About that big thing that happened...

[demoncase]

As a Brit, my involvement with the 2nd Amendment finished in 1776- as did any right for me to comment on the same. :)
I'm therefore ambivalent at best about 'the big thing that happened'

I'm doubly ambivalent as there's nothing in BM's line up that I don't see better expressed to my tastes in other maker's lineups.

I've been watching the various reactions to 'the big thing' and have been utterly not surprised by any of them thus far....
It does go to show that, in the age of the internet, there IS such a thing as bad publicity.

Regardless of the original intent of the activity- which to me seems pretty benign and a throwaway single post on Instagram by a PD looking to say thanks for help.- there is now no way to extract that from the melee of online 'froth' that's been created, especially after someone has decided to confuse correlation with causation when it comes to BM's various political contributions.

For me, the various responses from BM were the worst thing to do- as for the most vocal of the online lynch mob, nothing will be acceptable apart from the CEO prostrate in front of each of their homes in sackcloth-and-ashes, wailing for forgiveness. And for the moderate voices, no apology was required.

It seems the knife community at large does seem to love to get into a tizzy about things.....But this too shall pass, I'm quite sure and will be a footnote in "Stuff That Happened in 2019' for most of us.

[James Y]

BM donated to some political causes. Everyone is free to donate to what they want. That's America. All the people crying "socialist" and foaming at the mouth about "liberals" are decidedly un-American. The backbone of democracy is civil discourse.

I agree. It reminds me of when, several years ago, some people on another forum were saying the same thing about Leatherman. Some had posted to the effect of: "I've been a satisfied user of Leatherman tools for years, but now that it's come out that Tim Leatherman is supporting a Democrat, I'm done with Leatherman tools forever." This mentality of "Everybody in America is free to have their own beliefs, as long as they think my way and support the exact same causes I do" is not something new, although it's become far more blatant in recent years. It's also a dangerously childish way of thinking, and makes it easy to be controlled by whichever political party one supports.

If that's the way to be, then be prepared to go without a LOT of products, as people who make them think all kinds of ways, and support different kinds of causes, For myself, unless someone is an avid supporter of a hate group or something similar, whatever political causes they happen to support or not support is none of my business.

Jim

[awa54]

Seems like extreme reactions with little basis in reality, however when a company helps their local police it shouldn’t hurt their business-
But to think that BM didn’t see it as a chance to get some good publicity would be erroneous I suspect.

I like BM more for it-
Frankly I think you lot like your guns and should keep them, but there does need to be better regulation - my understanding is that this looks to be the position they take too.

Speaking of "extreme reactions with little basis in reality" - bump stocks got banned because of one single incident where a person used one while killing and injuring people. There's absolutely no evidence that could prove conclusively that using a bump stock allowed him to harm any more people than he'd have been able to harm if he'd used a gun without one. While I personally see bump stocks as just a silly way to burn ammunition quickly, and have no desire to own one, if that's how someone wants to spend their money, and they're not harming anyone, they should be allowed to do so.

Anyone who denies that bump stocks are an attempt to restore full auto fire to a semi automatic firearm is being disengenuous, I'm amazed that they were ever approved for sale in the first place. The line between gaming the rules and breaking them was razor thin.

<sarcasm>The only real losers when they were banned were of course the intended buyers of bump stocks; those poor individuals with limited finger mobility (no, seriously! this was the stated intent of bump stocks, according to their originator...). I had no idea that so many AR-15 enthusiasts had finger mobility issues.

As a sidebar to this topic, has anyone heard the news that Yeti is filing for bankruptcy?</sarcasm>


I'm sure there will be a dip in sales for a few months and BM will lose some customers permanently, but the biggest take-away for them is undoubtedly going to be that they need to be more guarded about what they post on social media, because apparently even assisting LEOs can be twisted around to reflect poorly on a company these days.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Also here is a second question about this: Why does the law say that any weapon that has been used in a crime has to be melted down or destroyed? Why wouldn't they want to clean them up, refurbish them if necessary, and recycle them for sale to legitimate gun and knife owners and any interested sportsman, or perhaps refurbish them and give them to military soldiers and other police officers to reuse, instead of wasting the good metal and materials and destroying them? Doesn't that make logical sense?

Then again, would you want to buy a knife or gun at a government auction sale that you knew was used to hurt someone else? Not me. I would rather get a brand new one.

Can you imagine being stopped and found with a gun that had been used in a crime? You worst nightmares would come true right then. If they are used in a real crime, then destroy them.

That is a very good point Doc!

[The Deacon]

Anyone who denies that bump stocks are an attempt to restore full auto fire to a semi automatic firearm is being disengenuous, I'm amazed that they were ever approved for sale in the first place. The line between gaming the rules and breaking them was razor thin.

Not really, the trigger is still getting pulled a number of times equal to the number of shots fired and there are folks who can pull the trigger on an AR-15 just as fast, or nearly as fast, without a bump stock as with it. Still, even if that argument was valid, why does "Shall not be infringed" not apply to fully automatic firearms? Would gaming a bad law be a bad thing? Be careful how you answer that, since the same case could be made for assisted openers simply being a way to restore automatic action to knives.

[wrdwrght]

I’d rather see a repeal of the laws that restrict automatic fire than a shutting down of sneak-arounds like bump stocks.

But sneak-arounds—whether to expand restrictions (bump-stocks) or to restrict expansions (North Carolina vote)—are so much a part of America that they must be dealt with if we are to pay more than lip service to the rule of law.

[Daveho]

Unfortunately folk seem to forget the “well regulated” part of the second amendment.

[wrdwrght]

The 2A’s militia clause is a benefit, not a precondition, of the infringement clause. The unamended Constitution already established the meaning and use of the militia in lieu of a standing army.

[Daveho]

Post deleted
Not worth derailing this thread further-
String opinions, strongly held won’t be unified in an online knife forum.
Here in Aus we had a drastic law change after a shooting and we are better for it however that may not be what’s right for you lot.

[Liquid Cobra]

The same folk who seem to love pointing out the “well regulated militia” part of the 2nd amendment also seem to forget the “shall not be infringed” part. :rolleyes:

[wrdwrght]

Post deleted
Not worth derailing this thread further-
String opinions, strongly held won’t be unified in an online knife forum.
Here in Aus we had a drastic law change after a shooting and we are better for it however that may not be what’s right for you lot.

Wasn’t meaning to be contentious, Dave. As I have strayed, I’ll just shut up.

[Daveho]

Post deleted
Not worth derailing this thread further-
String opinions, strongly held won’t be unified in an online knife forum.
Here in Aus we had a drastic law change after a shooting and we are better for it however that may not be what’s right for you lot.

Wasn’t meaning to be contentious, Dave. As I have strayed, I’ll just shut up.

My knowledge of the law of other countries is lacking TBH but I have always found that one point odd as a sticking point for folk

[justjohn]

Well, well, well; yet another example of a sociological experiment validating what we already know. C'mon people, read between the lines. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[awa54]

Not really, the trigger is still getting pulled a number of times equal to the number of shots fired and there are folks who can pull the trigger on an AR-15 just as fast, or nearly as fast, without a bump stock as with it. Still, even if that argument was valid, why does "Shall not be infringed" not apply to fully automatic firearms? Would gaming a bad law be a bad thing? Be careful how you answer that, since the same case could be made for assisted openers simply being a way to restore automatic action to knives.

Obviously the bump stock is a "junk" accessory, you should just go to the range and work on your trigger technique, rather than lamenting its passing into illegality

[The Deacon]

Not really, the trigger is still getting pulled a number of times equal to the number of shots fired and there are folks who can pull the trigger on an AR-15 just as fast, or nearly as fast, without a bump stock as with it. Still, even if that argument was valid, why does "Shall not be infringed" not apply to fully automatic firearms? Would gaming a bad law be a bad thing? Be careful how you answer that, since the same case could be made for assisted openers simply being a way to restore automatic action to knives.

Obviously the bump stock is a "junk" accessory, you should just go to the range and work on your trigger technique, rather than lamenting its passing into illegality

Obviously, you either missed my earlier post, or chose to ignore it. Either way, I'll repost it here. As I mentioned there, I have no interest in owning a bump stock. Aside from the fact that they only work with centerfire semi-automatic rifles and I don't own any, I'm too cheap to want to burn ammo like that. For me, opposing their ban is simply a matter of principle. I see banning bump stocks as just one more erosion of our 2nd Amendment rights.

Seems like extreme reactions with little basis in reality, however when a company helps their local police it shouldn’t hurt their business-
But to think that BM didn’t see it as a chance to get some good publicity would be erroneous I suspect.

I like BM more for it-
Frankly I think you lot like your guns and should keep them, but there does need to be better regulation - my understanding is that this looks to be the position they take too.

Speaking of "extreme reactions with little basis in reality" - bump stocks got banned because of one single incident where a person used one while killing and injuring people. There's absolutely no evidence that could prove conclusively that using a bump stock allowed him to harm any more people than he'd have been able to harm if he'd used a gun without one. While I personally see bump stocks as just a silly way to burn ammunition quickly, and have no desire to own one, if that's how someone wants to spend their money, and they're not harming anyone, they should be allowed to do so.

[shunsui]

There was an explanation of what was being done at the end of the page when I read this.

https://www.recoilweb.com/benchmade-des ... 47391.html

If the guns were ordered to be destroyed, then I'd tend to give Benchmade brownie points for keeping good relations with their local police.

Likewise, I'd give Benchmade brownie points for not making a big legal issue out of Doug Ritter's Hogue knife.

To be honest, I don't own any Benchmade knives, but I do like the quality of my Hogue Ritter, and I'd recommend one to anyone who wants to put their money to good use.

[curlyhairedboy]

Perhaps what we've lost somewhat in our current "us vs them" environment is the ability to recognize a good product made by people we disagree with.

Maybe in past years you could differ in political opinion with your favorite brand of _______, but still respected them for their attention to quality and good customer service. I don't know if that's the case.

It does seem today that people demand ideological congruency in every aspect of their lives, on both sides of the political spectrum. If a brand or company doesn't support exactly what you support, then their product quality no longer seems to hold the same weight.

At the end of the day, we must remember that ideas are the product of minds, and minds can be changed. We owe to each of us a baseline of respect and dignity, regardless of standpoint. Today's ideological enemy might be tomorrow's friend.

[Extra330SC]

https://youtu.be/SRleLfBosBE

[awa54]

Obviously, you either missed my earlier post, or chose to ignore it. Either way, I'll repost it here. As I mentioned there, I have no interest in owning a bump stock. Aside from the fact that they only work with centerfire semi-automatic rifles and I don't own any, I'm too cheap to want to burn ammo like that. For me, opposing their ban is simply a matter of principle. I see banning bump stocks as just one more erosion of our 2nd Amendment rights.

No, obviously I put a "winky face" on my post because it was an attempt to wring some humor out of the tortured logic and wishful thinking that surrounds almost all interpretation of 2A issues.

The "you" in my little quip was not Paul/Deacon, but anyone who both thinks that the bump stock has little value to add to shooting quickly, but believes that so long as a device meets the Lawyerly letter of the law, we should all be allowed to buy a gimmick that is intended to offer a semblance of full-auto fire...

The firearms accessory industry loves the black rifle cult all the way to the bank!

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I for one am glad that Les De Asis himself released this video because it shows he cares and it also allows us to see how he is and what he looks like now, after all these years, and, it shows me that he is a very intelligent and concerned knife company president/owner/ceo.

Regardless of any feuds I know that he, Sal Glesser, and Lynn Thompson are great people and I for one consider all three of them to be national treasures.

I am a Spyderco, Benchmade, and Cold Steel fan and user and collector for life.