That's true. But rightly or wrongly, it also makes them the focal point of dissension and resentments.

At the risk of being flamed again, I don't think custom versions such as those you've described will ever become necessary. If Jerry and Dan decided to take over a larger share of the consumer knife market, they could do so in their sleep, walking backward with their hands tied behind their backs. The reason they don't do that is because they don't need to. They've both admitted, directly and indirectly, that fulfilling military contracts consumes the majority of their production. And everybody knows just how lucrative military contracts can be. Entire industries are built on them.