Shop wear -vent

[M&J]

A buddy relayed he was contacted by the buyer who had bought a knife from a dealer and was asked if the knife could be freshened up a bit. When the knife arrived he commented that it looked like it had seen significant use rather than just "shop wear".

I've encountered "shop wear" as well where knives on consignment get played with so they get scratched up. This becomes more of an issue with titanium that has been anodized yet similar with 416 bolsters.

It is frustrating how some customers handle knives yet this happens at shows where they are not very careful in their handling. Have seen customers flick the knife open to have it fly out of their hands onto the floor as well. (That's another gripe discussion.)

[Crex]

Hear you big time, my nemesis is the sheath splitter. Folks that have no clue how to sheath a knife.

Had a guy at the Blade many moons ago split the side out of a $200 sheath with the $600 knife (it was custom fitted for). He didn't think I saw it so he set it back on the table and turned to walk away. Before I could say something, his wife grabbed him by the ear and marched him to the middle of my table to face me. She instructed him to pull out his wallet and dig deep. Told her I could redo the sheath to make the purchase "clean", but she said "NO, he needs the lesson"! Could have kissed her right there and probably should have.

[M&J]

Great story!

[Crex]

There are also the ones with toxic finger sweat, they seem to have to touch everything but buy nothing. Then there are the "St. Bernards " that spray when they talk. Probably the worst part of shows like the Blade is the re-cleaning when I get home.

[TexasJack]

Great stories!

I made a knife for a friend and gave it to him while we were all out celebrating his birthday. First time he stuck the knife back in the sheath, he held it at an angle and cut right through the sheath, nearly cutting himself in the process. How do you idiot proof something that simple?

I overheard a guy talking about buying a nice knife but he felt like it needed to be sharper. A friend of his offered t sharpen it for him. When he got it back, the edge was crooked and the blade was scratched from one end to the other. Turned out that the friend had a WalMart knife sharpener with the rods that are stuck in a wood block. For whatever reason, the friend felt like the faster he moved the knife, the faster it would sharpen. The first lesson would be that if someone says they know how to do something, make them show you before handing over your valuable knife to them. The second lesson is that sharpening a knife should be a basic requirement to get your "man card". (Other requirements should be, changing a tire, building a fire, bandaging a wound with electricians tape, using a plunger on a plugged toilet, painting a room, understanding the basic rules of baseball, football, and basketball - with the exception of the "balk", which nobody understands.)

[M&J]

That is where Kydex comes in. I've been wanting to try a lined Kydex sheath since it is a bit quieter. The thing is that it is heavier and the time to cost ratio makes those marginal builds in my mind.

Have seen some of those hacked sharpening jobs. One begins to think they took an angle grinder like sharpening a lawn mower blade routine. Have seen some pretty messed up re-finish jobs too.