I've always considered my traditional Norwegian fixed blade knives to be all
the sharp steel I would ever need. My parents gave me my first one when I was
5 (4" laminated steel, what in Norway constitutes the ultimate boyscout's
knife), which I still got somewhere (al right, so it's only 20 years ago ).
Of the 5 or 6 knives I've used and abused (in the sense that they took
somewhat early retirements, not in any other sense of the word) I've still
got two left:
The first is a Brusletto which my father bought from
the Brusletto factory outlet, and definitely my working knife. It has seen
all the parts of Norway I have, and gutted its fair share of the population
of North Sea cod and inland trout.
The second was a present for my Confirmation and made by my father's uncle.
This is the knife I choose when I want to "dress up" a bit. When I visited
a couple of years ago, my knifemaking relative (then about 85) was rather
cross with me for not using it for all the dirty work. My explaining
that it was because of how good it looks really didn't impress him.
Now, I must admit a couple of other blades somehow slipped into
my possession around 1990, namely a SOG Pentagon and a Sogwinder. I guess
I thought they were respectively cool and handy, and "Hey, everybody needs
one good doubledged blade and one small onehanded opening folder."
I've even gone so far as to buy the occasional Blade Magazine, mostly because
they are stacked next to the gun literature. But after this Christmas, I'm
afraid things might have changed ...
After I bought myself a Leatherman WAVE for Christmas, I decided to check the
net for any info on whether I had chosen the right multitool. You know, the
standard procedure of buying first and researching afterwards, a result
of having way to much consumer information at your fingertips. And then
I happened upon www.bladeforums.com!
Now I find myself with a black coated BM AFCK (ATS-34) and a Spyderco
Civilian (metal handle), thinking such thoughts as "Well, a black tactical
folder is _just_ what I need" and "Well, the design is perhaps unnecessarily
aggressive, and the effectiveness of a hawkbill blade somewhat controversial,
but it looks kinda cool and who knows when I will find one in Oslo again."
People, this is all your fault, now at least have the decency to tell me what
to get next!
On my "I have fondled them and they look interesting"-list are:
CS Vaquero Grande
CS Gunsite Voyager
BM CQC7
Gerber Applegate (incl. Covert)
Spyderco Military
In case any of you should be curious on the knife situation in Norway,
I can inform you that it _is_ illegal to carry knives unless you have a
proper reason to do so. Basically it means that your knife can be confiscated
when out on the town at night. In Oslo and the larger towns (not really any
other cities in Norway) the law is naturally far more strictly enforced than
in the rural areas, where nothing but the most nasty looking blades would
raise eyebrows. Traditional Norwegian knives seems to be better tolerated
than Yankee cutlery in the form of large bowies and black mean-looking
folders. Balisongs and automatics are forbidden.
There aren't too many decent knifeshops in Norway (apart from the basic stuff
found in hunting and sports stores), but in Oslo there are two
which stand out from the crowd: "Top Secret" and "Pentagon" (silly names).
They are basically shops of the "army surplus" kind, but they carry quite a
lot of Cold Steel, SOG, Gerber, Spyderco, Al Mar and other brands. It is also
the only places you might find a Benchmade or two (or anyone who has heard
of the brand). Stuff I _really_ want, such as a Camillus CUDA, an EDI Genesis
or a [swallow] Sebenza is totally out of the question. Besides, they would be
rather expensive. I paid $240 (1800 NOK) for the Civilian and about the same
for the AFCK. For reference, a can of Coke is about $2. I guess I could
order over the net, but then there is the matter of customs and toll ...
Well, anyway, there went my bladeforums.com cherry! Sorry of it was a bit long
for a first post. This is truly a great forum with some exceptionally
knowing and generous individuals. I hope to be doing more then lurking
here as I gain anything worthwhile to say on the subject.
Please excuse any misspellings as English is not my mother tongue. (Even better, please
excuse that I first posted this to the review
section. I screwed up.)
Yours,
AB
Norway
[This message has been edited by AB (edited 14 January 1999).]
[This message has been edited by AB (edited 14 January 1999).]
the sharp steel I would ever need. My parents gave me my first one when I was
5 (4" laminated steel, what in Norway constitutes the ultimate boyscout's
knife), which I still got somewhere (al right, so it's only 20 years ago ).
Of the 5 or 6 knives I've used and abused (in the sense that they took
somewhat early retirements, not in any other sense of the word) I've still
got two left:
The first is a Brusletto which my father bought from
the Brusletto factory outlet, and definitely my working knife. It has seen
all the parts of Norway I have, and gutted its fair share of the population
of North Sea cod and inland trout.
The second was a present for my Confirmation and made by my father's uncle.
This is the knife I choose when I want to "dress up" a bit. When I visited
a couple of years ago, my knifemaking relative (then about 85) was rather
cross with me for not using it for all the dirty work. My explaining
that it was because of how good it looks really didn't impress him.
Now, I must admit a couple of other blades somehow slipped into
my possession around 1990, namely a SOG Pentagon and a Sogwinder. I guess
I thought they were respectively cool and handy, and "Hey, everybody needs
one good doubledged blade and one small onehanded opening folder."
I've even gone so far as to buy the occasional Blade Magazine, mostly because
they are stacked next to the gun literature. But after this Christmas, I'm
afraid things might have changed ...
After I bought myself a Leatherman WAVE for Christmas, I decided to check the
net for any info on whether I had chosen the right multitool. You know, the
standard procedure of buying first and researching afterwards, a result
of having way to much consumer information at your fingertips. And then
I happened upon www.bladeforums.com!
Now I find myself with a black coated BM AFCK (ATS-34) and a Spyderco
Civilian (metal handle), thinking such thoughts as "Well, a black tactical
folder is _just_ what I need" and "Well, the design is perhaps unnecessarily
aggressive, and the effectiveness of a hawkbill blade somewhat controversial,
but it looks kinda cool and who knows when I will find one in Oslo again."
People, this is all your fault, now at least have the decency to tell me what
to get next!
On my "I have fondled them and they look interesting"-list are:
CS Vaquero Grande
CS Gunsite Voyager
BM CQC7
Gerber Applegate (incl. Covert)
Spyderco Military
In case any of you should be curious on the knife situation in Norway,
I can inform you that it _is_ illegal to carry knives unless you have a
proper reason to do so. Basically it means that your knife can be confiscated
when out on the town at night. In Oslo and the larger towns (not really any
other cities in Norway) the law is naturally far more strictly enforced than
in the rural areas, where nothing but the most nasty looking blades would
raise eyebrows. Traditional Norwegian knives seems to be better tolerated
than Yankee cutlery in the form of large bowies and black mean-looking
folders. Balisongs and automatics are forbidden.
There aren't too many decent knifeshops in Norway (apart from the basic stuff
found in hunting and sports stores), but in Oslo there are two
which stand out from the crowd: "Top Secret" and "Pentagon" (silly names).
They are basically shops of the "army surplus" kind, but they carry quite a
lot of Cold Steel, SOG, Gerber, Spyderco, Al Mar and other brands. It is also
the only places you might find a Benchmade or two (or anyone who has heard
of the brand). Stuff I _really_ want, such as a Camillus CUDA, an EDI Genesis
or a [swallow] Sebenza is totally out of the question. Besides, they would be
rather expensive. I paid $240 (1800 NOK) for the Civilian and about the same
for the AFCK. For reference, a can of Coke is about $2. I guess I could
order over the net, but then there is the matter of customs and toll ...
Well, anyway, there went my bladeforums.com cherry! Sorry of it was a bit long
for a first post. This is truly a great forum with some exceptionally
knowing and generous individuals. I hope to be doing more then lurking
here as I gain anything worthwhile to say on the subject.
Please excuse any misspellings as English is not my mother tongue. (Even better, please
excuse that I first posted this to the review
section. I screwed up.)
Yours,
AB
Norway
[This message has been edited by AB (edited 14 January 1999).]
[This message has been edited by AB (edited 14 January 1999).]
