whats a good watch? more importantly, whats a good knife? I hate serated edges.

-- ed (edrider007@aol.com), July 18, 1999

Answers

I have a Swiss Army black watch. Batteries are good for 3-4 years. I have a self-winding Huer Dive watch, but it looses a little time (all self winders are like this). For a knife I use a Gerber multi-blade, for backpacking use. Just sold my Leatherman Super, the Wave is a good product. What sold me on my Gerber 600 is that the serrated blade can be replaced with any 2 3/4" jig saw blade.

-- Retroman (retro50@agapeis.net), July 18, 1999.

Good watch=a wind up timex, a seiko with several batteries tucked away, or if you're just dying to spend money, a seiko kinetic, or other "self winding" watch that winds when you move your arms around in daily life. Good Knife=Several good ones, one size doesn't fit all here. Different knives do different jobs. Carbon Steel stays sharp the longest, but will tarnish and corrode and not look very pretty, requires more care and maintenance than Stainless steel. Stainless steel is more easy care, but won't hold an edge as well. I like having some of both. Of ultimate importance is having a few sharpening tools, I like having various grits, like a few diamond stones,and an arkansas stone and an india stone, as well as a diamond sharpener shaped like a pencil. Now practice using them on the knives you already have, and enjoy slicing those tomatoes *really* thin.

-- (nobody@nowhere.com), July 18, 1999.

I prefer an old US "guvment-issue" style "boy scout" knife for day-to-day use - keep it on my keychain.

But, if I have any chance of needing some kind of tool, or any chance of having to make a repair away from the house, i grab the Schrade multi-tool (knives, screwdrivers, pliers, tape, phillips head, awl, file, can opener, bottle opener, etc. It is not able to everything perfectly, but i have not found anything it won't do adequately in an emergency.

Example - driving along today, stoped at a church fund-raiser barbeque to get lunch (I was hungry, they were open, and I'd rather raise a church than pay McD's.)

Anyway - they could not tighten the gas grill connection, and had a problem with the cut-out valve too. Fixed both.

Another time, we had a tuba connectiion come loose - it apparently wasn't blapping properly - assuming you can tell when a tube sounds wrong. I couldn't fix it - couldn't even tell it was broken - but the band director used the multi-tool to fix the horn while we were still in the stands before the performance.

Your preference will vary - try each in your hand for feel and fit and comfort. They probably will be cheaper at the hardware store than at the mall "knife" shops. DON'T get the 10.00 cheap inmitaions - yuou want a good solidlily made tool, not a piece of imported sheetmetal.

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), July 18, 1999.

Knife -- depends on what you need it for. I have several good knives, for various uses. A very small pocket knife is useful to always carry, and the Leatherman Wave is what I carry when working on things around the 'house.'

Watch -- I bought a 'solar' watch on a whim last summer (I'm afflicted by whims at times). I figured that if we hit a really bad crunch, we may not be able to get batteries and a half-vast watch might be better than no watch. I didn't use it for several months because I had pegged it as a toy or curiousity (though it cost about $100) -- after all, how could a solar powered watch (without a battery) really work well?

When I got the watch, I set it, put it under a light for about 3 hours while I was working, and then tossed in into a drawer. A few weeks later I noticed it in the drawer. It was still running and the time was right (I didn't set it to any time standard, so I didn't know how right). When the battery in the watch I was wearing gave up the ghost, I put on the solar watch until I could get around to getting a battery. I haven't gotten around to getting a battery for the old watch. This was last November.

In December I decided to check the accuracy of the solar watch, so I set it to match the atomic clock (in Boulder, via the 'net).

I haven't touched the time on the watch since then AND IT'S STILL WITHIN 2 SECONDS OF THE ATOMIC CLOCK TIME (I checked it just before I wrote this part of my reply). The watch is supposedly waterproof (and it has been subject to plenty of water and snow) and reasonably shockproof (it's been 'ripped' off my arm by a dog -- the clasp opened while I was playing with our 70 pound puppy).

The watch is made by "Le Jour" and is the Swissolar model. I'd like to get another, if I could remember where I bought it (it was in some catalog -- but I get a lot of them).

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@nevia.net), July 18, 1999.

Knife - Powder-coated high-carbon steel...see www.coldsteel.com...I prefer the SRK, but the Tanto is also very good.

Watches - "Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?" //Chicago

-- Don (dwegner@cheyenneweb.com), July 18, 1999.

Knives: It depends on what you are willing to spend and your anticipated needs. I carry a swiss army knife (huntsman model) and have a paragraph in my "Instructions to my family" specifying that I be buried with it. I have used it innumerable times for various emergency and non-emergency situations, including changing a battery in a snowstorm on the edge of an Interstate and "saving" a picnic. I keep one in every jacket and one on my belt. I also use a Leatherman sideclip. At other times, I have carried a Buck model 110, a Gerber FS II and a Randall model 1. Watches: I currently wear a "cheapee" Fossil. If I was rich, I would wear a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. I like the looks of the Timex Humvee.

-- Greg Lawrence (greg@speakeasy.org), July 18, 1999.

www.edgeco.com

Nobody, I can cut a tomato so thin, it only has ONE side.

-- ~ (abc@def.gov), July 18, 1999.

http://www.agrussell.com/

Here is another site where you can learn about knives and the steel and ceramic that they are currently made from.

Warning! Commercial site they do want to sell their knives and tools.

But great quality knives at almost reasonable prices.

I am not associated, or involved with this company.

LM____Due to some kind of computer problem the light at the end of the tunnel cannot be turned on.

-- LM (latemarch@usa.net), July 18, 1999.

My all time favorite watch is the big ole Casio G-Shock. I bought mine on sale about 6 years ago instead of a wind up alarm clock. This sucker has held up through wood splitting, diving, baking in 105 degree temps on the dash of my car (temporarily screen turned black but recovered), accurate, multifunction and the instructions even say it will hold up if you wear it while "jackhammering". I am guessing that the newer ones do ok, I have several EMS friends who have them and love them.

Still working on the favorite knife, I tend to like Gerber's blades the most... have several for different purposes but will probably buy a Leatherman or Gerber's version as well.

-- Kristi (securx@succeed.net), July 18, 1999.

I recommend the Emerson CQ7 for a folder if you can find one. They are one solid piece of machinery, but expect to pay thru the nose 150- 250 if not avail, then I'd go with the Benchmade, also a very solid knife

Or you could go the sheath route and pick up a survival knife (not the one for 20 bucks with the plastic compass on the end) the big meaty one, with serated back and a stone in the sheath etc.

Also, I'm gonna pick up a CRKT (cant rem who makes it) but they have one in a nifty kydex sheath which can go upside down on your pack or web gear. Happy hunting!

-- Edge (sharpie@goodsteel.com), July 18, 1999.

cold steel makes a survival knife"the bushman" for 15 bucks,made from a single piece of high carbon steel.the handle point ccan take 2000 pounds of pressure and the blade can be flexed over 60 degrees with the blade returning to "true"afterwards.swis army knifes are handy little things but they are not necessarily the tools you'd want to trust your life to.swiss knives,gizmos not-withsstanding,are just pocket knives and cannot affort the durability of a sheath knife.www.coldsteel.com

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), July 18, 1999.

To me one of the most important things about a knife is that the handle is big enough and irregularly shaped enough that it won't slip or get knocked out of your hand. Consider that you may be using it with cold, wet hands. A lanyard hole is important too, if you are going to be using it near water.

For folding knives make sure they lock open securely, you don't want it folding on your fingers! And make sure you can easily open it one-handed, with either hand.

-- biker (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), July 18, 1999.

The Cabella Catalog sells a ceramic folder for $65 that works great. The best knife is one that cuts the best. If you want hardware, open up your tool box.

-- bokerceramic (itcuts@realgood.com), July 18, 1999.