Parang and knife review..

A colleague of mine came up to me yesterday to ask about some rust proof knife.

He said it was written as a product review in Rod and Line magazine.

I knew that they had someone doing stories on knifemaking, parang know-how and knives.

So, out of curiosity, I picked a copy at MPH bookstore today. The knife section was in page 64.

Naturally, I skipped everything to catch a glimpse of what was the hottest topic in the mag.

And well, it was no surprise to see an old face and a name that I will never forget.

The guy had put on so much weight, he was hardly recognisable. Anway, it was a review on the Spyderco Pacific Salt.

Funny it seems because I may be wrong all this while about the knife. If I read it correctly, the writer described the Pacific Salt as a 'hybrid' knife.

It was an intensive review with plenty of pictures and technicalities. From a glimpse, this guy was not easy to please.

In relation to that, he has started making knives and a mutual friend who supplies steel and other knifemaking materials to him had mentioned about kydex sheath making and a sackload of stuff.

I can only wish him luck with the job. Seems that a niche has been carved.

Its never easy to write about knives. You have to gain plenty of knowledge on the subject that stretches from legality to metallurgy.

Funny thing was this, a couple of days ago, I received a call and was asked if I have any knives to dispose to a guy by the name of Lawrence Tan.

I've never met him nor have any previous dealings with the guy.

With the US trip looming, I thought I could earn some extra cash.

And boy, was I wrong. I called the go-between and asked if the guy is a user or collector.

"No lah, he just want to buy your knives and ask the maker to copy it."

I told him that I have an obligation to safeguard the intelllectual property of the maker who did my knives and said that the deal was off.

It was like selling out your soul to the devil. That said, the go-between too has been moved to my shit-list.

Seven years ago, the same guy who is know a knife columnist for Rod and Line had stiffed me by complaining to Spyderco about not getting any media support in Malaysia.

I made a decision to let the issue die by backing off which still haunts me till today.

As much as I enjoy collecting and using knives, my knowledge was gained from interacting with other people around the world on the topic.

Rod and Line is negligible because its a small market. Its just that I had a hunch that so much is wrong about the knife and parang page in this mag.