[yarddog]

When stainless steel was first used for knife blades it was not very good. I still don't think it is the very best but plenty of fine blades are made of stainless now, and it is no problem getting them to keep an edge. It can be a problem putting an edge on some of them, particularly Buck knives.

[Simo Hayha]

In 1980 I was in the Houston, Texas area. Long hot dry summer. The ground had cracks in it that measured three feet deep. We tried fishing an area they called "The Break," a kind of Everglades--completely waterless save a small creek where we caught some bream. The boat stayed in the back of the truck.

Our lodgings were not air-conditioned so we found time to go to a local shopping mall, several stories high, large open atrium in the middle. A friend wanted to buy a stainless steel knife so we stopped at a knife shop and he purchased one.

Going in and coming out, we wondered why the mall had so many police in pairs walking the corridors. When we met up with the rest of our party, we learned that Mr. Reagan and Bush senior were making an appearance--this was just after the convention.

We were never stopped or given a second look, as far as I know. But we didn't stick around, either.