Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Dec 4, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY 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
Read more…
Tags: Ball, blade, CRKT, Hat, Hebrew National, knife, Ripple
Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Jul 9, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY Humans have always maintained a strange relationship with innovation. It’s the driving force behind our species but we seemingly fight it every step of the way. Inevitably, every time something new comes along people line up to knock it down. Modern history is full of examples of this. Critics claimed the automobile would never replace the horse. Naysayers said we could never land a man on the moon. CD’s couldn’t over take vinyl. Even the internet was met with much resignation as just a passing fad at first. As hard as we fight innovation we still deep down know that we thrive on it. We need to take risks and steps in new directions to move forward in almost every facet of life. The knife industry is no different.
When our sales manager, Dave, asked the sales team to try out the new Seber Ratchet knife the response was, of course, less than positive. It was as if he asked The Flat Earth Society to give their opinions about a globe. Scoffs and protests rang out from everywhere. “It’s a gimmick” was the overall consensus from our traditionalists. They all turned their backs on the new knife without even giving it a fair shake. So Dave turned to me, the new guy who is less set in his ways, to give the Seber ratchet knife a whirl.
Read more…
Tags: knife, Lock, Ratchet, Seber, Tuna
Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Jun 19, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY,
PUBLIC SAFETY I grew up in a Marine Corps family. My father spent 26 years of his life as a Leatherneck. He did just about every cool thing possible a man could do in the Corps. He was a paratrooper, a Huey pilot, fixed wing pilot, a Desert Storm veteran, a diplomat and probably about a thousand other things I’ll hopefully get to hear all about over a beer as I get older. It wasn’t just him, however, that made us a Marine family. His father was a grunt that had just as amazing of a tenure as a Devil Dog. He served in World War II (Pacific Theatre), Korea, and somehow was still around for Vietnam. He was a decorated American hero. Even our dog (a bull dog) was in dress blues for his picture that still hangs proudly in the hallway of my parent’s house. Like I said, I grew up in a Marine Corps family.
In my formative years I became fluently bi-lingual before I could tie my own shoes. I learned the language of my home country; English as well as the language of my people; Marine. I knew it all, inside and out. I could speak in acronyms, I could understand my dad’s Drill Instructor-esque barks, and I even had a grasp of all the random Corps jargon and colloquialisms. The bathroom was “the head”, dinner was “chow”, and “go to bed” became “rack out”. All the terms were interchangeable except for one; a big-ass knife was always, always, a “Ka-Bar”. To be perfectly honest, up until recently I thought KA-BAR was just the Marine term for a knife.
Read more…
Tags: bear, KA-BAR, knife, Marines
Posted by Knife Nerd on May 8, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY SOG’s assisted-opening Trident folder is the only knife in their line puts both their SAT (SOG Assisted Technology) with their “Arc-Actuator” locking mechanism on the same knife. It also includes their “Groove”, which permits the user to cut small cords and EMT’s to cut seat belts while the knife is in the closed position.
These knives are so packed with features they quickly became SOG’s most popular folders when they premiered in 2007. The line has expanded from one blade option to include plain edge, black combo-edge blade, tiger stripe, desert camo, and digital camo options. A very special monogrammed limited edition (of 1000 pieces) of this already legendary blade is now available. A unique deeply acid-etched SOG pattern is on both sides of the blade. This particular model features dual-colored TiNi coating and a unique pattern on each one–each piece becomes original art. These limited edition SOG Trident folders (SOGTF-9) are now in stock and shipping.
Trident Monogram, Zytel Handle, Plain
.
Tags: folder, knife, SOG, Trident, Zytel
Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Apr 29, 2009 in
INDUSTRY NEWS,
KNIVES & CUTLERY,
MOTENG NEWS Other than seeing orders come through for their products and the occasional email, my knowledge of 888 Professional Knives was very limited. All I knew was that they were a new line for us, that they had an interesting look, and that they seemed to have a nice following. So when Walter Kaihatu came into Moteng International to give us the lowdown, I carried with me no preconceived notions about their company or their products.
Walter sat with us and I have to admit I was relieved when he explained that 888 was a new company (so my ignorance was somewhat justified) and were looking to make a name in the tactical industry. After a few pleasantries, Walter opened his bag, pulled out three knives and their corresponding pamphlets and got down to business. He informed us about their philosophy, the history and about the makers. I was impressed that a new company such as theirs was able to boast about the names associated with their line; Roy Huntington, a retired police officer and editor for American Handgunner, designed their new CopTool and Master Knifesmith, Kirk Rexroat, designed the WrightKnife and the S.O.L. Knife.
Read more…
Tags: 888, folder, knife, Pocket, triple eight
Posted by Knife Nerd on Apr 22, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY,
MOTENG NEWS Kershaw’s first new assisted-opener for 2009 is the US-made (like all of their Ken Onion-designed “Speed-Safe” models) Packrat (K1665 and K1665ST). These have exceptionally comfortable and very grippy (to this user) textured G-10 overlays (on top of stainless) handle and bead-blasted Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel blades. We tested a plain-edge model (pictured) on a variety of everyday tasks like opening packages and wire-cutting and found this knife to be exceptionally sharp out-of-the-box and extremely hard to get dull. Like the Shallot model, this particular design does not require a safety as little more effort is required to start the assisted-opening feature–this is not a knife that will fire accidentally. This a much more stout design than some of the others in their lineup but is very comfortable in the hand and looks like it should weigh more than the 4.2 ounces that it does. Dealers can (and should!) order from Moteng right away as these are in stock now.
PackRat, Black G-10 Handle, Plain
Tags: K1665, Kershaw, knife, onion, packrat, Safe, Speed
Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Apr 15, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY,
MOTENG NEWS
Today while I was perusing through Camping Life Magazine I saw they released their yearly top picks for Camping Gear. With so many items out there in this field it would be fairly easy to miss a great product and just give the award to the newest, shiniest toy out there. It seems that isn’t the case with this list. Right there in the middle of the winners for 2009 a glimmering Golden Stake was bestowed upon CRKT’s Zilla-Tool. It’s nice to see that a tool with the visual appeal of Lyle Lovett was given such high accolades from one of our industries better magazines. CRKT has a certain knack for making aesthetically bewildering tools that become essential after a few uses (I am admittedly a huge fan of the CRKT Guppie) so when I took a closer look at the Zilla-Tool I had a good idea what to expect. I went to our warehouse and picked one of these bad boys out and right away I was puzzled by it. The elongated body gives it a bit of bulk and the oddest feature is the set of pliers that conspicuously stick out of the end of the piece. Judging by looks alone, this tool is one that was pretty lonely on prom night.
Read more…
Tags: Award, camping, CRKT, knife, Pliers, Zilla
Posted by PC_LOAD_LETTER on Apr 13, 2009 in
KNIVES & CUTLERY,
MOTENG NEWS,
PUBLIC SAFETY When I think of Switzerland my mind is filled with images of cheese, chocolate, maidens, watches, and knives. I figure, any which way you slice it, that isn’t a bad group of things to be looking at. So when I heard that the world famous Wenger Company would be stopping by to show us their line of quality Swiss products I was pretty excited. Even after I found out that they were ONLY bringing samples of their watches and knives I was still excited!
Loaded up with a mind boggling amount of items, Don Sneyd and Todd Strohmeier of Wenger came into our conference room with their intimate product knowledge and earnest enthusiasm and captivated the sales and purchasing teams from start to finish. What was nice was that even though I was not here the last time Wenger gave a demonstration here at Moteng it didn’t matter. I have used and owned Wenger products most of my life. I think it is safe to say most people reading this have as well. “Wenger Swiss Army” is synonymous with quality, versatility, and history. Their products are the best friends of Scouts, outdoorsmen, and craftspeople the world over. With that in mind Don and Todd didn’t have to waste any time trying to preach to the choir about why their company is great. They were able to spend time on the intricacies of their lines and really focused on getting us even more familiar with their products.
Read more…
Tags: Evolution, knife, Pocket, Ranger, Swiss, Wenger
Posted by Industry News Blogger on Feb 9, 2009 in
INDUSTRY NEWS Moteng International is proud to present two exclusive Spyderco Bob Lum Knives due out Summer of 2009. These knives are a variation on the Late Bob Lum’s Chinese folder (C65 Series). They are going to have a tear drop blade with a VG-10 Steel (HRC 59-61). This is going to be available in two different blade configurations: Straight Edge VG-10 and a straight edge with a black coated VG-10. They will be a 3.16 inch blade with an overall open length of 7.19 inches. The handles are going to include a tactical Foliage Green Almite. These are both Limited Production to 600 Pieces for each run. They are going to be available to Moteng Customers only, so you will not see these flood the market. They will be released just in time for the summer, so make sure to order yours today!
Tags: almite handle, bob lum, exclusive, knife, knives, moteng, spyderco, VG10
