My mom always gave me an Amazon gift card for bday and Christmas. She was poorer than any of us but wouldnt have it any other way. She always made me promise that I would use it for myself and more often than not I wouldn't (and she knew it). Something would come up and I would use it on something we really needed or something for the kids. It was easier than spending what little money we had on it...The last one she gave me was on Christmas and I had put a Stainless Izula in my cart and was about to buy it but something came up and we used it to pick up a few health related items. Since she passed away this past Spring I knew that I would never get another chance so I saved up and ordered it as her very belated Christmas gift to me. It's taking the place of my well used/loved Gray Izula (the only ESEE I currently owned until today). Before the swap....(bad lighting..sorry) After the swap...I was relieved that the sheath still has excellent retention. The orange bk14 scales are only going to be on this temporarily until I save up for the blue TKC scales (moms favorite color).
That's awesome! You'll use that knife for a long time and hopefully build some great memories. Congrats!
So here's a continuation of the story that I should have told before this (i thought I started a thread about it but apparently not).... My mom spent a few weeks in the hospital (early April).For 2 weeks we were being told full but lengthy recovery. It was then changed to this is the end, bring in Hospice. It was a huge change in emotions. We were already drained from juggling our busy lives with making sure someone was with her at the hospital. We set it all up and brought her to my sisters. She had a few good days where she was alert and happy but we watched as she was slowly sleeping more and more. I was really down and wanted some sort of pick-me-up. I was browsing the Sale/Trade sections of a few forums, looking to trade for a knife to cheer me up. I was looking mostly for my grail, an LT Wright Genesis. I came across a LT Wright Outback on another forum. I had never heard of that model before but after looking into, really loved it (I love Kephart shaped blades and the GNS handle is supposed to be the best). I contacted the guy and inquired about trading. He said he wasnt interested in trading that particular one but had one with a few factory blemishes he would trade. He sent some pics...It was perfect. The color handles I wanted and the only blems were a few tiny knicks in the blade and a slightly uneven grind at the tip...None of that bothered me,it was going to be a user and would all sharpen out...I offered the only two blades I had to trade..I figured he would ask for a chunk of cash too since his value was slightly higher, but he was thrilled. He had been wanting to get his hands on both of my blades...We worked it all out and shipped out the blades. 3 days later she passed. I got the knife in the mail the day after. I was hesitant to even open it at that point but knew she'd want me to...I may have had it close to my heart and cried..lol.It was/is the knife of my dreams and everytime I see/use/hold it, I'll always think of her...I have absolutely no doubt that Divine Intervention had played a significant part in that trade. The izula above paired with the Outback are pretty much the knives of my dreams and feel very little need of any more knives (though im sure there will be some because they make me happy lol). I know that these two blades will never leave me until I pass them down to my sons along with the brass lockback my father made and gave me a few months ago. (I'll post a pic of the trio later) Heres the Outback
The stainless steel Izula is way under-rated. It's probably the best Izula out there for every day use, in my opinion. And I'm a carbon steel fan.
I agree. It came extremely sharp too. I cant say it came sharper than any other ESEE I've owned because it's my first new ESEE. I carry it all day,every day. It has exceeded expectations and will be even better when I get some TKC scales for it.
