Today's Wall Street Journal Article

[peacefuljeffrey]

I'm going to send an email asking how many people die in car accidents. Do they ban cars?? I'm going to ask if he knows how many people have been saved when they had a knife to cut something free/loose/off??
Just an idea.
Blades

There was that guy in Utah who had a boulder fall on him. He used a crappy multi-tool that had come free with a flashlight to sever his own arm to get himself free!

And it was discussed in articles I read, that the knife was crappy and dull. Imagine if he'd possessed a decent knife. Probably could have done the job with a lot less trauma, pain and mess if he'd had a Spyderco Military or some other "menacing, deadly" knife.

-Jeffrey

[peacefuljeffrey]

I just sent a nice quick email, and asked Mark for his address. I have a knife I would like to send him. I told him to carry it for 2-3 weeks, and then send it back to me. We'll see what he says. Now I have to decide what knife to send if he says yes. :) Blades

Please, people, let's not all start a stampede to send this guy a few dozen knives.

You don't get an article that ignorant from anyone who is anywhere near on the fence about knives, guns, weapons, self defense, etc. He is sure to be a rabid liberal who thinks anything more pointed than a chopstick is deadly and ban-worthy, and he was probably raised to ask a policeman for help to open a blister package from walmart. After all, the average citizen should not have access to anything sharp and dangerous.

The most likely thing that would happen would be he would bring the knives you send him to the nearest "buy-back" or other weapon destruction event, and they'd be melted down to make playground equipme... oh, wait, I forgot, they're pulling that stuff out of the schoolyards for being too dangerous, too. :rolleyes:


-Jeffrey

[STR]

If he is living in NY he should be more than aware that you can't judge a person by the address they give. I only live in Oklahoma. Settled here after being in the service and living in several states before this one. I'm from Maryland originally and grew up on the border of the Potomac River where it separates Maryland from West Virginia.

STR

[Dr. Snubnose]

All I can say about this article is PURE POPPYCOCK Somebody from the Wall Street Journal should interview Me! I'll tell em a thing or two....Doc :D

[Zac]

I feel that article is poorly researched and only the negatives displayed. I decided to write my own opinion and I think all of those in favor of preserving our rich hobby should by all means write.
My letter:




Dear Mr. Fritz;

Upon reading your well written article on 'tactical' knives, I have a few problems with it.

First, in my opinion, you do not clearly define what is a tactical knife. Does tactical imply combat ready? Does it imply one handed opening (these knives have been nicknamed 'gravity knives' which in my opinion is a poor idea as there are so many different opening and locking mechanisms)? Does it imply strength? There are in fact ratings on knives. MBC means Martial Blade Craft. This does not imply defense or 'deadliness' per say, but the strength of the locking mechanism itself that keeps the knife extended open from the handle. In the case of heavy knife users, a strong lock a must have, premium steels are a must too.

Second, you may have fallen somewhat for the marketing gimiks of a few companies, especially Cold Steel Knives, who has a DVD with the owner cutting huge chunks of meat to show the 'wrath' of the knives. These are rather cheaply made knives that are not designed for utility usage and even in real self defense situations, these scenarios are unlikely to unfold. The video can make these knives seem like offensive weapons also. Most respectible knife makers call their knive's tools, as do responsible users. 99.99999% of the time, a knife is a tool, and a very useful one at that. It is important to keep in mind that any object can become a weapon, and usually the knives that are offensive weapons are cheaper, Chinese made, and often illegal push buttons (AKA Autos or Switch Blades) bought at flea markets or on the black market. Criminals are not going to invest $200+ into a quality knife, especially given that past articles have reported that black market guns are cheap to purchase.

Thirdly, I feel you did not honor those in service. Firefighters and EMTs carry rescue knives, a tool designed to break class and cut seatbelts without harming the rescuee. They are fast and effecient. Fisherman and sailers carry hawkbills, often a scary looking knife, to make controlled and predictable cuts on rope, especially in emergency situtations. If you have ever had a rope caught around you, it becomes apparent how fast a knife needs to be accessed in order to cut a rope. Police, Armed Forces, and other Law Enforcement Officers carry knives that can be used from cutting a steak to being used as a life saving instrument. Many respectible knife companies make lines of knives designed specefically for those in service, give our men and women in service tremendous discounts, and even have drawings for free knives. Ask someone in Iraq about the importance of a good blade, and they will most likely give you a speech.

Finally, knives do save lives, and knives can be used for proper, fair, and legally established self defense. Recently, a skydiver had a problem with their main parachute and needed to cut through ballistic nylon which is a very tough material. The knife he chose to use it was the Spyderco Military, without a doubt this is a high end tactical knife, and the knife did exactly what it was made to do; cut. Nylon cut, life saved. While I would prefer not to go into deeper details, I work in a department that will often put me in harm's risk. Had I not have been carrying a knife this past June, I would be dead and not writing this letter.

In conclusion, a knife is one of the most basic tools, and it has evolved to a technological mountain in the past 25 years. Rarely does the public ever see the positives of these designs. Displaying knives in a mostly negative manner is something that will only reinforce negative stereotypes. Obviously, an unhappy response from knife collectors, like myself, will occur. I do not know if this letter will ever be read, but if it is, I appreciate it and would love to hear a response.

Sincerely;
Zachary P. Nickey
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

[dedguy]

i'm a 25 year old graphic designer and illustrator, i'm about as typical young crazy liberal as you could find. i have long hair, i like music no one else likes, and i hate the president. if i carry a knife every day as a tool then maybe there's hope eh? then again i do live in florida and most people 'round these parts i've noticed seem to have knives.

anyway that article at first i thought, "well okay they're doing an article specifically about the market growth of tactical knives. the title was just an attention grabber." upon reading the article i realized i'm a bit nieve at times. i do believe someone else already said poppycock, and that's exactly what that nonsense is. i remember when i first found out switchblades where illegal when i was about 15. i was floored, it made no sense to me. you can't even buy a switchblade legally unless you're an LEO (as far as i know) and yet you can buy a gun. never made any sense to me.

it's after 1am and i'm rather tired, sorry if i rambled on a bit or didn't make any sense.

night all!

[Zerileous]

heres mine

Mr. Fritz,
I am very disappointed in your article about folding pocketknives. Any knife is a tool, and most tools can be used to kill someone. Screwdrivers, hammers, crowbars, and just about any other tool can be used violently, but this doesn't negate the usefulness of the tool for benign purposes. Further, violent people will be violent regardless of the "weapons" available to them. Surely you realize the impracticality of banning any potential weapon.

One handed knives with pocket clips are exceedingly more practical than traditional pocket knives. These knives are also generally safer to use because of their ergonomic grips (which prevent a user's hand from slipping onto the blade), and locking mechanisms that prevent the blade from closing on a user's hand. Features such as curved blades and serrations are very practical aswell. Serrations allow a knife to stay sharp longer, rarely a concern for criminals looking for a disposable weapon. Curved blades are about the best thing out there for opening plastic packaging and give the user significantly more control of the cut; making the knife safer to use.

I use a Spyderco knife every day at work to break down boxes. Compared to a swiss army style knife, this deadly weapon defeats boxes with significantly less effort while requiring less time. Since I work in fast food, I rarely have time to waste breaking down boxes with an inferior tool (the food isn't fast on its own). Its large blade (over 3"), one handed opening, and carefully engineered ergonomics mean that I can break down a box in seconds instead of minutes. Further, since my hands are often slick with grease (not blood), I consider a secure grip mandatory for the safety of myself and my co-workers.

I urge you to portray the whole story next time, instead of the one that turns the most heads.

[Tohatchi NM]

I'm surprised no one pointed this out, but the "Tactical Knife" pictured at the beginning of the article is a blue Buck Metro :rolleyes:

For those of you not familiar: http://www.islandtactical.com/browsepro ... -Blue.HTML

This would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragically ignorant. A $20, 1.13 inch borderline POS keychain knife is the evil tactical blade terrorizing out streets. I can't fathom the "Deadly Pocketknives" headline being matched with this picture. They could at least have had the decency to come up with something suitably pointy, black, and menacing for the article, and maybe even a muscular thug to wield it. Instead, they used a glorified bottle opener?!?!


Good letters, from all who wrote them. Just a personal quibble - education is good and getting even moderately technical is bad. This guy probably doesn't know a nail nick from the nick in his posterior and would run screaming if you pulled out your "deadly" Buck Metro. Second, make sure to spell check and grammar check anything you send in. No sense making a silly error and reinforcing the hick stereotype for some Manhattan editor or the Wall Street Journal readership.

Looks like we still have some work to do on spreading the EDC gospel!

[smcfalls13]

I'm surprised no one pointed this out, but the "Tactical Knife" pictured at the beginning of the article is a blue Buck Metro :rolleyes:

Are you kidding me? That's a novelty knife, not a weapon of mass destruction :eek:

Welcome to the Forum. :D

[Ruud]

@ FRIZ: Thank you very much for posting the actual content of the article. Now at least everybody can make up their own minds on this without having to guess what is said in it.

My .2 EUR:
I agree wholeheartedly with Manix Guy2. This article can come as no surprise to the knifebusiness. There simply are too many brands that use too much overhyped, overblown and completely ridiculous marketing bs to flog their knives. It's been annoying me ever since the start of the tactical knife selling pitch. It's not surprising that eventually the main stream media would pick up on this. And this is what you get for attracting attention to certain 'features' of knives.

If you're going to market a particular knife specifically as a weapon instead of a tool, and claim that it is intended for use by professional soldiers, law enforcement and what have you, highlighting certain features of that knife as making it a more efficient and 'deadly' weapon, don't be surprised if people start treating owners of such knives in the same way as a person wielding a 'real' weapon in a public place would be treated. That's what happens if marketing is succesfull. You get painted by the same brush. In fact, don't be surprised if some of it rubs off on all knife owners, even the ones with small harmless utility knives.

Marketing for some knives wants you to believe they are 'deadly weapons'. People then fall for this bs, buy the product, and then are surprised when other people, who have never seen anything larger than a SAK act scared or apprehensive about people carrying those black-coated-super-tactical-tanto-ninja-used-by-SEAL-'operators'-and other agencies-so- secret-we-are-forbidden-to-even-speak-their-name-in public-but-you-can bet-they-have-used-them-to-'covertly de-animate'-type blades. I would too. And I'm a knife person.

All in all, I can't say I found the article that offensive really. Apart from missing some of the subtleties that we 'knife people' pick up on, (such as Cold Steel marketing is a load of rubbish, and should in no way be considered representative for the business as a whole), it stated mostly facts, and very little 'opinion'. Sure, it presented facts in a way that would make you question the current trend, and maybe even question the need for regulation, but it did not explicitly make a case for any position. It presented the views of people from 'both sides'. And even Tom Arrowsmith of Case was quoted as being opposed to 'weaponizing' the pocket knife.

Maybe some makers would be wise to use this article to take a hint, and tone down some of their more offensive marketing. You can't seriously expect to be able to use these kind of selling strategies and then, when called on them, switch to the "oh but it's just a tool' defence without seeming a bit of a hypocrite as well as making all responsible knife owners and manufacturers look bad.

End rant.

All the best,
Ruud

[Ruud]

Steve, your one mistake is telling this effete, elitist sheeple Mark Fritz that you are from anywhere but New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. or Chicago.

You're from Oklahoma. You're an uneducated, unrefined, dangerous hick. Didn't you know? :rolleyes:

There's not much chance Fritz will consider any random three words you wrote once he realizes where you're from.

-Jeffrey

edit; and I seem to have overlooked "moron", "sissified NYC sheeple", "abject idiot", "POS" and "not fit to pick up dog crap".
edit 2; missed "rabid liberal" the first time around.

Jeffrey,
Don't construe this as a personal attack in any way please, but I have to ask you;
Do you think it is wise to
- resort to namecalling when you disagree with someone, even if you have never met the guy in person?
- when it is unclear what, if any personal opinion on the subject the guy you attack has, and
- assume the guy will disregard anything somebody is going to say, based on the characterization you gave him earlier, again never having met the guy?

Somehow I don't think that acting this way is going to get you much respect from the guy on the opposing side, and it is - in my opinion - very doubtful if carrying on a discussion in this manner is going to create much respect, let alone acceptance for 'our' side of the story. It might very well do to the opposite.

Assume, for a moment, that this guy also has access to the Internet, and decides to do a little additional research, because he got so much letters from readers. Assume that he stumbles upon the Spyderco forum and reads your post, calling him - in effect - a snobbish nancyboy from the big city, who by definition won't take anything somebody from a less 'sophisticated' background says seriously. If it were me, that kind of personal attack would mean the discussion would be pretty much over, if that reaction was typical of the average person from the knife community.

The only way one can change someone's views, if at all, is by convincing them with arguments that they have it the wrong way, not by calling them names. And certainly not by anonimously doing so behind their back. At least, that's what I think, but I might be wrong.

Oh, and on a final note, it makes the forum look bad. I remember something was mentioned in TazKristi's Forum Rules about "you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violate any laws." And that's just the third paragraph. If you take the trouble to read a little further, you'll come across some other qualifications that apply to your postings.

If you care to comment, I am willing to hear your views on this.

Regards,
Ruud

[FRIZ]

Hi Ruud:
You are welcome.
Regards,
FRIZ :)

[Tohatchi NM]

Thanks for the welcome Scott - I realized that was my first post, even though I registered in '04. Go figure.

I agree that "tactical" marketing will come back to bite us in the a**. Good "tactical" features - ergonomics, one-hand opening, strong lock, cutting geometry, quality steel, blade length, etc. - are really more important general knife features, but you wouldn't know it from the ads. Unfortunately, I guess it's easier to market a tough image than ease in slicing cardboard or watermelon. I want a knife that's easy and safe to use, and well built enough to not fall apart when I really need it. I think those are basic requirements whether you're a SEAL, LEO, nurse, or kindergarten teacher. It makes sense when you hold and use a knife, but you can't really get the same info from an ad or even a demonstration (like the Cold Steel videos).

The part of the article about the ex-Marine is a bit sad, though. He's attacked by a well-armed group, and defends himself. This is not an example of "deadly" knives terrorizing the streets. Nobody should be in that situation, and he had the right to defend himself with whatever was at hand - be it a knife, gun, or #2 pencil. I'm sure skimming even a few weeks of police reports could've come up with an actual fatal knife attack (rather than self-defense) by an actual criminal. The stabbed dancer is a bit more in line with the article tone - dumb John on a testosterone rush gets carried away with his pseudo-army knife, but even there the circumstances aren't clear. It's quite possible that self-defense was justified, but we don't have enough information. More examples of poor research by this reporter.


<edit> By the way, I didn't mean to disparage the Buck Metro. Never used one, so I can't really condemn it. The bottle opener looks pretty functional, and there are plenty of sub-$20 gems out there, a la Ladybug or Opinel.

[boxer93]

Now I have to decide what knife to send if he says yes. :)

Blades

Calypso Jr Ltwt PE or the Walker Blue Alimite. If you need one let me know. I'll send you whatever color you want.
Chris

[SoCal Operator]

Good pick up about the Buck, Tohatchi, and welcome to the forums, again.
I don't know about you guys, but I had to change my pants after I saw that Buck. It just looked so deadly! I've already posted twice in this thread, but both times I had neglected to read every post, so I'd like to say now that I'm really impressed with the amount of action being taken here. Keep writing letters! Let's not take this sitting down!

[markg]

I would suggest not only sending letters to the author (that does little if anything), write letters to the editor. If the story is not well researched, or too sensationalized (keep in mind this is not the "Weekly World News" we are talking about) then the editor might think twice about this author or type of story.

On a related note... If this is a $1 billion dollar industry, and many of the companies he cites, make a lot of their product here (USA)... Then heck, why not drive another industry into the ground... Heck we have pretty much not actually made anything in this country for years anyway. I am sure the Spyderco, Benchmade, Case, Buck, Camillus empolyees would rather have nice jobs at Wendy's anyway... :rolleyes:

It might, however be a pain to cut the buns with a popcicle stick...

[Zac]

I'm surprised no one pointed this out, but the "Tactical Knife" pictured at the beginning of the article is a blue Buck Metro :rolleyes:

For those of you not familiar: http://www.islandtactical.com/browsepro ... -Blue.HTML

This would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragically ignorant. A $20, 1.13 inch borderline POS keychain knife is the evil tactical blade terrorizing out streets. I can't fathom the "Deadly Pocketknives" headline being matched with this picture. They could at least have had the decency to come up with something suitably pointy, black, and menacing for the article, and maybe even a muscular thug to wield it. Instead, they used a glorified bottle opener?!?!


Good letters, from all who wrote them. Just a personal quibble - education is good and getting even moderately technical is bad. This guy probably doesn't know a nail nick from the nick in his posterior and would run screaming if you pulled out your "deadly" Buck Metro. Second, make sure to spell check and grammar check anything you send in. No sense making a silly error and reinforcing the hick stereotype for some Manhattan editor or the Wall Street Journal readership.

Looks like we still have some work to do on spreading the EDC gospel!

ROTFL!!! 420HC!!! OMG you have discovered Jurassic Park!

Our entire community puts that man's article to shame.

[Capt. Carl]

I had to change my pants after I saw that Buck. It just looked so deadly!

It might, however be a pain to cut the buns with a popcicle stick...

Hahaha. This thread is a goldmine of comedy! :D

[Blades]

[quote="David Lowry"]So my offer to him wasn't good enough? ]
:)
Your offer was fine. :) I just think we should all offer to send him a "test" knife. Or everybody can toss a knife in, and we will mail a box of knives to him to pass out around the staff at the paper.
I bet if he asked the people who "worked", and not the writers, he would find a few workers who carry knives.




Blades

[Fred Sanford]

:)
Your offer was fine. :) I just think we should all offer to send him a "test" knife. Or everybody can toss a knife in, and we will mail a box of knives to him to pass out around the staff at the paper.
I bet if he asked the people who "worked", and not the writers, he would find a few workers who carry knives.


Blades

Good thinkin'. I totally agree.