" wrote in
:
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
Let's take a look at this from the average person's point of view. They
learned steel exists in school, maybe Bessemer was somehow associated
with it, and they know from pickup trucks that steel is Ford Tough. You
show them an ad of a knife cutting through a bolt, and they might just
try it. To a person interested in this kind of stuff, the ad says "the
edge doesn't fail under this abuse". To the average person, the ad says
"look what it can do!"
Stupid? Sad? Maybe. Understandable?
Puckdropper
--
http://www.puckdroppersplace.us/rec.woodworking
A mini archive of some of rec.woodworking's best and worst!