Leisure
A Knives Tale
This article was originally written in October, 2004, with updates in March, June and December 2006.
I developed a fascination for knives in high school. There was even an incident I had with a knife that involved throwing and hurting someone. That was my first knife. It was one of those army-issued stainless multi-purpose knives with a can opener and a bottle opener, just like a Swiss army knife, except mine was marked with "U.S.A." My mom gave it to me. After the incident she took it back. I wonder where it is now.
Since then I've been aching to get another one. And so I did manage to get one of those cheap Swiss Army Knife imitations from China, but they were of such a low quality that the knife edge grew dull in a few months, and eventually it would bend backwards when open instead of staying straight.
In high school, camping was part of Boy Scout activity. So out of my own allowance I bought one of those cheap 6 inch knives with a sheath. It's still working to this day. It even has a compass and a grinding stone. It came with matches and a wire saw but I lost them when we moved house.
I also got a "balisong" as a gift from my friend. A "balisong" is a local folding or butterfly knife that can also be opened with one hand but requires some skill. The blade though is of low quality - mine got rusty in a few months and I couldn't clean it with ordinary cleaners. I tried WD40 to no avail.
When I was at university, I was able to save up for a real Swiss Army Knife, made by Victorinox. I was on a budget - 10 dollars at duty free - so I was looking for something small that would also answer my needs. I looked at the 
Tinker model - slim enough not to bulge in my pocket, but had two knives, can and bottle openers, and a Phillips screwdriver. I didn't think I needed such small scissors anyway, and I didn't want it to be put in a separate pouch hanging on my belt. Besides, I only had 10 dollars! I needed the screwdriver for opening PCs and other stuff. I reasoned that I didn't need a corkscrew because we rarely drink anything with cork covers. I think they've stopped making the Tinker, because I couldn't find it in the Victorinox website (07/14/06). I do still see a few on sale. Just yesterday I saw one at a Target store.
But then after a few years I lost my Tinker model somewhere. So I had to buy a new one. I settled for a similar model, but with the corkscrew. I have invested in screwdrivers anyway. So I got the Spartan model, but without the key chain. I wonder why some do, some don't. So here's my Victorinox pocket knife now. In the large picture below, it's the rightmost. It's one of the wisest investments I've made.
Eventually, I got married. Shopped around the Internet for the best knives. Thank God for the Internet. Everybody's posting opinions on everything. There was this set which was pretty expensive for newlyweds but a good investment, they say. So we went out to the local distributor to look at Zwilling J.A. Henckels and checked them out. The reviewers were right. The whole set is pretty expensive. The Professional "S" series was nice, and the sales lady says it's sturdier because the metal goes all the way to the bottom of the handle - full tang, as my friend explained to me. It's also good for balance, I found out. The Pro S Series was for aspiring amateur chefs. It turns out they have two brands, one regular and one high end. So for practicality, we thought about what sort of knife we would really use. There should at least be a butcher knife, and an 8-inch utility knife for everything else. Paring knives or steak knives aren't really useful everyday. And since there were only two of us, we bought meat that was already chopped at the store, so a butcher knife isn't necessary, at least for now.
In 2004 , I've finally gotten around to buying an folding knife, a short one. Again, shopped around the Internet, asked some friends. The two most common names I've heard are Leatherman and Buck. Again, shopped around for a Buck knife and settled with the Lightning II. Put some oil, and voila! I have a folding one-hand-open-and-close 3 inch blade with serration. In the above photo, it's the one in the middle.
In April 2006, I got myself a Gerber FAST Draw. The patented FAST Draw takes some getting used to, partly because I've been using my Buck Knife as my everday-knife. It does feel quick. The packaging came with a warning though: While by Gerber's assertion based on the definition of a switch blade, the FAST Draw isn't one, they can't guarantee that it is legal to carry it in all 50 states. I'll keep my Buck as my everyday knife then, and leave this beauty as an emergency knife, part of my emergency pack. I got a Leatherman Blast Multi-Tool as well, but that's not a knife.
In August 2006, I finally purchased what I hope would be the last of my folding knife purchases. I got the Spyderco Military Model with a serrated edge. What surprised me about this knife is that it was bigger than I thought it was, but lighter than my smaller Buck knife. At first, I thought a hundred and forty dollars for a folding knife was excessive, but I immediately saw that this knife was worth it. The grip felt great, and it was thin, which is good for concealment. I just think it is too big for me because opening it with one hand is a bit awkward. Maybe I should get a smaller one as well.
I got my wife a four inch paring knife also from Henckels. She said she needed something smaller for fruits and non-cooking use. And she finally agreed that Henckels is a good investment. And so at Rustan's I got one for 2,350 pesos. It's US$ 44.95 in California, plus 8.25% tax, so I suppose 2,350 is a good deal. We were in the area anyway.
So until next time, hope you enjoyed looking at my knife collection.