On Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 6:50:38 PM UTC-6, notbob wrote:

Sounds like the Buck knife fiasco.

Many yrs ago, Buck Knives usta show a Buck knife cutting thru a bolt.
Mine was their largest sheath knife and the logo, showing a Buck knife
cutting thru a bolt, was machine tooled right into the leather sheath.

They later admitted it hadda be a grade 2 or lower bolt and the knife
hadda be hammered thru the bolt. NO grade 5 or 8 bolts, allowed, for
which they would not honor their guarantee. They had so many claims
against them for chipped blades, they dropped both the logo and the
guarantee.

I remember that well. I got my first Buck in about '69, and that was indeed on the box. A lot of press was played out as Hoyt Buck simply couldn't fathom the profound stupidity of the American public. While the Buck knife (especially the 119)was sometimes demoed as being able to cut through a bolt, it was indeed a soft bolt, and it was rolled around and tapped on with a hammer to cut a bit at a time. It was simply a demo to show how well the heat treat was done on the steels, and how tough the steel was. It was never marketed as a bolt or steel cutter, never intended for a mechanic or a welder to use it to trim metal pieces or chop through steel rods or bolts as its job.

Enter the American idiot. Guys were out there taking a slicing tool and hitting it with heavy hammers to chop through bolts. They had to see if the knife "could take it". No knife guys did that (including me) but were simply satisfied that as a knife it could take some punishment. Finally, poor Hoyt (Buck) realized that there were too many idiots to account for and it was rumored, never proven, that he decided to change the logo to keep down the problems. Mine still goes into the field hunting and camping, but then I never had the urge to cut bolts with it, and never would have dreamed of cutting a structurally graded bolt that might be harder than the knife. Been a great knife, though.

But that follows in the long line of stupid. The famous case of the moron that got drunk and ripped his Trans Am over the top of bridge actually occurred here. His lawyers (Pat Maloney and Associates) maintained their client thought he bought a stunt car, one that could fly, was indestructible,one that would give him special stunt skills. After all, he did see Smokey and the Bandit several times (quoted in court) and that movie was the reason he bought the Trans Am. Maloney was able to convince GM, the movie studio and some affiliates to settle out of court since indeed, their client had seen that in a movie and was personally convinced what he saw was real. It is a wonder that he didn't expect Sally Fields to come with the car.

I am surprised that the American public didn't think that if they bought a DeLorean they could time travel. Likewise, a Superman suit for Halloween that made them think they could fly.

Other things that have changed with the times: "Lee Jeans - can't bust 'em". That was throwing down the gauntlet. Of course you can.

A watch that is "waterproof". How long is it waterproof? A hundred years? Is it waterproof at 1000 feet underwater? Now watches are "water resistant" since so many made it a point to test limits of their watch. After all, they were covered by warranty since the manufacturer said waterproof.

How many things used to be "unbreakable"? Combs, kitchen utensils, some tools, etc. Now that is a label advertising begging for internet testers to be able to make their mark on YouTube.

I thought it was really stupid (and very sad) that Buck had to tell people not to cut bolts with their hunting knife. Now it would probably be considered only prudent by a competent legal department.

Robert