204P Military Abuse

[Bodog]

So the other day i decided to baton with my exclusive run 204P Military. At the time it seemed like a good idea. In the end I wasnt disappointed though now my expensive millie has some, uh, love scars.

I was out and about doing my thing and i get a call on the radio about a vehicle accident involving two cars, possibly serious injuries. When I arrive a co-worker is screaming at the passerbys for anyone with spare fire extinguishers. One car slammed into the rear of the other, spinning the one to where it jumped into the air facing the other way and sitting on top of the other. The engine of the car on the bottom was afire directly underneath the gas tank of the truck on top. Of course, the people in the truck were trapped. A man and his son.

Considering the facts in front of me it didn't appear that we had much time to remove the people inside and maybe they'd die but I'd be damned if I let them go up in flames while I'm standing there sucking my thumb wondering what went wrong. So i kicked out the rear window while another newly arrived co-worker was trying to smash a side window with a used up extinguisher.

The thing with rear truck windows is that some of them have the rubber and plastic seals protecting a sliding area. That blocked the dad from getting out and blocked me from getting in to cut the son out. Time was ticking for them and us. I pulled my handy dandy baton out and tried to break the seals. No luck. I could tell they were at least a little flexible so a light bulb came on and i put my stupid YouTuber watching experience into action. Whipping out my military i did what any guy with a knife and a baton and a little bit of disregard for nice knives would do. I placed the edge against the seals and proceeded to whack the crap out of the blade! Yeah, just like all of those Russian YouTubers.

Now of course there was still glass that didn't conveniently remove itself when i kicked the glass out, so my million dollar edge was crunching the glass out of the way while my free aluminum baton was crunching divots into the spine of my $200 knife, all the while i was thinking "dummy, your knife is gonna break!" I know, weird things cross your mind when you're trying to pull some people out of a car that's going to explode pretty quickly.

Anyway, the knife and the baton worked and cut the window frame and seals before we died, hence my story today. My knife isn't worth anything on the secondary market now except maybe to the guys who didn't die that day.

Too long; didn't read version:
204P isn't really known as a tough steel and the military isn't "built like a tank" nor does it have ridiculous grinds or full titanium liners or anything crazy. It's a knife built right to handle crazy crap life sometimes throws at you. I can't say those people are alive because of Sal and Co., but i can say it saved my skin from being ripped open if I'd have needed to grab that window frame bare handed and pull it out.

All of God's creatures may have weapons, but only mankind has the ability to use advanced tools.

Use em like you hate em, maintain em like you love em.

Oh, and we got the fire out before it blew up. And the lockup is still solid :)

[Bodog]

And just because it's awesome but totally not related to the story:

[Halfneck]

Once you get it all sorted out and restore the edge it will mean more to you than if it looked like new.

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

That is an amazing story, and testament to why I carry knives daily. Because stuff can and does happen.

[PStone]

I think you still have a great knife! It just has a great story to go with it.

And I’m sure father and son are eternally grateful for your quick thinking and bravery. I know their mother/wife is.

[attila]

Well done!

My main reason for carrying pocket knives is for emergency situations. Ever since I saw a video of a flipped Ford Explorer in flames in which others couldn't get the occupants out because of stuck seat belts, I have carried at every opportunity. I'm fortunate to not have needed my knives in such dire circumstances.

Also, are you sure your baton is made of aluminum? Those are serious dings in the spine that I wouldn't expect aluminum to be capable of.

Regardless, that sort of bonding experience makes a knife more valuable in my opinion.

[Bodog]

Well done!

My main reason for carrying pocket knives is for emergency situations. Ever since I saw a video of a flipped Ford Explorer in flames in which others couldn't get the occupants out because of stuck seat belts, I have carried at every opportunity. I'm fortunate to not have needed my knives in such dire circumstances.

Also, are you sure your baton is made of aluminum? Those are serious dings in the spine that I wouldn't expect aluminum to be capable of.

Regardless, that sort of bonding experience makes a knife more valuable in my opinion.

I had a buddy who never carried a knife. Of course that shocked me so i gave him the only knife i had that i didn't care that much for and that had no real sentiment to me. It was an old 440V Kershaw Boa. Anyway, he responded to a similar situation except it was a mother and a couple of kids in car seats hit head on. The interior of the car was already on fire and the windows busted out. He went in and cut them all out. The mom died but the kids lived. Buddy was as red as a lobster and had some ugly blisters for awhile and it took him just as long to grow his hair back but they lived. Good thing for him the blisters covered up his ugly mug.

Anyway, he was in a dark mood for awhile because of that, but the knife did its job and so did he. Too bad we couldn't clap him on the back until several months after the fact.

[anagarika]

Great story & use!
Glad all are safe :cool:

[Bodog]

Great story & use!
Glad all are safe :cool:

Thanks man. I really just wanted to highlight a real world application that involved sloppy, instinctive abuse of a knife that isn't "overbuilt" and how it handled it. All these people talk about how the spyderhole makes the blade weak and all that. I was hitting it pretty hard from the tip back to the jimping, the most forceful being right in front of the hole, but i was hitting near the tip and several solid hits right on top of the hole. I was honestly surprised the blade didn't snap.

I've beaten on some knives and I'd never have figured this steel in this configuration would withstand the amount of force directed in such pinpoint strikes. The radius of the baton isn't that big. I'm glad this blade and knife in general had enough toughness for what i demanded of it. Imo it was well worth the money i paid for it and I'm curious how S110V and some other popular steels would handle the same treatment. People like to say that folders shouldn't be built to withstand any abuse, or conversely, that they need some pocket brick. I would have to disagree. They just need a good knife built right. Though I'm glad i didn't have to cut through the door or saw through miles of seatbelts to get the job done.

[ZMW]

Job well done!

[Doc Dan]

Thanks for the story. That is why I have always carried some sort of a knife. Places that do not allow the carry of knives make me wonder if they really care about people or about staying in power through lies and manipulation.

[The Mastiff]

By a long shot working traffic was my least favorite job as a cop. I still don't carry a camera. I hated taking pictures of humans that were in accidents. I had a scene like the one above on a sunday night and the drunk guy that I pulled out promptly spit on me and started swinging. The car was balanced on the side and I was pretty high up. I really wanted to throw him off . Way too many witnesses though. :)

Joe

[The Meat man]

Incredible story. Thanks for sharing and thanks for your service!

Hats off to Spyderco as well.

[Pelagic]

Nice work saving those helpless passengers! Good thing you came prepared!

[RickC27]

Quite a story, very well done! If I were you, that would easily be my favorite knife and I'd carry it proudly, dings and all. Not everyone has a knife with those battle scars and a heroic story to go with it.

[abbazaba]

Great story, thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

[Username827]

Good going man! Thank you for the story

[Bloke]

Glad it all turned out OK. :cool:

I’m wondering what I’d do if that was my knife ... leave it as is and retire it or clean it up and continue using it?

[mb1]

Bodog, if I was in charge, I’d have a standing policy that if any of my products were damaged saving a life, they’d get a free replacement.

The stipulation being you have to send me your damaged knife for my wall of honor. That’d be a pretty cool wall!

[Michael Janich]

Dear Bodog:

Thank you very much for sharing your story and for your service and heroism!

Stay safe,

Mike