Spyderco and childbirth

[Mr. Shawn]

Happy 3/3, everyone!

My wife and I are expecting our first child—a boy!—in early August. His name is Asa (pronounced Ay-sah), which means "healer" or "doctor" in Hebrew. Since I love Spyderco so much, I have wondered if I could earn the privilege of cutting my son's umbilical cord with one of my Spydies. I would definitely sterilize the blade, following some of the advice from this thread: http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18967

I have a feeling the medical staff would deny my request, but it got me wondering: If you were expecting a child, and if you had the opportunity, which Spyderco would you use to cut your child's umbilical cord?

I would probably use a small Spydie that I could easily carry with me always (due to the sentimental reasons), like an etched Cricket or Ladybug 3. A special Kopa would be a possibility, but maybe an H-1 knife would be the most practical due to the fluid exposure.

Thank you in advance for your kind words and suggestions. :D

[sal]

Hi Mr. Shawn,

Congratulations. The only things that are REALLY NEW are babies and tomorrow.

How about we send you a stainless dragonfly with his name engraved on the handle? You can give it to him when he's older.

sal

[yablanowitz]

ZDP-189 Caly Jr., simply because it is probably sharper than what they normally use

[Darkfin]

The closest spydies I can think of to the izmel are the Kumo and Zowada. Will you personally be performing the metzitzah b'peh as well? :eek:

[Mr. Shawn]

Sal,

I am floored! Thank you so much! I called my wife and told her; she said, "Wow! You're already starting your son's love of Spyderco."

I would be honored to present the engraved Dragonfly to Asa when he's older.

Thank you again, Sal. Your generosity adds to the list of reasons why I love Spyderco so much.

[sal]

It's not every day one begets a child.

Please email your mailing address to Joyce Laituri, jlaituri@spyderco.com

sal

[Peter1960]

... How about we send you a stainless dragonfly with his name engraved on the handle? You can give it to him when he's older.

The style of a gentleman - Kudos to Sal!

[thefly01]

It makes me wonder if they talk like this on some S&W forum. So we're expecting and I was wondering if the doctor would allow me to you know use some turkey shot or.... :confused:

[Piet.S]

The style of a gentleman - Kudos to Sal!

Well said Peter.

[markg]

I carried a Delica the day my son was born (he is now 10). I have put it away for him to give to him later. It is one of the older ones, with the plastic clip. I bought the knife new for the occasion.

Last year, for his 10th birthday, he asked and got a small, orange handled Rescue. He loves knives also, and I have been in training with him for years on safe knife handling. In the summer we will sit in the yard and whittle sticks.

I like lots of "brands" when it comes to knives... Yet he really seems to favor Spyderco's. I wonder if the Delica had something to do with that! :D

I recommend getting a knife to have when they are born, and as Sal said, keep it to give to them later. Then you can get the same model of knife to carry with you as an EDC.

[jaislandboy]

Wow this is one crazy thread! :eek:
but congrats on the upcoming little one Mr.Shawn and another salute to Sal! :cool: :) :spyder:

[ozspyder]

Congratulations Mr Shawn !

I sincerely congratulate you and your wife. I have 5 daughters myself :eek: :eek: and I can safely say that it is the most life changing thing that has happened to me. Most definitely a gift from the gods. Never in my wildest imaginations before my first child that I would've thought it could have changed my life so much.... an for the better too might I add.

The first is always the most memorable. I only wish I had discovered Spyderco earlier so I could've done the same.

My thoughts on cutting the umbilical cord with a Spydie though is probably not good news to you. Having been around the medical field for many years, I'd say that the midwives and doctors really hate sharp instruments around the whole birthing process. BUT, if you ask really nicely and explain the situation they may buckle to (hint: your wife's request rather than yours)

Haha, my wife asked me last night if she can have our 6th kid. I am thinking about granting her request :rolleyes: :D

Well done Sal, very very generous of you. If I do have my 6th I'll be putting my request in too :) Awesome company, and no comparison to any of the other productions co's. This forum and company rocks :cool:

[Mr. Shawn]

The desire to cut my son's umbilical cord has nothing to do with religious or family traditions (which I both respect); I just want to share one of my passions with my son as soon as I can touch him. :D

[jaislandboy]

hey no worries Mr. Shawn...again Congrats..... :)

[thombrogan]

Congratulations, Mr. Shawn!

My daughter has one of those Dragonfly knives and it made her Spyderco-for-life father into a Spyderco-throughout-reincarnation fan.

Use the scalpel or scissors they give you. They're sterilized in an autoclave prior to use. If any of your Spydies go into an autoclave, the heat-treatment and most handle materials will go out the window.

[rcbalt2]

Congratulations on the child and spreading the spydie love to the next generation.

[sal]

hey Thom, we did some testing several months ago on that very question. We Rockwelled and then autoclaved a number of our stainless knives for a full cycle, and then Rockwelled again. No change in Rc was noted.

It could be argued that the edge might been affected as we didn't microhardness test, but the best guess is that the temperature is actually too low to affect hardness and the raise in psi doesn't affect the steel.

sal

[Th232]

Congratulations Mr Shawn!

And yet another reason I like Spyderco, a very nice gesture Sal!

[Axlis]

Congrats to you and your wife Mr. Shawn, and kudos to Sal for being so kind!


If I had to cut the cord with a Spyderco, I'd go Atlantic Salt PE.

[messer454]

This post brings back memories. I ordered two limited run PE Blue handled Delicas when I was expecting my first child. This was not for the child but because I like FRN colors. They arrived the very day my first daughter was born. I went home to take a shower and they were on my doorstep. I opened them and found that they resemble Lavender to me not blue. I thought that was too neat to be a coincidence. I had my second daughter 2 years later and they have both seen "their" Delica's and they think they are really cool. I think my 6 year old might get to handle hers a little this spring. I need a PE pink Delica too though because a lady has to have color options you know.