Random Thought Thread

Nathan the Machinist said:
I am also suffering from "crisis" fatigue. I swear, as I've gotten older, it seems like a lot of it is manufactured bullshit. The ever omnipresent government shutdowns for example. They're always doing this. I no longer even care. I won't even read the articles anymore.
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No kidding. Are we totally f****d if brilliant minds like ours (meaning participating C.O.C.Ks) just stop caring?
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
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It is thicker towards the front where there is more stress. I'm more aggressive in the second hole towards the back because that is less stressed. And there is a web in between.

The tang is the dimension that it is, not for structural reasons but because it has to fit the handle design. This can leave meat in the middle that isn't actually doing any work except making the blade heavy.
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Hey Nathan the Machinist Nathan the Machinist here is the tang in question that is .25 inch elmax and broke easy (attached).
 

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XtianAus said:
Hey Nathan the Machinist Nathan the Machinist here is the tang in question that is .25 inch elmax and broke easy (attached).
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^wrong


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^right



It should be intuitively obvious to everyone that the skeletonized tang on the top is not done very well.

An unnecessary design element should never be the weak point in a design.
 
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^ look at this stupidity

That collection of stress risers is literally perforated. Like an old school postage stamp. In about the highest stressed area. Why? What purpose is being served by this?

Who thought that was a good idea?
 
This is the new face of knifemaking.

Knives based purely on some bizarre aesthetic, with poorly chosen or inherently compromised materials, produced crudely, and purchased by people that for several generations haven’t needed to use tools. These objects are less about what they’re intended for and more about being some sort of talisman that reflects an idea or a concept on how the owner perceives it’s supposed to be used.
 
bluemax_1 said:
Random question:

We've got some fantastic leather workers here, but does anyone know of a reasonable sword scabbard maker they can recommend?

The links Albion sent me for scabbard makers (they don't include scabbards with their swords), the scabbards were even more expensive than the sword (the sword was ~$1k IIRC. One of the links stated that their sword scabbards start at $2,200 😳).
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I bet Makael Makael could make you one.
 
Matthew Gregory said:
This is the new face of knifemaking.

Knives based purely on some bizarre aesthetic, with poorly chosen or inherently compromised materials, produced crudely, and purchased by people that for several generations haven’t needed to use tools. These objects are less about what they’re intended for and more about being some sort of talisman that reflects an idea or a concept on how the owner perceives it’s supposed to be used.
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preach on, Brother!

it seems to me that a lot of knives these days are designed by designers, not knife enthusiasts/users. Anyone can get the software and learn how to use it, (apparently not me) and some folks can come up with something cool enough looking that some people will buy it. In fact, there is an 'arms race' for new designs in the knife world which has nothing to do with how well the knife works, and everything to do with staying ahead of the competition by being 'innovative'. But no one cares, because by the time the truth hits, there's another bauble waiting to be consumed.

This is why I admire companies like Randall and CPK- there is integrity built in to the very fact that there is a commitment to the design of the models they produce. When you turn away from the tried and true by searching for something that's simply more eye catching or whatever, I think you burn through the integrity that you worked so hard to build in the first place.
 
Well said guys.

My opinion is true utilitarian tools are ugly. They need to get the job done first and aesthetic is secondary. The new generations of users focus too much on the tactical aspect in the name, most of which comes from looks, and lesser on the true functionality which one has to put their tool to the limit to find out. Same reason people buy Land Rovers and put wide rims on them, or scratch resistant tapes on their Rolexes..
 
Lorien said:
preach on, Brother!

it seems to me that a lot of knives these days are designed by designers, not knife enthusiasts/users. Anyone can get the software and learn how to use it, (apparently not me) and some folks can come up with something cool enough looking that some people will buy it. In fact, there is an 'arms race' for new designs in the knife world which has nothing to do with how well the knife works, and everything to do with staying ahead of the competition by being 'innovative'. But no one cares, because by the time the truth hits, there's another bauble waiting to be consumed.

This is why I admire companies like Randall and CPK- there is integrity built in to the very fact that there is a commitment to the design of the models they produce. When you turn away from the tried and true by searching for something that's simply more eye catching or whatever, I think you burn through the integrity that you worked so hard to build in the first place.
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100% agreed.

I can fully and wholeheartedly support people who think outside the box, and develop innovative ideas/designs that actually perform better.

For instance; Elite Iron Revolution bipods. Here's an innovative design, not simply for the sake of being different, but something that significantly improves function.

Numerous bipod designs, with small differences, but when this design first debuted a decade ago, I'd never seen anything like it. I've tried many of the bipods on the market, and nothing else works/feels like it.

Conversely, the free market abounds with designs with virtually zero thought on function, and is simply about being different, and not just knives.

There are examples of this form over function literally EVERYWHERE, and the gullible (or ignorant) are suckers for it, because they either don't know enough to look at something and immediately understand, "Well, that seems REALLY dumb. What idiot came up with THAT idea?".

That knife Nate posted, is a perfect example. Maybe in some mall-ninja's fantasy, they might think, "Yeah, it was probably designed that way, so when you stab someone, you just twist the handle and snap the blade off, leaving it inside them....". "Well, that's dumb".

I've mentioned it before, but the reason I became a CPK fan, is all the thought and effort that goes into the Performance aspects of CPKs. Your designs, Nathan's refinements. The focus on EVERYTHING from the handles, to the balance, and even heat treat.

Plenty of makers out there, whose primary focus is looks/aesthetics, and plenty of buyers for those, who have zero intentions of ever using them, and buy them simply because they like the way something looks. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

To each, their own, but my preference for a tool, is function over pure aesthetics, and I'd disagree with the opinion that functional tools are ugly. To me, there's a beauty in functionality, and it can be seen in the design, by folks who understand and appreciate function/performance oriented designs.
 
There's some irony to be seen here. Everything being said is true, especially if you use the knives you buy.

I'm not disparaging collecting knives. However, if all your blade does is sit in a drawer, functional design doesn't matter. As collecting has become more and more prominent, so has appealing to aesthetics at the expense of effective functionality.

In my opinion, knives are first and foremost, tools, just like hammers and axes. Although, if your axe never chops wood, it doesn't really matter that it's made of tinfoil.

CPK...."Performance" is right in the name. It's part of their creed and the basis of their ethos. It definitely shows in their work.
 
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carnifex knifeworks said:
In my opinion, knives are first and foremost, tools, just like hammers and axes. Although, if your axe never chops wood, it doesn't really matter that it's made of tinfoil.
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Tony Bose, (R.I.P.), used to comment on this from time to time back when I ran the Traditional Forum along with Gus. (Not CPK's Gus.)
 
91bravo said:
I bet Makael Makael could make you one.
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My dilemma is finding scabbard makers vs sheath makers.

Traditional style scabbards for longswords like this Warwick, are leather wrapped wood. I'm not sure how many sheath makers who've mostly worked with leather for smaller sheaths, also have the desire/skills to make sword scabbards.

The Warwick design in particular, is an Oakeshott Type XVIa. If you look at the tip in my photo, vs the tip of the longsword in Al's/azwelke's photo, you can see that the Warwick has significantly more taper. It was designed specifically to be effective for both cut and thrust.

That also means that flex in the sheath/scabbard can easily result in that tip piercing through when sheathing the sword, which is why they're typically a carved/fitted wood core, wrapped in leather, so scabbard makers are both, woodworkers and leathermakers.
 
Speaking of using knives....maybe I should say "abusing" instead. This is a Hogue deka in magnacut I'm going to sharpen for a friend.

I asked him, "Why don't you just carry a small pocket screwdriver or pry bar so you stop jacking up your blade edges?"
He said the damage was from "cutting things".

Like what? Concrete?

This used to be my knife, and I actually did some dumb things with it, but never had damage like this. Zoom way in on the tip. It's crazy. Going to be fun repairing that edge lol
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