A job that needs a knife...
- Thread starter Polzeyboy
- Start date
Well, working an office gig, don’t really have much use for a knife at work most days (other than lunch), but no reason not to carry one...
Weekends during racing season, I’m a corner marshal at various tracks through the Northeast. A knife is an absolutely critical piece of kit at the track. Before belt-cutters were a thing, you always made sure you hade a knife sharp enough to cut a driver out of his belts quickly, should he be trapped in a burning car. Now that’s a pretty rare occurrence (especially these days) but I have had to cut belts to help extract an injured driver. Usually the tasks are a bit more mundane though.... untangling a motorcycle that tumbled into sponsor banners, cutting open bags of kitty litter to spread on oil spills, cutting zip-ties on snow fence, and a thousand other little things, including when the send lunches to your station, in a box wrapped in duct tape.
A few pics...
Me at a pro motorcycle race almost 20 years ago (Mid-Ohio for anyone who knows the area). Wish I still looked this young!
Honest to goodness real Shelby Cobra’s and GT40 at a vintage event. The GT-350’s are original too. All have real, 60’s racing history. Owner is actually a long time acquaintance of my family (I grew up around sportscar racing), and I’ve ridden shotgun in the GT40, at speed, for a few hot laps. Hell of a ride! That’s my daughter standing next to the blue 427, which she got to ride shotgun in for a charity ride. Racing is a family affair.
Just some more random racing pics, mostly vintage. I have tons of them, so I won’t bore you guys too much...
For about the last 10 years, I’ve been up in race control (think of it as a management position). Usually that means a control tower, but one of my events is a charity race run through a city park, so Control is just a tent set up trackside.
And, just to keep it knife related, a Brous Silent Soldier that I keep on my belt at the track. I keep a larger folder in my pocket - but the little Brous is a quick grab, indexes in your fingers instantly, and with your fingers in the holes, it’s not gonna get dropped in a tire wall, inside a cockpit, or wherever.
Weekends during racing season, I’m a corner marshal at various tracks through the Northeast. A knife is an absolutely critical piece of kit at the track. Before belt-cutters were a thing, you always made sure you hade a knife sharp enough to cut a driver out of his belts quickly, should he be trapped in a burning car. Now that’s a pretty rare occurrence (especially these days) but I have had to cut belts to help extract an injured driver. Usually the tasks are a bit more mundane though.... untangling a motorcycle that tumbled into sponsor banners, cutting open bags of kitty litter to spread on oil spills, cutting zip-ties on snow fence, and a thousand other little things, including when the send lunches to your station, in a box wrapped in duct tape.
A few pics...
Me at a pro motorcycle race almost 20 years ago (Mid-Ohio for anyone who knows the area). Wish I still looked this young!
Honest to goodness real Shelby Cobra’s and GT40 at a vintage event. The GT-350’s are original too. All have real, 60’s racing history. Owner is actually a long time acquaintance of my family (I grew up around sportscar racing), and I’ve ridden shotgun in the GT40, at speed, for a few hot laps. Hell of a ride! That’s my daughter standing next to the blue 427, which she got to ride shotgun in for a charity ride. Racing is a family affair.
Just some more random racing pics, mostly vintage. I have tons of them, so I won’t bore you guys too much...
For about the last 10 years, I’ve been up in race control (think of it as a management position). Usually that means a control tower, but one of my events is a charity race run through a city park, so Control is just a tent set up trackside.
And, just to keep it knife related, a Brous Silent Soldier that I keep on my belt at the track. I keep a larger folder in my pocket - but the little Brous is a quick grab, indexes in your fingers instantly, and with your fingers in the holes, it’s not gonna get dropped in a tire wall, inside a cockpit, or wherever.
afishhunter
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P
Polzeyboy
I sure hope that picture of the scallop boat was taken at low tide, that she did not split or hole her hull, and she made it back to the docks/port safely.
I needed a good knife when I was employed as an auto mechanic, auto body repairman, (fabrication) welder, assistant chief engineer at a TV station, did ground maintenance and tree trimming, and an over the road expedited box truck driver.
Although not really a requirement for the job, I did like having a good knife to open packages and mail when I was an executive secretary and receptionist.
Yes. As a matter of fact, I was one of the ugliest receptionists you ever seen.
(and one of the few that are male, who possess a full beard.) When I managed a couple retail stores and night clubs,a good knife was handy for opening boxes/cases of incoming stock and mail.
I needed a good knife when I was employed as an auto mechanic, auto body repairman, (fabrication) welder, assistant chief engineer at a TV station, did ground maintenance and tree trimming, and an over the road expedited box truck driver.
Although not really a requirement for the job, I did like having a good knife to open packages and mail when I was an executive secretary and receptionist.
Yes. As a matter of fact, I was one of the ugliest receptionists you ever seen.
(and one of the few that are male, who possess a full beard.) When I managed a couple retail stores and night clubs,a good knife was handy for opening boxes/cases of incoming stock and mail.P Polzeyboy I sure hope that picture of the scallop boat was taken at low tide, that she did not split or hole her hull, and she made it back to the docks/port safely.
I needed a good knife when I was employed as an auto mechanic, auto body repairman, (fabrication) welder, assistant chief engineer at a TV station, did ground maintenance and tree trimming, and an over the road expedited box truck driver.
Although not really a requirement for the job, I did like having a good knife to open packages and mail when I was an executive secretary and receptionist.
Yes. As a matter of fact, I was one of the ugliest receptionists you ever seen.
It got fairly deeply dented but nothing more.
The recovery was rather interesting; it was the last big tide for a while with the swell picking up; a large fishing boat was used to try and pull it off at high tide. With only 5 minutes of incoming tide left, it finally moved off the rocks after many attempts. We had a crowd of about 300 people watching!
Henry Beige
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Well, working an office gig, don’t really have much use for a knife at work most days (other than lunch), but no reason not to carry one...
Weekends during racing season, I’m a corner marshal at various tracks through the Northeast. A knife is an absolutely critical piece of kit at the track. Before belt-cutters were a thing, you always made sure you hade a knife sharp enough to cut a driver out of his belts quickly, should he be trapped in a burning car. Now that’s a pretty rare occurrence (especially these days) but I have had to cut belts to help extract an injured driver. Usually the tasks are a bit more mundane though.... untangling a motorcycle that tumbled into sponsor banners, cutting open bags of kitty litter to spread on oil spills, cutting zip-ties on snow fence, and a thousand other little things, including when the send lunches to your station, in a box wrapped in duct tape.
A few pics...
Me at a pro motorcycle race almost 20 years ago (Mid-Ohio for anyone who knows the area). Wish I still looked this young!
Honest to goodness real Shelby Cobra’s and GT40 at a vintage event. The GT-350’s are original too. All have real, 60’s racing history. Owner is actually a long time acquaintance of my family (I grew up around sportscar racing), and I’ve ridden shotgun in the GT40, at speed, for a few hot laps. Hell of a ride! That’s my daughter standing next to the blue 427, which she got to ride shotgun in for a charity ride. Racing is a family affair.
Just some more random racing pics, mostly vintage. I have tons of them, so I won’t bore you guys too much...
For about the last 10 years, I’ve been up in race control (think of it as a management position). Usually that means a control tower, but one of my events is a charity race run through a city park, so Control is just a tent set up trackside.
And, just to keep it knife related, a Brous Silent Soldier that I keep on my belt at the track. I keep a larger folder in my pocket - but the little Brous is a quick grab, indexes in your fingers instantly, and with your fingers in the holes, it’s not gonna get dropped in a tire wall, inside a cockpit, or wherever.
In fact I do have a passing acquaintance with Mid-Ohio. I did an SCCA driver’s school there in 1973 or 1974. It is a very cool venue, a really nice facility even back then. I did a little club racing in Formula Vees, where I learned that I wasn’t really fast. I also learned the rule of thumb about what it takes to go racing: all your time, and all your money.
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Yet another electrician/ HVAC tech stopping in:
Mid-O is about a 3 1/2 hour track for me. My home track used to be Nelson’s Ledges over near Warren, but then BeaveRun (now PittRace) was built about 15 years ago, and that’s been our regions home track since. It’s nice because it’s only a 35 min drive from my front door.
I was born in 72, and grew up watching my dad run an old G Prod triumph Spitfire all through the 70’s and 80’s till I was old enough to work timing, then tech, and eventually working corners, which I still do today when they let me out of the tower to play...
Don’t know if you still follow racing at all today, but if you think it cost all your time and money back the, these days it’s even worse. Even on the club level, I’m always amazed at the set-up some of the drivers show up with. Brand new F350’s, fully loaded, with 40’ enclosed haulers, and spares out the wazoo, just to race a Miata for a $3 trophy. It’s why I’m still an official, and never got into driving.
Depending on which side of Mid-O you’re located, I wouldn’t be surprised if we at least know some of the same names.
afishhunter
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I thought the rule of thumb for racing was "It takes all of your time, and more than all your money." (regardless of if racing a car, motorcycle, boat, bicycle, tenny/running shoes, swim trunks ...)
("more than" as in "it takes a fair amount of the bank's (singular) or banks' (plural), and/or sponsors' (plural) money in addition to all of your money.")
(A "Top of The Line" professional 100% carbon fiber (except for the tires, tubes, brake pads, electrical shifting wires, and internal brake cables) racing bicycle like those used in the Tour de France can cost over 50 grand. The top names have ... "several" ... identical back-up bikes, plus an army of support personnel (not including their medical team) that need paid. Oh, the entrance fees for any one race can be thousands of dollars.)
Last edited:
Ajack60
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Being in construction, there's always a need for a knife. I do plumbing part time meaning that at my paying the bills job, the need to use a knife isn't as often as when I do a plumbing job. At my paying the bills job, my days are 12 hours and I work 6 months out of the year. I do plumbing on my days off.
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Familiar with area 45 min awayWell, working an office gig, don’t really have much use for a knife at work most days (other than lunch), but no reason not to carry one...
Weekends during racing season, I’m a corner marshal at various tracks through the Northeast. A knife is an absolutely critical piece of kit at the track. Before belt-cutters were a thing, you always made sure you hade a knife sharp enough to cut a driver out of his belts quickly, should he be trapped in a burning car. Now that’s a pretty rare occurrence (especially these days) but I have had to cut belts to help extract an injured driver. Usually the tasks are a bit more mundane though.... untangling a motorcycle that tumbled into sponsor banners, cutting open bags of kitty litter to spread on oil spills, cutting zip-ties on snow fence, and a thousand other little things, including when the send lunches to your station, in a box wrapped in duct tape.
A few pics...
Me at a pro motorcycle race almost 20 years ago (Mid-Ohio for anyone who knows the area). Wish I still looked this young!
Honest to goodness real Shelby Cobra’s and GT40 at a vintage event. The GT-350’s are original too. All have real, 60’s racing history. Owner is actually a long time acquaintance of my family (I grew up around sportscar racing), and I’ve ridden shotgun in the GT40, at speed, for a few hot laps. Hell of a ride! That’s my daughter standing next to the blue 427, which she got to ride shotgun in for a charity ride. Racing is a family affair.
Just some more random racing pics, mostly vintage. I have tons of them, so I won’t bore you guys too much...
For about the last 10 years, I’ve been up in race control (think of it as a management position). Usually that means a control tower, but one of my events is a charity race run through a city park, so Control is just a tent set up trackside.
And, just to keep it knife related, a Brous Silent Soldier that I keep on my belt at the track. I keep a larger folder in my pocket - but the little Brous is a quick grab, indexes in your fingers instantly, and with your fingers in the holes, it’s not gonna get dropped in a tire wall, inside a cockpit, or wherever.
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In doing this kind of work, how does the insingo blade compare to a conventional drop point? Looking at it it seems like it would be the missing link between a regular knife and a razor knife.
Dcdavis
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I love the Insingo shape. Perfect for our line of work in my opinion. If you like a razor knife or a skinning/stripping knife you’ll like the insingo. Perfect for stripping jacketed wire and cable. Real good for draw cuts. I’m a fan.
South paw draw
has a good opinion of it as well in similar work. I can make a drop point work and still carry one but the insingo is more convenient
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You should give the Spyderco Delica Wharncliffe blade a try. I am an electrician also and out of all the blade shapes I have used it out performs all of them when it comes to stripping Romex and UF cables and the flat edge comes in handy when it comes to scraping off old labels from panels. The textured scales work great when my hands are covered with wire pulling lube but i'm sure you have figured that out already.I'm an electrician and I also do HVAC service. To say I have a job that needs a knife would be an understatement. I consider myself lucky in this regard that no matter what knife I choose to carry, I'm never short on chances to use it.
South paw draw
Yep.....I'm a idiot.
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I picked up the insingo thinking I would get it to try out. Didn't really like the looks. Once I had it and took it into the feild I totally feel in love with it. For the record the umnumzaan is my favorite but only by a super small margin. For wiring work the insingo is top dog. Love it so much I sent mine out to @WValtakis to give it a personality change for 2020. Gringo (green-insingo) should be back with me very soon.I love the Insingo shape. Perfect for our line of work in my opinion. If you like a razor knife or a skinning/stripping knife you’ll like the insingo. Perfect for stripping jacketed wire and cable. Real good for draw cuts. I’m a fan.
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I always kinda thought of the regular Delica blade as sort of a modified wharncliffe. More downward and straight than a drop point but still a little belly.
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Anodizing job? I'd love to see a green CRK.
South paw draw
Yep.....I'm a idiot.
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Well I don't really know for sure. Haven't seen it. But it will have at least some green. I gave creative freedom to @WValtakis and only had a couple requests, green was one of them.
