The Tourist
member
One thing that has happened to me over time is that the older I get, the shorter my knives become. This was proven to me, again, early this morning.
One of my favorite knife companies is Graham Brothers. You probably know them for their flagship "Razel." I own one, and it's everything reported, and more.
And while folks in Wisconsin are limited to contact weapons and pepper spray, carrying around a knife solely for defense is simply not realistic. Clearly, a knife must be strong enough and sufficiently sharp to change the mindset of an attacker, but most knives will languish their entire lives snipping loose threads and opening UPS boxes.
To that end, I just had Josh make me a knife called a "Stubby."
If you google the knife, you'll find that the blade is one and a half inches long. That is not a misprint, it is 1.5 inches in length. In truth, it could be shorter and I still wouldn't find that objectionable.
We always opine that the first rule of gunfighting is to have a gun. I feel the same advice holds for knives. What good is a perfectly crafted knife if it sits on your dresser top or locked away in a glass case?
Another aspect of knives like this is simply "the unknown." You cannot plan an emergency. You cannot run back to the house and get your BOB and fistful of spare batteries. Chances are you are carrying your emergency supplies with you right now.
A Graham knife is tough, in fact, tougher than needed and probably fit for a soldier. I had mine made from S30V and I asked Josh to make sure the heat-treat run went to Paul Bos (as does most of their work.)
With this particular 1.5 inch knife I can easily field dress game, cut or pry anything I can imagine, depend on edge retention, fend off an attacker and still carry the knife in just about any jacket or pants pocket.
Another nice thing about Graham craftsmanship--I don't have to get out the waterstones and check their edges. They are sharp out of the box.
If you look through the knives I use the most frequently you'll find Emersons and Grahams. Just like most implements, you reach a certain age and utility seems to be more important than showing off.
My guess is that this summer you'll find me opening boxes, doing chores and slicing into a good steak with a knife less than half the size of yours.
One of my favorite knife companies is Graham Brothers. You probably know them for their flagship "Razel." I own one, and it's everything reported, and more.
And while folks in Wisconsin are limited to contact weapons and pepper spray, carrying around a knife solely for defense is simply not realistic. Clearly, a knife must be strong enough and sufficiently sharp to change the mindset of an attacker, but most knives will languish their entire lives snipping loose threads and opening UPS boxes.
To that end, I just had Josh make me a knife called a "Stubby."
If you google the knife, you'll find that the blade is one and a half inches long. That is not a misprint, it is 1.5 inches in length. In truth, it could be shorter and I still wouldn't find that objectionable.
We always opine that the first rule of gunfighting is to have a gun. I feel the same advice holds for knives. What good is a perfectly crafted knife if it sits on your dresser top or locked away in a glass case?
Another aspect of knives like this is simply "the unknown." You cannot plan an emergency. You cannot run back to the house and get your BOB and fistful of spare batteries. Chances are you are carrying your emergency supplies with you right now.
A Graham knife is tough, in fact, tougher than needed and probably fit for a soldier. I had mine made from S30V and I asked Josh to make sure the heat-treat run went to Paul Bos (as does most of their work.)
With this particular 1.5 inch knife I can easily field dress game, cut or pry anything I can imagine, depend on edge retention, fend off an attacker and still carry the knife in just about any jacket or pants pocket.
Another nice thing about Graham craftsmanship--I don't have to get out the waterstones and check their edges. They are sharp out of the box.
If you look through the knives I use the most frequently you'll find Emersons and Grahams. Just like most implements, you reach a certain age and utility seems to be more important than showing off.
My guess is that this summer you'll find me opening boxes, doing chores and slicing into a good steak with a knife less than half the size of yours.
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