When did "tactical" become a selling point?

Who cares? If I like the way a knife looks, the materials that goes into it and the cutting capability of it, I'll buy it. Even if it is named 'Tactical knife of tactical tacticians'. Worrying about a name is silly. I won't base my knife making decision on whether or not some "mall ninja" who I never met nor will I ever meet thinks it is cool. I buy what makes me happy, plain and simple and damn what everyone else thinks :)
 
The word tactical has become passe, time to move on to 'tech'.
I think alot of the static about tactical comes from it being used by manufacturers
to guide the uninitiated thereby the word has become something akin to accursed
for ppl more knowledgeable on knives.
 
This has been a fun read. There are knives that work, and knives that don't. Knives that are obviously "purpose driven" and knives that look like they have a purpose until you pick them up and discover that they might make a nice paperweight. Maybe.

Mall ninja and marketing hype aside, what other name would you give a knife that is designed for use and made to be used?
 
RJ Martin said:
Mall ninja and marketing hype aside, what other name would you give a knife that is designed for use and made to be used?
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Knives used to be named for their intended use. There were stockmans, electricians, bird, marlinspike, etc. knives. Now everything is tactical and tactical has ceased to mean anything. Put the marketing guys back to work. Camp, urban, street, office, warehouse, mall etc. :confused: How much do the marketing guys get paid to keep pumping out the tactical label for everything?
 
Tech?
Tech as in High Tech was in before Tactical...

How about "Butch"?
:D
 
Tech is the word [or at least a start]. You can call a knife tech to connote knives set apart from mundane aspects ie kitchen, chef, gas station cheapies, etc. and are at least minimally well constructed, purpose-oriented [or even multi-purpose] and are clearly defined as to what materials/processes are used. Tech.
 
Even if a word has no meaning but when used, is generally understood by the majority of people for whom that word has relevance then why the issue?
 
Zero_Time said:
You're wrong there. My older brother was hungry once, and wanted some beef jerky. He must have been 9 or so. He pulled a can we had in our house of these things called "Beggin' Strips" that said they were beef jerky but with a picture of a dog on them. He told me to try some, and I said no way, I don't think that's for us. He took a bite. The look on the face was priceless. He spat it out. Dog beef jerky. So, I've seen dog bacon as well, and I'm going to hazard that its the same with dog bacon.

Zero
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Beggin Strips aren't that bad. Pupperoni is much better though. Don't ask.
 
"Tactical Assault Camera" :D

Tactical-Camera-Assault-Long-Range-Stock.jpg
 
singularity35 said:
So what would you call an SMF? Just an SMF?

Or a big, badass knife for doing stuff?
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HUK Heavy Use Knife
HUF Hard Use Folder
HRF High Reliability Folder
VRF Very Reliable Folder

I don't know. I'm not a marketing geek. If the marketing guy came in my office and said tactical though, I'd send him home for few days without pay to think about it some more.
 
singularity35 said:
So what would you call an SMF? Just an SMF?

Or a big, badass knife for doing stuff?
Click to expand...
SMF is not a duty or a class of knife, it is a specific model. You can bust sod, filet fish, pare fruits & vegetables, etc. You can do these with knives of a specific model/name, but the design or use also have a name. "Tacticals" do not have a pattern or particular use defined. That was kind of my point, nearly every knife is designed and made to be used, so that is not the criteria for naming one tactical.
 
hardheart said:
SMF is not a duty or a class of knife, it is a specific model. You can bust sod, filet fish, pare fruits & vegetables, etc. You can do these with knives of a specific model/name, but the design or use also have a name. "Tacticals" do not have a pattern or particular use defined. That was kind of my point, nearly every knife is designed and made to be used, so that is not the criteria for naming one tactical.
Click to expand...

Understood, but my point also is that at this point in time, with no clear definition, the majority do understand the term to mean something in terms of knife characteristics(or think they do) and whether cooked up by marketing geeks, for the moment it works.

Maybe is we come up with a standard of characteristics for this genre, then it will be time to make up a new moniker. Also, as often happens, popular labels come about as accidents or strokes of fortune.

So we will just have to wait and see what the future brings. Maybe LT can outdo himself.
 
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