What I would like to see.....

R.A.T. said:
Expatriate, a regular contributor here, has made the HEST his go-to blade for just about everything he does now - replacing the RC-3 he had. And he travels the world doing stuff you only see in fiction movies. Another world traveler, bearthedog, also uses the HEST a lot. Not trying to sell you on the HEST but just saying we have some pretty hard-core guys using this blade now as a primary tool.

Hang tight, in the future their may just be some HEST variations in the making ;)
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That's not hard to understand. (I'm also one of those that find the handle on the 3 just a bit short.) The H.E.S.T.'s ergos are very good. There is a definite need for a thicker (than usual), short bladed knife with a full size handle. This fills the bill! But please, PLEASE, one without the ridiculous bottle opener. (Yes, I know, I'm fixated :o )

Doc

ETA. I guess I should clarify my position. The H.E.S.T. is an excellent little knife with some extra features that some people value, and yes, I have one that I'm not planning on getting rid of. Personally, though, I will not use the hollow handle feature, the bottle opener, and probably not the wire breaker or the pry bar. Doesn't mean they're not excellent features for those that will. I think that not producing the H.E.S.T. without those extra features would be a crying shame, as it represents the perfect EDC blade. Now I'll quit harping on it..............maybe.......... :confused:
 
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The Hest in my Urban Survival tool. Gotta open my beer. But I also like the rendered pic of the Hest. A nice simple small EDC knife that is thick. My most favorite part of the Hest is the thickens.
I like the concept of the pry but that gets in the way sometimes. You could make it like the Op pic and just put a chisel end on the handle end. Not sharp. But Ironworkers always take there Cresent wrenches and grind a flat end. We use that as a quick pry tool.
 
R.A.T. said:
never stop harping...the sqeaky wheel usually gets the grease!
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SQUEAKSQUEAK.jpg
 
To be honest I've never even knew that was the HEST until now. I personally like the design, it seems very versatile within its purposed design...

I do not however like the mock up on it as it takes away from its intended purpose in the first place and make it an 'ordinary knife' with another hyped name..

although if there was a pen in the handle of your mock-up id be sold.. :D
 
TheLastDaze said:
To be honest I've never even knew that was the HEST until now. I personally like the design, it seems very versatile within its purposed design...

I do not however like the mock up on it as it takes away from its intended purpose in the first place and make it an 'ordinary knife' with another hyped name..

although if there was a pen in the handle of your mock-up id be sold.. :D
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Are you saying the purpose of the knife is to open beer?

It's far from being an ordinary knife by virtue of being a thick-spined short blade, full size handle. That's a rarity as far as I can see, and to me, a much-desired design. And there was no mention of removing the storage space (although, personally I will never use it), the wire breaker remains, the prybar remains (haven't removed it from my H.E.S.T. yet and may not depending on how much it gets in my way. And it still is lashing-capable without problems.

I find it hard to imagine there would be so much opposition to remove a 'gimmick', that, theoretically, weakens the integrity of the blade and offers nothing that can't be achieved by the edge of the spine, your belt buckle, your Bic, a stick, rock.......................

Someone mentioned removing a pot from over the fire with the bottle opener. A stick with a side branch, shortened, will do exactly the same thing.

This brings up another point. If I have missed it, somebody please point it out - RYP says that the lashing points contribute to versatility in trap building. Are there any examples around? By this, I mean examples of applications that are not possible if the bottle opener is removed.

Doc
 
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I said it before and I'll say it again: I think nothing should be changed with the HEST. Heck, I shortened the pry-bar a little to something I thought more to my liking, and now I wish I didn't.

To change the design makes it something other than a HEST. It was designed with specific purposes in mind (most of which I'll probably never use), but I use the bottle opener all the time, if I'm carrying the HEST. It is its most useful feature (other than the blade, maybe), for me, and I would bet it is the most used feature for a majority of the owners, truth be know. If I'm not carrying the HEST, then I can (and often do) use the side of the spine of whatever ESEE I am wearing at the time. Yeah, it works, but the HEST works better. Which is why it is just as likely that I'll use my Vic Soldier to open a bottle than the side of an ESEE spine. Many things work, but few things work better than the bottle opener on the HEST.

The more I carry and use the HEST, the more I'm convinced it is just right like it is, and I wouldn't buy something that was different.

Heck, I'm starting to think I like the idea of a HEST folder that I've heard rumors of. But the only way I'll buy it, too, most likely, is if it has a bottle opener on the blade.
 
Doc,

I'm not saying its design is to open beer exclusively. I'm pointing out I think the knife looks great as is, I've never seen nor held one in person so I have no comment there. I will say however I own and I'm interested primarily in 4 manufacturers at the moment, and find myself leaning more toward ESEE for fixed compliments.. To each his own, I think your knife looks great but the HEST original looks better, grant it I don't care about messing with the spine myself but I think with this one it fits, be it a bottle opener, pot carrier or whatever else you can come up with it just 'fits'.. Again I've never seen one in person so my opinion is only limited to pictures..

Rob
 
I'm saying (or trying to, without belaboring the point too much, NOR sounding confrontational) that I'm betting more HEST's get used primarily as bottle openers than anything else, truth be known, and possibly exclusively as bottle openers.

I can certainly attest that in my own use, it gets used to open bottles more than it gets used to cut.
 
rockspyder said:
I'm saying (or trying to, without belaboring the point too much, NOR sounding confrontational) that I'm betting more HEST's get used primarily as bottle openers than anything else, truth be known, and possibly exclusively as bottle openers.

I can certainly attest that in my own use, it gets used to open bottles more than it gets used to cut.
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I never use the bottle opener to open bottles, I do use it for bearing down on with my thumb when I am using the pry bar. The bottle opener offers great sensitivity for control of the pry bar.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I find it hard to imagine there would be so much opposition to remove a 'gimmick', that, theoretically, weakens the integrity of the blade and offers nothing that can't be achieved by the edge of the spine, your belt buckle, your Bic, a stick, rock.......................

Doc
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I've found such reflexive opposition to changes from many fans of many companies.
I think the removal of the bottle opener would be an improvement.:thumbup:
 
stabman said:
I've found such reflexive opposition to changes from many fans of many companies.
I think the removal of the bottle opener would be an improvement.:thumbup:
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I'm sure you have. And I may be guilty of that is some cases, and perhaps even here. I'll admit that. But I do use the bottle opener more than the blade, I hate to admit. Not because I need to, but because it is darn handy. At any given time, I've probably got at least three different ways to open a bottle in addition to the HEST. But the HEST is the easiest and quickest. Unfortunately for me, because of my lifestyle (mostly office and home, not enough woods time), the HEST is a cool bottle-opener with an amazing ability to cut. Thus my unnatural attachment to the design as it stands.

Hopefully in the fall, I'll get to use the blade itself more. But for now, not so much.

And removal of the opener an improvement? Maybe as a knife. I'll actually concede that is possible. But I would certainly miss it, and wouldn't buy it. Fortunately for everyone concerned, the choice doesn't depend on my buying it. ;)

:thumbup:
 
rockspyder said:
I'm sure you have. And I may be guilty of that is some cases, and perhaps even here. I'll admit that. But I do use the bottle opener more than the blade, I hate to admit. Not because I need to, but because it is darn handy. At any given time, I've probably got at least three different ways to open a bottle in addition to the HEST. But the HEST is the easiest and quickest. Unfortunately for me, because of my lifestyle (mostly office and home, not enough woods time), the HEST is a cool bottle-opener with an amazing ability to cut. Thus my unnatural attachment to the design as it stands.

Hopefully in the fall, I'll get to use the blade itself more. But for now, not so much.

And removal of the opener an improvement? Maybe as a knife. I'll actually concede that is possible. But I would certainly miss it, and wouldn't buy it. Fortunately for everyone concerned, the choice doesn't depend on my buying it. ;)

:thumbup:
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Hey, if it works for you, awesome.:thumbup:
I don't drink alcohol, so the amount of times I've needed a bottle opener in the last five years could easily be counted on one hand with fingers left to spare.:D
 
stabman said:
Hey, if it works for you, awesome.:thumbup:
I don't drink alcohol, so the amount of times I've needed a bottle opener in the last five years could easily be counted on one hand with fingers left to spare.:D
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Ditto:thumbup:

Also, to use the HEST primarily for opening bottles seems silly, it is a VERY expensive bottle opener :D
 
eloreno said:
Ditto:thumbup:

Also, to use the HEST primarily for opening bottles seems silly, it is a VERY expensive bottle opener :D
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I'm sure its pretty kewl to break out your knife to open bottles, I'm sure anyone around would want to try it..

Heck its a marketing tool within itself !!
 
I have 4 ESEE's now, my HEST being the newest. It has jumped to the top of the pack for me now as one of my favorite knives I've ever owned. For me PERSONALY I would not change a damn thing about it. It is one of those knives that actually surprised me how much I liked it when I picked it up for the first time. If some day there are other variants, I would hope that one would always be the unchanged original.

I love the skull too. :D
 
i use the glass breaker on my rc-3 to open beers. people recoil in terror when i pull the knife, but then smile and take their opened beer.
 
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