I'd rather lose my own money then them lose it for me.

my pension plan at work (separate from 401K) is such a joke. I think it works a lot like SS. my money goes in, somebody else gets it and there isnt' anything to grow.

I passed on the NMSFNO release. I bought a couple of the NMFBMs, and while they're nice and I plan to hold onto them as an investment, they simply weren't the "grail knives" that I'd hoped for. I bought a SHBM at Knob Creek that I like MUCH better. I really don't care for the original SFNO design, although I'm occasionally tempted to spring for a black NMSFNO with hand shaped black & tan handles. I have been able to resist when I consider the $447 + S&H price tag for that configuration and note that I have no shortage of big fixed-blade knives (or of medium and small for that matter).

I did order 6 SoDs (3 Tan, 2 Black, and an LE [hopefully, #60]) because even though I don't NEED them, I think they will be a pretty good long-term investment. Even if I'm mistaken about that, I believe their design and construction will make them well worth having, and the price is good (at least in my current mindset -- I used to consider anything above $50 to be expensive -- times have certainly changed; when I told my Mom and sister that I'd spent approximately $27K on Bussekin knives in the last year year and a half, I was afraid they were going to plan an intervention).

I wish I can order knives like that but between Guns, ammo, Shooting gears...I really can't order more than just a couple. Got a tan and black SOD coming...should be "more than enough" to fill my knife addiction until the next new boy comes up.

Hey Jim,

I think a lot of people are obviously hurting from the economy right now, and then you add to that the fact that the holiday season is upon us and it just puts people in a wierd sort of foggy depression. I see it every day with what I do.

I am self employeed but what I do is basically broker deals for other people or companies (buy & sell stuff) so I see really quickly the effects of a see saw economy. Right now, my clients who are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy are calling and asking me to sell of this and that, and try to make deals with what's left over to get them the things they need to still operate but on a much smaller scale. On the other hand, my clients who have plenty of money right now(mostly Big Oil) are calling everyday asking me to Buy Buy Buy everything in site!

The third side to all of this are my friends and family members. Some of them are in financial straits right now and it happened so seemingly fast that they are just going through life in this semi-stunned state wondering what to do next. A lot of these types of people are floating through life looking for someone to blame and a quick fix button. Here in the good old USA that is what we need, an instant gratification make me feel better click my heels together three times and fix it button. The problem is that it isn't that simple.

I also see the over extended credit problem on a fairly routine basis. In my opinion the problem here is that an awful lot of people will buy what they want before buying what they need. It's easy to whip out the plastic and charge charge charge! Heck, we all use the plastic from time to time, but the fact is that if you can't afford to pay off all the toys you put on your credit at the end of the month(or at least have a short term plan to do so), you probably shouldn't have bought them.

One things for sure, now's a great time to be buying things like guns and kinves if you do have extra funds. They are being unloaded by a lot of people right now in order to increase their cash flow. It's definitely a buyers market.

I was looking for a camp tramp but I think the SOD will satisfy me. I like the aesthetics of the tramp a lot more, but its not like I really need either one. I really wanted something that size in Res-C at .25 so that should work nicely. And multiple choices to boot! I don't have any satin SR77 so it will be something nice and fresh.

Yep, it's certainly strange times. Once upon a time, I was just about as far to the right politically as it's possible to be. However, my experience has made me more socially moderate on many issues, even liberal, although I remain fiscally conservative. I believe that government should be a safety net, although not a hammock. The big difference between me our government is that I recognize that nothing is free -- somebody's got to pay.

I believe that government should provide post-secondary educational assistance as an investment in its citizens. In a technology-driven economy, a better educated worker will be a more productive worker. They're more likely to contribute to that "next step forward", and the difference in taxes that they'll pay on higher earnings over the course of their working life will more than pay for the cost of helping them pay for school.

Social Security is a harder issue. It seems very much like a pyramid scheme; so long as there are enough people working to share the cost of each retiree's benefits over enough workers that the cost to any one is bearable, then the system works. But as people live longer and the overall US population growth falls, or even reverses, the system becomes unsustainable. That being said, I'm not going to think it's OK if the feds decide to stop paying benefits after I've been sending them money all of my life.

Free universal health care is not financially viable - period. It's un-American to snatch people off the streets and hold them incommunicado for indefinite periods and without access to the legal system. The war in Afghanistan was justifiable and badly bungled to free resources for an unjustified war in Iraq that will, in the end, leave the Middle East less stable and with Iran in a stronger position. I guess that what I'm trying to say, but I'm not sure how well, is that the election draws near and I don't trust that either major candidate can overcome the challenges they're going to be confronted with. Their answers haven't impressed me, they've just made me sad.

I have several busse blades that don't seem that sharp, but earlier I was watching House of Wax and doing some grip transitions with my hellrazor. I should have been paying it a little more respect <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> but I dropped it into my heavy bag (just moved, bag laying in front of sofa) and it went right into it after less than a foot of drop, leaving a nice clean cut maybe 1.5" long. I'm not really sure what's inside of it, but it seems to be something fibrous and grey because nothing poured out of it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crossfingers.gif" alt="" />

Steel Fan (Peter) bought an FSH at Knob Creek that rather impressed me. I'm envisioning a SoD as filling a similar "compact chopper" role.

somebody has to do the labor. You can send everybody to college, but somebody still has to do the dirty work. I see it as overtraining. I wouldn't have a problem with it though as long as it was offered to the most qualified candidates with no regard to demographics, positive or negative.

that SHBM is something else. I don't see how you can resist the urge to whack something with it

After I received my Urban Gray FFFBMs with Red/Blue G10 handles, I dropped one while re-wrapping it in the butcher paper it came in. It hit the arm of my chair pommel first and split the fabric. They don't have to be razor sharp to do damage when they fall. I also seem to recall seeing pictures on BladeForums where somebody tried to catch a BC knife they dropped -- let's just say I wouldn't recommend it.