Monday, January 24, 2011

Sharpest knife in the drawer.


Theater-made WWII Knives. Seems to me that the Pacific WWII knives are more likely to have the leather-washer handles replaced with aircraft acrylic and aluminum than the European knives. Pacific tropics rotted leather faster. All these are Ebay low-end knives. Going to use all of them to butcher deer. I guess I will have to learn leathercraft to make some sheaths.

Tyler Gunshow at Harvey Hall on Saturday and Sunday. Seven bucks to get in. Big crowd and lots of guns on the tables. Gunshows ought to be worth 3 semester hour credits for the history, economics, street smarts and ability to thrive in a social situation. Firearms from pinfires to folding-stock SKARS. It's all jumbled together with jerky, optics, cases, ammo and the latest gimmicks.

Ammo prices were too high. I can get it shipped for less. Reloaded 9mmFMJs were 11.00 per 50...and the price didn't break much for bulk.

I use Glock 19s as my pricepoint gun. At a dealers table I check the price on this common pistol and can tell where the dealers numbers are going to be on just about everything. The good dealers had new G19s at 499.00. The expensive dealers were at 469. This is for the basic new model without nightsights, porting, et. I saw used earlier model G19s for more. Gets crazy.

I was scanning for leather knife sheaths and vintage WWII knives. Not many and usually far overpriced from Ebay. Nothing I was tempted to buy and very little price haggling. I couldn't move several of the knife sheaths I found by a nickel.

Several custom knife makers. I have to comment that I have never met a custom knifemaker who isn't clinically treatable for a mental disorder. Is it the grinding? The forging? Making handles? Inhalants from the steel or leather? They trend nuttier than mad hatters. Must be something in the process.

Should have sprung for a cheap little Warthog knife-sharpening jiggy. 75 bucks for the plastic model, 95 for the metal. It seemed to really work and be easy and straightforward to use. British-made. I found them on Ebay at about the same price in pounds. Couldn't get them to move a nickel on price. If they had knocked off five bucks I would have bought it. Guy is from Longview. Sneed was willing to go for half but I wanted to see them on the internet. Certainly put an edge on the knife I was carrying. Quickly. Nothing on Amazon that I don't already have.

Glad to have gunshows around. Thriving market. I think it's a healthy sign.

3 comments:

Old NFO said...

Concur with ALL your comments... sigh... And good knife makers should NEVER be allowed out in public...LOL

Windy Wilson said...

I have an all metal Warthog myself that I bought about 7-8 years ago.
That'll put an edge on a knife that I can't put one on with crock sticks or even Arkansas stones.
I'll have to keep an eye out at the next gun show; the abrasive sticks on a Warthog come in two different grits and they sell them separately.

Robert Langham said...

Thanks for the warthog vote.