It’s Friday Everyone, and it is time for the Weekend Open Thread. Because being a grown up sucks.
The Amazon dead-tree toy catalog arrived the other day. It just isn’t the same.
47 year old me earlier this week.
I live in my own world, but they like me here.
I won’t even share my animal crackers.
That horrifying moment when you realize it is your circus, and those are your monkeys.
Don’t choose poorly.
Just say no.
Say yes to knife shows though. Two of them.
This weekend is about the forged knife, both at the Moran event and at the ABS Piney Woods Hammer-in. Hocky will be at the Moran event, so we can expect a full report in these pages.
Next weekend there is a pair of more traditional shows…
Harkening back to some other recent themes…
Still gross.
I just got back from a High School football game. They walk among us…
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
The leaf peepers have arrived in Tennessee.
“Angel Hernandez sucks” memes are evergreen. That kid is a legend.
Too soon?
It is never too soon for a knife giveaway. Our last CRKT at the moment is the Ken Onion designed Shenanigan. Mark R. is our winner. I will reach out about mailing strategy since we have had issues in the past.
Our next batch of prize knives comes to us from Rosecraft Blades, headquartered right down the road from us in Maryville, Tennessee. I actually drew Hocky each of the past to weeks, but we know how he feels about imports from China. I respect your opinion Hocky, and definitely agree with you with regards to the ChiCom government’s malevolence in the world. However, I feel like there is room enough for everyone in the industry. I actually want to send you the Rosecraft Physicians knife, unless you _really_ don’t want me to, and I will explain why.
Andy Armstrong is a knife guy. He had spent a huge portion of his career at SMKW before partnering with some investors to found Rosecraft. They rent property in Blount County. They have employees. They have a long term goal of building a state of the art facility in Maryville. When they do they will start onshoring their modern folders. The traditional folders will be the last thing they are able to bring onshore, because the quality will go down. The Rosecraft traditionals are scary good. Almost GEC level. I would love if you could have a look at it and give us your critical opinion of the QC. Then pass it along to a fledgeling collector. It may well inspire them to continue in the hobby and grow into domestic blades in the future.
I am not trying to “convert” you. As Sun Tzu said:
I have long said that there are plenty of reasons to not carry a Chinese knife. But “they are junk” is not one of them (and in fairness this is not the charge you level at them). Personally, I am about 90/10 USA vs China in my EDC. Really, the only Chinese knives that are in my regular rotation are the Kizer Drop Bear, Vero Synapse, and WE Banter. The latter 2 I have a personal connection with the designers. All 3 are exceptional quality. But the overwhelming majority of my regular EDCs are American made. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of affording a drawer full of USA made modern folders, and fewer still have them sent to them gratis the way that I do. I would never have been able to afford an EDC collection the quality of mine had I bought each one myself.
As much respect as I have for the person who carries their grandfather’s original Buck 110, and the associated warm and fuzzy feelings for that situation, it is having zero effect on the industry today – that knife was bought years ago.
It sucks that there is not more onshore production. But it is growing. Take the example of Ben Petersen, and his first fixed blade, the Lulu. It is the 4th knife that Ben has released under his Knafs label. The first 2 were made by WE. He open-sourced the CAD for the scales on his third knife, the Lander, and it has allowed others to make them aftermarket, and grow their own businesses.,
The Lulu is made Michigan’s White River Knives. Ben would not have reached this point if he had tried to go USA exclusive from the beginning. His debut knife would not have been such a widespread success were it 50%+ more expensive, it would have taken immensely longer to get his small initial run into USA OEM folder producers (which are scarcer than domestic fixed blade OEMs), and his company would not have grown beyond he and his wife in their Utah garage. If it took his working with Joe Cheung and WE Knives to make this happen, I have a hard time seeing this as a net negative for the industry which is the whole purpose of our existence as a publication.
OK, as so often is the case when I sit down to write the WOT, I go where my muse takes me. And that was a tangent tonight. Bringing things back around to our contest, next week’s winner gets their pick of the Rosecrafts. I will go into greater detail about the knives themselves next week. Usual rules apply, Up to 5 comments or replies are your entries, new commenters get double-credit, and their comments get held in moderation the first time out until I can approve them.
Good luck everyone.
Before I get to the rest of the memes, I shared Matisyahu’s One Day last week as our musical selection. I said I would bring him back again for King Without a Crown this week, and thus I give you one of my all time favorites…
The whole Live at Stubbs album is phenomenal. It is early Matis, when he still dressed traditionally, as opposed to the flip flops in the video I will close with at the end of this week’s WOT.
Ouch. On multiple levels.
I can’t unsee/unhear it.
Introverts of the world spend time alone!
Speaking of people…
True for about 90% of the population.
It is time for a revival.
Speaking of Ben Petersen…
Space Kitty vs German Shepherd?
I guess that it is time for dog memes again…
Dog fighting is not cool. Unless they are wielding swords and axes.
Still a good boi.
My dogs are actually going bonkers tonight because the neighborhood coyotes are out howling in force. Closer than usual.
We don’t deserve dogs.
Is that one good boi or three? Three times the cuteness regardless.
Speaking of cuteness…
Into the home stretch…
Bears, dogs, whatever.
Does your bike have Road Hazard Protection?
Ducking Autocorrect…
Related…
I want to go to church here…
Confused Chicken > Flying Spaghetti Monster.
I fear for the future.
Finally, it feels like things have been both racing out of control, and yet strangely static, as the IDF has not moved into Gaza at the time of this writing. For all I know it has started now, as it is Saturday morning in Israel, two weeks after “Never Again”, became “Happening Now”. I continue to pray for Israel.
As you can see, Matis’s spiritual journey has seen him evolve somewhat, though I cannot claim to follow the Judaic philosophy underpinning his personal growth. But this serendipitous video captures him just going out for coffee and the busker had no idea that it was him who joined in. Watch his reaction. There is no way that is faked. There is actually a later video of him being brought on stage at an LA concert. But that is a video for another time.
Have a good one everybody.