I carry (by choice) a pretty specific (and now discontinued) Kershaw pocketknife, their 1820 "Needs Work." I own a pair of them, or I did, and I work them pretty hard; it's my knife-of-all-work, opening boxes, trimming sections of the Velcro™* strip we use instead of tie-wraps or -- shudder -- cable-lacing, pencil-sharpening, trimming, marking, etc. etc.
Went to put my knife back into my pocket yesterday and the clip wouldn't catch. It spun around, having somehow lost one of the tiny screws that hold it to one of the scales. Frustrating, but I figured I'd rob a screw from my backup knife, which is presently needing a new spring anyway (in my hands, the springs last an average of three years. YMMV). Kershaw is good about parts support but I usually wait until I need a couple of items in order to not burn up twenty dollars of their time over a single five-cent part.
I can't find my backup Kershaw 1820. There's a chance Huck the cat has taken it, since it normally lives on my dressing table and he has been known to remove items when trying to wake me in the morning. If so, it can't have gone far, it's too heavy. There's a chance it's buried in the far back corner, under spare socks and a folded blanket and I'll be looking into that this morning. (In the meantime, I found a third one on eBay. Hey, it's discontinued and I like that model; might as well stock up when I find them at a decent price.)
It's surprisingly unsettling. One of those knives has gone into my right-hand jeans (or skirt -- I won't buy 'em without pockets) pocket every morning for years.
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* For signal/low-voltage wiring, we use the name-brand stuff, which lasts 10X longer than the generic versions made by electrical-parts makers, is priced slightly less, and is readily available in black, white and screamin' Hunter Orange.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
21 comments:
Try emailing Kershaw. The spring in my Kershaw Blur quit working and they responded to my email within a couple of days and then sent the spring free of charge. (actually they sent it twice, the first spring is still enroute) Great knives and great support when I needed it.
I know you mentioned 'knife' but have you seen the Powerplay multi-tools aimed at electrical technicians such as yourself ? Pretty nifty items, though with more bulk than the Kershaw.
http://www.alliedelec.com/m/d/93ad343553b8afe5626a3b6c9b587461.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AYLY44W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687682&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001EC4RTI&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=D9496HCK7E70ZBP7X8XN
I LOVE my Kershaw Ken Onion BLUR!
I lost one and bought a second as soon as I could afford it.
I morn the loss of yours, due to mechanical failure.
gfa
Cat knocked my CRKT M4-02S off the dresser one time and I was a couple of weeks finding it...it ended up under the dresser between some shoes I keep under there. I hadn't looked there because I didn't remember it being on the dresser :)
When you get your new screw, consider a tiny drop of blue threadlocker compound on the threads to keep it from un-screwing on you in the future.
Also, that would be an excellent time to remove the clip entirely and take out the slight bend those clips are 'wont to do' and restore its clip tightness...
"Knife" I said and knife I meant -- I carry a Leatherman Wave on my belt for tasks that need driving/gripping tools.
A simple edged tool is likely to be the human ur-tool, especially as tool-using hominids moved farther away from sources of flint or obsidian. IMO, any adult human -- and most children past a certain degree of maturity -- ought to carry a knife. Otherwise you're just a chimp with a haircut.
"IMO, any adult human -- and most children past a certain degree of maturity -- ought to carry a knife. Otherwise you're just a chimp with a haircut."
Blogger needs a "Like" button.
I have carried a Schrade 194OT (made by God in the USA) for more than 30 years. When the first one wore out I happened to luck on another NIB in a half-empty hardware store display sometime after the original Schrade company had disappeared. I would feel undressed without that old lockblade in my pocket.
I'm sympathetic. I have (had?) an original Leatheman. It ain't where it's supposed to be. I've looked all over. Yeah, so it isn't as if it's irreplaceable, but it's irritating, at the least, that I can't find it. And I don't have a cat either.
At least the 1820 is available NIB still, and cheaper than Amazon. I found one at toolsource.com for $51.
I used to work in a non-permissible environment for knife carry and since I have carried a knife since I was five I felt nekked at work.
+1 on the "...chimp with a haircut."
I do not smoke, but my brother gave me a Zippo many years ago withe the explanation that the ability to make fire is what
separates us from apes.
I knew I liked you. Now I am seeing why. Knives and Pockets.
Knives, pockets -- fire. I carry a lighter, though I do not smoke, for the same reason as waepnedmann.
My ST1820 "Needs Work" knives have a combination plain/serrated blade. Most of them seem to have had a plain blade. All the more reason to keep mine running. Tam gifted me the nice little Kershaw-specific "TX Tool" driver, which comes with every size Torx bit they use, plus straight and Philips bits, all of which store in the handle. Very nice!
I carry my dad's (requiescat in pace, pater) old penknife, though it's not much more than a letter opener/shrink unwrapper. I keep a Mora relatively handy, though I don't actually carry it much (the sheath is right-handed, and I'm not...need to do something about that one of these days). Used to have a nice rigging knife (blade rather like the 1820, plus a marlinspike), which I still miss. Don't get to sail much these days, though.
I have a needs work that i never use due to blade design not really fitting what i do with knives . I'll send it home with Tam when she comes out and you can have it . It is the plain edge version but if nothing else it will make a parts source for you .
Their customer service -- as I wrote in my original post -- is outstanding. So much so that I wait until I need two or three things, so they don't burn up twenty dollars in time and effort over a five-cent part. So far, I have never had to pay for a part, and they have sent two replacement springs and a couple of scale screws. Service like that, you don;t eat all at once.
I've got a 1950 "Tremor" that is my box opener etc. blade, I replaced the factory torx clip screws with allen head socket head cap screws and blue locktite after one of them broke on me. The steel is stronger than the factory stainless screws and they take a bigger and more common driver than the tiny t7(or so) that the original ones do. But looking at the clip on the Needs Work the extra head height might be an issue.
--Joat
Had to chime in with my knives also. I have a Kershaw that I carry clipped on my right hand pocket and a cheap Kershaw in the bottom of my right hand pocket. I have a CRKT Drifter in the bottom of my left hand pocket and a Leatherman Wind clipped on my left hand pocket. When not working, I am also carrying a Taurus Millenium Pro G2 in an owb on the right and a spare mag on my belt on the left. I say that if I add anything else, I have to get a bat belt. And I carry a cell phone. This is all covered with just a T-Shirt.
When I first started carrying a gun, I was scared I would print with a heavy coat. Now, I have learned that nobody is looking and it is all about attitude. If you act like normal, people perceive you as normal.
Cats with knives, Dogs hide in fear!
Pigpen51 notes, " If you act like normal, people perceive you as normal."
Here at Roseholme Cottage, carrying a gun is normal.
Kershaw Ken Onion Blur is a great alternative. I have one in green and one in red for when I work in the yard(you know how hard it is to find a green knife in high grass?) I have a black one somewhere; I'm sure it will turn up eventually.
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