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Cats Run Out of Gas, Nets Prevail
By David_A_Arnott Dec 28, 2008, 6:00am EST
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Yes, it was as bad as it looks, but it was fun.
In losing to the Nets at home, 114-103 in overtime, one night after beating them in Jersey, the Bobcats finally fell back to earth. Vince Carter was unstoppable until Lawrence Frank gave up on all his small forwards and played Keyon Dooling, Devin Harris, and Carter together, allowing Gerald Wallace to guard VC. Harris also had a big night, scoring 26, including several easy baskets over DJ Augustin. Shockingly, Harris was thrown off his game in the fourth quarter when Sean Singletary played significant minutes and harassed him into giving up the ball just about every possession.
Ultimately, though, I'm happy. At 11-20, the Cats are still on pace to win only 29 games, and that's with a recent winning streak in which they beat the dregs of the league. For what it's worth, it's finally fair to say they're not the dregs of the league, and they deserve a level of respect expressed in relative fear. The worst teams inspire only the fear that losing to them is an ugly joke. The Bobcats are in the next tier up. They inspire fear that a loss to them means you didn't play your best that night and give full effort.
A word about Singletary before we get to the meat of the game. He's the anti-Augustin in a smaller body. (They're listed at the same height, 6-0, and Singletary is listed five pounds heavier, 185-180. Uh-huh.) From what I've seen--and I readily admit I don't know if this has always been his personality--he's energetic, enthusiastic, and tough on defense, yet awkward on offense. The problem, as with Augustin, is that the dude's under six feet tall. I'm all about those guys who produce even though they don't fit the conventional mold (SIGN RICHARD HENDRIX!), but this is the type of "mold issue" that directly affects performance. They can be successful point guards in the league, but their defense has an absolute ceiling at Chris Paul level, where they're getting steals galore, and they'll still have to make up defensive deficiencies with superb offense.
Regarding said meat of the game, Boris Diaw had his worst game since coming over to the Bobcats, and it was still halfway decent, with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 turnovers on 3-10 shooting from the field. And, of course, a +/- of -19, for good measure. Raymond Felton's -21 comes almost entirely from 4 turnovers and 5-17 shooting. Raja Bell left after 28 minutes with a groin strain, which was a shame because he was 7-10 from the field and had scored 18 points, pretty much making up for his inability to guard Carter. Carroll, Mohammed, and the aforementioned Singletary did not suck during their stints on the floor.
That leaves Emeka and Gerald, who carried the team when it counted. Okafor again had a great game, despite his +/- of -10. With 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, Emeka nearly matched Brook Lopez's line combined with Josh Boone's. Amazingly, Boone had 12 points to Lopez's 6. It bears repeating: Since Chris Bosh is now a forward, Emeka is arguably the second best center in the East, along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and he's on the path to the best season of his career. Make him an All Star, coaches. He may not be a perennial All Star, but he's worthy this year.
Gerald exploded with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, including a bunch of scores down the stretch that forced overtime. It was one of those games that I think most people will reflexively downplay as a bit fluky, and it is, in the context that Gerald's also thrown up the odd 8-5-2 game this year. However, looking at process, the Bobcats put Wallace in a position to succeed. First, the Nets played a lot of zone, daring the Cats to beat them with jump shots. Every team should look to make the Bobcats beat them this way. Collapse the key and make them win from 20 feet out and beyond. Lopez and Yi's length helped make the zone effective, but it also masked some of VC's issues keeping up with quicker players. When the Bobcats could isolate Wallace on anyone, be it Carter or Yi or Bobby Simmons, or anyone, none of the Nets could keep up with him. The Bobcats had their most success on offense with a drive and kick motion against both man and zone D that kept putting guys into the lane. Gerald is fantastic at finishing those drives, and that's how he kept putting the ball in the hoop.
The Bobcats played a good game, but they just didn't have that extra something to hang in overtime. That something may have been left in Jersey the previous night. I noted yesterday that the Cats played their starters a lot more minutes than the Nets had, and, yet, Larry Brown went out and did it again tonight. The Nets' top four in floor time were Harris at 47 minutes, Carter with 42, Hayes with 37, and Lopez with 31. The Bobcats, one night after playing all five starters more than 35 minutes each, went out and played four of them 43 minutes or more, with one guy going down to injury and Augustin picking up where he left off.
At this point, what the hell is Alexis Ajinca still doing gathering DNP-CDs? Why isn't he playing 30 minutes per game in the D-League? What does Ryan Hollins have to do to get 6-7 minutes per night? How badly does Matt Carroll have to suck so that Adam Morrison or, more appropriately, Shannon Brown can take his minutes?


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Exporters press passage of bills on economy & trade
Exporters are pushing Congress to pass pending critical economic and trade-related bills needed to promote growth and support the country's continued recovery from the pandemic as they institute reforms to achieve export goals set in the new export development plan.
Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. identified some of these measures as the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, Philippine Ports Authority Charter or the PhilPorts Act, the International Maritime Competitiveness Act, Open Access in Data Transmission Act, Customs Amnesty Act, and reforms in the Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide (ASIN) law.
The Magna Carta for MSMEs is a landmark legislation mandating development and nurture of the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit, while the amendments to the ASIN law aim to rationalize the policy, facilitate the revival of the local industry and expand food exports.
"We could not emphasize more the importance of getting these reforms passed as part of the conditions within which export growth and targets under the Philippine Export Development Plan or PEDP are connected," Ortiz-Luis said during the group's general membership meeting.
Ortiz-Luis said Philexport championed the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or the Create Act last year.
The Create Act introduces reforms to the corporate income tax and incentives systems.
"However, we are faced with hurdles and confusion in its implementation," he said, without elaborating.
Apart from the passage of these pending economic and trade-related bills, Ortiz-Luis said industry players are taking a more aggressive stance inspired by the newly-launched PEDP and the recovery in the export performance.
"If all the reform elements in the PEDP are achieved, we are seeing export earnings of $240.5 billion for 2028, more than double this year's target of $112 billion," he said.
He added 88.5 percent of the export earnings are accounted for by prominent export sectors such as electronics; agriculture; transport; home furnishings; wearables, fashion accessories and travel goods; minerals; information technology-business process management; and chemicals.
Under the PEDP 2023-2028, one of the strategies to ease supply side constraints to export expansion is attracting and retaining domestic and foreign investments, especially in the export of high-value products and services.
The plan also underscored the need to provide adequate support to export firms' requirements in power, water and irrigation, transport and logistics, and telecommunications connectivity.
Ortiz-Luis further said export performance so far suggests that Philippine export markets have become increasingly more diversified in recent years.
The number of economies to which the country exports has grown from 70 in 2000 to 200 now, he said.
"Still, it's remarkable that the composition of our top 10 export markets has hardly changed in the last decade. The market and product diversification becomes ever more relevant as sectors like the furniture and wearables are experiencing declining orders due to the recession in traditional markets such as the United States and Europe," he added.
To expand demand for Philippine exports, the PEDP outlined the importance of intensifying trade promotion, marketing, design innovation and branding initiatives; pursuing active membership in regional and bilateral preferential trade agreements; and pursuing export market diversification. – Press release
7 Cordillerans get 2 and 1-star ranks
Baguio City economy grows by 9.9% in 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The owner of Mira Showers, Kohler Mira, has appointed company veteran Craig Baker (pictured) as its new managing director.
It follows the sudden departure of Liz Hazeldene, who had been in the post for five years.
Baker was most recently Hazeldene's deputy and has held a number of positions in his 20-year career with Kohler Mira, including new product development director and marketing director. He began his career at Mira Showers as a design engineer.
The company said Baker was appointed "following a short but in-depth process that involved both external applicants and internal candidates from across the Kohler global business".
Based in Cheltenham and Hull, Kohler Mira is one of the world leaders in bathroom design, made up of three market-leading brands: Mira Showers, Kohler UK, and Rada.
Daniel Brohn, president, global faucets, at Kohler Co, said: "I have no doubt that Craig is the right person to lead and inspire the team at Kohler Mira.
In 2009, Baker was awarded the chairman's award, which is annually presented to only one of Kohler's 35,000 associates worldwide.
Kohler Mira is part of the US Kohler Co group – a private family business based in Wisconsin, established in the late 1800s.
Most recently, the group has been investing heavily in smart kitchen and bathroom technology using Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform to create its own internet-of-things platform Kohler Konnect.


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Branchburg: Landmark Neshanic Station historic house up for auction
Article on mycentraljersey.com about the upcoming auction for the Historic House in Neshanic Station by order of Branchburg Township.
Former Golden Grille Lot in Jersey City Heads to the Auction Block
Article on JerseyDigs.com about our upcoming Auction in Jersey City, NJ on March 14, 2019.
Former ShopRite property on Delsea Drive to be auctioned
Article about the 75,000+/- Retail Building in Vineland NJ going up for Auction on December 12, 2018. The Daily Journal, Deborah Marko, Vineland Daily Journal Published 5:22 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2018 | Updated 5:39 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2018
For less than $600K, you can own this Gilded Age NJ mansion with NYC skyline views
Article on 6SQFT.com about the upcoming Auction of the 1920's Georgian Mansion in South Orange NJ on November 18th.
Historic Budd Company Site Going up for Auction
Six buildings covering 1.8 Million square feet on 25 acres in Philadelphia was former 20th Century industrial giant.
Historic Tullamore Farm in Hunterdon County NJ Up for Auction
"Tullamore Farm" a circa 1700's 207.8+/- acre farm is steeped in both history and natural splendor.
So You're Bidding on a $6 Million Mansion at Auction…
In the market for a new home? Try your luck bidding on this beautiful Scarsdale home going to auction June 29. - http://www.westchestermagazine.com
Banquet Hall and Restaurant in Wayne to be Auctioned
The Paris Inn Banquet Hall and Restaurant at 1292 Alps Road in Wayne will be sold by auction on April 25 at 1:00 p.m. at the Saddle Brook Marriott - jerseydigs.com
Paris Inn Property To Be Auctioned Off April 25
The auction comes more than a year after the once-beloved restaurant closed down after more than 40 years in business. - patch.com
Casino Authority to Hold Public Auction in Atlantic City
A New Jersey casino authority says it will be auctioning off nearly 100 excess properties later this month.- USnews.com
95 Vacant Properties Up For Auction As Atlantic City Embraces A Possible Rebirth
95 Vacant Properties Up For Auction As Atlantic City Embraces A Possible Rebirth - NJ Poker Online
Troubled former group home in Morristown going up for auction
Article about the upcoming auction of the fixer upper starter home in Morristown, NJ by order of the Town of Morristown by dailyrecord.com
CRDA to auction off 95 vacant properties on March 28
News article on the upcoming Auction of the 95 Lots Throughout Atlantic City, by order of the CRDA as reported on pressofatlanticcity.com.
Interest in City Leads to Increase Land Prices
In the NewsIndustry News
Joseph Bodnar, auctioneer for Max Spann Real Estate and Auction Co., auctions off properties during a land sale Tuesday at the Atlantic City Convention Center. More than $1.6 million in surplus property was sold.
A.C.-owned properties auctioned for nearly $1.2 million
ATLANTIC CITY — In less than an hour, 29 city-owned properties were sold at auction Thursday.


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Air Jordan 6 "Carmine" CT8529-106 2021 New Arrival
Liza Zuwita
11 Jan 2021 • 11 Views
As early as February this year, there was news that the Rouge Air Jordan 6 "Carmine" will be back next year. As one of the four first-year colors of Air Jordan Shoes 2021, there is no doubt about its popularity. It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Air Jordan 6 next year. This pair of rouge is the first surprise that Jordan has prepared for everyone. Today, the Nike SNKRS APP in the US brought the official poster of this pair of shoes. The retro style fits the classic status of rouge color. Since its first release in 1991, the rouge color scheme has been re-enacted twice in history. One time was in the CDP set in 2008; the second time was in 2014.
Next year's re-enactment will return after a lapse of seven years, which is very attractive to new and old players. After the last re-enactment, it has become a street hot style. The white and carmine stitching to create a shoe body is a male and female. The classic white-red collocation and the unique carmine red hue give it the dual attributes of personality and vitality. In recent years, the first-year color matching Air Jordan's re-enactment is a perfect tribute to the classics. Next year, the rouge Air Jordan 6 should also return as the first year. After the white and red Air Jordan 4, the next pair of highly anticipated first year reissues is the Rouge Air Jordan 6 "Carmine". After the overseas SNKRS preview, the national SNKRS has just launched the preview link, and the domestic sale date has also been determined. In addition to the official announcement, this link of SNKRS also reviewed the first year of Rouge Air Jordan 6 and the reissues of previous generations.
Like other early Air Jordan shoes, the first year Rouge Air Jordan 6 also uses the Nike Swoosh heel design. It was previously re-enacted twice in 2008 and 2014, both of which used the Jumpman flying heel, which is obviously different from the first year. Like the white and red Air Jordna 4 that has just been re-enacted, the upcoming 2021 new Rouge Air Jordan 6 is also the first time that the first year details have been perfectly re-enacted. Not only has it returned to the Nike heel of the first year, but the color of the crystal bottom is also lighter than the 2014 version. It has anti-oxidation and is closer to the shape of the first year version. This pair of perfectly engraved rouge is believed to be the first pair of shoes for many players in the Year of the Ox.
#Nike Shoes #Air Jordan 6
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Squeaks Pages of Indian States,Cities,Towns
भगवान भी भजन करते हैं


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The Best Hotels in Downtown Dallas
Photo credit: Hall Arts Hotel
The Big D is the third-largest city in the state, but this is Texas we're talking about. Everything is bigger here — so Dallas holds all the might of a major metropolis. Think rodeos, the Cowboys, a burgeoning art scene, historical sites, next-level shopping, and restaurants of all culinary persuasions. If you're planning a trip, these are the best hotels in downtown Dallas.
The Adolphus (1321 Commerce St., 214-742-8200) Downtown Dallas
Built by Anheuser-Busch cofounder Adolphus Busch in 1912, this storied property became the first true luxury hotel in Dallas. Since then, The Adolphus has welcomed a handful of American presidents and even Queen Elizabeth II. Located in the heart of downtown, its rooftop pool and stunning city views are hard to beat. "My wife and I have stayed at this hotel numerous times over the years. The hotel has old world bones with a recent modern update that was done the right way," says a Tripadvisor reviewer. >> Book this hotel for less
Hyatt Regency Dallas (300 Reunion Blvd., 214-651-1234) Downtown Dallas
Set right next to Dallas's most iconic landmark, Reunion Tower, the contemporary Hyatt Regency Dallas is just steps from the very best of the city, including world-class museums, Dealey Plaza, and the Historic West End. "We chose the Hyatt Regency because of the spectacular views of downtown Dallas," says one Yelp reviewer. Another lauds the Hyatt's warm hospitality: "The best service I've experienced at a hotel and I'm a road warrior for work." >> Book this hotel for less
The Joule (1530 Main St., 214-748-1300) Downtown Dallas
At once lavish and artsy, The Joule has fast become a Dallas icon, thanks to its lobby decorated with works by Andy Warhol and its five-star amenities, like a subterranean spa. According to Conde Nast Traveler, "This hotel gives Main Street its posh pulse and the customer service is truly on point." The Joule is also known for award-winning culinary experiences, from CBD Provisions (a brasserie known for its Berkshire pig head carnitas) to Sassetta, a modern Italian restaurant with house-made pastas. >> Book this hotel for less
The Statler (1914 Commerce St., 214-459-3930) Downtown Dallas
Built in the 1950s, The Statler combines a mid-century flair with modern, upscale amenities. Don't miss the retro cocktail bar or bowling with live music. One Google reviewer says, "The rooms were great and the tub and shower were heavenly. They have everything you need inside the hotel. Staff was attentive and always friendly and helpful." Another adds, "The hotel is lively with activities and dining options for everyone." >> Book this hotel for less
Hall Arts Hotel (1717 Leonard St., 214-953-1717) Dallas Arts District
If you're in Dallas for its art scene, the Hall Arts Hotel is surrounded by it. The Winspear Opera House, Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas Museum of Art, and Klyde Warren Park are within a half mile of this Hilton property — the only hotel within the Dallas Arts District. But its prime location is far from its only selling point. Tripadvisor reviewers rave about this hotel. "It checked every box. Beautiful decor, very solid bar and restaurant, rooms were well appointed, amazing gym, and awesome rooftop pool. But beyond the physical amenities of the hotel, what really set it apart was the service. Every person we met could not have been more helpful and friendly." >> Book this hotel for less
The Best Hotel Pools in San Antonio
The Best Hotel Pools in Austin
Categories: Destinations


Annual workshop that Charley Brentnall and I run at the fantastic Dartmoor Arts Week hosted by Pete and Charlotte Randall-Page. It's kind of Studio in the Woods, but more ambitious as it's held over a week. These 2 structures were constructed over consecutive years – the first, a structure designed to allow you to sit suspended over the river in a patch of sunlight, the second, a half-bridge designed to allow occupants of the valley access to winter sun on the 21st December. It was really doing this workshop that got me so interested in how the process of construction can shape the actual architecture.


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EDC Knives
We Knife Co. Mini Buster Review
by John Burridge Leave a Comment
Snecx! If you haven't heard of him yet, Snecx Tan is a Malaysian knife and tool maker who is, in my opinion, currently the most mechanically innovative knife designer in the world. His Instagram profile says "Just a hobbyist working on knives. Not a knifemaker." That's a bit of an understatement for someone who recently held an auction on Instagram for the one-of-a-kind prototype of his upcoming "Vision S" knife. It sold for $18,900.00 USD. That's a pretty well-funded hobby.
Buy the Mini Buster at BladeHQ or GP Knives
There are a lot of knife enthusiasts like myself who have been eager to get our hands on a reasonably priced Snecx knife, and WE Knife Co. has delivered with the Mini Buster, which goes for $289. I've been using it every day for the last month, and here's what I've learned: it's a nearly perfect large-ish EDC knife with one major design flaw.
The Mini Buster is 4.5" (115 mm) closed, 7.8" (198 mm) open, and has a 3.4" (86 mm) blade made of CPM-20CV steel. The blade stock is 4 mm thick at its widest point, and the handle is about half an inch thick (13 mm) not counting the clip, which adds another 4.5 mm. So it's no slim little Brad Zinker disappear-in-your-pocket folder, but it's also no Cold Steel supersized monster knife either.
The blade is a very slightly curved sheepsfoot style, which I consider to be the ideal do-everything EDC blade shape. Its tip is pointy enough to pierce tough materials, and the blade is wide enough to use as a butter knife. I prefer the ergonomics of a
sheepsfoot (or wharncliffe) blade over a traditional drop point blade because, when holding the knife with my index finger on the spine of the blade to open a box, the low tip of the sheepsfoot blade keeps my wrist and arm at a more comfortable angle than when using a drop point blade.
The picture above illustrates how the Mini Buster's sheepsfoot blade tip can cut while nearly parallel to a surface, while the drop point blade on the RealSteel Rokot needs to be at a much higher angle to utilize the tip of the blade.
The WE Mini Buster's blade stock is Crucible CPM-20CV steel, which is a premium American-made blade steel with extremely high hardness and above-average toughness. To avoid taking an unnecessarily deep dive into metallurgy, I will just say the Mini Buster's blade has excellent edge retention, but is more likely to chip than bend.
CPM-20CV is nearly identical to the European-made Bohler M390 steel, and these powdered-metallurgy "super steels" are THE go-to blade steels for high-end knives lately. In fact, of the 14 folding knife reviews BladeReviews.com has published so far in 2020, 35% of them had CPM-20CV or M390 blades. They're great knife steels, and I've noticed that I need to sharpen my D2, CPM-154, and RWL34 knives more often than my harder steel M390 or 20CV knives.
Over the past month, I've been hacking away at everything in my vicinity that can be hacked at, including thick plastic packing straps, cardboard, annoying clamshell packaging, stray tangerine tree branches, and, when trying to cut a piece of baklava in half, I sliced up a metal catering pan. Despite all that, I have yet to scratch the blade's black DLC coating or the handle's anodizing. That's quite impressive considering that I normally scratch my DLC coated steel blades and anodized titanium handles almost immediately.
The blade's primary grind angle is known as a "flat" grind, which looks like a narrow symmetrical "V".
In the kitchen, the blade's uninterrupted "V" shape had no contours or additional angles to disrupt its slicing path through a bunch of tomatoes and cucumbers. As with nearly every folding knife, the Buster's blade/handle configuration doesn't allow food dicing without rapping my knuckles on the cutting board with every downstroke. Snecx tested the durability of his original Buster knife by slashing the tops off of green coconuts- I think the Mini Buster could handle that task, but it would definitely be easier with a non-Mini Buster…
I'm a pretty frugal guy, but I'm impulsive when it comes to my steel and/or gunpowder-related hobbies. It also usually takes me making the same mistake two or three times before I learn my lesson. For example, I've watched myself compulsively click the "buy" button on some limited-edition knives that I thought looked cool: a Dervish Knives Alchemy midtech ($395) and a Prometheus Design Werx/Strider Knives SMF "Frogskin" ($635). But my biggest impulse buy of all was in 2018 when I bought a Snecx/Jake Hoback Knives collaboration Buster ($775), which is the most I have ever spent (or ever will spend) on a knife.
Like my first marriage, I always knew I was making a mistake but went ahead with it anyway. I immediately regretted my decision- I didn't really like them, I wanted to sell them (the marriage analogy definitely no longer applies from this point on), and so I never carried or even enjoyed them. I managed to sell the Dervish and the Strider at a loss, and I've tried to sell the Snecx/Hoback Buster twice with no takers. In early 2020 I saw one in the BladeHQ closeout section for $499. Maddening! I'm done with buying expensive knives.
A brief history of the Snecx/Jake Hoback Knives Buster: Snecx is indeed a knifemaker (despite his claims to the contrary) but is not a knife manufacturer, so in 2018 he launched two collaboration projects. The first was the Custom Knife Factory Terra, and the second was the Hoback Buster. According to what I've read on Snecx's Instagram and Hoback's website, Snecx's core visual design was minimally modified, but a lot of details were changed, most notably the addition of a honeycomb pattern in the handle.
I definitely appreciate innovation and unique aesthetics, but (sorry Mr. Hoback!) I think it ended up looking like a mashup of two contrasting, not complimentary, design styles. Plus it's huge. I give zero fucks about what the general public considers an "office-friendly" or non-scary looking knife, but the Hoback Buster is so big and heavy that it's unwieldy.
I was surprised to see that the Hoback Buster isn't much bigger or heavier than my Chris Reeve Knives Large Sebenza 21 (an expensive knife that I've never regretted buying) but in the hand, the Hoback Buster is a big manly beast knife. OK- out of the shame spiral and back to the review.
The Mini Buster feels great in use, even though I can't quite get a full four-finger grip with my medium-large hands. The handle is long enough overall, but the upswept end of the bottom of the handle (see arrow in picture above) removes some finger gripping space. The pad of my pinky finger ends up on the handle screw near the lanyard loop, and that's enough for me to achieve a secure grip with all four fingers.
When held in a regular grip with my thumb on the spine, my thumb naturally rests in a little indentation where the backspacer ends above the pivot, but I can also comfortably shift my thumb forward onto a section of jimping on the blade spine if I want more precise control of the blade.
The jimping ends in a stylish little dip for the tip of my thumb, which is one of four places (see arrows in picture above) on the Mini Buster where Snecx used this dip-in-a-straight(ish)-line design cue.
The Mini Buster also has a number of subtle angular details, which are definitely accentuated by the artificial edge wear of the "antique bronze" finish version I bought. There are almost no straight lines on this knife. There's an almost subliminal curve to every part of the Mini Buster, including the blade, which has a very slight belly. Another interesting design choice on the WE Mini Buster is how the angular front tip of the handle crosses the plunge line of the blade. This is a carryover from the original Snecx Buster design.
According to Snecx, he allowed Jake Hoback to "fix" the handle angle and plunge line so they're parallel. You can see this difference between the two knives in the picture above. But when WE Knife Co. did the same "fix" to an early Mini Buster prototype, Snecx made them retain his original Buster handle/plunge line design.
The Mini Buster is a framelock with a unique Snecx twist: the H.D.P.S. system. That stands for Hybrid Detent Pin System, and my admittedly limited understanding of it boils down to this: the shiny round steel pin on the lockbar (see picture below) acts as both the stop pin, which keeps the blade locked into its open position, and as the detent ball, which keeps the blade in place in its closed position.
I can't be sure if this is a function of the HDPS system, but the Mini Buster does a far better job than most other knives of easily opening while there's pressure on the detent. I can squeeze the lockbar section of the handle (the part attached to the aforementioned shiny round steel pin) pretty hard without hampering my ability to flip open the knife. Snecx, however, isn't the only recent innovator on this front. Zero Tolerance Knives recently released the 0707 framelock, featuring their new Tuned Detent System, which is designed to address the same problem, but using a different mechanical approach. I watched a video review of the 0707, and although it does an admirable job of opening irregardless of pressure on the lockbar, it does not smoothly swing shut like the Mini Buster.
I only have one criticism of this knife, and this is the major design flaw I alluded to at the beginning of this review: the little tiny nubby flipper tab becomes completely inoperable if your finger is even slightly wet or slippery.
Why? The face of the flipper tab is completely smooth, without any machined texturing like most flipper-actuated knives have. That in itself isn't necessarily a problem, but it's also so small there's barely any surface area for your fingertip, so a single drop of water will defeat any attempt to flip open this knife. In my wet and slippery kitchen and gardening adventures with this knife, I found that the only way to open the Mini Buster was to pinch the spine of the conveniently "V" shaped blade and manually pull it open.
Snecx is known to be an absolute perfectionist, so I don't understand how there could be such an obvious problem like this. According to what I saw in Snecx's Instagram posts about the WE Mini Buster, he seemed quite pleased with it, so my theory is this: the lack of flipper leverage (a conscious design choice) was deliberately compensated for by using a somewhat weak detent. The detent, which in this context is the wall of force that my index finger on the flipper tab must overcome to deploy the blade, isn't quite strong enough to guarantee the knife completely opening every time. I suspect that the detent was made as strong as was possible given the limited leverage on the flipper tab. That's not a huge deal, but it does require more concentration and effort to deploy the blade than is required for most knives in this price range. I'm probably overthinking all of this, but I have seen several other people mention their knives have a weak detent, so it's possible I'm right.
Nonetheless, once the blade gets going, the ceramic ball bearings surrounding the pivot give it a smooth and easy action. It locks open with a confidence-inspiring snap, and in use it feels as solid as a fixed blade knife.
We Knife Co. Mini Buster Review – Final Thoughts
Even with it's flipper design issues, I stand by my initial claim that this is a nearly perfect large-ish EDC knife. According to Snecx, it's also his final framelock design. He's moved on to his "Vision" knife, for which he has invented two new technologies: the Superlock locking system, and the Zero Flex Pivot. It became very obvious to me that Snecx was onto something special when heavy-hitter designers like Ostap Hel, Rotten Design, and Tashi Bharucha all publicly commented on the same Instagram post about Snecx's Zero Flex Pivot. Tashi B's comment just said "Perfection". The Vision looks amazing, but that doesn't matter to me at all, because as I said, I'm absolutely done with buying expensive knives.
UPDATE: I bought a $160 titanium COVID tool.
It's a very limited edition (only 15 pieces) handmade by one of my favorite knife designers, Tashi Bharucha, in partnership with his frequent collaborator Thierry Savidan. It's part of a series called "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". I bought "The Good" (pictured above), but did not get "The Bad", which is the same design but with three knuckle spikes. Both versions came with a little COVID-19 shaped lanyard bead engraved with the words "THE UGLY".
Like my Hoback Buster, it's huge and expensive, especially compared to my $17 Civivi copper COVID tool also pictured. Unlike my Hoback Buster, however, I have NO regrets about buying this thing- it's awesome and I smile every time I whip it out to open a door or punch in my PIN number.
Finally, the Hoback Buster that I've been whining about for the entire review is still for sale! Hit me up in the comments or on Instagram if you want to make this "As seen on BladeReviews.com" Hoback Buster all yours…
Thank you to Sara O'Neil for the use of her painting.
We Knives Mini Buster – From $272.00
From: BladeHQ
Editor: I recommend purchasing the We Knives Mini Buster at BladeHQ or GP Knives. Thank you very much.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Tactical Knives, Titanium Frame Lock Knives Tagged With: CPM-20CV, flipper, Made in China, titanium
Spyderco Rhino Review
by Grayson Parker 1 Comment
Expectations are a terrible thing to shake. As gear geeks, hopping onto the hype train is all too easy, especially because most of us are passionate about our hobbies. We see something cool – either the newest catalog or the latest teaser on Instagram – and start forming our own idea of what the end product will be like. All too often, those expectations proceed to get in the way of enjoying the product for it is.
Buy the Spyderco Rhino at BladeHQ
Enter the Spyderco Rhino. When it was first teased (long enough ago that I can't remember the date), it was slated to be a refreshing new entry to Spyderco's line-up, sporting G10 scales, BD1 steel, and a compression lock in a reasonably sized package. What's more, its original street price was going to fall right around $50.00. That was a hell of a steal at the time, and honestly would still be a great buy today, even with the recent price drops in premium steels.
Unfortunately, that version of the Rhino never made it beyond the trade show demonstration booth. Apparently that package was too much of an ask for the factory, and the project was put on hiatus. The next time we caught a glimpse of the Rhino, it was a radically different product: the steel was upgraded to CTS-XHP, the handle scales were upgraded to carbon fiber, and the street price was upgraded all the way up to $140.00.
That's the point I lost interest in the Rhino. It had morphed from a product that would challenge the market to yet another overpriced and oddly designed Spyderco, destined to hang out in the inventories of cutlery purveyors across the world.
In the months that followed its debut, I started to see it pop up online. Folks that I follow on Instagram (whose taste I respect) started including the Rhino in their daily updates. After seeing it a few more times, my curiosity was once again piqued. That's when I started to realize that on paper, it was still a good product: high-end steel, carbon fiber*, a great lock, and the perfect size for everyday chores. It didn't take too much speculation along those lines before I picked one up. I'm glad I did, but you'll need to read on to learn why.
The Spyderco Rhino is considered part of the "little-big-knife" family, a design ethos that seeks to pack the maximum amount of cutting power into a compact package. Other standouts include the much-acclaimed Techno as well as the Dragonfly 2. Like its cousins, the dimensions of the Rhino aren't great on paper. Its 2.37" blade is housed in a 3.57" handle, and the overall package weighs in at 2.27 oz. Taken together, neither the blade to handle or blade to weight ratio is very compelling. Much like its cousins, however, these numbers don't speak to the whole truth.
My tastes are depressingly pedestrian when it comes to blade shapes. Give me a nice drop point or modified wharncliffe and I'll be happy; give me more than one angle to worry about when resharpening and I won't. The Rhino's trailing point walks a very thin line between being interesting and being a hassle, and – in my case at least – the jury is still out. When grappling with a clamshell package, it's great: the refined tip and thin grind make short work of that modern headache. When it comes to spreading peanut butter or condiments (essential picnic tasks, in my view), the trailing point is uniquely unqualified. If that isn't a concern for you, there are few downsides to this blade shape. The exaggerated belly also means that the cutting edge is longer than the listed blade length.
As expected, the grind that the fine folks at Taichung put on the Rhino is impeccable. The stock starts at .118" thick and is brought down to a very keen edge by a full flat grind. Between the stock and grind, the Rhino makes for a very mean cutter, passing the apple test with ease. If there's a complaint to be made, it's that the satin finish is slightly tacky and seems to attract gunk. Regular cleaning and a bit of extra vigilance is probably required.
This is actually my first experience with Carpenter's CTS-XHP steel. If rumors hold true, it was designed to have the upsides of D2 (great edge retention and toughness) while mitigating D2's chief drawback (poor rust resistance). My experiences with the Rhino generally reflect that: the edge rarely needs touching up, and it's warded off rust handily, ever after I inadvertently stored it with fruit juice on the blade. Unfortunately, most users report that it can be a pain to sharpen, so I've been proactive with my strop, and actual resharpening hasn't been necessary.
Handle, Ergonomics, and Carry
Unfortunately, the handle breaks two of my cardinal rules when it comes to knives: avoid finger scallops and Spyderco's carbon fiber/G10 composite scales. The former rule is rooted in ergonomics; the latter in priggish snobbery. My experience with the Rhino has made me reevaluate both – to an extent. The composite scales are reinforced by a skeletonized and recessed steel liner, and have endured everyday wear and tear without showing it. Moreover, they don't have the glossy, too-light quality I've felt in other knives with carbon fiber scales.
The composite scales are well-suited to the role. There is enough texture that your fingers don't slide around, but not the rough kind of texture you'd expect from Spyderco's normal G10 treatment. Additionally, the edges and corners of the scales have been chamfered to the point that they are very nearly contoured. I'm very glad they went the extra mile in the finishing process; otherwise the Rhino would be an ergonomic flop, and that's entirely due to the finger scallops. Apart from those problematic little curves, the Rhino is really quite good in the hand. The dip in the spine of the blade is a perfect place to put your thumb when you need more control, and the organic curve of the handle means that the Rhino can be gripped in a number of ways.
To be frank: finger scallops should be avoided as a rule. They force the user to hold the knife in a set grip, despite the fact that all of our muscular and skeletal structure varies wildly person to person. They do not actually improve our grip on a knife's handle, according to hand surgeon and knifemaker Kyle Ver Steeg; in fact, by forcing our fingers farther apart, it weakens our grip instead. Finally, why on earth were finger scallops "necessary" on a knife this size? The Rhino isn't going to be someone's last ditch boot knife, or stowed in a bugout bag. It's going to be toted around in some gear geek's chinos, broken out to to open packages and trim loose threads. The Rhino's saving grace is that the finger scallops have been chamfered to the point that I hardly notice them.
The Rhino is equipped with Spyderco's classic spoon-shaped clip. It's a classic design for a reason: it doesn't cause ergonomic issues, it keeps the knife in the pocket without shredding your pants, and it's only a little bit of a paint scraper.
Deployment and Lock-Up
At this point, there's not a whole lot that can be said about Spyderco's trademark thumb hole. Even as flippers reign supreme, the thumb hole stands out: it's simple, versatile, and only there when you need it. The Rhino has at least as much fidget factor as any of my flippers, in part due to the phosphor bronze washers the blade rides on and the excellent detente. Absolutely no complaints in this regard.
In keeping with the "quintessentially Spyderco" theme, the Rhino utilizes the compression lock, an in-house design that's strong, simple, and lightweight. By using a locking leaf that wedges between the blade tang and the stop pin, the compression lock blends the convenience and strength of an axis-style lock with the snappy action and simplicity of a liner lock. Unfortunately, compression locks do tend to have a bit of vertical blade play, and the Rhino is no exception. It doesn't register visually or audibly, but you can feel it if you wiggle the blade around.
Spyderco Rhino Review – Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the Rhino is a fine addition to both Spyderco's catalog and my collection. Part of me still wishes that the original version would have made it to market, but to be honest, the extra finishing on the handle scales probably wouldn't be feasible at a sub-$50 price point, and the finger scallops would go from a theoretical pet peeve to a very literal pain to deal with. That aside, there's a lot to recommend here. The blade uses some of the best steel on the market and is ground to be a lean cutter; the handle is remarkably comfortable, in and out of the pocket; and the deployment method and lock are some of the most reliable and convenient available.
As mentioned above, the street price for the Rhino falls around $140. That's nothing to sneeze at; most of the major production knife companies have strong entries at this price point, from Benchmade's upgraded Griptilian line to a veritable dragon's hoard of Kizer offerings. While the competition is fierce, I think the Rhino holds its own. The blade – from the steel to the grind – makes the Rhino stand out in its own way, especially if you like the funky design aesthetic.
There are some people who should pay special attention to the Rhino, and a few who should actively avoid it. The Rhino is especially well-suited to modern office workers: opening packages, breaking down cardboard boxes, and maybe peeling an orange at lunch. If you have more specific needs (like frequent food prep or a knife suited to harder use), look elsewhere, as the Rhino was clearly not designed with those tasks in mind.
Spyderco Reinhold Rhino Specialty Folding Knife with 2.37" CTS XHP Premium Stainless Steel Blade and Black Carbon Fiber Handle - PlainEdge - C210CFP
PLAINEDGE BLADE - This knife has a sharpened blade with no serrations or teeth sometimes referred to as a smooth blade.
CARBON FIBER HANDLE - Graphic fibers (the size of a human hair) woven together then fused with epoxy resin. Lightweight with a high level of tensile strength it is three dimensional in appearance.
FULL-FLAT GRIND - This knife features a blade ground with flat bevels that extend from the spine all the way to the cutting edge. This grind reduces drag during cutting and decreases overall weight.
COMPRESSION LOCK - Developed and patented by Spyderco, the compression lock mechanism uses a leaf-like spring from a split liner in the handle to wedge laterally between a ramp on the blade tang and the stop pin (or anvil pin).
SPECIFICATIONS - Closed Length (Inches): 3.6, Overall Length (Inches): 5.95, Blade Length (Inches):2.35, Blade Steel: CTS XHP, Grind: Full-Flat
Editor: I recommend purchasing the Spyderco Rhino at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Folding Knives, Spyderco Tagged With: Compression Lock, cts-xhp, g10
Gerber Tri-Tip Review
by Travis Pike 1 Comment
I like weird stuff in general, and that extends to my knife collection. The good news is knives can get really weird. I now have three cleavers that have been produced by companies who don't specialize in kitchen utensils. My ESEE cleaver, my Gerber Flat Iron, and now a second Gerber, the Gerber Tri-Tip mini cleaver knife, make up my collection.
Buy the Gerber Tri Tip at BladeHQ
Gerber is a broad brand when it comes to knives. They can range from quite lovely and rather expensive, to remarkably affordable. The Tri-Tip leans more to the affordable side. It includes a molded polymer sheath and admittedly has a very fresh look. The Tri-Tip is a pretty blade, and I can't lie when I say its looks drew me to it more than any specific need for a mini cleaver. I'm a real sucker for a pretty blade, and the Tri-Tip is a rather attractive and stout little knife.
The Gerber Tri-Tip has a 2.875-inch cleaver blade is divided into a chisel edge and a cutting edge. The chisel edge is about an inch long, not very sharp, and it is finger safe. The bottom cutting edge is the near 3-inch blade. The handle is 2.75 inches long, and the whole thing weighs a mere 3 ounces. It is a full tang knife with a set of grips attached.
The blade is made from 7Cr17MoV. This cheap stainless steel that's very popular for budget based knives. It's quite common in affordable hunting and camping knives and even kitchen knives. The Tri-Tip fits that description nearly perfectly. It's a budget based blade optimized for camping kitchen chores. This steel does offer excellent corrosion resistance, is easy to sharpen, and for low-end steel tends to hold an edge okay.
Edge retention is somewhat questionable, and it's not one that lasts long. The good news is that as a cleaver, the blade isn't always tasked with tradition cutting tasks, so the edge lasts longer than I thought. This steel isn't known for being tough, but I'm not batoning wood or striking a fire rod for cleaver tasks.
Its edge is good enough to cut through meat and veggies easily, and even thin bones with a little strike to the rear of the blade. It's not as sharp as any ZT or Emerson, but it'll do its job as a 30 dollar cleaver. The small blade length offers a solid cutting edge due to the knife's aggressive belly. You can cut through thick meat and chop vegetables rather well.
Admittedly the use of such a small cleaver is somewhat niche. I can see it as a functional camping cooking utensil that takes up very little room and weighs very little. With sustenance camping becoming more popular, I see the Tri-Tip being a handy tool for cleaning up squirrel, rabbits, and deer. The small blade won't chop through the thicker bones of medium-sized game, but it quickly eats through chicken bones.
The chisel edge acts as a useful bench scraper to collect ingredients with ease after slicing and dicing them. The edge could also serve as a pry tool or even a stripping tool to remove bark from branches.
Handle and Ergonomics
The little 2.75-inch handle doesn't necessarily fill the hand and won't give you the real cleaver's wacking ability. The grip angle has a slight incline that allows for a rocking motion to cleave through meat. The handles are made from aluminum and textured.
The downside is that there are some immediate hotspots in the area where the handles meet the palm. Using the cleaver to strip meat from bones creates hot spots throughout the hand. Using the Tri-Tip in traditional kitchen tasks was comfortable enough. Giving the black a wack, rocking it back and forth, and using the chisel edge was all plenty comfortable.
The handle is textured comfortably, and you can get a sure grip, which was surprising due to how small the grip is. I like the rounded aluminum grips and the texture they add, but they were far from perfect.
Once you turn to more outdoorsy tasks, you'll want a larger, more prominent handle. The lightweight design is appreciated, and at only 3 ounces, it won't pull on you when belt-mounted.
The rear of the blade is wide enough to cover with a towel and give a wack to break through thick veggies and small animal bones. You can split a chicken breast, but anything more significant might prove to be a challenge.
The included molded polymer sheath is a high point in the Tri-Tip design. It's mostly a simple, rectangular shape that fits 1.5-inch belts. The sheath is quite sturdy and well designed. The Tri-Tip sheath is outfitted with an active retention device. To defeat the device, you merely press down a small spring-loaded toggle and pull the blade out.
Tri-Tip slides in and out of the sheath with ease and allows you to dismount and mount the knife quickly. It's a neat design that seems like it would be more at home on a more expensive knife. The included sheath can be worn on the right or left side, or even in a scout position. Scout being the fancy name for wearing it upside down on a plate carrier or pack strap.
While I haven't tried to modify the sheath, it seems possible to attach a variety of clip options and change how it's mounted. With different belt clip options, it looks like a great candidate for horizontal carry should you wish for such a thing.
Gerber Tri-Tip Review – Final Thoughts
The Tri-Tip is a neat mini cleaver. It looks and feels cool. The aluminum grips are fantastic, as is the included sheath is quite nice. I like the Tri-Tip, and I say that because I can't find a use for it. If you wanted to kill a squirrel and clean it in the woods, then here you go. The Tri-Tip is perfect for that role. I could do the same with a dozen other essential fixed blade knives and have a more useful tool overall.
With that said, I think the knife has a powerful cool factor that makes me a fan. For the low price, I don't mind buying it for the giggle factor.
Gerber Gear 30-001694 TRI-Tip, Mini Cleaver Fixed Blade Knife with Sheath, Green
At home on the trail, in the backyard kitchen, or at a tailgate, The standout design of the tri-tip rewrites what a utility blade can do.
The Cleaver blade is not only eye-catching with it's black oxide coating, but has two distinct functions: scraping and cutting.
The machined aluminum handle scales provides an excellent grip, and a balanced contrast of color to the knife
The multi-mount sheath can to be carried in two positions: tip down or horizontal SCOUT carry.
A lanyard hole is integrated into the handle as an additional place to the secure the knife.
Editor: I recommend purchasing the Gerber Tri Tip at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Gerber Tagged With: 7Cr17MoV, aluminum, cleaver
Kershaw Shuffle 2 Review
by Travis Pike 2 Comments
I'm on a mission. A mission to find the best, budget-priced EDC knives. Many people carry budget knives for a variety of reasons, one being they often lose them. I've been there and done that, so I see the logic. One budget knife brand that seems to garner some respect is Kershaw, and with that in mind, I grabbed a Kershaw Shuffle 2.
Buy the Kershaw Shuffle 2 at BladeHQ
The Kershaw Shuffle 2 costs a mere 20 bucks, and that's a reasonable price for a budget based knife. The Shuffle 2 is more significant than the original Shuffle but keeps its multifunction design. It also has several different features that distinguish it from the Shuffle and make it more than just a slightly modified variant.
The Kershaw Shuffle 2 sports a 2.6-inch long blade that is 0.106 inches thick. The handle is a hair under 4 inches long and is .4 inches thick. When closed, the knife is 4 inches long, and when opened, the overall length is 6.3 inches. The knife weighs just a mere 3 ounces, and that's super light. The blade does a decent job of being efficient in both size and weight.
The Shuffle 2's blade is an American Tanto design, so it packs a little wallop for such a small knife. The cutting edge is rather short due to the lack of any real belly to the knife. The American Tanto tip gives you a nice corner edge, and that does allow for good cuts into thicker, less friendly materials. The Shuffle 2 cuts effortlessly through heavy cardboard, clamshell packaging, several layers of duct tape, and even thicker fabrics
The blade itself is made from 8Cr13MoV, a pain-to-type, but not a bad budget steel. It's an affordable option for discerning customers. The blade can get quite sharp and seems to hold the edge well for cheap steel. It's not as lovely as 154CM steel, but the edge seems to last for a couple weeks' worth of EDC tasks. The Blackwash finish is one that I've always been a fan of. It looks very nice and protects your knife from visible scratches and stains.
For a twenty-dollar knife, I find the 8Cr13MoV to be more than adequate. For a pocket knife, the steel is well suited for daily tasks and cuts well while looking good.
The Shuffle 2 has a big choil that your finger fits into easily and prevents the blade from closing should the lock fail. The choil is quite comfortable and is a natural extension of the grip. Not using it to hold the knife would be silly. The knife blade lacks any jimping at the top of the blade for driving it with your thumb.
The Shuffle 2 has a nice swedge for cutting through thicker materials. It does glide through things like tomatoes and allows the wide and flat blade to do its job.
The handle is an exciting design that has a gradual curve to it. The handle is designed built-in finger grooves that feel generous and conforms to your hand and does not force your hand to adjust to it.
The grip itself is made from glass-filled nylon and comes in various colors. Mine is a lovely olive green, and I honestly enjoy the look of it. The grip is also textured with an odd wave-like design that clings to the hand without being overly uncomfortable.
The grip design also fits all four of my massive fingers on it. I wear XL gloves, and my hand fits on the knife very well. The knife gives you a fantastic degree of control over the knife. The mix of a short blade and a long handle makes it very easy to handle. You can put a lot of pressure on this little blade, and it can take it.
On the bottom end of the handle is where the multifunction nature of the Shuffle 2 comes into play. The sizeable looking lanyard loop is a lanyard loop and a bottom opener, and the tip is even a flat head screwdriver. As a flat head screwdriver, you can also use it as a pry bar. These are neat, but to be honest, I'll never use the rear of this knife for anything other than a bottle opener.
The pocket clip is skinny, but the knife is light, so it's not a big deal. The pocket clip is reversible for either side, but you can only carry tip-up. I prefer tip down, but it's not a deal-breaker.
Opening the knife is easy enough, and it has ambidextrous thumb studs. You can easily open the knife with one hand, and the blade does glide out of the handle very smoothly. Those thumb studs are rather small, so you can't sling it open rapidly like most knives. I think a rear thumb flipper would be a better option. If you want to use two hands for whatever reason, you can comfortably grip the swedge and pull it open with little resistance.
The blade uses a simple nested liner lock that clicks loudly in place and delivers both an audible and tactile feedback. The Shuffle 2 does lock up very tightly and feels very solid overall. I have not noticed any movement, play, or feel like the blade is going to come loose on me. The choil also ensures the blade isn't going to close on you as well.
The liner lock is rather small and tougher for me to reach with my fat thumb. It's easier for me to use my index finger to hit the liner and close the lock. The Shuffle 2 is a compact knife, so I guess this is one sacrifice you have to make.
Kershaw Shuffle 2 Review – Final Thoughts
The Shuffle 2 is a rather impressive blade for the money. Color me impressed. I plan to keep seeking out budget knives, and I'm pleased the search has started so well. The Shuffle 2 is a worthwhile budget blade that is a great EDC tool. It's not one you'd take as a survival blade, a self-defense weapon, or on deployment, but it's a great choice for everyday carry. The Shuffle 2 offers a lot of knife for a low price.
Kershaw Shuffle II Folding Pocket Knife, Small, Lightweight Utility and Multi-Function Knife, Multiple Styles
Editor: I recommend purchasing the Kershaw Shuffle 2 at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Folding Knives, Kershaw Tagged With: 8Cr13MoV, Made in China
Zero Tolerance 0308 Review
by Travis Pike Leave a Comment
I got a little silly with my knife purchases in the last few years. If it wasn't an automatic knife, my purse strings got tight. I'm not saying I'm a cheapskate, but I was ignoring some great knives in the premium market if they didn't have a button to flip them into action. A friend told me I needed a Zero Tolerance because I had never owned one, and he sent me the Zero Tolerance 0308, and upon my reception of the knife, I saw how silly I was being.
Buy the ZT0308 at BladeHQ
The ZT 0308 is a sweet knife that's designed for heavy-duty work, and it doesn't have that fancy button I love to press to deploy a blade. I've always known that Zero Tolerance makes great knives but never had one I could personally experience. I quickly figured out how much I've been missing out on when it comes to ZT knives.
The Zero Tolerance 0308 is a new knife in the ZT line up and is a good choice for those who prefer a bigger knife for everyday carry.
The 0308 has a 3.75-inch blade that is 1.375 inches wide, and .16 inches thick. The overall length of the knife is 8.875 inches long, with the blade open. The ZT 0308 weighs 7 ounces and is a big, beefy knife. This big knife is certainly not for everyone, and it may be a bit much for many looking for an EDC knife.
The 0308 is an excellent knife for those in the first responder field who need something a bit bigger than the standard pocket knife. This does offer those in that role a knife with a big, thick blade, a superbly secure lock-up system, and a grip that's perfect for gloved use. I work in a field that takes me in and through the woods at times, so I do prefer a bigger knife for my daily carry.
The big, beefy blade does provide a very nice belly that gives you 4 inches of cutting edge and a drop point tip. The upswept drop point design does give you the ability to slice deeply and cleanly. The swedge on the top of the blade certainly helps when cutting straight through soft materials. It also reduces weight and does give the blade an eye-pleasing appearance.
Speaking of eye-pleasing, the stonewash finish is evenly applied and looks fantastic. It's not overtly bright or eye-catching, but quite handsome. The top of the blade is jimped for texture, and the flipper is also jimped to ensure your finger latches on as you press the edge into service. At the bottom of the blade, we have a sharpening coil, which is a nice touch.
The 0308 steel is made from CPM-20CV steel, which is a Crucible Industries creation. This is very high-quality knife steel that is hard and extremely durable. It's not difficult to sharpen and seems to stay sharp for absolutely forever. The CPM-20CV is an excellent all-around steel that stands up well to abuse. I batoned wood with it and have yet to see a cheap or bend, or anything else. Batonning wood is typically a function of hard, heavy-duty fixed blade knives, but the ZT 0308 is also up to the task.
During my quarantine blues, I've been setting up a bit of a home gym, and to hang a punching bag, I strung up some 10mm climbing rope. The ZT 0308 chewed through that thick rope without any difficulty. It just cut and sliced through that material exceptionally smoothly.
For more traditional cutting, the 3.75-inch blade chewed through cardboard, 550 cord, envelopes, heavy-duty clamshell packaging, and even fabrics including thick 5.11 Tactical pants.
I had a spare pair of work pants with blown-out knees, and I wanted to see how fast I could cut through them. This would replicate what a first responder may have to do to access a wood, cut through a seat, and more without stuttering the ZT 0308 cut right through them.
It'll also cut right through chicken for my famous chicken fajitas.
As a guy with big hands, I love a big grip. The ZT 0308 has a significant grip that is a must for such a big blade. One side of the handle is a G10 panel, and the other is titanium. Both sides are textured aggressively but comfortably as well. Hot spots are only an issue at the area where the pocket clip sits. Loosen that grip a bit near the rear, and the knife comfortably works and works hard without rubbing you raw.
The texture is also well suited for glove use, which many first responders will undoubtedly be wearing. With my thick and heavy fire rated gloves, the ZT is still easy to wield, and both deploy the blade and put it away. Once the flipper is locked into place, it also acts as a tiny finger guard.
The pocket clip is broad and clings tight to the knife. This prevents it from catching on an armrest when you sit down, and as someone who does that all the time, I appreciate it. The pocket clip is reversible, and according to the ZT website, the knife is compatible with aftermarket pocket clips as well. On top of that is a lanyard loop, which is another good option for military and first responders.
I was surprised by how fast and how easily and smoothly the blade deployed. A big heavy blade would be seemingly slow and rough to deploy. It's just physics, right?
ZT utilized KVT Ball bearings in the action, and the blade slides out incredibly smoothly. It locks into place with a loud and satisfying thwack. The jimping in the flipper is also a must-have for gloved use, and ZT was smart to include it.
The titanium frame lock is beveled for smooth engagement, and you get plenty of real estate for pressing it inwards and allowing the blade to close. The frame lock is outfitted with a hardened stainless steel lock bar insert to protect that always wonderful titanium.
The lock-up is remarkably strong, and the blade doesn't budge in any single direction. I can't force this thing to give.
Zero Tolerance 0308 Review – Final Thoughts
The ZT 0308 is a very well made knife. It's designed to be a big, hard-working tool with a big belly and a lot of power. It can take some serious abuse and still keep kicking. It's big, and some will feel like 7 ounces is a boat anchor, but it gives me a feeling of confidence. The ZT 0308 showed me that my obsession with expensive automatic knives made me ignore some very well made and designed flippers. The ZT 0308 is my work and field knife for here on out, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Zero Tolerance 0308 Folding Knife, Premium CPM 20CV Blade Steel, Manual KVT Opening, Coyote Tan G10 Handle, Made in The USA, 3.7 Inch
Large 3. 7 Inch razor sharp blade, premium CPM 20CV Steel provides exceptional hardness, wear resistance, and edge retention
Coyote Tan G10 Handle on the front scale with a titanium back - above average weight at 6. 9 ounces
Stonewashed blade finish helps hide use scratches while a titanium framelock holds the knife open while in use
KVT opening mechanism is manually opened with a flipper; the blade glides smoothly open on ball bearings. Pocket clip is reversible and compatible with many aftermarket pocketclips.
Made in the USA - All Zero Tolerance Knives are produced in our Oregon facility
Zero Tolerance 0308 – $300.00
Editor: I recommend purchasing the Zero Tolerance 0408 at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thank you for reading.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Folding Knives, Made in the USA, Tactical Knives, Titanium Frame Lock Knives, Zero Tolerance Tagged With: bearings, CPM-20CV, Frame Lock, titanium
WE Knife Co. Scoppio Review
by John Burridge 2 Comments
I'm writing this review at my work-at-home desk during the 2020 COVID lockdown, and ironically the first translation Google gives me for "scoppio" is "outbreak." The second translation (from Italian) is explosion, which is more likely what WE Scoppio designer Toni N. Tietzel had in mind. The German designer's logo is his initials on a little stick of dynamite. The star of this show is the blade's unique (explosive?) compound grind. I've never seen anything quite like it, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to buy this knife.
Buy the Scoppio at BladeHQ or GP Knives
Back in the olden times when I actually physically worked in a building that wasn't my house, I showed the Scoppio to my two knife-lovin' co-workers, and I noticed something interesting: several non-knife people wanted to touch it. It's generally been my experience that most… how do I say this nicely? Most… indoor-oriented people act like if they pick up a folding knife it's going to bite them like a rattlesnake.
But the Scoppio, which is not small or meek looking, elicited an unprecedented amount of interest. They were drawn to its unusual-looking handle design, its unexpectedly heavy weight in the hand, and definitely by its rich, sparkly blue stonewashed color. My appreciation of this knife goes significantly deeper than that, and it starts with the basic specs:
The Scoppio has a 3.6" (92 mm) long drop point blade that's .16" (4 mm) thick, and has a deep stonewash finish. Mine has blue titanium handle scales and a gray blade, but there are black, bronze, and gray handled versions available, some with black stonewashed blades. The open length is 8.18" (208 mm) and my medium-large hands can get a comfortable four-finger grip on the Scoppio when open. All versions run around $259.00 online.
The blade is CPM-20CV stainless steel, which is the sort of premium knife steel that's expected in this price range. According to smart people who understand steel, CPM-20CV is virtually identical to the more well-known Bohler M390 steel. The main difference is M390 is made in Austria, and CPM-20CV is made in America.
So the Scoppio was designed by a German, the name is Italian, the blade steel is American, and the whole thing is assembled in Yangjiang, China. If I may digress for a moment, the city of Yangjiang is home to a remarkable number of knife companies. Higher-end makers include Reate, Kizer, Bestech, Rike, and Artisan Cutlery, in addition to WE and it's less fancy sister company, Civivi. It's like a Chinese version of European knife-producing cities like Solingen, Germany or Maniago, Italy, but undoubtedly a thousand times larger. End of digression.
CPM-20CV has a Rockwell Hardness (HRC) rating between 59 and 61, which is excellent in terms of edge retention, AKA hardness. The tradeoff of a high hardness rating is usually a lower "toughness" rating, meaning that if you whack the cutting edge of the blade with a hammer, the blade is more likely to chip than dent. That's a tradeoff I'm happy to live with, since I would rather take the risk of a chipped blade over having to sharpen it more often, like I would have to with a less hard steel with a higher toughness rating. CPM-20CV's 59-61 HRC is nothing compared to Sandrin Knives tungsten carbide blades which reach 71 HRC, but again, the tradeoff of that much hardness means a brittle blade.
The Scoppio's blade has a lot going on design-wise, starting with it's overall shape.
It's a drop point with an unusually big belly that dips a little lower in the middle than at its base. The Scoppio's belly is one of the many small, unconventional touches that make this knife so fascinating to me. The spine of the blade, for example, is neither a straight line nor a gentle, unbroken curve like on most knives. From tail to tip, it constantly changes angles and thicknesses. And the grind on the flat of the blade is bonkers. The multi-angled grind reminds me of the work of knife design genius Geoff Blauvelt of TuffKnives. He often does interesting 3-D grinds, and Strider Knives has what they call the "Nightmare Grind", but both strike me as kind of aggressive-looking and seem designed to draw my eye towards the blade tip. The Scoppio's grind just looks weird. Good weird for sure, but weird.
The unique grind doesn't seem to impede cutting, but it is a thick blade. Slicing through a crisp apple, the thick top of the blade stock eventually ends up splitting the apple open like a wedge. The Scoppio was my only food prep tool at the 2020 SHOT Show, and I used it daily as a bread slicer, vegetable chopper, and Vegan-aise spreader. By the way, I can tell you from personal experience that it's virtually impossible to find vegan food at the Shooting Hunting Outdoors Trade show. The Scoppio performed hotel room kitchen duties a little better than a typical flipper-opening knife due to the blade's belly, but the flipper tab extends well below the blade, so dicing and chopping required a rocking motion, which is less than ideal. Next year I'm bringing a real kitchen knife and a cutting board.
The show side of the handle, like the blade, has a standout feature: no visible screws. The "WE" logo hides the knife's pivot, and it's flush with the handle scales so the knife has zero wobble when laid flat- a nice touch.
At first glance, it looks rather plain, but upon closer inspection it's full of subtle curves and unexpected angles. My favorite example of this on the Scoppio are the side-by-side vertices (basically the corners) at the butt end of the handle.
The rearmost vertex (1) follows a logical, normal path by having its corner centered at the apex of the curve. It's symmetrical and looks "correct" to the eye. The vertex right next to it, however, (2) goes off at a weird angle.
The eye expects vertex 2 to go in the direction the orange arrow is pointing, but instead of being normal looking, its corner angle veers off to the right. I think the design principle this violates is called isometric angle symmetry, but I don't know anyone who can answer obscure geometry questions. The robust, milled pocket clip's shape is a (hopefully) easier to grasp example of the strangeness of the Scoppio's design.
The clip, starting near the tip, is a uniform width. It goes along a predictable curve, as illustrated by the orange lines. Then it gets to the screws, where it looks like it got bent and sliced off with a razor blade. The eye expected it to finish its nice curve, but designer Toni M. Tietzel said no! to that expectation. The entire knife has interesting curvy lines and strange angles, and I absolutely love how unique it is.
I mentioned at the top of the review that non-knife people showed a lot of interest in this knife, and I think one of the factors was that it feels much heavier than you'd expect for something this size. Everyone immediately tossed it up and down in their hand and remarked on the weight. The Scoppio's bladestock and titanium handle scales are each 4 mm thick on the sides, and where the two pieces meet on the top to form a closed-back design, it's a total of 13 mm across. The heft of this knife made me aware that titanium isn't nearly as light as I thought it was. I have other knives that weigh more than the Scoppio's 4.6 oz (131 gm) but this knife just feels heavier than it looks.
I think the Scoppio's ergonomics are good- the clip is comfortable against my hand in any grip, the edges of its smooth handle scales are all nicely chamfered so there are no noticeable hot spots, and it's long and wide enough for me be able to wrap my fingers around it, resulting in a solid grip. It gets slippery when my hands are wet, but I find most folding knives to be hard to hang onto with wet hands.
I've noticed that, when dry, smooth titanium feels grippier than smooth aluminum, and that textured G10 and micarta are grippy by nature. I assumed good wet knife retention to be a function of the handle material or how much traction is milled into the handles. I take the thoroughness of my reviews somewhat seriously, so I brought 10 of my folding knives over to the kitchen sink and opened, closed, and manipulated them all with wet hands. I had handles made of machined carbon fiber, machined G10, textured G10, aluminum, copper, smooth titanium, and heavily machined titanium. Surprisingly, the slippery-hands knife retention winner was my GiantMouse Knives GM1.
The GM1 (center of picture) is the smoothest, flattest titanium knife I own, but it also has the most pronounced index finger groove. It turns out that finger grooves work really well with wet hands. The finger groove kept my hand from sliding back and forth, and slipperiness barely affected my grip. The Scoppio's flipper tab kept my index finger from sliding forward onto the blade, but there's not much in the handle shape to keep the knife from slipping out of my hand in the other direction should I ever have to hack open an old-fashioned gallon can of olive oil.
The Scoppio didn't win the wet knife handle contest, but it definitely wins the best lock engagement sound award. It's a superbly satisfying steel-on-steel clack, and I've never heard its equal in the flipper knife world. I don't know if it was by accident or design, but WE Knife Co. got the harmonics just right with the Scoppio. It may be connected to the fact that the designer ignored the modern trend of milling weight-reducing pockets into the inside of the thick titanium handles. But whatever the cause, the overall result is a meaty snap when the Scoppio is flipped open on its ceramic bearings.
I have a huge, stainless steel 44 Magnum revolver that weighs 3-1/2 pounds, and the sound of quickly thumb-cocking it is the closest parallel I can think of to snapping open the Scoppio.
The flipping action is smooth and very well-balanced, and the small flipper tab has a little jimping on the front to give my index finger some traction. Lockup on mine is at 30%, which I would usually think of as inadequate, but there's no arguing with the clack- it's locked open tight. One contributing factor to the tight lockup may be the blade-mounted stop pin pictured below.
A stop pin (as I understand it) is a typically cylindrical piece of steel inside a folding knife's handle that the butt end of the blade rests on when it's open. Its function is basically to keep the blade from opening too far, and to keep the blade in the exact right place when it's open. On most of my knives, the stop pin is mounted inside the knife between the handles. On the Scoppio, the stop pin is attached to the blade, and it rides in little grooves machined into the handles. I read online that blade-mounted stop pins like this can help reduce side-to-side blade wiggle. I don't know if that's true, or if one kind of stop pin system is superior, but frankly it's too boring for me to investigate further.
WE Knife Co. Scoppio Review – Final Thoughts
This has been a thoroughly positive review up to this point, but according to the sacred code of the reviewer, I have to find something negative to say…OK, I wish the pocket clip screwed into the handle from the inside so the screws wouldn't be visible, giving the Scoppio an even cleaner look.
And speaking of clean looks, the Scoppio has quite a noticeable seam where the two sides meet. I'm not saying that the Scoppio isn't well made, but look at where the two halves of the handle meet on the Reate Knives Starboy pictured above- now that's a seamless seam.
That's all the negativity I can muster. I love this knife. Its lines and angles are strange and unpredictable, yet it's not some unusable art piece. The three knives pictured below are by three different designers, but what they all have in common is weird contours and shapes that I find fascinating.
The bottom knife is the Microtech Cypher, designed by Deryk "D.C." Munroe. It's like a piece of petrified wood with a huge knife blade that shoots out the front. Everything about it is a little wrong, and I find it endlessly fascinating. On top is the Bestech Marukka, designed by Grzegorz "Kombou" Grabarski. There are so many neat bio-mechanical twists and turns on this brand-new knife that I had to bump it to the top of my BladeReviews review queue. The WE Scoppio, along with the other knives in the picture, are functional art. At the risk of sounding sappy, these three have inspired me to take a stab at designing knives. It's finally time to turn the sketches and notes I've been collecting for years into something in SolidWorks. The Scoppio is both inspired and inspiring, and I highly recommend it.
We Knives Scoppio – $259.25
I recommend purchasing the We Knives 605J at BladeHQ and GP Knives. Purchasing anything through any of the links on this site helps support BladeReviews, and keep this review train running. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated.
Filed Under: EDC Knives, Titanium Frame Lock Knives Tagged With: compound grind, CPM-20CV, Made in China


text:
Why Donald Trump's fundraising efforts fell short in Texas
Dan Keemahill Jonathan Tilove @JTiloveTX
Nov 8, 2017 at 12:01 AM Sep 25, 2018 at 6:42 PM
Houston billionaire Hushang Ansary and his wife, Shahla, last year each wrote $1 million checks to Right to Rise, the super PAC that raised more than $100 million to promote Jeb Bush for president. Over the course of the 2016 election cycle, the Ansarys wrote 113 more checks, totaling more than $2 million, to a vast array of Republican committees and candidates, right down to Texan U.S. Reps. Will Hurd of Helotes and Roger Williams of Austin, in hopes of keeping the House and Senate in GOP hands.
But one notable candidate missed the Ansarys' largess — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
In and of itself, that isn't surprising. Trump mocked and humiliated the man the Ansarys hoped would be the third Republican president from the Bush family.
But the Ansarys closing their checkbook to Trump goes a long way toward explaining why the GOP nominee left so much money on the table in Texas, a state in which big Republican money is still closely entwined with the Bush family.
Among the biggest Bush donors in Texas, the Ansarys are not the exception but the rule. An American-Statesman examination of Federal Election Commission records indicates that of the 18 Texans who gave $150,000 or more to Right to Rise, only four subsequently contributed to the Trump campaign or its joint fundraising committees with the Republican National Committee.
Those 18 Texans alone gave $12.3 million to Right to Rise. Overall, Texans contributed $17.7 million to Right to Rise before Bush dropped out in February after disappointing finishes in the first three nominating contests.
By comparison, Trump, as a general election candidate, raised just $11.7 million in itemized contributions in Texas through Oct. 19.
Some of that money is reflected in the $20.3 million collected from Texas donors for the Trump Victory fund, a joint fundraising committee of the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and a number of state Republican parties, not including Texas, which divide the proceeds.
RELATED: Statesman poll shows Trump with 7-point lead over Clinton
Texas was the best state for Trump's campaign committee, but the total was less than 60 percent of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's take in direct contributions from Texans — a gap reflecting Trump's lagging fundraising nationally and his campaign's deep cash disadvantage going into the homestretch.
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $58.1 million in Texas contributions by the same date four years ago, five times as much as Trump has. President Barack Obama collected $21.3 million from Texans by this point in 2008, when he narrowly out-raised GOP presidential rival John McCain in Texas.
"The Trump campaign got a very late start in fundraising generally, including fundraising in Texas, so it is no surprise that he raised less money than previous Republican nominees out of Texas," said Ray Sullivan, who co-chaired a super PAC backing former Gov. Rick Perry's 2016 presidential campaign and, after Perry's early exit from the race, served as an unpaid adviser to the Jeb Bush campaign.
Trump disadvantage
Throughout the primaries, Trump stressed that he was self-funding his campaign and not answerable to big-money special interests. It was a major selling point, even if he overstated the degree to which his campaign relied solely on his own money.
As soon as Trump clinched the nomination in May, however, his campaign began to work with the Republican National Committee to undertake the kind of fundraising that would be needed to mount a competitive general election campaign.
But Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said that developing a fundraising network takes years of assiduous courtship and patient nurturing.
Jeb Bush had the incomparable advantage of being the son and brother of the last two Republican presidents who, one photo opportunity, one handwritten thank-you note and one political appointment at a time, had developed an unparalleled network of big-money backers who hoped that the former Florida governor would follow in the family footsteps.
RELATED: Texas oil money still priming the pump for Trump
For the tight-knit Bush network, Trump, billionaire though he may be, was the bull in the china shop, a social and political pariah.
Jeb Bush has said he can't support Trump and won't vote for either Trump or Clinton. Both former Presidents Bush skipped the Republican convention in Cleveland where Trump was nominated. George W. Bush, Jeb Bush's brother, has remained silent on the race. George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush's father, reportedly said in September that he would vote for Clinton. A passel of former officials from both Bush administrations have rejected Trump, including Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state under George W. Bush, and her predecessor, Colin Powell, who on Tuesday endorsed Clinton over Trump, whom he has described as a "national disgrace."
Last month, Mike Murphy, the political strategist who directed Right to Rise, tweeted, "I despise her silly lefty domestic policy and the class war tropes, but it's all too clear that of these two only HRC is ready to be POTUS."
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush stands alone in the Bush family in publicly endorsing Trump, albeit as an act of party loyalty. Jeb Bush's son is leading fundraising efforts for the Republican ticket in Texas as the party's Victory 2016 chairman.
Bush network
Hushang Ansary is a former CEO of the National Iranian Oil Co. and ex-Iranian ambassador to the United States, who moved to Texas in 1979 and became an American citizen in 1986. He is chairman at Stewart & Stevenson, a maker of specialized equipment for the oil and gas industry and other industries. According to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, the Ansarys are the third-biggest givers among Texas political contributors to federal campaigns this election cycle.
The Ansary Gallery of American History at the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University is named for Ansary.
Hushang and Shahla Ansary were one of four couples in which each spouse gave $1 million to Right to Rise.
Two of the those couples are from Dallas, home to George W. Bush: Trevor Rees-Jones, the fracking billionaire, and his wife, Jan; and Ray Hunt, an heir to the H.L. Hunt fortune, executive chairman of Hunt Consolidated and a member of the board of the George W. Bush Foundation, and his wife, Nancy Ann. Ray Hunt later added to his million-dollar contribution with an additional donation of $400,000. The fourth couple is Richard Kinder, former chairman and CEO of pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, and his wife, Nancy.
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The Kinders, the Ansarys and five of Right to Rise's other 18 top donors all live within walking distance of each other in River Oaks, Houston's most exclusive community, according to a map of their mansions produced last year by The New York Times. The River Oaks donors to Right to Rise include three people who gave half a million dollars each — Houston Texans' owner Bob McNair; John Nau III, president and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, the nation's largest Anheuser-Busch distributor; and billionaire fund manager Fayez Sarofim — and two $250,000 donors — James Flores, executive officer of Plains Offshore Operations; and Jeffery Hildebrand, chairman and CEO of Hilcorp Energy Co.
Of the River Oaks neighbors, two have contributed to Trump's campaign.
Flores gave $250,000 to the Trump Victory committee and McNair and his wife, Janice, each gave the maximum allowable $449,000 to Trump Victory.
The two other top donors to Right to Rise who have contributed to Trump are Kenny Troutt of Dallas, founder of the long-distance phone company Excel Communications, who gave $150,000 to the Bush super PAC and $112,500 to Trump Victory, and David Miller, managing partner of EnCap Investments in Dallas, who donated $260,000 to Right to Rise, and, late last month, a modest $250 to the Trump campaign.
But Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said that for most of the pro-Bush billionaires in Houston and Dallas, their low regard for Trump was probably buttressed by the chaos that always seemed to envelop his campaign.
"They didn't see him as a smart investment, both because he's likely to lose but also because there was a sense about the campaign that the money isn't likely to be used productively or used in a way that would make a difference," Jones said. "To them that $1 million or $5 million or $10 million is much better spent to help re-elect (New Hampshire U.S. Sen.) Kelly Ayotte, or (Pennsylvania U.S. Sen.) Pat Toomey, where that money can really have an impact," Jones said.
When Trump Victory was formed in May, Hushang Ansary was named among 20 top Republican donors and fundraisers who agreed to serve as vice chairs and trustees and help raise money.
But a month later, Politico reported many of those donors were disappointed in the Trump fundraising operation and Ansary downplayed his role.
"They asked me to agree to serve as a trustee, and I've agreed to do that," Ansary told Politico.
Trump lagging Clinton
Dallas financier T. Boone Pickens, who donated $100,000 to Right to Rise, supports Trump as the nominee and wanted to put together a Texas fundraiser in June. But he never got clear guidance on which was the go-to super PAC, it never came off and, while he still backs Trump, he hasn't contributed to the campaign.
Could Trump have done a better job of fundraising in Texas?
"He didn't personally seek out those donations in the same way other candidates have," Jones said. "He would have readily and willingly accepted their money, but he wasn't going to work to receive it in the way that the Bush or Clinton campaign would. So you had a group of people, already resistant to giving any money to Trump, and then, in the end, for all intents and purposes, he didn't even ask. No one made the ask."
According to campaign finance reports filed Thursday, Clinton's campaign raised $57.2 million nationally to Trump's $28.9 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19, and Clinton entered the homestretch with $62 million to spend to Trump's $16 million.
That's a huge difference in terms of how effectively Trump can compete on the air and on the ground in the campaign's final days. Trump has given $66 million of his own money to his campaign, including a $10 million infusion on Friday.
A larger haul in Texas — more in line with what past Republican nominees were able to raise in the state that produced the last two GOP presidents — could have provided the Trump campaign with millions more dollars to fund TV advertising and Election Day get-out-the-vote operations in battleground states.
"If that's worth a point or two," said SMU's Jillson, "that could be the difference."


text:
Home›Features›Three cups of tea, coffee per day good for heart: Experts
FeaturesTechnology
Three cups of tea, coffee per day good for heart: Experts
Drinking up to three cups of tea or coffee per day could protect people from developing irregular heartbeats or arrhythmia, a new study revealed on Tuesday.
Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world and the most common form of cognitive enhancement.
However, more than 80 per cent of clinicians in the United States recommend patients with palpitations or arrhythmia to abstain or reduce caffeine.
But the new study which involved researchers in the University of Melbourne's Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute along with partners in the United States consistently demonstrated a reduction in atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeats) with increasing levels of caffeine ingestion.
The research analysed multiple population-based studies which involved 228,465 participants to find the frequency of atrial fibrillation decreased by six per cent in regular coffee drinkers, while a further analysis of 115,993 patients showed a risk reduction of 13 per cent.
"There is a public perception, often based on anecdotal experience, that caffeine is a common acute trigger for heart rhythm problems,'' lead author Peter Kistler from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute said.
"Our extensive review of the medical literature suggests this is not the case.''
"Caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea may have long term anti-arrhythmic properties mediated by antioxidant effects and antagonism of adenosine,'' Kistler concluded.
"In numerous population-based studies, patients who regularly consume coffee and tea at moderate levels have a lower lifetime risk of developing heart rhythm problems and possibly improved survival.''
However, due to significantly higher concentrations of caffeine, researchers advised that energy drinks should be avoided for people with pre-existing structural heart disease.
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text:
require 'brew_sparkling/action/xcode/base'
require 'brew_sparkling/action/xcode/discover'
require 'brew_sparkling/action/xcode/devices'
require 'brew_sparkling/action/xcode/accounts'
require 'brew_sparkling/action/xcode/certificates'

# Show xcode info
module BrewSparkling
  module Handler
    # show xcode info
    class Xcode < Base
      command :devices, :discover, :accounts, :certificates

      def discover
        Action::Xcode::Discover.new.call
      end

      def devices
        Action::Xcode::Devices.new.call
      end

      def accounts
        Action::Xcode::Accounts.new.call
      end

      def certificates
        Action::Xcode::Certificates.new.call
      end

      def gateway
        Gateway::Xcode.default
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Arunma Oteh
Nigeria names new head of Securities Commission
A new Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, was on Monday named.
He is Mounir Gwarzo, the incumbent Executive Commissioner (Operations) of the Commission, who is expected to perform in acting capacity till a substantive official is appointed.
The appointment of Mr. Gwarzo, followed the exit of Arunma Oteh, whose five years tenure at the capital market regulatory agency lapsed on Sunday.
The outgoing Director General, who named Mr. Gwarzo at the formal handover ceremony at the Commission's headquarters in Abuja, described her time at the helm of the Commission as "absolutely outstanding".
Ms. Oteh's spoke about the co-operation she received from every member of staff, saying when she joined SEC in January 2010, she was not only certain about its importance, but also what its role and agenda which was to have a vision "building a world class market" capital market operators, shareholders and other stakeholders were able to connect and align with, she said. She said her time was very rewarding.
What SEC was able to achieve, Ms. Oteh explained, was a foundation for the country to see a capital market that would help tackle its infrastructure challenges to help new and existing businesses raise capital.
"Our aim is to build a meritocracy for viable businesses to get funded, not necessarily the ones that have connections, so that we can also tackle some of what we are seeing in our world today, whether security challenges the country face or everyone else," Ms. Oteh said.
Ms. Oteh joined SEC at a time the Nigerian capital market was grappling with global financial market crisis.
She was acknowledged to have contributed significantly to the effort to rescue the capital market from the losses as a result of the global financial crisis.
NSE announces chief executives of emerging entities
From a market capitalization of N4.99 trillion in January 2010 when she took over, various reform measures raised Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE capitalization to over N14 trillion in 2014.
Consequently, the market rating, which rose by 35 per cent in 2012 to about 47 per cent in 2013, was amongst the ten best performing markets in the world that same year.
Mr. Gwarzo, 50, was born in Kano and attended the Bayero University, Kano, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1987.
In 1991, he attended University of Birmingham, United Kingdom where he obtained a post-graduate degree in Development Finance. An Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers; Mr. Gwarzo became a Fellow of the Institute in 2005.
He has worked in Nigerian Capital Market both as an operator and as a regulator developing a career spanning over 25 years.
The institutions he worked with include Ministry of Trade, Kano State; Nigerian Stock Exchange, Century Merchant Bank Limited, Empire Securities Limited, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and MTL Global Investment Limited.
He is married and widely traveled.
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