Author Archives: DELively

cKc Victorious–When a Lock is Not a Lock

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I’ve mentioned Kyley Harris of cKc Knives before and how he seems to enjoy solving problems that aren’t actually problems. Today I’d like to talk about his non-locking folder that comes with a lock.

One of the things Harris set out to solve is the problem of friction folders. For those who have interests other than pointy stabby things, a friction folder is a knife that doesn’t lock into place when the blade is open. Instead it relies on friction and/or the hand of the user to keep it open.

The problem with friction folders is that over time they lose friction and don’t stay open. Users have to be careful when using them, lest the blade close on their fingers. The other problem is that they traditionally have an extended tang that sticks out when they’re closed allowing the blade to be opened more easily.

A Japanese Higonokami friction folder. You can see the extended tang off to the left.

A Japanese Higonokami friction folder. You can see the extended tang off to the left.

Harris spent a few months experimenting with designs and consulting with fellow knife makers in order to create an updated friction folder that had a lock that didn’t count as a lock. At one point he even tried magnets and rods on lanyards that could be inserted and removed as necessary.

In the end he came up with the cKc Victorious. It has a small sliding bar built in the blade that can be slid into place. Because it holds the blade in place but doesn’t actually lock it, I prefer to call it a “restraint.” It adds a level of safety if, for example, the blade gets stuck during a cut. As you pull back, a regular friction folder will try to close on your fingers, but the “restraint” prevents that.

cKc Victorious. You can see the sliding restraint and the slot for it at the top left.

cKc Victorious. You can see the sliding restraint and the slot for it at the top left.

The design itself is terrific. The blade is nine centimeters (3.5 inches) long and made from AEB-L Stainless. Open the knife is 20 centimeters (7.87 inches). The handles are anodized titanium.  The blade shape is almost a wharrencliffe but has a rounded edge (perhaps making it more of a sheepsfoot). Fully open and restrained, it looks great. Harris has rounded the handles and off set them from the blade so users can slice without dragging their knuckles across the cutting board.

 

My full cKc collection. The Victorious is third from the top. You can see the great handle shape and the closed restraint.

My cKc collection. The Victorious is third from the top. Note the great handle shape and the restraint. (knives list below)

The other safety feature is the choil where the index finger rests. If the blade tries to close, the index finger will act as a blade stop. This is good because, as always, Harris has sharpened the blade into a scary sharp convex. Although the handle is metal, and Harris prefers a rough, unfinished look to his knives so that people won’t be afraid to start using them, there are no sharp corners to play havoc with your hands. The knife is a lot of fun to hold and cut with with.

I only have two minor complaints about the knife. First, it’s heavy. It weighs 124 grams (or 4.37 ounces) which makes it too heavy to carry in the pocket. Also, the look is slightly ruined by the random hole at the top. This is a legacy from the early days of experimentation.

As I’ve said before, Harris is leaving knife making for more secure work. He will fulfill the last of his orders and then make a few personal knives and then retire from knife making. Those of us who admire his knife making skills and his sense of design will miss his work and we all hope he changes his mind.

Note
Here is a complete list of the knives in the picture, top to bottom:
–3″ Utility
–Slipjoint
–Victorious
–Streamline 2.0
–EDC
–Bait Utility

 

Revisiting Silly Newsletters with Spots of Bitterness and Anger

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Today I’m going to cheat a bit and recycle some very old material.

I’ve mentioned before how a large part of my life and writing career revolves around silly newsletters. During my closet cleaning, I stumbled across a copy of one of the newsletters I made when I was in Albania. Even I’m shocked at how angry it is.

The newsletter is called Gremlin II and features the motto “Fighting the Good Fight Against Bad People”. Being a fool I didn’t put a date on it, but I suspect that was for plausible deniability (Hey, this thing was written on the day Dwayne was in town using the Peace Corps computer. What a colossal coincidence!) However, a reference to trainees means it had to have been written at the start of our second year.

It starts with an angry farewell message from a volunteer who’d had enough and headed home. “The express purpose of the Peace Corps is to act as a glorified welfare system for third world countries and to keep inefficient middle-management Americans employed outside of the continental United States so as not to damage the American economy or capitalistic thought.”

Yep, definitely proof it’s the toughest job you’ll ever love. This person also summed up the Albanians as “They’re ANIMALS! They’re animals without teeth!” You can tell this person was ready to go home. That I ran that quote in the newsletter meant I probably had a lot of sympathy with this person at times and had been rejected by at least three Albanian women.

The rest of the newsletter was an attack on the administration of the Peace Corps. It reminded everyone that they were “not allowed to get married, divorced, drink American beer, accept candy from strangers, have sex, ride a moped, eat, breathe or shit unless a proper memo has been issued in triplicate…”

Since I wrote that, I’m sensing a lot of bitterness from me as well.

I tried to start a Money Matters column in the newsletter as a cynical way to celebrate our 450 lek (US $4.50) monthly stipend raise, but I’m pretty sure I never did.

The rest of the newsletter was dedicated to cruel insults about a member of the Peace Corps staff. These were solicited from other volunteers. I’ve included some of the clean ones:

–She’s a zombie . . . but that does imply she was once alive.”
–She’s an android. I swear I saw her scalp move.
–She’s an alien, but that does assume higher intelligence.
–She’s a victim of the body snatchers.
–She’s the world’s greatest genius undercover as the world’s most incompetent idiot.
–She’s a ridiculous petty tyrant wannabee hypocrite with a squeaky Minnie Mouse voice.
–She’s an aging starlet whose plastic surgery went horribly, horribly wrong.
–She’s a coma victim: that implies she has life, but no brain function.

Again, I think I sense a spot of bitterness there.

This, of course, was produced on government computers, printed on government paper with government ink. It was childish and cruel, but surprisingly well received even by people who actually got along with the staff member in question.

Somewhere during the two years, some of us also sketched out a Peace Corps movie and cast all the parts. I think I still have that around somewhere, but I’ll have to clean more of the closet to find it.

 

Kurotani Washi Notebook–Lost and Found Overview

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I apparently bought a notebook in the 1990’s that I forgot I had. Since I’ve been cleaning out the storage closet, I discovered it in a box.

Me being me, I immediately began testing fountain pens on it.

The notebook is a handmade washi notebook from Kurotani Washi. Kurotani Washi has been making paper by hand for around 800 years. The notebook is just larger than B5 sized and has 25 folded sheets and a handmade cover bound in Japanese stitching.

The signature at the "back." It says (top to bottom) Tan Ba Kuro Tani Wa Shi.

The signature at the “back.” It says (top to bottom) 丹波 TanBa 黒谷　KuroTani 和紙　WaShi.

The cover. Notice it opens from the left.

The cover. Notice it opens from the left.

I don’t remember buying it but I suspect I got it on a trip to Kyoto during the late 90’s. On one trip in particular, I visited several traditional shops and artisans that had been in business for hundreds of years. I used Diane Durston’s terrific Old Kyoto as my guide book and highly recommend it as an alternate way to tour Kyoto.

One of the shops I visited was Kyukyodo which was founded in 1663 and sold incense, paper and calligraphy supplies.

Because at the time I was studying Japanese calligraphy, I stocked up on brushes, ink sticks and random paraphernalia. I suspect I got the notebook at the same time. I almost certainly had some grand plan to write calligraphy and or poetry in it but it ended up in a box.

However, because I bought it, and because it was blank, I couldn’t just throw it out. Instead I broke out several fountain pens to see what would happen.

The inside cover and a few writing samples.

The inside cover and a few writing samples.

I was surprised at how smooth some of the pens felt and that the nibs didn’t become clogged with threads from the paper. It was a bit like writing on watercolor paper but most of the results looked pretty good.

A sloppy close up of the Aurora Blue. Note the feathering and bleed.

A sloppy close up of the Aurora Blue. Note the feathering and bleed but it doesn’t look too bad.

Washi typically has a smooth side and a rough side. As such, each page consists of a large sheet that’s been folded and bound. The folding prevents the brush ink from bleeding through to the next page. During my tests, I found that only a Noodler’s Konrad with a flex nib and Noodler’s Apache Sunset bled through both pages.

My Edison Glenmont separating the fold.

My Edison Glenmont separating the fold.

Now that the notebook’s been written in, I suspect I’ll use it for morning pages just to use it up. It works well with my TWSBI 580 and my new Nexus Minimal.

After that, I suspect I’ll just throw it out.

 

 

 

The Day Before the Day Before Vacation

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First a correction: In yesterday’s post I mistakenly called Showa Day by it’s old name Greenery Day. I’ve edited the post to correct that.

Although my students have a half day of classes before their holiday begins, most of them today acted like they were already on holiday.

I kind of joined them.

This coming week three Japanese national holidays collide in an event called Golden Week. They consist of Constitution Memorial Day on Sunday, Greenery Day on Monday, Children’s Day on Tuesday and “Crap, Constitution Day Fell on a Sunday So Let’s Give Everyone A Make Up Holiday On Wednesday” Day (not it’s real name).

Although the holidays are awesome, my students mentally enter holiday mode right after Showa Day. It’s even worse that this Golden Week this year is a five day weekend for me and a four day weekend for my students.

Today they were noisy and spent a lot of time talking in Japanese. Some of them didn’t bother doing the assignments and a couple of them tried to sleep. The worst were the high school 1st year students (10th graders), many of whom have never had me as a teacher before. As such, they are woefully unaware that 1) I really will give them homework over a major holiday and that this will happen because 2) I am a vindictive bastard.

This is especially true before a holiday. I get a break and I never have to actually read the assignment I give. I only have to collect it and mark is as “done” or “zero”.

Luckily, a few of my students had me as a teacher in junior high school and they let their new, naive friends know what things I am capable of. Also luckily for them, I couldn’t be bothered to think of a suitably cruel homework. (The worse ever: spell all the numbers from one to one-thousand).

Now I have to keep myself busy for the next few days. I could do a lot of writing, but I suspect I’ll just waste the time. I do this because June is coming. And June has no national holidays.

Out of a Closet and Onto the Floor

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Note: This post was edited to correct horrible mistakes.

Yesterday was Showa Day which is now officially named after the Japanese Emperor responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor but used to be disguised as Greenery Day in honor of his love of plants. Most importantly, it signals the start of “Golden Week” when three holidays and an “aw hell, let’s just give ’em another holiday here” holiday all collide in the same week.

Unfortunately for me, I’d scheduled dirty work for that Showa Day and have a bit more to do on Saturday.

Basically, at long last, I’m moving the “variety pile” and attacking the stuff inside the “variety closet” and the “variety room”. My goal was to throw away stuff I know I’ll never use and save stuff I’d like to have access to but don’t need to have out right now. I then wanted to move our earthquake kit from the floor and put it on top of the wardrobe allowing access to the rest of the kit on a bottom shelf. (Confused? You should actually see the mess and try to figure out the plan behind it.)

If I were smart, I’d basically chuck out every box I hadn’t opened in months without opening them. There are, however, a number of complications.

First, I’m not that smart.

Second, part of the reason the boxes haven’t been opened is that the “variety closet” is stuck behind the “variety pile”. This makes getting at a box a much more difficult chore than it should be.

Third, I have the hoarder’s desire to handle everything at least once before throwing it out. This triggers memories and rekindles the little spark that made me keep the item in the first place which makes me want to find a place for it or swap it out with something I don’t want to use for a while but don’t want to throw out. I did, however throw away a lot of stuff and have a bunch of stuff to donate or give away via Freecycle.

Fourth, even if I don’t experience a burst of nostalgia, I often think of a new way to use the item and justify keeping it.

Finally, there were several decisions I couldn’t make until She Who Must Be Obeyed came home. (She was working on the holiday.) I wasn’t able to finish and currently have a couple extra piles of stuff on the floor, including the trash I can’t throw away because this is Japan.

In some cases, though,  I’m actually (finally) putting the items to use. Mostly as fodder for this blog. (Pictures to follow I suspect.)

TWSBI Diamond Fountain Pens–The New Workhorse

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I bought some pens from Taiwan that were designed with advice from all over the world. One of them fell apart almost immediately.

I’ve written before about how I’ve used Pilot Vanishing Point pens for decades. Last year, however, at the suggestion of some fellow pen addicts, I decided to try pens from TWSBI.

TWSBI is a Taiwan based company that used to produce OEM pens but then decided to design their own. To do so, they gathered suggestions from fountain pen forums (yes they exist) and then gave the forum members chances to comment on designs. (In fact, fans of their Facebook page still get a chance to comment on possible future designs.)

The results were a series of demonstrator (see-through) pens with piston filling mechanisms. (You twist the end to draw up ink and don’t have to mess with cartridges or converters.)

I ordered two: The TWSBI Diamond 580 Black Rose Gold and the TWSBI Diamond Mini Classic.

The TWSBI Mini (left) and the 580 (right).

The TWSBI Mini (left) and the 580 (right).

The 580 is a nice sized pen and because of its smooth writing M nib, it quickly replaced the Vanishing Point as my everyday workhorse pen. (It even appears on this blog along with the Vanishing Point.) Although I miss the nock mechanism on the VPs, and the ability to operate a fountain pen one-handed, I like the ink capacity of the 580. I was worried I wouldn’t like the Rose Gold, but once I had it in hand, I immediately liked the copper look of it.

Also, TWSBI includes tools that allow the user to disassemble and clean the pen. I haven’t done that yet, but I have had to replace the cap and the nib assembly on the Mini. (And the nib, but that’s not TWSBI’s fault.)

The Mini is designed for pocket carry. It is small, but the cap posts making it much longer and much easier to use. I also got it with an M nib and even though it’s smaller, I like the ink capacity.

The only thing I didn’t like was the cap. I noticed out of the box that the clip on the Mini moved side to side. I though it was simply too flexible but over time I realized that cap was cracked. Eventually it cracked all the way around the entire finial fell off.

You can see the damage. This is a but not a feature.

You can see the damage. This is a bug not a feature.

I also noticed, after a couple rounds of inked fingers, that the MIni leaked ink. Careful inspection with a loupe revealed that the end of the nib assembly was cracked. I contacted TWSBI and without any proof–although I did offer some–they sent me a new cap and a new nib feed.

Unfortunately when I was reinserting the nib and feed, I didn’t set the nib correctly and when I put the new cap on I felt the nib go crunch and ended up with a nice hook nib. I ordered a new nib from a local vender, installed it correctly, and now the pen works perfectly.

The 580 nib (top) and the Mini nib (minus the hook).

The 580 nib (top) and the Mini nib (minus the hook).

Despite these issues, and stories of cracked plastic from other users, I recommend TWSBI pens for those looking to try a fountain pen for the first time and for those who’ve been playing with cheaper mass-market fountain pens and are ready to move up in quality. The customer service alone is worth the price and the risk. Also, if there are a series of common complaints, TWSBI usually redesigns the pen to fix the problem.

I’m not as big a fan of the Mini as I am of the 580. The Mini’s grip section is a bit too short and something about the balance with the cap posted doesn’t feel right. I am tempted to sell it and get a second 580 (either clear or orange).

A dirty pen and whiskey in a dirty glass. Bad ideas ahead.

A dirty pen and whiskey in a dirty glass. Bad ideas ahead.

 

Stuffed Blind While Barely Drunk

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I’ve written before how I’ve learned to stop drinking after I’ve had too much to drink. What I haven’t learned to do, though, is stop eating after I’ve had too much to drink.

Today was the welcome party for the new teachers at the school where I work. After work I had a few hours to kill which involved me having coffee and a tiramisu at a coffee shop and doing some writing. After that it was shopping and after that a moment of ESP.

I went to a place I knew was open and stumbled across a couple colleagues. We had a couple beers and some food.

(Note: Japanese parties often have a lot of food, but that food often comes slowly. As such, I usually have a snack before I go to the party.)

Because it was “all you can drink” I set about trying various cocktails, including a fresh lemon sour (which required me to do work by squeezing the lemon and pouring it in the drink myself) and a “tomato hai” which is tomato juice and alcohol and which, thanks to soy sauce, lemon and some hot sauce I managed to turn it into something resembling a Bloody Mary. After that i switched to iced tea.

The problem was the food was surprisingly good. The restaurant’s specialty is various forms of chicken. There was chicken soup (with a creamy sauce) we had to cook ourselves and a plate of chicken bits with onion and some kind of salty black sauce.There was also an odd side trip to calamari and deep fried fish bones (which are kind of like salty crackers served with squeezed lemon).

The most addictive, though, were two dishes that resembled lemon pepper chicken which was one of my go to “I’ve been drinking” foods in Mississippi. To make matters worse, I’d had just enough alcohol to get the munchies. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that if I’d dropped some chicken down a crack in the table I’d have eaten the table to get at it. I’d normally have ordered French fries but I’d actually had those before I went to the party.

Then, right when I was full, they brought out noodles we were supposed to cook in the remaining soup. When that was gone they brought out a small dish of matcha ice cream.

Now, the funny part is, I actually feel kind of drunk, but mostly from overeating. Tomorrow I’ll regret it, but not as much as I’d regret the hang over.

WC Knives Woodlore Clone and Woodcarver–Down Home Custom Knives

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A couple years ago, on the recommendation of a guy I’d only seen on YouTube I sent money to another guy I’d only seen on YouTube. Oddly, I think I got my money’s worth.

The Knife Maker:
As part of the tithing I’ve talked about before I ordered knives from a writer and knife maker named William Collins the founder of WC Knives. Collins is based in Texas and at the time I ordered my knives had only been making knives for about eight months. (He began in December 2012.)

One of the interesting features of sending him your money (he insists on partial payment up front to cover materials) is that he sends you frequent videos of the progress of your knives. This includes his mistakes–he made one on mine which slowed things down–and the answers to any questions you may have.  He then includes the videos as part of the package he sends with the final product.

In my case, his charming nature actually helped sell the purchase to She Who Must Be Obeyed. I was mostly impressed that his workshop seemed to be mostly outdoors.

The Knives:
I ordered two knives, the WC Knives Woodlore Clone and the smaller Woodcarver.

The Woodlore Clone (top) and the Woodcarver with their sheaths.

The Woodlore Clone (top) and the Woodcarver with their sheaths.

The knives have single bevel or “Scandi” grind drop-point blades and are made from 1095 steel which sharpens easily, holds an edge reasonably well and rusts at even the mention of water. They have hunter orange G10 handles with black G10 liners, brass pins and brass lanyard holes. The Woodlore Clone has a 4 inch blade and is 8.67 inches long over all. The Woodcarver has a 3.16 inch blade and is 7.16 inches long.

I chose Kydex sheaths with leather loops. Collins gives you a choice of sheaths, although it’s also possible to get them without sheaths.

For a new knife maker Collins did a terrific job. There are a few flaws: the “Scandi” grind is uneven on both knives–annoying mostly because it affects cutting–and the lanyard hole is partially blocked on the Woodlore Clone as if the G10 liner slipped after it had been drilled.

I’m also discovering I’m not a big fan of “Scandi” grinds, but that’s not Collins’ fault.

A close up of the blades.

A close up of the blades before any use.

The best part, though, is the handles. Collins does a terrific job producing beefy handles that don’t seem to have any hot spots and there are no gaps where the handle material meets the tang. They are easy to hold barehanded or with gloves and are so comfortable you actually want to go out and cut stuff with them. (Meaning I need to repatriate them to the USA so I can actually use them more.) I’ve used them as much as I can around the house and used them enough on wood and cardboard to dull them but they are really meant to be used outdoors.

I like them enough I’m considering another purchase. Until then, I can’t recommend his knives strongly enough. He’s always coming up with new designs and tests them on his YouTube channel. Lately he’s been working with better quality steels which has driven up the price some, but he’ll make whatever you order.

He’s also an avid hunter who’s not afraid to use one of his knives to butcher a squirrel or pig on camera. He will also show you the time he spent in the woods without getting a deer.

That said, anyone interested in ordering a knife should know that he has a large backlog and that he takes deer season off until he fills his tag.

Detail of the WC Knives logo, which he hammers in with a sledge hammer and the G10 handles.

Detail of the WC Knives logo, which he hammers in with a sledge hammer and the G10 handles. Note the thumb grooves in the handles.

You Don’t Have to be Crazy But it Helps

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Several hundred years ago, when I was at university, I had a teacher take out a gun and shoot a student who was waving a sword at him. This teacher has had a lot of influence on me and the way I teach.

He also helped me solve a mystery.

The class was an introductory history class called “The Rise of Europe” and took place in shockingly dungeon like rooms in the old Dennison Hall at Kansas State University. (No windows, partly underground, men with swords.)

At first the class was taught by a TA who learned public speaking from the “Read Text In Monotone Lifeless Drone-Like Manner With No Expression At All” school of speech. (It exists.)

Then, on about the third class, I noticed there was a new, rather rickety looking, podium in place of the old podium. There was a also a mustachioed man in a cowboy hat who introduced himself as Professor Robert Linder and explained that everything we’d heard about him being tough was a lie. This lie upset him so much he started shouting and knocked the new podium over and it broke into several pieces.

At this point, a young man ran into the room and pointed a sword at Professor Linder and demanded that he tell the truth. Linder took out a small revolver and shot the young man. A couple TAs quickly cleaned up the mess and disposed of the body.

We immediately realized our professor was probably crazy.

That turned out to be his gift, though, and made his advanced classes the hardest to get into in the university. (With one exception.) At various times during the year he would give out Gummi bears if we answered questions. He also once stripped his shirt off and invited students of the same ethnicity to join him in a ritual bath. (Something to do with Swedes and/or Vikings, I don’t remember.)

He’s the only teacher I ever had who made us sit in alphabetical order and took roll in a large lecture class. He also would pick chairs on the front row and repeatedly take the same line to the person in that chair. A woman in the front row to the right of the podium would always hear about a historical person’s “piercing blue eyes” as Linder leaned in and stared at her. (One time the woman was absent and he mentioned that if she’d been there he’d have mentioned the blue eyes.)  A man in a seat to the left of the podium would get shaken by the shoulders (for various reasons).

After finishing his class, I managed to land a spot in his History of Christianity course. During that class he solved a mystery.

At various times, during classes in Eisenhower Hall, we’d hear someone yell “SHUT UP!” somewhere down the hallway. We never knew who this was.

The mystery was solved in History of Christianity when Professor Linder explained how St. Francis of Assisi had dealt with noisy birds in the church belfry. Linder said Francis had walked closer to them (as he himself walked to the door) “He looked up at them” (sold with a dramatic hand gesture) “and said” (Linder leaned out the classroom door into the hallway) “SHUT UP!” (Yelled at the top of his lungs.)

Mystery solved.

I’ve adopted the alphabetical seating and the habit of taking specific lines to a student in the front row. I also brought a sword to class once.

Nowadays, though, that would probably get me sent to jail.

My Brief History of Dance

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I was watching a video today and in the background I heard the song “867-5309 / Jenny” (you don’t have to play it, it’s already in your head) and that has me thinking about cocaine.

My only experience with cocaine happened back when I lived in Hayden, Colorado. For some reason I don’t remember there was a dance in the old elementary school gym and for some other reason I don’t remember I went, which is not something I was wont to do. (To this day it requires copious amounts of alcohol and/or viable threats to get me on a dance floor.)

I vaguely remember a dance when I was in sixth grade that involved sixth grade boys standing on one side of the room and all the sixth grade girls standing on the other side. All were waiting for either 1) the dance to end or 2) a sacrificial lamb to be the first to the slaughter.

I, of course, was that lamb. Our teacher, Miss Trimble, went around trying to get people to dance. She then suddenly grabbed me and ordered me to dance. Of course, for a few minutes, we were the only ones dancing which remains a horribly surreal moment in my life, especially when one group of students applauded my sacrifice. (Something like that.) Eventually everyone danced, but I don’t remember if I danced after that.

The incident involving cocaine happened after that (I think). All I remember about that dance is that there was a mix of ages and there was a dance contest that somehow I got roped into.

Although I’m sure my goal was to get thrown out of the contest as soon as possible, what complicated that plan was my partner and I kept passing through to the next phase of the competition. At some point the song of choice was “Cocaine” (I don’t remember if it was the J. J. Cale original or the Eric Clapton cover). Thinking back, although Clapton has always claimed the song was anti-cocaine, I’m still amazed it was possible to play a song with that title at a school function.

I the end my partner and I didn’t win. I think it was cocaine that ruined it for us. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.