The Gray Haired Reviewer
As we careen towards fall, I realized that I have been doing this a very, very long time. Not in actual years, but in internet years. I have posted on this site at least once every week for over 13 years. As previously discussed, I have written more than 500 reviews. What do you learn in 500 reviews over 13 years? A lot. Here are some of my better and completely unintuitive lessons:
Blade Length Doesn’t Matter
Fidget toys are good distractions. They are, however, not tools. Knives, on the other hand, are tools and while some are good fidget toys, that is a bonus, not their core function. I have made many a Pocket Knife Lunch with a Dragonfly. I have also made feathersticks with a Dragonfly. I have sliced apples, broken down packages, opened clam shells, processed stuff for recycling. I have done all of this with the 2 inch cutting edge on the Dragonfly. Simply put, you don’t need more. HANDLE LENGTH is more important than blade length. Beyond three inches on a folder and you are deluding yourself. It doesn’t help, it doesn’t do more work, and if you think of your knife as a self-defense tool your life insurance rates should probably increase.
Lumens Don’t Matter
You know lumens don’t matter when even the flamethrowers have a sustainable high of “only” 300 lumens. Look at the runtime charts for the vast majority of kilolumens lights and you will see something that resembles the sheer face of Half Dome—high peak and then a straight drop off to the actual high of, around, 300 lumens. Don’t kid yourself, you don’t need more. I just picked up a Malkoff that “only” hits 300 lumens and it has done everything I have asked of it with ease.
People Really Care
Read through the comments sections here and you see a bunch of people making good comments, many of which disagree with me. People care. I think they care because they spend a lot of time and money choosing gear. If you read this site you probably think about your knife more than 99.9% of people. This is a site by an enthusiast and for enthusiasts. And the root for that word is the Attic Greek work “enthous” which means possessed by a god. Uncovering that meaning gives you a hint as to why people are so passionate. They really care and really caring is almost always a good thing. As the Modern Sage once said: “Don’t half-ass two things, whole ass one thing.” If you haven’t noticed, caring is not something people are supposed to do anymore. But we do.
People > Gear
In writing this blog I have met a lot of people I would never have met. The vast, vast majority of them are great people. At worst they are interesting people. And the thing is that my friends I have made through this blog out value even my favorite piece of gear by a huge amount. When my wife was going through chemo it was nice to have a change of pace. When I was stressed by case work, the people I met here offered me a different perspective on things. People > gear every time.
Good Design Trumps Everything
Looking at the stuff that has been popular throughout the history of the blog you see one theme—those things are all good designs. SAKs have been popular the entire time and for good reason. Look at the truly superior Bantam. Two tools, virtually infinite utility. Even with relatively soft and very old steel, lacking flippers or framelocks, the truly superior design makes for some excellent EDC tools. Literally everything on a SAK works well. The saw, the scissors, the main blade, the punch, the can opener, the cap lifter, everything. Over and over again, they just work. It all comes back to good design. The Sebenza, the BK16, the Dragonfly, the Neutron 2, the PFII, the Lamy 2000, the MaxMadCo Bolt Action Pen, all of the classics on this site are great not because of the fancy materials, but because of good design. The Neutron 2 with Victorinox’s 1.4116 steel would still be quite good, because, in the final analysis, good design trumps everything.
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