The Hundred Dollar Boxcutter

Not long ago, I wrote about a small grouping of engraved items I enjoyed creating that were a bit removed from the usual knives and firearms I do.  

Here’s another one that makes me smile.  

My grandfather and, I’m sure, many others of his generation had a saying: “Fifty dollar saddle on a five dollar horse.”  Obviously, inflation has reared its head since the days that could possibly be true, but the concept is still the same.  Is it foolish to furnish (or in this case embellish) an inexpensive item far beyond generally accepted practice?  You be the judge.  

Here’s a hundred dollar engraving on a ten dollar boxcutter!  This came about because of a good friend who works in an Anchorage gun shop.  He prefers to be called Yog.  I wanted to do something nice for him, like engrave a knife that he might carry and use every day.  I knew he had to use something, as he and the fellows he works with are forever opening boxes of new inventory arriving daily.  I asked him on one occasion what knife he used.  He said he owned a high-quality production knife, but the one he carried and used every day was a simple boxcutter that uses common sheet rock knife blades.  With that, he pulled his knife out and showed it to me.

Armed with that knowledge, I visited Amazon.com and had an inexpensive SuperKnife boxcutter on the way.  When it arrived, I designed a pattern for the blade holder, laid it out, and proceeded to engrave.  

The next time I stopped by the gun shop where he works, I made my delivery.  I do remember his eyes lit up when he saw it.  

This was a number of years ago and he carries and uses it constantly.  I asked to see it a few weeks ago and you could tell it was getting genuine use!  I engraved another to show how much wear his has acquired when it and my new one are compared.

Obviously an engraved boxcutter isn’t going to be loved by one and all, but I know he appreciates my engraving and now gets to see a little several times a day when he uses his knife.  I’m sure somewhere there is another engraved boxcutter, but I’m also sure his is one of very few.  He’s a unique guy with a unique knife!