants to carry a useful tool to be prepared but can't afford anything better?

Sounds more like he carries it to arm-fling it out to impress chicks and flash when he's trying to be tough.
Click to expand...
I don't always assume the best of people, but I generally prefer not to assume the worst, especially when I have no cause to assume the worst. We don't know the guy, so without any evidence of wrongdoing on his part I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt. There are too many people in this world who are willing to assume the worst of someone simply because they carry a knife. I think it's unfortunate when knife enthusiasts look for any reason to assume the worst of a fellow knife owner.

Good story OP. I would have let out a scoff at the "if they catch your finger, they'll bite right in" line.
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Personally, I think it's very responsible to warn someone that a knife is sharp before handing it to them. I know that many on this forum will do the same before they hand a knife to someone. I wouldn't see that as cause for laughter. But that's me.
 
Yet another reason for people to say this forum is full of snobs, which it is. Give the guy a break, yea the arm flick thing was a little over the top, but other than that he didn't do anything inappropriate.

Who knows, maybe he likes knives but just hadn't had the chance/desire to educate himself on terminology and to pursue higher quality equipment.
 
bladeboss said:
I thought the whole bit about "not supposed to click shut" was the best.

Needless to say, he wasn't handling my Small 21. :D
I managed to keep my mouth shut and just watch in shock.
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Yeah! People who aren't into what I'm into are just stupid!
 
A
killgar said:
I don't always assume the best of people, but I generally prefer not to assume the worst, especially when I have no cause to assume the worst. We don't know the guy, so without any evidence of wrongdoing on his part I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt. There are too many people in this world who are willing to assume the worst of someone simply because they carry a knife. I think it's unfortunate when knife enthusiasts look for any reason to assume the worst of a fellow knife owner.

Personally, I think it's very responsible to warn someone that a knife is sharp before handing it to them. I know that many on this forum will do the same before they hand a knife to someone. I wouldn't see that as cause for laughter. But that's me.
Click to expand...

Why not give the OP, a member of Bladeforums (with ~3000 posts) the benefit of the doubt? The way the OP described this individual doesn't seem to me to be the little Timmy persona I brought up in my last post. I don't know where you're from, but in Texas, EVERYONE carries a knife. Having a knife in your pocket does not mean you're a knife person at all nor does it mean the blade is carried for "appropriate cutting tasks". The dude was trying to impress a chick by embellishing his Jarbenza. I will continue to laugh at that.

I have no problem warning people of something sharp. But I'm not going to tell them that the (obviously dull) serrations will "bite right in" on merit of simply being serrations. That's just plain incorrect.
 
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