Lieu, not sure if it’s the specific one that you’re thinking of, but Spyderco’s Sharpmaker is one hell of a piece of work. From what I hear it’s one of the best out there, and very easy to use. I have to get my hands on one someday.
Well, Mnementh, I guess that answers my email to you… 
Bingo. It’s been years but yes, that looks familiar.
I just saw the Spyderco ad- 40 & 30 degrees for knives?!? I use 25 for my pocket knife and 20 for my kitchen knives…Grr…grumble, the search goes on…
-Tcat
You know, somtimes I reckon that if I were to make a posting on the lines of “kiwi fruit - tasty, but lousy in a fight” it’d be only a matter of time before someone piped up that actually they know 27 ways to kill a man with one.
Short bladed, slow to open, no guard, no solid tang, not usually the best stabbing point, handle usually not suited to reversing…a pocket knife really is not designed for fighting with.
Scylla, I hears ya. Hopefully you’ll get that thing back to your liking. I too have a certain fondness for the blade, it’s an invaluable tool of my trade, at least when I practiced my trade. Right now, I carry the Applegate Fairbairns Combat Folder, and it’s quite the sturdy blade.
You folks still serving can find it in the GSA/CSC customer service call-in catalogue. Worth every penny.
One of my most prized possesions is a switch blade my paternal grandfather had. It is at least 30+ years old, and the covering is falling off but it still works like a charm. My condolences for all the work you’ll have to do Scylla
Kiwi? Not a chance. Everybody knows that the only really good combat fruit is the Pineapple.
On the other hand, I understand Esprix isn’t such a pushover either.
[Monty Python]
Pointed stick? Oh, oh, oh. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I’ll tell you something my lad. When you’re walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don’t come crying to me! Now, the passion fruit. When your assailant lunges at you with a passion fruit…
[/Monty Python]
They’re on the airplane, doof.
I’m still somehow trusted not to kill the crew with them, which is a damn sight better than I get when I fly commercial. I get all but strip searched when I show my military ID, which I usually have to because I’m flying on orders.
I carry my little Victorinox with me wherever I go.
I think of it as a trusted friend. It’s helped me in lots of ways, both big and small, in too many situations to count.
I keep my little knife sharp with a diamond stone. They’re wonderful things. I have the small US$6 version, and it works like a charm. Best $6 I ever spent, I’m tellin’ ya.
Diamond stones are great for sharpening machetes, too.
I too carry a little CRKT folder on my keys, after going through a couple of Swiss Army knives. I keep’em all as sharp as I can keep up with, along with my beloved Chinese kitchen cleaver and Gerber kitchen knives. Although a good professional might be able to sharpen these boogers better than me, I think I’ll take my chances with my own middling sharpening skill. Thanks for the cautionary tale Scylla, and good luck with the resharpening.
Oooooooh, I see.
I thought you meant each person had to have all that gear on them as some sort of crash survival kit. Was picturing some sort of medieval squire-looking pilots wandering around on an airplane - three axes, two knives, a broadsword, a mace, etc.
Hey, I’m an Airman, not a Jarhead. According to you guys, we pack it in if there’s a light breeze, or the capuccino machine’s broken. Like big wimps like us could pack that much gear.
And if you believe all that, shame on you. 
Pineapple? Anybody who’s serious about doing some damage with a piece of fruit goes for the durian.
“To you guys?” Just because my godfather is a Marine and I work for a bunch of ex-Army officers doesn’t mean I’ve been conditioned to question the physical conditioning of Airmen.
Besides, if I had a chance to fly, I would have joined the Air Force in a heartbeat.
Quit being an ass…
If someone pulls one of these on you, run. Don’t stand there and think “Gee, I don’t see a guard on that thing, it can’t be a good fighting knife.”
Yes, of course, IF I were to go into battle prepared, I’d want my Cold Steel with me. Unfortunately it is illegal to carry it.
I have trained knife fighting with martial artists, police and bodyguards on 2 continents off-and-on for over 15 years, and none of them would make derisory remarks about pocket knives not being capable of hurting you. Maybe certain types aren’t the best (Swiss Army, etc.) but if someone pulls a knife on you, be fucking careful! That is why I gave the examples I did. To say a pen can do as much damage as a blade is fanciful and dangerous, IMHO.
Check out this cite on edged weapon fighting. Nowhere does he mention that a pocket knife isn’t effective. ALL knives need to be treated with respect. From the FBI for 2001 this table shows that 13% of murder weapons were edged. It doesn’t breakdown how many were machete’s or pocket knives, but there is a strange absence of kiwi’s as murder weapons…so derive your own logic from that. I’m willing to bet a few of those murders were done by smaller knives.
Don’t think that the only places you will get stabbed or sliced are your body. Well over half of the techniques I train are to the hands & arms themselves. Slicing open your bicep will generally guarantee me a victory. And a razor sharp Swiss Army knife could easily cut through your shirt and penetrate over an inch into your arm. It might break while doing it, but I wouldn’t want to take that bet. Again why I gave the example I did.
In the real world, if someone pulls a knife on you, no matter what the size, run (or hand them your wallet and car keys and say “that red one over there.” and then run). If you can’t run, use anything you can to attack their knife hand- a stick, bottle, shoe, car antenna (they rip out with enough force), chair, anything.
I’m not trying to be a macho asshat, I’m just trying to point out that in this instance, it is much better to be safe than sorry. Telling people that a type of knife isn’t good to fight with will lead them to question a situation wrongly when it is against them. If you have an asshat pull a Swiss Army knife on you and you think that it can’t hurt you, so you hang around or antagonize them, you are wrong, potentially dead wrong.
-Tcat
I just saw a related article on that first link’s main page. They have a java pop-up that discusses Selecting a knife. (Under the picture in the middle of the page)
While they warn of folders having a lack of a guard, they do have many positive things to say about them:
"Fixed blade or Folder:
Folders have come a long way in the past few years. They are more reliable, made of better quality materials and are extremely convenient. They are versatile tools but many top knife fighters still prefer fixed blades for self-defense. It’s no secret that people have been hurt by some cheap folders. In rare cases the folder would close on the fingers causing injury.
More on folders:
In some cases it is more advantageous to carry a folder. A seven inch fixed blade is difficult to conceal, but a seven-inch knife in a folder collapses down to three and a half inches and can fit in any pocket; more importantly, it passes legal muster. But not all folders are created equal, and certain types can bring more trouble than fixed blades.
Modern folders use various types of mechanisms, they include: Lock-backs, Locking-liners, Axis-locks, Automatics, Frame-locks, Balisongs and other proprietary methods. The most popular folders today are lock-backs and Locking-liners. Automatics (generally called switchblades) are illegal in many jurisdictions except for the police, fire departments and the military. Balisongs are the Filipino knives you’ve seen people flipping around on television and in the movies. These are illegal in many states because they look threatening. "
And specific to this Thread:
“It is not the knife that’s important, it’s the person behind the knife that matters. A thousand dollar Bowie will not protect you from an experienced attacker armed with a Swiss Army knife.”
-Tcat
How best to reply? Let me see…Oh yes:
Fuck off.
Comments made to date include “what a poor and stupid weapon a pocketknife truly is” and “a pocket knife really is not designed for fighting with”. Please try to actually criticise on the basis of the statements made, rather than constructing strawmen such as “derisory remarks about pocket knives not being capable of hurting you”.
Then perhaps you could drop the gungho bullshit, and acknowledge some simple truths. A pocket knife, certainly of the types discussed here, is poorly designed for fighting. While there are people out there skilled enough to improvise with them, there are people out there skilled enough to improvise with a rolled up shirt, 1 foot of hose, or a length of power cord. Any fucking thing is lethal in the right hands, as you yourself note. That does not change the fact that most objects, including your pocket folder, are poorly designed for such usage.
This was such a nice little GQish Pit lament thread full of good technical info and stories (some of which you both provided) before you two started going at it in the ever familar >snarky comment >offended response> offended rejoinder> circle of life hijack. Please let it go. Think of the children.