A Knife with Balls
When I was in college my buddies and I were able to raise money for charity by getting behind the grill and selling hotdogs and beer at the stadium during Chargers games. It had its perks; free dogs and booze, an opportunity to see at least half of each game for free from the nosebleeds, and honestly, it’s not too often you get a chance to eat nachos and do the wave in the name of philanthropy. The biggest perk out of the whole thing, oddly enough, turned out to be a part of the uniform. We had to wear a white collared shirt, black slacks, a red apron, and a navy blue ball cap. The shirt and pants I had to provide on my own but the stadium gave me the Hebrew National apron and the hat. Now, almost a decade later, the red apron sits in the bottom of a dusty box in the back of my garage, lost among the yearbooks, knickknacks, and random goofy broken gadgets I’ve acquired over the years. The hat on the other hand, is still sitting proudly on my desk in my house. The first time I put it on it just fit perfectly and ever since that moment I have kept that hat close. Its once dark blue pigment has faded into a brownish green. The bill is perfectly curved and beginning to fray. The fabric is so grimy it has become tacky to the touch. It is my hat. I have worn it nearly religiously for all these years. It’s been to parties, camping trips, work outs, barbeques, and I will continue to don it until to falls into a million brownish dirty pieces and I am forced to send it Valhalla in a traditional Viking funeral.
It’s not strange, it’s just how guys are. When we find something we really like we stick with it. Some things just have a certain feel, look, or style that speaks to us. That hat is just my style. It’s me. It is something that I’ll never give up, just like my jeans, my truck, and now, my CRKT Ripple knife.
My New Best Friend
It’s hard to pin down exactly why I like the new CRKT Ripple so much. I mean, it’s obvious why it’s a great knife; it’s designed by the award winning Ken Onion and is an all around well made piece. It is lightweight but very durable. It has the strength of a much bulkier piece but fits perfectly into my pocket. The utilization of a nearly effortless frame lock is great. It doesn’t hamper the opening of the blade and it also makes it easy to quickly close it when done. The look of the knife is sleek, yet subdued. It’s offered in the traditional black as well as a dark blue (that is the same color my lucky hat started out as). The Ripple gets it’s name from the wavy design on the handle that has been buffed down to expose some of the original metal underneath. That buffing gives the knife a worn in look at feel which I really like. There are also holes drilled out of the handle to reduce weight as well as give the piece a bit of style without getting too fancy or gimmicky. The simple look and worn in feel of the knife works well to conceal the inner genius of the knife.
CRKT has devised a new opening system for the Ripple. Like many other folders, the Ripple can be opened with the help of a flipper on the blade. A simple flick and the blade glides open and locks into place quickly. It has the feel of an assisted opener but totally lacks any springs or other devices to propel the blade. Instead, inside of the pivot there is a ball bearing system. Super tiny ball bearings encased in the handle give the Ripple a silky smooth motion. The blade basically rolls out over the balls. This system helps to greatly reduce friction allowing the blade snap into place with authority.
There are lots of knives out there that can get the job done but none that seem to fit me as well as the Ripple. It has a lot of the qualities that I admire in most things; thin, subdued, strong, innovative, fast acting, and dependable. It also has that je ne se qua that makes me not able to put it down. I find myself flipping it open while I have some intense pondering to do or just fiddling with it whenever I’m bored. It just fits right, like a trusty baseball hat.
Years from now, if you see me, I have a feeling I will have the CRKT Ripple in the pocket of my old blue jeans. Hopefully my hat won’t become too threadbare to wear and hopefully I’ll be driving my same old truck to the bar to hang out with my same old friends because that’s what guys do. We like what we like and we stick with it.
I think they should come out with a version of this knife with an 18 inch blade. Or perhaps one with a Hebrew National decal on it.
i think you should camp out in front of charger games and sell these, you might sell more than those hebrew nationals
thats funny, “my new best friend” haha