I’m sitting in a deer blind in northern WI with a Buck 110 and a Buck 691T, both proudly made in the USA. 110 was a gift from my hunting mentor but is around $60; 691T was maybe $95. Not as many features as those automatic blades, but I’m less worried about quick action when gutting a deer. For quick action I’ve also got a USA made S&W M&P 2.0 9mm here with me, and a made in the USA Savage 110 in .30-06. None of this stuff is fancy, exotic, or impressive to anyone, but all is durable, and should last me basically forever, and I’m glad to have it.
That's like a list of what non-cosplay rural people own and use. Particularly the Savage. Delete your post before Wes Siler starts buying all this stuff.
I was at a range sighting it in, and a guy saw me get it to an acceptable group at 100yds and begin to pack up and leave. He said, aren’t you going to switch to the 200yd range and try that? And your optics are a little low rent…
I said, Sir a long shot on our land is 75yards, this is plenty good. I think we both walked away confused by one another.
I won a couple pin matches with a box stock Glock 21 right down to the stupid ball in box sights. This was not appreciated by my fellow competitors!
Fit for purpose goes both ways and also implies there's no sense making preparations for impossibility. And in any event if you're zeroed for 100 you can make a 200 yard shot.
I've been toying with the idea of buying a new Python. Then I found out Wilson Combat makes sights for it.
Something broke inside me.
Ever notice how nothing stock is ever good enough? Not just "not good enough," but borderline unusable without aftermarket support? Well, I've had it with "aftermarket support." If I can't use something out of the box without replace a bunch of parts, I'm not buying it.
The current state of the art 3D printer that isn't industrial level four figures and up like Stratasys or Ultimaker is the Bambu Lab X1 (because Prusa won't be releasing their own CoreXY based machine for almost another year). One knock against the Bambu printer is that it isn't open source so user upgrades are not as easy as with Prusa's open source ethos. The thing is, I'm not buying a printer to be a printing hobbyist, though I have built a Prusa clone and upgraded both of my Prusa printers. I'm buying a printer to make parts, out of the box.
S&W warranty replaced a gen 1 (year one, I think) full size M&P45 with a cracked frame for me a couple years ago.
It, uh, had seen a few rounds. Props to their customer service, I liked it so much I need to sell off one or two other things and get an RDS ready 9mm and l2shoot red dots on a pistol.
Since I harbor no fantasies about defending my life with a small pocket knife (I have a S&W Shield for that), I carry a knife that is a bit more utilitarian and cheap. Opinel #8 is available on Amazon for $18. Yeah, not made in USA, but is made in France. Light weight, good edge, easier to sharpen. You don't need to spend hundreds on a knife. Hell, the number of times I've either lost one, or dropped it over the edge of the boat, I'd shit myself for spending that kinda money.
That said, I do appreciate the made in USA features, but yeah, you still talk about stuff way more expensive than most people are willing to spend. And yes, I recently spent several hundred per knife for a good kitchen set - Wustoff from Germany. As long as they stay in the kitchen, not much chance of losing them.
Since you brought up the old versus new minimum wage, one thing to remember is back then people didn't have multiple TV's, cable/satellite/internet service, dozens of video subscription services, hundreds (if not more) in cell phone bills, etc. and so forth. We make more money (relatively speaking) but choose to spend it faster on all the above such that we really aren't richer than our parents, just more easily entertained.
There's an burgeoning market in premium Chinese products that compete directly with USA stuff. I want my readers to at least know they have a choice before they buy a $39 Taiwanese locking plier or a $299 Chinese premium folding knife.
You're not wrong about TV and whatnot but I think the insane increases in rent, property value, healthcare, and food cost have made a much bigger dent than $200 a month of Netflix and chill. The places that rented for $400 a month in 1994 are now $1800 a month. I had a lot of $2.99 meals back then as well. Burger King charges eleven bucks for a whopper and cheese meal.
Yeah, everything else has gotten insanely expensive, but we don't live like my parents. Even today, I think my mom still has a TV plan where she gets like 20 channels and that's it. We had to practically threaten her to get a cell phone so she can call us in an emergency. We today blow a significant chunk of our paycheck on stuff our parents would sneer at.
Sometimes I think about unplugging everything but my and the wife's cell phones. No cable, no cable internet, no amazon prime video, no HBO, no Starz, no nothing. We get enough internet through the cell phone plan and both our phones can do the 5g wifi hotspot. I'd save a significant chunk of a 2023 F-250 payment (Lariat, not Platinum, let's not get pretentious about a fricking truck). But no, my household would have a shit-fit and I'll keep driving a 10 year old Ram.
I should have added the word cost. My cost, my employer of course pays as well which makes the whole thing worse.
I will express that I am displeased with the state of health care from billing opacity to massive consolidation and sky rocketing cost under the ACA. It’s a system that seems designed to siphon funds instead of deliver quality care at reasonable cost.
My grandparents had a house, a boat, and a new car every two years on a office supplies sales job and a night job as a bartender cause gramps liked to drink. I have a 55 inchtv, 65 inch tv, a 14 year old bmw and a ten year old volvo. I do not have a boat. My boomer dad had a boat, a lake house and a big house at my age. I have the same job and live in the same neighborhood. Women in the workplace didnt help but id put it on immigration and outsourcing more.
I'd say it's all of the above and more: Women in the workforce, mass immigration of both skilled and unskilled labor, outsourced manufacturing, government regulation of every aspect of the economy, bachelor's degrees becoming essentially mandatory, etc.
I’m not very entertained by the tuition money I pay. Villanova University was less than 6k/year in 1982. It’s 78k/year currently. For Villanova University. The BLS inflation calculator says 6k in ‘82 should be 19k now.
yeah this is just virtue signaling that you WANT us to think you're slightly sorry, or you're aware that you SHOULD BE sorry for it. Either way, you ain't gonna not write it. The angel on one shoulder is not strong enough to stop the devil on the other. ;-)
I'd like to reiterate my low opinion of anybody who'd cancel in response to that last piece.
Given the remarkable lack of flaming, trolling or general butthurt in the comments on this substack, they clearly don't even have balls to voice their disagreement. Instead they slink off like intellectual cowards back to outlets that don't challenge their fragile worldview.
I can understand why you'd take it personally, I probably would too. But I've also noticed the little "Bestseller" checkmark that got added next to your name, so clearly you're doing something right.
EDIT: Just saw the late comment from the guy demanding a refund. That's awfully reactionary for someone who has "Pronouns: Fuck/You" in their profile.
I ran the numbers and got angry. I realized that if we hadn't made those bad economic decisions as a country for the last half-century, I'd be making about $600,000 a year. Instead, as a degreed white-collar professional in a designer role at a company that specializes in heavy manufacutring, I'm making moderately okay first-job-out-of-college money for 1992.
If you're looking for kitchen knives: I've been very impressed by Bloodroot Blades in Georgia. They restored the butcher knife that belonged to my grandfather, and the small chef's and paring knives I've bought from them are beautiful and hold an edge nicely. We've got a friend who is a professional sushi chef; works with Japanese knives priced well into four figures and he was deeply impressed by the Bloodroot knives.
Bloodroot Blades also makes belt knives, but I've got no experience with them.
Bloodroot Blades has very long lead times, so getting a bespoke knife will take ages. That said, get on the mailing list because the company holds monthly drawings that include about a dozen knives.
I carry a Spyderco Native 5 everyday for maybe seven or eight years now. I’ve lost it twice while doing an install at the dayjob, but both times found it days later hanging by the clip in the (snaggy) net I had just finished hanging. Both times I had replaced it right away with larger Spydercos (Manix and Military I think) which I didn’t like as much and returned.
IIRC I went with the Native because I liked how it’s American-made (also from Earth according the the blade) and wanted something from you neighbours to the south (I’m Canadian). It’s also the perfect size and doesn’t spook people around here (no one carries knives around these parts) when I flick it open.
Got a Benchmade as a wedding gift 8 years ago - still my daily carry, although I lost the first one a few years ago. I *think* it's US made? Just revived then handles of my Buck 307 in a mineral oil bath this week - got it in the late '70s. I love Made in the USA stuff too.
They also produced a line of NRA knives in the 2000s and I have, in hindsight, a knife I shouldn't have purchased but it's, let me think, 62 of 250 on production run one? Probably worth less than what I (read: my parents) bought it for
My ken onion blur is 95% of the quality of my benchmade at a quarter of the price. Ok, half using the same steel. I bought the benchmade cause it’s made in the usa
I've been rocking a Pro Tech tr-4 for years. It is a wonderful knife. By far the finest automatic that I own. If my auto Buck 110 opened more reliably it would be a contest but the finicky nature of the Buck hands it to the Pro Tech.
The fit and finish are excellent. And it's extremely reliable. Multiple field problems, lots of every day carry. It's great.
I'm not an Emerson guy, I think the designs are faddish (tanto and single bevel... I get the advantages, I just like more traditional stuff), but I can vouch for this manufacturer. Great recommendation Jack.
I received a Benchmade several years ago as a gift and since I can't carry it on me at work (one of those "gun free zones") it's called my car's center console home ever since. It addendum to that I keep a Leatherman 300m and large fixed blade knife (think Rambo) in a small go bag in the trunk. The Benchmade is amazingly sharp and durable. This is especially impressive when one considers its compact dimensions and while I've mainly used it for opening Amazon packages I have no doubt it would effortlessly rise to the occasion in a plethora of emergency situations. Highly recommend.
I bought the shorter version of the same knife in either '97 or '96. I've still got it, but haven't carried it in a long time. These days, my normal knife is a Chris Reeve damascus Mnandi - one of the few makers who reliably makes left handed folders. It's half the size of the Benchmade, three times the price, and ten times prettier. Also, pulling it out to actually use it doesn't scare everyone within ten feet.
Amusingly, the only reason I found that knife was because I'd been told I should consider something lower profile at work - regarding a knife which wasn't much longer than the Minandi but took up more space in my pocket. Normally I don't care for the CRK designs, but the Minandi is just pretty.
Ok but the towels. Do you still use them? I’m on a set of Canadian-made towels from 2006 and they’re finally wearing out, and I’m getting a bit concerned.
I bought the Malco vice grips 2 min after reading that article. As we in the golf cart/table making/hotel renovating business like to say..."They're bitchin"
Speaking of knives, I just upgraded my laser engraver/cutter to something that can engrave stainless steel. I'm still on the learning curve but if you're interested in getting a knife engraved, contact me.
I’m sitting in a deer blind in northern WI with a Buck 110 and a Buck 691T, both proudly made in the USA. 110 was a gift from my hunting mentor but is around $60; 691T was maybe $95. Not as many features as those automatic blades, but I’m less worried about quick action when gutting a deer. For quick action I’ve also got a USA made S&W M&P 2.0 9mm here with me, and a made in the USA Savage 110 in .30-06. None of this stuff is fancy, exotic, or impressive to anyone, but all is durable, and should last me basically forever, and I’m glad to have it.
That's like a list of what non-cosplay rural people own and use. Particularly the Savage. Delete your post before Wes Siler starts buying all this stuff.
I was at a range sighting it in, and a guy saw me get it to an acceptable group at 100yds and begin to pack up and leave. He said, aren’t you going to switch to the 200yd range and try that? And your optics are a little low rent…
I said, Sir a long shot on our land is 75yards, this is plenty good. I think we both walked away confused by one another.
I won a couple pin matches with a box stock Glock 21 right down to the stupid ball in box sights. This was not appreciated by my fellow competitors!
Fit for purpose goes both ways and also implies there's no sense making preparations for impossibility. And in any event if you're zeroed for 100 you can make a 200 yard shot.
I've been toying with the idea of buying a new Python. Then I found out Wilson Combat makes sights for it.
Something broke inside me.
Ever notice how nothing stock is ever good enough? Not just "not good enough," but borderline unusable without aftermarket support? Well, I've had it with "aftermarket support." If I can't use something out of the box without replace a bunch of parts, I'm not buying it.
It's not the plane, it's the pilot.
The current state of the art 3D printer that isn't industrial level four figures and up like Stratasys or Ultimaker is the Bambu Lab X1 (because Prusa won't be releasing their own CoreXY based machine for almost another year). One knock against the Bambu printer is that it isn't open source so user upgrades are not as easy as with Prusa's open source ethos. The thing is, I'm not buying a printer to be a printing hobbyist, though I have built a Prusa clone and upgraded both of my Prusa printers. I'm buying a printer to make parts, out of the box.
All right, 3D printers are an exception - but guns and cars are mature technologies.
To be fair, he's probably too busy taking pictures of other guys banging his wife to read anything you have to write.
S&W warranty replaced a gen 1 (year one, I think) full size M&P45 with a cracked frame for me a couple years ago.
It, uh, had seen a few rounds. Props to their customer service, I liked it so much I need to sell off one or two other things and get an RDS ready 9mm and l2shoot red dots on a pistol.
Buck 110 is still made in USA.
I was just reading their site. They’ve partnered with Taylor guitars to get sustainable ebony for their handles. The sheaths are imported though.
A Buck 110 with Crelicam ebony? Now we're talking!
Since I harbor no fantasies about defending my life with a small pocket knife (I have a S&W Shield for that), I carry a knife that is a bit more utilitarian and cheap. Opinel #8 is available on Amazon for $18. Yeah, not made in USA, but is made in France. Light weight, good edge, easier to sharpen. You don't need to spend hundreds on a knife. Hell, the number of times I've either lost one, or dropped it over the edge of the boat, I'd shit myself for spending that kinda money.
That said, I do appreciate the made in USA features, but yeah, you still talk about stuff way more expensive than most people are willing to spend. And yes, I recently spent several hundred per knife for a good kitchen set - Wustoff from Germany. As long as they stay in the kitchen, not much chance of losing them.
Since you brought up the old versus new minimum wage, one thing to remember is back then people didn't have multiple TV's, cable/satellite/internet service, dozens of video subscription services, hundreds (if not more) in cell phone bills, etc. and so forth. We make more money (relatively speaking) but choose to spend it faster on all the above such that we really aren't richer than our parents, just more easily entertained.
There's an burgeoning market in premium Chinese products that compete directly with USA stuff. I want my readers to at least know they have a choice before they buy a $39 Taiwanese locking plier or a $299 Chinese premium folding knife.
You're not wrong about TV and whatnot but I think the insane increases in rent, property value, healthcare, and food cost have made a much bigger dent than $200 a month of Netflix and chill. The places that rented for $400 a month in 1994 are now $1800 a month. I had a lot of $2.99 meals back then as well. Burger King charges eleven bucks for a whopper and cheese meal.
Yeah, everything else has gotten insanely expensive, but we don't live like my parents. Even today, I think my mom still has a TV plan where she gets like 20 channels and that's it. We had to practically threaten her to get a cell phone so she can call us in an emergency. We today blow a significant chunk of our paycheck on stuff our parents would sneer at.
Sometimes I think about unplugging everything but my and the wife's cell phones. No cable, no cable internet, no amazon prime video, no HBO, no Starz, no nothing. We get enough internet through the cell phone plan and both our phones can do the 5g wifi hotspot. I'd save a significant chunk of a 2023 F-250 payment (Lariat, not Platinum, let's not get pretentious about a fricking truck). But no, my household would have a shit-fit and I'll keep driving a 10 year old Ram.
My healthcare for the family runs about $10k before I get any actual, you know, health care.
It’s probably a lot more than that. Might be what you pay but it’s in your compensation package
I should have added the word cost. My cost, my employer of course pays as well which makes the whole thing worse.
I will express that I am displeased with the state of health care from billing opacity to massive consolidation and sky rocketing cost under the ACA. It’s a system that seems designed to siphon funds instead of deliver quality care at reasonable cost.
If hospitals were honest, they'd have a menu board above the front desk with all the prices on it, like McDonald's.
My grandparents had a house, a boat, and a new car every two years on a office supplies sales job and a night job as a bartender cause gramps liked to drink. I have a 55 inchtv, 65 inch tv, a 14 year old bmw and a ten year old volvo. I do not have a boat. My boomer dad had a boat, a lake house and a big house at my age. I have the same job and live in the same neighborhood. Women in the workplace didnt help but id put it on immigration and outsourcing more.
I'd say it's all of the above and more: Women in the workforce, mass immigration of both skilled and unskilled labor, outsourced manufacturing, government regulation of every aspect of the economy, bachelor's degrees becoming essentially mandatory, etc.
I’m not very entertained by the tuition money I pay. Villanova University was less than 6k/year in 1982. It’s 78k/year currently. For Villanova University. The BLS inflation calculator says 6k in ‘82 should be 19k now.
you aren't fooling us. you aren't in the slightest bit sorry for that joke. :-)
yeah this is just virtue signaling that you WANT us to think you're slightly sorry, or you're aware that you SHOULD BE sorry for it. Either way, you ain't gonna not write it. The angel on one shoulder is not strong enough to stop the devil on the other. ;-)
I'm a little battered and bruised from four unsubscriptions in the past 36 hours!
I'd like to reiterate my low opinion of anybody who'd cancel in response to that last piece.
Given the remarkable lack of flaming, trolling or general butthurt in the comments on this substack, they clearly don't even have balls to voice their disagreement. Instead they slink off like intellectual cowards back to outlets that don't challenge their fragile worldview.
I can understand why you'd take it personally, I probably would too. But I've also noticed the little "Bestseller" checkmark that got added next to your name, so clearly you're doing something right.
EDIT: Just saw the late comment from the guy demanding a refund. That's awfully reactionary for someone who has "Pronouns: Fuck/You" in their profile.
You didn't lose subscribers - you're just undergoing a process of distillation.
I ran the numbers and got angry. I realized that if we hadn't made those bad economic decisions as a country for the last half-century, I'd be making about $600,000 a year. Instead, as a degreed white-collar professional in a designer role at a company that specializes in heavy manufacutring, I'm making moderately okay first-job-out-of-college money for 1992.
Jack Baruth on how to inflame desire in the heart's of men.
Damn you.
But does he know what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
Uh, yeah, he does.
A little yeah
Oh, and i have a friend who makes knives. There not folders, theyre sheath knives, but damn they are good.!
Shout them out, yo!
If you're looking for kitchen knives: I've been very impressed by Bloodroot Blades in Georgia. They restored the butcher knife that belonged to my grandfather, and the small chef's and paring knives I've bought from them are beautiful and hold an edge nicely. We've got a friend who is a professional sushi chef; works with Japanese knives priced well into four figures and he was deeply impressed by the Bloodroot knives.
Bloodroot Blades also makes belt knives, but I've got no experience with them.
Bloodroot Blades has very long lead times, so getting a bespoke knife will take ages. That said, get on the mailing list because the company holds monthly drawings that include about a dozen knives.
https://mewe.com/group/5f6d176c457f57616f8ff4d0
https://www.facebook.com/BjornBladeworks
I don't think he has a website yet, but i have a couple of his blades and they're great.
Love the knife post!
I carry a Spyderco Native 5 everyday for maybe seven or eight years now. I’ve lost it twice while doing an install at the dayjob, but both times found it days later hanging by the clip in the (snaggy) net I had just finished hanging. Both times I had replaced it right away with larger Spydercos (Manix and Military I think) which I didn’t like as much and returned.
IIRC I went with the Native because I liked how it’s American-made (also from Earth according the the blade) and wanted something from you neighbours to the south (I’m Canadian). It’s also the perfect size and doesn’t spook people around here (no one carries knives around these parts) when I flick it open.
My wife has the pink-handled version.
Got a Benchmade as a wedding gift 8 years ago - still my daily carry, although I lost the first one a few years ago. I *think* it's US made? Just revived then handles of my Buck 307 in a mineral oil bath this week - got it in the late '70s. I love Made in the USA stuff too.
Almost everything Benchmade did and does is USA.
They had what they called a “Red Line” out a few years ago that was Chinese made. Their production was divided into Black, Blue, and Red lines.
I believe Benchmade makes everything in the USA at the moment.
They also produced a line of NRA knives in the 2000s and I have, in hindsight, a knife I shouldn't have purchased but it's, let me think, 62 of 250 on production run one? Probably worth less than what I (read: my parents) bought it for
154CM blade though.
I might have bought the same knife. Fixed blade, kraton handle, decent black leather sheaf?
This is a folder, NRA Outdoors Gaucho Osborne with a plain edge.
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/BM12800P/benchmade-nra-gaucho-osborne-axis-lock
My ken onion blur is 95% of the quality of my benchmade at a quarter of the price. Ok, half using the same steel. I bought the benchmade cause it’s made in the usa
The Blur is also USA made. Kershaw has several quality USA made knives at substantially cheaper prices than Benchmade.
Good to know. I have lost about 5 Keyshawn leeks at this point
There's a sister brand, Zero Tolerance or ZT, for people who insist on paying more for a Kershaw. Not gonna lie, they make some wicked stuff.
I have the zero tolerance version of the blur too. I bought a lot knives when i could afford them (before i had kids) And yes, it’s wicked.
I've been rocking a Pro Tech tr-4 for years. It is a wonderful knife. By far the finest automatic that I own. If my auto Buck 110 opened more reliably it would be a contest but the finicky nature of the Buck hands it to the Pro Tech.
The fit and finish are excellent. And it's extremely reliable. Multiple field problems, lots of every day carry. It's great.
I'm not an Emerson guy, I think the designs are faddish (tanto and single bevel... I get the advantages, I just like more traditional stuff), but I can vouch for this manufacturer. Great recommendation Jack.
I received a Benchmade several years ago as a gift and since I can't carry it on me at work (one of those "gun free zones") it's called my car's center console home ever since. It addendum to that I keep a Leatherman 300m and large fixed blade knife (think Rambo) in a small go bag in the trunk. The Benchmade is amazingly sharp and durable. This is especially impressive when one considers its compact dimensions and while I've mainly used it for opening Amazon packages I have no doubt it would effortlessly rise to the occasion in a plethora of emergency situations. Highly recommend.
I bought the shorter version of the same knife in either '97 or '96. I've still got it, but haven't carried it in a long time. These days, my normal knife is a Chris Reeve damascus Mnandi - one of the few makers who reliably makes left handed folders. It's half the size of the Benchmade, three times the price, and ten times prettier. Also, pulling it out to actually use it doesn't scare everyone within ten feet.
Can't go wrong with Chris Reeve.
Amusingly, the only reason I found that knife was because I'd been told I should consider something lower profile at work - regarding a knife which wasn't much longer than the Minandi but took up more space in my pocket. Normally I don't care for the CRK designs, but the Minandi is just pretty.
“Bounce ball”, love it! I would pay to watch that. You’re right, he would be in jail today. In actuality he should get a medal!
Ok but the towels. Do you still use them? I’m on a set of Canadian-made towels from 2006 and they’re finally wearing out, and I’m getting a bit concerned.
Still using them!
Just 16 years from a towel? Dispute the charge on your amex.
I bought the Malco vice grips 2 min after reading that article. As we in the golf cart/table making/hotel renovating business like to say..."They're bitchin"
Aren't they!
Speaking of knives, I just upgraded my laser engraver/cutter to something that can engrave stainless steel. I'm still on the learning curve but if you're interested in getting a knife engraved, contact me.
Towels by Gus has those American made bath sheets for 26.99 at the moment. A Black Friday deal I believe. You’re welcome.
Hold on, upon further inspection... Made in Turkey. My apologies.
https://americanhomeusa.us/products/made-in-the-usa-grand-teton-monogrammed-towels for the towel win in my opinion...
Reasonably priced to boot! Thanks.
Thank you-