Please tell me you're not cutting up the OKC. Well respected maker of GI bayonets.

I don't know if they're any good, but Harbor Freight has 100 watt sets of panels for $150.

Would anyone be able to recommend a good hunting knife? I would usually ask my brother but as I also intend to buy one for him I'd prefer not to. Nothing horribly expensive but I am willing to pay a reasonable amount for something decent. Thanks.

Haha ... I have not yet. Well, I modified it a bit, the blade came flat to the grip so I made a little safety gap. I was considering cutting one down just into a different shape, something like a large straight-back.

But you're right--they are good blades and well-respected. But at $11 a pop you have to try and do *something* ....

Cutting into the opinels is a lot of fun. Some I find on ebay are really ****ed up and well used.

Despite this page of posts, I'm not a knife guy. I carry one as a tool and enjoy shaping the blades and handles, but I don't know much when it comes to grinds and shapes and names and metals.

I know there's at least one other person on this thread who can answer you with solid knife info.

Those caveats aside:

This is the hunting-type knife I carry around most often. It is $16 and I'm not sure what more you could actually want from a blade. I can keep it sharp, it's strong enough for plenty of tasks, and it's cheap.

Some people use the Ontario Knife Co. blade as a bushcraft knife. I made a sheath for it and actually have been carrying it but the smaller Elk Ridge blade is simpler more useful and easier to deal with.

If you wanted to give a "nice" gift, like not one where you're trying to squeeze all the value out of every "buck" ...

... something like this might be good.

And then you can get into custom stuff like this, where you're basically buying Excalibur or something. I don't really know what makes one knife better or last longer or whatever. But these are supposed to be beasts.

lol

California qualifies solar modules for use with rebate programs. There are 21168 models approved. Those Harbor Freight panels didn't make the cut.

ive always just carried a folding 25 dollar gerber. for hunting and fishing. ive skinned out many deer, antelope, and elk with it no problem. i like a drop point . to each his own.

learning how to keep it sharp is the key.

Truth. ... I am not good at all, sharpening knives. But I do try, mostly because I work in kitchens. If my knife can slice a tomato, that's good enough for me.

There are tons of "systems" out there but I keep trying to use just an old oilstone, and at work we have a wetstone, which maybe is the same thing I really don't know. I have some hunk made by the "Carborundum Co." that looks 50-60 years old. I bought it at a yard sale for $1.

Maybe it would be easier but I just can't get into the crazy systems and devices. A knife is about the simplest and most useful tool I can imagine. It shouldn't require an even more expensive and fragile piece of equipment to make it work.

Generally, "good" knives have a few attributes in common.

1. Made in USA #1, not china. If sapo is finding US made OKC for 16 bucks, that's a bargain. Even big knife names are selling low priced models made in china now.

2. Solid tang, which means the blade and handle are one piece. That allows you to hammer and whack stuff with far less chance of breaking.

I only have one "good" knife, but I'm an unusually cheap bastid. My "good" knife is a Benchmade folder that I paid something like $150 for on sale. Most of my every day knifing is with a small, cheap Gerber folder.

I've owned and lost and had stolen a bunch of cheap Spydercos and Cold Steels. The quality difference between those and a Benchmade is easy to see.

Thanks very much for the responses. Some good information for me in regards to purchasing. I definitely agree about keeping your knives sharp, I've got a whetstone which is great for keeping my kitchen knives sharp. There is nothing worse than trying to chop up stuff with a blunt knife.

I switched to these a few years ago. I'll never go back. I don't care how good you are at sharpening knives it can't hold a candle to a brand new scalpel blade. These are amazing for butchering and skinning work and when it gets the slightest bit dull just pop in a brand new blade

There is something terrifying about scalpel blades, straight razors, box cutters, anything cheap and stamped out and razor sharp. I like very much, being able to get dirt from under my nails with my knife. I don't want to lose a finger.

I do pretty much all my knifing with a box cutter. Oh, also a butter knife. One is for notching off the insulation from ground wire to land in a bushing and assorted random stuff and the other is for peanut butter and jam.

Wat? You don't use the squeeze bottle jam?

I often have peanut butter and honey and we do have a squeeze bottle for honey.

Butter knives are handy plus you don't need to sharpen them! I use them mainly for butter. Unusual I know.

Box cutters are really good knives imo. If you have to cut something that would ruin an expensive blade you can do it no problem. You can put the blade out just a little or further out. And what's better than other knives is if you hold it right you have a lot of leverage which means really really fine control. Also, different kinds of blades, like hook blades I use for cutting shingles.

I agree, have a couple and they are pretty handy to have around. We generally call them stanley knives here fwiw.

I call them utility knives, but went with box cutter from the previous post.

Folding lock blade utility knives are the bee's knees. I'm never going back to the old school style.

I used to use those, but when I want to slice on live unfused utility lines I tape up the body/handle and it's a lot easier to do that and undo it on the old school style.

Butter knives also double as screwdrivers and drink stirrers.

Also as hash delivery devices.

Sorry to be annoying, but could someone walk me thru using the multimeter for something? This is the meter I have.

I have two light bulbs attached the battery, and I'd like to know how much current they are drawing. They are attached to the battery as simply as possible, using separate fixtures. Can I use the meter to measure the draw in this scenario?

I've watched a bunch of YT videos on using this thing and it's gibberish.

Instructions are pretty clear in the manual. You have to open the circuit and run it through the meter and 10A max for 10 seconds max. If your light bulbs are 100w at 12v you're going to break the meter. If they are LEDs or something youvshould be ok.