When you don't care enough to use the very best.

[The Tourist]

As many of you know, I've been on a "modest cost" EDC quest for the past few months. I'm not implying that high priced knives are not worth the expense. Anyone who has ever sliced with a 2,200 dollar Hattori gyuto can verify that. However, there are times when differing styles of knives are needed. This is clearly reflected in the last order of knives I just received.

One of my best clients just ordered four Veff MUK knives from CRKT. (MUK means Marine Utility Knife). Their claim to fame is a very ergo style handle, designed for the fisherman who cleans buckets of pan fish or filets huge muskies into the wee hours. This knife also has some very useful wave style serrations for things like bone and wet rope. It's a good, practical design.

The knife costs anywhere from eight to ten dollars depending on where you shop.

The man spends a ton of money with me, so when he says he wants a polished 75 dollar edge on an eight dollar knife, he gets it. I don't even charge him. We sit in my kitchen over cappuccino and swap lies.

Now, he also carries one (or two) of the numerous Emersons I've sold him. His concern is that he'll drop a folder over the side of a boat while fishing. To that end, he buys Veff knives with bright colored handles to help find them in shallow water. What he needs is a good, cheap folder for his tackle box.

In this order, I got him a Buck Redpoint with a bright yellow handle. This handle feels like a soft eraser. It will be hard to drop it, and I buy them for seventeen bucks. The knife blade has lots of chrome for corrosion, and if it hits the bottom of a lake and it's lost, sobeit.

I began to wonder if this wasn't a good idea for myself. Yeah, a Myerchin is a good value, but I really like those knives. I try not to abuse my stuff, but dropping a Myerchin on a concrete floor would ruin my day. I needed a folder I just didn't like.

As you know, I just got my bike out for the summer. While I try to pick sunny days, the chances are good that if you ride in Wisconsin long enough you'll get caught in an intense rainstorm. I got caught in a tornado one summer which developed on a cloud-free summer day.

And, I just don't like Cold Steel products. It's just me, I don't care for them--so I bought one. It's a called a CS29LC, which is the longest plain edge Voyager they make with a straight handle. It's about a four-inch blade.

Yeah, flame away. Putting a 125 dollar polished edge on a knife I hate but I wrangled for $42.75 is the height of foolishness. But if I scrape mud from my expensive boots utilizing the knife's spine, or try plunging the edge into roadhouse mystery gravy, who really cares?

And if the knife gets dropped...