New proposed knife ban

Oldgrowth,

I agree with you about the desirability of a REALLY sharp knife.

As Simplicity has said, no stainless steel can be found that will take and hold an edge like carbon steel.

By far the sharpest knife in my collection was custom made by Patrick J. Tomes. He uses 52100 steel which holds an awesome edge. After skinning and butchering a deer I can still shave with it!!! 52100 has some stain resistant qualities but is not stainless. Tomes custom knives are very expensive, but he has begun a production series which are less money.

I suggest you contact him through, www.tomesknives.com
He is a really nice guy and I'll bet will help you in your quest for a really sharp knife.

Capt Dan
 
Dave,

I have two of Marble's knives. One is an old knife (heirloom), probably from the 1920s, and the other is recent. Both are the same blade design, but now with different handles. They can be sharpened to a significant edge, however the older knife is a bit brittle. It has a nick in the blade from going through a deer pelvis

For a sheath knife, I think highly of these....

http://www.marblesoutdoors.com/cutlery/ideal.html

Steve
 
All you guys have given me some good links to some good looking knives. I have been reading about the different kinds of blade steel and it can get confusing. Sometimes I question if a $200 knife is better than a $70 knife when they are both made out of the same steel, but then I guess it could be like a C-Dory and a Bayliner. They are both made out of fiberglass but there is no question about which is a better boat.

_______
Dave dlt.gif
 
I wrote to our Oregon Senator Ron Wyden about the proposed knife ban.
Heres what he wrote back. Maybe there is still some hope that the government can do the right thing.

Dear Dr. Martin:

Thank you for writing me about a proposed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rule change related to certain knives. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you may know, the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958 has limited the sale and distribution of knives with spring-assisted mechanisms across state borders since 1958. In June 2009, CBP announced its intention to reinterpret the federal rules governing enforcement of this law. Specifically, the CBP proposal would extend the law’s prohibitions on importation to include any knife that can be opened using one hand or has spring assistance -- including many utilitarian knives that are now traded legally.

I share your concerns about this proposal and the potential impacts it will have on law-abiding Oregonians and Oregon’s knife industry. I also believe that Washington should take the time to fully hear and properly address public concerns before moving forward with these types of changes. Because of this, I sent a letter to CBP urging an extension of the public comment period. When I did not receive a response from CBP, I chose to cosponsor an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill to rewrite the Switchblade Act and exclude these knives from the definition of a switchblade. You may be pleased to know that the Senate adopted this amendment without objection. Please also know that I will continue to support efforts to protect knife owning Oregonians and our state’s knife industry.

Again, thank you for keeping me apprised of your views. If I can be of any further assistance to you on this or other issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,


Ron Wyden
United States Senator

Eric
 
Here's a dramatic recent video supporting the availability of a good knife in an emergency.

The right people, good people, in the right place at the right time. Seconds count!

Rescue video
 
HELM: Thanks for taking action....and not just fanning the flames.

My 2 cents...of which a lot of will go to taxes.... is we have way too much hot air.... and not enough time spent DOING SOMETHING like you did when you take time to write your reps.

I appreciate what YOU DID...for our Country.

You make me want to move to Oregon.

Byrdman
 
had a great day, yesterday out on the ohio river. had two of my bubs, great food and cold beverage. the weather was clear and dry, 80 degrees and by god life was good.
i recently modified my pilot's seat. replace the original seat with one i purchase, of all places, from tractor supply. mounted it on a 3 1/2" high oak box. seat is actually attached to the lib of box, so now have place for wallet, keys, knife and of course, my s&w 9mm, with round in chamber, locked and loaded, and this is the way it is, on the ohio river.
pat

ps: god bless america and all c-brats
 
That was amazing video. I have always cared a simple tool with me for many reasons and have done so since I was a kid. It’s a good habit that I think all kids and adults should have. I never leave the house without a knife in my pocket. It’s like my wallet or car keys.
I also think that all cars should have a fire extinguisher in them. All boats and planes have to and it’s not so much to put out your fire as to put out someone else’s fire. We always kept a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and I have gotten out of the habit but will get two for the house today. If someone on that street had gotten the fire out sooner then they eliminate the emergency and it gives you more time to deal with the minor problem of getting the kid out of the car. I saw twenty people concentrating on the people in the car and not on the threat to the people themselves. Now this is back seat arm chair supervising on my part but I always use stuff like this to learn from. Glad to see so many people willing to risk themselves for others.
 
Tom -

I have carried a knife in the past, but not recently. Time to get back in the habit. Ditto with kitchen fire extinguisher(s).

Also, a useful auto tool is a small, but solid, heavy hand-held hammer for breaking out a car window; on the other end is a protected knife blade for cutting seat belts. I'm sure most of you have seen these. (And I also don't have one of these . . . :(

However, that video brings up the question: How heavy a tool is required to break through either windshields or side windows? In particular, the ability to swing the tool from inside the car would be quite limited compared to someone outside really bashing it. And, of course, more difficult still hanging upside-down from a seat belt!

If they work, these could be real life-savers in similar situations. along with being trapped in a submerged car. With most electric windows these days, they are almost certainly going to short out and not work if submerged.

Would this hand-held tool provide a false (potentially fatal) sense of security? It would be worth visiting a wrecking yard and 'buying' a few windows (in place) to practice on. At least then one would have some idea of the probability of success.

iggy
 
Iggy,

A heavy hammer is not needed to break a car window, especially side windows, which are not laminated as are windshields and back windows. Side windows simply shatter and fall into what seems like a million pieces.

The emergency hammer that you mention (we have one in each of our three vehicles) is actually very light, but has a sharp, dense point. A spring loaded window punch is very small. but does the job, as well. I work with the training bureau of a local law enforcement agency and one of the suppliers gave me a "tactical pen", which can be used for defensive purposes, and the end contains a reinforced device that looks like a steel pellet. Its purpose is to break glass and in training one day I used it to shatter a side window of a car.

Amazingly, one of the favorite window-breaking tools of the "smash-and-grab" set down in the hood is a simple spark plug which, when thrown, easily shatters a side window.

Glad to see so many people are re-evaluating their ability to respond to an emergency situation.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Nick -

Thanks for the expert advice. Of course, concentrating the force onto a small point creates a much higher local force in psi -- sort of like spke heels used to do on our nice vinyl and hardwood floors!

I will be getting two of those tools for our two cars. As you say, it is not too hard with the right tool, but I bet it would be hard with bare hands (hanging upside down?).

And finally, thanks for (a) being a first responder, and trainer of first responders, and (b) spreading your expertise to others.

iggy
 
We carry the spring loaded window punches in the "front door pockets" of all of our units at work. I've shattered quite a few windows in my career both in training on junk cars and in real rescue situations. The most recent emergent situation was two summers ago when we received a call of a child locked inside a car. On our arrival, I grabbed the window punch while exiting the unit, family members told me the car was definitely locked as I ran to the vehicle. I did a quick look and observed the child restrained in a car seat in the back seat of the car, sweating profusely. In less than a minute, I had the front window punched out, the rear door unlocked, the child and the car seat out of the car and had the child in the back of our air conditioned Medic Unit. It was all so quick that the family didn't even know how I'd shattered the window as they didn't even see the punch in my hand.
 
Valkyrie":2j8hg1p3 said:
Its purpose is to break glass and in training one day I used it to shatter a side window of a car.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
Click to expand...

Nick, stop in at your local fire department, get to know some of the guys/gals there and see if you can bring some of your "trainees" over when they are "cutting up cars" for their ongoing extrication classes. I would suspect that they'd be willing to let your trainees "pop" a window or two. Additionally, you can observe some of the other nifty toys we have to play with now. (There always seems to be something new on the market so we can stabilize and destroy :mrgreen: vehicles quicker and easier).
 
Iggy,

Glad that you found the info useful and Dave, that's a good idea. I'll follow it up.

Also, I want to clarify that I am not a law enforcement officer or other first responder, although I have the greatest respect for them. I'm a retired teacher and have taken many tactical and emergency classes, as a civilian, and have occasionally shared some of this training with the good guys, on a volunteer basis. I don't want anyone to think that I am misrepresenting myself here.

Dave - Here's thanks to YOU and all of your brothers for keeping us safe!

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
I found an LED flashlight (short and fat) with the butt end having a point for striking a window... I keep one in the car and the truck... I don't have a brand, sorry... A web search should turn one up///

denny-o
 
Helm,

I join with Byrdman in congratulating you for what you did for your country and countrymen in taking time to write to your senator on the knife issue. Well done.

Casey on this board put me onto a site where I recently found this comment:

"Much like a muscle that atrophies with disuse, any right that goes unexercised for many years devolves into a privilege, and eventually can even be redefined as a crime."

Truer words were never spoke. Sadly, I have witnessed that evolution in my own country. I grew up in Canada, with hunting and fishing. I got my first .22 single shot when I was about 9 years old. When not afield, I was proud to see it join others on a gun rack in my dad's den/gun room.

In those days in Canada, one had the right to purchase long guns, to carry them, to display them, to hunt and target shoot with them, and to purchase ammunition just about anywhere. We long ago lost most of our rights with respect to handguns.

And where are we today? A gun on a gun rack has been redefined by the Criminal Code of Canada as "careless storage" of a firearm. What was a common sight in many Canadian homes for decades has now been declared a crime. ALL guns must now be registered and tens of thousands of owners who did not register when ordered to do so have been labelled criminals. Now they cannot register. Those who don't pay to renew their registrations on a regular basis join the ranks of the criminals. One must jump through so many hoops to purchase and use guns and ammunition, to hunt, to shoot, that many no longer see it as worth it. Few kids are taught to hunt anymore. A great loss and all very shameful.

The constitutional mandate that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed gives Americans some protection Canadians do not enjoy. But there are already laws in place that have diminished that right. It is being whittled away. It's a right that needs to be sedulously fostered. Don't let the knife laws take hold and extinguish that right as well.
 
It's only mildly amusing that the idiotic media hype generated by "Blackboard Jungle" and the Jets & Sharks over 50 years ago is still kicking around.
 
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