- Joined
- Feb 2, 2005
- Messages
- 4,271
Knives! My wife and I are just ending a 3-week drive around the northern and western border states of the US. We left Atlanta, went through Indianapolis, Chicago, Eau Claire, Bismark, Billings, Seattle, Portland, Crescent City, San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Santa Rosa, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, Birmingham, and back to Atlanta. We were planning to come back along the gulf coast, but Harvey and Irma nixed those plans for us. Went the whole way with a digi-cam Para 2 and a Bradford G3.
Along the way, I had a chance to stop in at Benchmade in Oregon City. Got to meet a couple of knowledgeable and very pleasant people in the store and then went upstairs to overlook the factory floor. There's a viewing area where you can watch whatever the factory's working on that day. I couldn't tell what every station was doing, but I recognized a few things, and it was fun to watch for a while. Came away with one of the BM / Worksharp field sharpeners which I've already used. It seems to work pretty well if you're sharpening or setting a 20 deg edge. It has 2 diamond plates, a ceramic rod, and a strop. The diamond pates are set with 20 deg angle guides on each side.
When we got to LA we spent the night in Inglewood and then drove down to Costa Mesa to visit Plaza Cutlery. I found a digi-cam & DLC Military there to go with my digi & DLC Para 2. I also came away with a BM 525S. Now I need to find a PE 525. BM always seems to DC my favorite models. I had a peasant conversation with Russ at Plaza Cutlery talking about the California knife show that Plaza sponsors.
When we got into AR, the first stop was in Rogers at A. G. Russell's store. Even got to meet the legend himself and talk knives for a while. He is indeed a great gentleman that'll talk knives to anyone as equal-to-equal. He told me the stories of some of his designs, talked about when he first started working with Randall's shop in Orlando, FL, and showed me his newest designs, the Power Ball folders. I bought one of the small ones and asked him to sign the box, which he did.
We're in Memphis tonight, on the way back to ATL. After one more night on the road in Birmingham, we should get home on Tuesday. It was a great trip and a joy to see the places and meet the people that I've dealt with on BF.
Along the way, I had a chance to stop in at Benchmade in Oregon City. Got to meet a couple of knowledgeable and very pleasant people in the store and then went upstairs to overlook the factory floor. There's a viewing area where you can watch whatever the factory's working on that day. I couldn't tell what every station was doing, but I recognized a few things, and it was fun to watch for a while. Came away with one of the BM / Worksharp field sharpeners which I've already used. It seems to work pretty well if you're sharpening or setting a 20 deg edge. It has 2 diamond plates, a ceramic rod, and a strop. The diamond pates are set with 20 deg angle guides on each side.
When we got to LA we spent the night in Inglewood and then drove down to Costa Mesa to visit Plaza Cutlery. I found a digi-cam & DLC Military there to go with my digi & DLC Para 2. I also came away with a BM 525S. Now I need to find a PE 525. BM always seems to DC my favorite models. I had a peasant conversation with Russ at Plaza Cutlery talking about the California knife show that Plaza sponsors.
When we got into AR, the first stop was in Rogers at A. G. Russell's store. Even got to meet the legend himself and talk knives for a while. He is indeed a great gentleman that'll talk knives to anyone as equal-to-equal. He told me the stories of some of his designs, talked about when he first started working with Randall's shop in Orlando, FL, and showed me his newest designs, the Power Ball folders. I bought one of the small ones and asked him to sign the box, which he did.
We're in Memphis tonight, on the way back to ATL. After one more night on the road in Birmingham, we should get home on Tuesday. It was a great trip and a joy to see the places and meet the people that I've dealt with on BF.
