# Shiny and big is not always deadly.



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Sounded like a heretic there for a moment, didn't I. Well, it's a true statement, and I always listen to an expert, which in this case is none other than Doc Holliday--and yes, his name has two "L"s.

As many of you know, I carry a smaller knife in my left front jeans pocket for several reasons. One is that my wife likes smaller knives and is left-handed. When she needs a sharp knife that's where she reaches. I have polished dozens of differing knives for her over our 40 years of bliss, but she always grabs my knife!

Before I get to this sound and authoritarian history lesson, let's discuss the little knives in question. The knives I am showcasing are Boker Kalashnikov 74 *mini* drop-point switchblades in copper. I polished one of them, and it was an abject failure! The edge wouldn't cut anything. I had seen this happen before, so I took a 140 Atoma shaping stone, removed the shine, and then pushed the edge back a degree or two with a Schwartz white 600 grit stone.

Why is a little knife that important? If you build model cars or airplanes I'll bet you carefully trim the parts off the tree with a little knife. If a doctor needs a sharp knife for a tracheotomy on a car accident victim, I'll bet he wants your sharp little whirlwind.

Now, if I'm socializing with my friends, one of my thumbs is stuck in my pocket, it's an old habit. The joke is that a townie once came to extract revenge from a biker at Joey's Anchor Inn. The townie had a pistol, the biker was leaning against the bar with his thumb in his pocket. He thought, "_This is almost too easy_." And that was the voice of the biker. Having any weapon _in hand_ trumps raw power.

Now for the history lesson. This slight of hand maneuver was invented by no other than the aforementioned Doc Holliday. *(And, this true event was re-created by Val Kilmer in the movie "Tombstone")*. Now, he and Big Nose Kate had won far too much money playing poker, and while back-to-the-wall is usually safe, Holliday was trapped. He was facing a lot of revolvers, and while Doc was fast, the odds were against him. They even egged Doc on with terse comments about his tuberculosis. The card-sharps kept their eyes on Doc's revolver when Doc struck. A small dagger came out of nowhere and took down the player the closest. The mob was so busy watching the revolver that no one thought of a dagger! News reports of the day claim Doc and Kate walked out of the card game with everyone's money!

Even if I'm schmoozing, my thumb is on the switchblade. If you're going to steal, then steal from the best!

As you can see from the newsprint, they both function with a clean, non-feathered slice. The geometry of this little knife, the angle, and even the placement of the fuller and its weight all effect the quality of the cut.

As I polish two more Pilar jackknives I will be carrying my own, then the minis go into service. Practice, practice, no surprises.

_Click on picture to enlarge_.


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