The Weekend Hobby Thread (6/8/24) Presented By - TRex

Welcome hobbyists. Do not adjust your interweb. This thread is going to have an edge. A spin of the Ace of Spades “wheel of hobbies” has come up with knives.

TRex is not wise in the ways of collecting or making knives, but the horde has shown in various posts and threads that there is deep and wide interest.

Do you collect knives? Did you have a favorite every day carry? Do you have a favorite that was lost seized at airport security? Have older knives been passed down through your family? Have you forged your own knives? Do you use knives for carving wood or turkey? How do you sharpen your tools?

As usual, keep this thread limited to hobbies. Politics and current events can wait for other threads. You get the point. Behave or I will summon Bluebell and her shiv.

How else could we possibly start?

Top photo:
Swiss Army Knife history – ln the 1880s, the Swiss Army bought folding pocket knives for the soldiers. This knife was used to open canned food and for rifle maintenance, which required a screwdriver for assembly and disassembly. No Swiss company had the production capacity, so the initial order for 15,000 knives was given to a German manufacturer.

In 1891, Karl Elsener began to make folding knives in Switzerland. He began to complete with the German company but lost money as the Germans could make knives at a lower cost. In 1896, he developed an improved knife with tools attached on both sides of the handle using a single spring mechanism. It saved him from bankruptcy.

His knife was a called the “Schweizer Offiziers- und Sportmesser” or, in English, the "Swiss officers and sports knife." The company was renamed Victorinox – combining the name of his deceased mother (Victoria), with the French word for stainless steel (acier inoxydable).

The term "Swiss Army knife" was used by American soldiers after World War II because they could not pronounce the name in German language.
Victorinox and Wenger were the two main Swiss producers of “Swiss army” knives until Wenger sales suffered in post-Sept 11 security changes. Victorinox acquired Wenger in 2005.

60 Secret Functions of the Swiss Army Knife Only a Few People Know About

Survival knives made and used in the Rambo movies were so popular that they were almost a character themselves. There was no knife in the original “First Blood” novel, but Stallone wanted one.
How were the knives for each movie made?

People collect Rambo knives?
Both stories are from 2017, so values might be out of date.

Want to make your own knife (complete with fire and sparks)?

Forging a bowie knife from a broken crescent wrench:

Forging a bowie knife from a railroad spike:

Two cities on opposite side of the globe are each known as the “City of Blades” because of their long history of manufacturing knives, swords, and other sharp things.

The German version is Solingen , located just north of Cologne. It is the home of firms such as WKC, DOVO, Wüsthof, Zwilling J. A. Henckels, Böker, Güde, Hubertus, Diefenthal, Puma, Clauberg/Klauberg, Eickhorn, Linder, Carl Schmidt Sohn, Dreiturm, Herder, Martor Safety Knives, Wolfertz and others. The original contract from Switzerland to manufacture multi-purpose knives went to a company located in Solingen (Wester & Co.).

The Japanese version is the city of Seki in the Gifu prefecture. Its manufacturing history stretches back over 800 years. The town is cradled by two rivers. The clean water, good river clay used in the quenching process, abundant coal, and strategic location helped establish Seki as a steel forging powerhouse.

I had no idea there were so many YouTube videos about sharpening knives using discarded spark plugs:

These, on the other hand, make a science project out of knife sharpening:

On December 9, 1942, after the start of World War II, KA-BAR submitted a knife to the United States Marine Corps in hopes that it would become a general issue to that branch of the military. The USMC KA-BAR was adopted by the Marines as well as the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Underwater Demolition Teams.

If knives are not your thing and you can’t find something in the content that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different hobby next time around. Thanks for being here.

If you have something Hobby related please feel free to contact Misanthropic Humanitarian at petmorons at gmail dot com.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 05:30 PM

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