Author: Tim (page 32 of 113)

Kershaw makes some mighty fine knives. But, like anything you buy, an issue may arise.

Fortunately, all Kershaw products are covered under a Limited Lifetime Warranty against manufacturing defects. This includes defects in material, construction, and workmanship. For example, if the lockup is not up to par or the blade centering is off, Kershaw will happily take care of it.

However, unless you have some of the timeless models like the Leek or Blur, chances are your Kershaw will one day be discontinued.

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There is an old theory called the stepping-stone hypothesis that claims using mild drugs will lead to the usage of more potent and addictive drugs. This phenomenon became more widely known as the concept of the “gateway drug” in the 1970s.

I am not here to argue the merits of the claim, but the term “gateway” has now become a catchall for an introductory item that leads to a greater obsession.

I was curious to learn more about how people came to the obsession of knives, so I set out to find the most common “gateway knives” for every brand. These are the knives people first got that made them more interested in a brand, slowly consuming them until they had bought up as many knives from the brand as possible.

I thought I’d focus on the 20 top brands. I’ll include a secondary choice at the end.

Benchmade Mini Griptilian

The first brand up is Benchmade. Benchmade is already a brand known for higher-end knives, so it’s not likely a person’s first knife will ever be a Benchmade. However, for those interested in trying out the brand before they make a long-term commitment to its more expensive offerings, there’s the Mini Griptilian.

This knife is an icon and still represents the best of Benchmade. The Mini Griptilian uses 154CM steel on its sub-3-inch blade and Noryl GTX scales. After this knife, you shouldn’t be surprised to see someone upgrade to the premium version of the Mini Griptilian and maybe even try out some other Benchies like the Barrage or Infidel.

Secondary Choice – Benchmade Griptilian

I was tempted to choose the Benchmade 940 as a secondary option, but it’s about $182. So the larger Griptilian seems like a better option.

Boker Kalashnikov Automat 74

Of all the brands, I had the most trouble finding the perfect gateway knife that could get people hooked on Boker. The problem is that there are so many models — not to mention several different brands under the Boker umbrella. I ultimately decided on the Boker Plus Kalashnikov Automat 74.

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There is no right way to carry a knife — unless you ask the millions of people who carry knives. Some will insist that the only true way to carry a knife is clipped to the pocket so that the blade tip is pointing up.

A smaller but still vocal minority say that’s preposterous and that one should carry a knife in the pocket with the blade pointed down.

The truth is that it’s simply a matter of preference.

According a survey in Knife News, 64 percent prefers tip up and 19 percent prefers tip down while 15 percent don’t care and another 2 percent prefer no clip.

This post isn’t to persuade anyone to carry a knife a certain way but to enlighten those who don’t carry their knives tip down.

So if you can’t understand why anyone would carry a knife tip down, here are a few reasons.

Better Positioning for Larger Knives

One of the main advantages of carrying a knife with the tip up is that you can slid your thumb into your pocket, pull out the knife, and already be in the natural position to open it. This is true… for most knives.

Larger knives — like those with blades longer than 4 inches — are a bit trickier.

When you slide a larger knife like the Spyderco Resilience out of the pocket when it’s tip up, you won’t be in a natural position to open it. You’d end up need to adjust the grip a little to open it effectively.

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