Well, I tell ya Brothers...A guy simply cant survive on this inhospitable Planet very long without a good knife...Thats all a guy really needs when you think about it..boil everything down and applying 'Occams Razor' parameters...With a good honest knife, a guy can make fire, tools, deadfalls, bow and arrow, shelter, shoes, clothes, self defense implements...When it comes down to it, and Survival is on the line, all hope is lost, washed ashore soaking wet ...a good Knife in pocket and some according skills are more valuable than a Sat Phone or a Bic Lighter...Weather dependent of course..still.....
Anyway, Like Y'all, I have a lot of appreciation for a good Honest blade....I recently traded a beauty William Henry locking folder to a Forum member here for some silver and paper...Made in the USA, beautiful and smooth as hell, too good of a blade for me, I felt inadequate to even have it in my possession....google up the William Henry website and have a look...
Once upon a time, after 911, I was flying out of GRR, going through the security checkpoint, completely forgot I had my Schrade 770t twin blade 'Muskrat skinner' my Gpa gave me when I was a little kid in my pocket, where it resided for eons...So ..the TSA agent, a guy about my age...of course hit on it, and was going to confiscate my favorite blade, and toss it into the bin along with the nail clippers and multitools and finger nail files.....
Just one look in my eye and he knew this situation could go really bad really fast, and by god it would have!...Aint no damn body taking this blade from me! He amazingly took the high road, understood the significance and heritage, recognized the dangers, evaluated correctly, diffused the situation, and made the right decision....(Little pee pee folding Schrade?)..
He walked me out to the parking lot and let me store it in my car, we had a smoke, talked about the World and knives and muskrats and our Grandpas......worked out good for everybody concerned...but hell, a guy feel naked without a blade!