What to Celebrate in January

January is almost over and that means two things: The Dale Warther Expo Knife Show is coming up and January is almost over.  

To celebrate this winter milestone, my wife and I went to Russo’s (http://www.russoskitchen.com/) for dinner.  Let’s be honest.  It’s not cheap, but well worth it for a once-in-a-while treat.  I recommend the Navajo Taco, but you are forewarned: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen and away from this dish.

What’s it like?  It’s a 90 mile an hour head-on collision between Creole and Southwest cooking!  The staff has very little control over the hotness of the peppers used in the recipe.  The wise diner asks, “How hot is the taco running recently?”  Enjoy!

We’re closing in on the Dale Warther Expo.  http://knifesearch.blogspot.com/2011/01/getting-ready-dale-warther-memorial.html  I’ve ordered knives for the table and now I just have to wait for their arrival.  Frankly, the show is a conundrum to me.  I want to sell quality knives and I’m willing to make a little less money to get a good knife in your hands.  But most of my customers seem to want three dollar knives.  There is by definition no such thing as a quality $3 knife!

I could sell more knives and make more money with junk knives, but I know they’re junk and you should, too.  If you depend on them, they will fail you. 

The Warther Expo has the potential to attract customers looking for quality knives, but if I overstock, those knives will not sell later at the gun shows.  It’s tough line to walk, so there isn’t any sense in complaining.

Personal note

I got the Spyderco Citadel I always wanted.  I approached the new owner (remember they bought the bag of knives?) and we settled in to negotiate the sale.  It was a tremendous bargaining session that degraded to arm wrestling and ended up with a spitting-for-distance contest, but I got my knife. 

Now can I carry it?  The police officer I spoke to just shook his head.  “Murky, very murky, the law is, young old Jedi.  Own you may, but neither sell or buy can you.”  (Yoda mode off!)  He suggested his department was more interested in activity and intent.  Of course, there is this if-you’re-not-noticed, you’re-not-noticed strategy.  If you use it in self-defense, you have more than enough problems, so carrying an automatic knife may not be of any significance to you at that point.

On the internet front:

My wife found a link on how pocket knives, specifically Gerber autos, are made.  I have always had a fascination about how things are made and I think this video is very interesting. 

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/40579-factory-made-military-knives-video.htm

At the end of the video the narrator explains how this knife is just too deadly dangerous for us civilians to own.  Apparently how you open a knife is the defining feature that makes a knife deadly.

Last words…………………

Do you know who this person is?   

During toast to China's president (What?) Hu Jintao 19 Jan 2011

Sure you do.  It’s Hillary Clinton.  Up front I should say, I don’t like Ms. Clinton.  I think she’s a carpetbagger and that clinking sound you hear are skeletons rattling in her closet.  Real skeletons, not just bad acts.  But nobody without a trial deserves a photo like this.  It was taken by a professional news agency and frankly, they should have destroyed it.