late to the blade convention
Howdy all,
Ok, so i've arrived at the knife convention late. Hope everybody hasn't gone home yet.
To prep for the party, I've spent the night reading multiple threads on THR (including this one of course; twice), several on BladeForums, and a bunch of knife maker web sites.
OK, first a list of what knives i have now, then a couple of hypotheses & questions about what i'm going to add to the tool kit next.
EDC now (at least when backpacking, but always nearby):
* SAK (2). One mine, the other was my dad's. Don't know the specific models, but neither have scissors, both have standard blades, a couple of screwdrives, can opener, bottle opener. Mine's got a cork screw & tooth pick, and a little 1.5" diameter lanyard of nylon twine; it hangs on the outside of my pack so I don't have to dig for it. More important to me than, um, my childhood photo albums.
*
SogTool: blades, quality drivers, leather punch, file, wire-nose pliers. What you want when your pack rips, or the frame breaks, or the snowshoes fail, or the crampons get bent up. My only gripe: I've never quite used it enough to be able to open it with speed. I always have to rediscover the secret to getting it open, because "open" always requires that the pliers come out first. (Good thing it's not a fighting knife; I'd have died years ago.
*
Puma Hunter's Pal (circa 1969). A bit scraped up, sheath somewhat the worse for wear, but still sharp as a razor. Great kitchen knife for small stuff, or when you just need a short fixed blade. Was AMAZED tonight when checking what they sell for now. (Street is at least $100 less than MSRP.) Glad to still have it.
EDC next: as above, but add at least one of the following, again at least on pack trips:
1)
Spyderco Endura
2)
Spyderco ParaMilitary
If anyone would care to write a bit about the differences between the Endura & the PM, I'd enjoy reading it, especially if the later is really worth $100 more than the former.
3) One of these
new SOG knives . Wow, check those out. <emoticon = hungry guy in a donut shop>
At the moment, I'm partial to the
Trident, but there are several others there that are pretty rad, too. I just found them tonight, so haven't decided on the most useful one for my purposes (which, in turn, are now under reconsideration).
{Added via edit later} This just in: the
SOG Seal Pup. Wow. Very interesting.
I thought (or fantasized
) briefly about a
Ka-Bar Next Generation, but for now, it seems not the right knife for me. Too large. I'm more interested in survival/utility knives than "fighting knives" at the moment - got no skill and too little time to devote to learning fighting skills - but I'm open to reasons that the NG could be useful anyway.
Same goes for the
Gerber Trident. Pretty awesome tool, but I'm having trouble justifying it for the same reason: looks like a fight knife. But what a wickedly beautiful knife.
Information, ideas & suggestions welcome.
NemA~
