Post a Picture of Your Silly Purchase of the Month.

I love my 940, but honestly, their prices are insane now. The last Benchmade I bought was the surprisingly reasonably priced Contego (discontinued), but it is (as Nick Shabbaz would put it) a little too "murdery" to carry around on the regular.

Paleocon wrote:

I love my 940, but honestly, their prices are insane now. The last Benchmade I bought was the surprisingly reasonably priced Contego (discontinued), but it is (as Nick Shabbaz would put it) a little too "murdery" to carry around on the regular.

Heheh.

Paleocon wrote:

My Benchmade 940 celebrated its 20th birthday and though it still has plenty of service life left in it, it is getting a little lose in the lockup. So for my 55th birthday, I got myself a replacement knife for casual carry.

You must be white. No PoC would tempt a stop-and-frisk with that bad boy on their person.

I ended up getting the Manix on a coin flip.

Here is what it looks like (not my picture)

IMAGE(https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-2sguo6c/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/3629/6599/sp_C101PBL2__83948.1506746024.jpg?c=2)

It feels a bit like handling an Aztec obsidian dagger. And I like that the blurple fiber reinforced nylon handle looks cheap and leaves the uninitiated with the erroneous impression that it is a cheap $5 Walmart carpet knife. It is the opposite of a "show" knife.

You had me at burple.

I’m also white and therefore have very little fear of police charging me with a felony for carrying a utility blade. I’m going to buy this for myself.

I pass for "white enough" in most of the places I frequent North of Richmond. It gets kind of sketchy any further South than that.

RawkGWJ wrote:

IMAGE(https://i.postimg.cc/VLNL8THB/D7345469-CEAF-498-B-AC54-385-B73728-BD1.png)

One great thing about these cans is that I can listen to my audio at much lower volumes than I typically do with earbuds. The noise canceling feature is certainly a big part of that, but even bigger is the wide band of frequencies that these reproduce. With Apple earbuds, I was cranking the volume to nearly 100% in order to get a broad spectrum of sound. With these I can keep the volume at 25%-30% and still hear everything.

In recent years I’ve been experiencing accelerated hearing loss. I really hope that using these cans will slow the degradation of my hearing abilities.

I got the Bose 700 for Christmas. Since they're supposed to be similar, I say you made a sound (pun intended) investment. Not silly at all!

RawkGWJ wrote:

In recent years I’ve been experiencing accelerated hearing loss. I really hope that using these cans will slow the degradation of my hearing abilities.

I was wearing the previous version of these in the garden to; apparently my neighbour was trying to say hello just over the garden wall, but didn't hear him. I only found out later.

Bear in mind that I believe the noise cancelling works by creating its own noise to cancel what's happening outside. I think that means you're still 'hearing' something. If you're worried about your ears you may want to research if that's safe. Or the the benefits of having music at a lower volume is worth the negatives.

1Dgaf wrote:

Bear in mind that I believe the noise cancelling works by creating its own noise to cancel what's happening outside. I think that means you're still 'hearing' something.

Not really. True noise cancellation would involve making a noise of identical frequency and amplitude, but exactly in opposite phase to the original noise. The end result is that the peaks and troughs cancel out, effectively eliminating the noise. The most common sensation is one of a little bit of increased air pressure.

Hearing loss is generally split into conductive (the part of hearing that involves the moving bits carrying sound waves such as the ossicles and tympanic membrane) and sensorineural, which as the name implies involves the bits that convert the sound into a nerve signal and send it to the brain. In either case, I'm not aware of any instance in which noise-cancelling headphones would pose any safety concern at all, and I would certainly recommend them for anyone exposed to unhealthy levels of noise.

For myself, I'll be looking at purchasing something similar soon to replace some old-school passive headphones I have for flying. I really want the snazzy ones on the right, but I need the higher noise attenuation of the ones on the left.

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/PYVb69M/Bose-Aviation.jpg)

A quick Googling seems to say that, yes, ANC is fine for hearing.

https://www.cnet.com/health/do-noise...

Hobear wrote:

Alexa is GLaDOS.

I am glad I'm not the only one who totally is obsessed with lock picking.

Amen. It was always an interest and great that we can watch it all the time on the 'Tubes when we want these days.

-BEP

Coldstream wrote:

For myself, I'll be looking at purchasing something similar soon to replace some old-school passive headphones I have for flying.

I'm surprised the in-ear ones wouldn't do a better job. I have custom fit plugs for my earphones, and I can't hear *anything* through them. They claim a 25 dB attenuation. I got them some time ago, so there are probably better ones available now.

Comply claims their standard foam tips can attenuate more than 30 dB, but I don't find them comfortable enough to wear all day. Plus they have to be replaced just about monthly.

If you need certain frequencies unblocked (musicians, for example require less attenuation for bass, and many applications require less attenuation for vocal range), the phones themselves can provide that.

I guess the overall design of the Bose headsets determine the level of isolation. Active noise canceling can probably be tuned for specific applications more easily. All I know is I can't hear sh*t through my custom tips or comply tips for that matter, and I have to rely on my dog to let me know if someone is at the door.

BadKen wrote:

I'm surprised the in-ear ones wouldn't do a better job. I have custom fit plugs for my earphones, and I can't hear *anything* through them. They claim a 25 dB attenuation. I got them some time ago, so there are probably better ones available now.

Your post made me curious about the actual noise attenuation and weirdly, it's shockingly hard to find actual noise attenuation numbers for a lot of aviation headsets. The civilian versions appear to have about a 30dB attenuation, so presumably the aviation headsets have at least that much. Bose says "30% more attenuation" but don't specify a 30% increase over what dB rating.

When we fly in military aviation, it's always with double ear-pro. Helmet + foamies, or helmet+CEP (custom ear-pro). The CEPs are nice because they're custom-molded to the ear canal, but some aircrew find them uncomfortable if they're not just right. Ultimately I think it comes down to whether we're planning to communicate over ICS (Interphone Communication System) or with just normal spoken voice. An airliner/bizjet cockpit will allow the latter, while prop-jobs and most military platforms require ICS because they're so damned loud.

Possibly the over-the-ear cups provide better isolation of the external auditory canal and the surrounding skull, while in-ear plugs just attenuate direct air-transmission to the tympanic membrane. I'm not sure, but that's an educated guess (or possibly a SWAG). One neat thing about certain aviation headphones is that they'll play music or other stuff via Bluetooth, and then drop the volume on that when a radio transmission or ICS transmission comes through. Pretty neat for those long flights!

Coldstream wrote:

One neat thing about certain aviation headphones is that they'll play music or other stuff via Bluetooth, and then drop the volume on that when a radio transmission or ICS transmission comes through. Pretty neat for those long flights!

Very nice. The only experience I have with my in-ear plugs in a noisy environment is riding a public bus. I suspect a prop plane would be much louder, and a pressurized cabin jet less so. I've never ridden in a helo, but I imagine that would be loud as f*ck.

It's weird they don't advertise dB attenuation. That sort of thing is a big deal for earphones aimed at musicians. No musician with two functioning neurons to rub together wants to destroy their hearing by playing live without serious ear protection.

BadKen wrote:

Very nice. The only experience I have with my in-ear plugs in a noisy environment is riding a public bus. I suspect a prop plane would be much louder, and a pressurized cabin jet less so. I've never ridden in a helo, but I imagine that would be loud as f*ck.

It's weird they don't advertise dB attenuation. That sort of thing is a big deal for earphones aimed at musicians. No musician with two functioning neurons to rub together wants to destroy their hearing by playing live without serious ear protection.

I can imagine! Most of the musicians seem to be wearing CEPs in their ears when I see them playing live, especially the louder rock bands. Amusingly, when my squadron was getting fitted for CEPs, we were allowed to choose our colours/designs and there was a section specifically for musician-related CEPs. I can neither confirm nor deny that some pilots may have mysteriously received rainbow sparkly CEPs when persons unknown made slight changes to their order form before it was sent.

GA cockpits are definitely loud, and I'd hazard that the inside of an MH-60 helicopter with the doors shut is probably about the same (rather louder if you're cruising with the doors open). GA cockpits have an ambient noise level in the region of 105-110dB, last I checked, with most of that engine noise. I didn't take a decibel-meter into the Super Hornet (and now wish I had) but I would guess it was probably about 95dB, mostly from airflow around the canopy and some high-pitched engine noise transmitted via the airframe. The super loud stuff is right at the back of the aircraft which attenuates it from the cockpit region. Thinking back, I don't recall a big change in cockpit noise going supersonic. There's a slight shudder going through the trans-sonic region, but otherwise you'd need to look at your mach-meter to know that you were now supersonic.

But yeah, the lack of dB data is puzzling. I may actually give Bose and Lightspeed a call to see if they can tell me. Thanks for the fun discussion! I never really thought about musicians needing to thread the needle between protecting their hearing and being able to hear what they're playing!

Coldstream wrote:
1Dgaf wrote:

Bear in mind that I believe the noise cancelling works by creating its own noise to cancel what's happening outside. I think that means you're still 'hearing' something.

Not really. True noise cancellation would involve making a noise of identical frequency and amplitude, but exactly in opposite phase to the original noise. The end result is that the peaks and troughs cancel out, effectively eliminating the noise. The most common sensation is one of a little bit of increased air pressure.

Wow!! I did not know that that’s how the noise canceling feature worked. That’s f*cking witchcraft. No wonder they cost so much dinero.

The ones I bought have a feature that lets some noise in, like people talking, etc. it’s all switchable and customizable. You can recalibrate the noise canceling on the fly for your particular environment.

Something was mentioned upthread about bass attenuation and musicians needing less? Could you explain more or point me to an explanation of that?

RawkGWJ wrote:

Wow!! I did not know that that’s how the noise canceling feature worked. That’s f*cking witchcraft. No wonder they cost so much dinero.

The ones I bought have a feature that lets some noise in, like people talking, etc. it’s all switchable and customizable. You can recalibrate the noise canceling on the fly for your particular environment.

Something was mentioned upthread about bass attenuation and musicians needing less? Could you explain more or point me to an explanation of that?

Yeah, it's definitely a case of sufficiently advanced technology starting to look like magic! The better the noise cancellation, the higher the cost too. The stuff where it lets in certain frequencies and has varying levels of noise cancellation is really cool. There's an inherent delay when reacting to a new noise, so it's not good for stuff like weapons-fire or other sudden noises, but it's hard to beat ANC for sustained noises.

For theory, the Sound Guys have a really nice primer. I'm not a musician, so I'll defer to BadKen who seems to have some great knowledge in that realm, or any other musicians we have here on the forums.

Noise canceling in aviation is probably the absolute best use case. Nothing like drowning out the droning of a jet engine or prop.

NSMike wrote:

Noise canceling in aviation is probably the absolute best use case. Nothing like drowning out the droning of a jet engine or prop.

Absolutely. For longer flights even as a passenger--especially transpacific--I've found that the difference in fatigue level using noise-cancelling headphones vs. nothing is really stark. Noise is fatiguing in a subtle way that can leave you exhausted at the end of a long flight. I guard my hearing pretty zealously, so I always have at least a pair of foamies at hand for ear-pro, but a good set of ANC headphones have been worth their weight in gold over the course of my travels!

Coldstream wrote:
NSMike wrote:

Noise canceling in aviation is probably the absolute best use case. Nothing like drowning out the droning of a jet engine or prop.

Absolutely. For longer flights even as a passenger--especially transpacific--I've found that the difference in fatigue level using noise-cancelling headphones vs. nothing is really stark. Noise is fatiguing in a subtle way that can leave you exhausted at the end of a long flight. I guard my hearing pretty zealously, so I always have at least a pair of foamies at hand for ear-pro, but a good set of ANC headphones have been worth their weight in gold over the course of my travels!

I’ve been using the ANC while driving old ass tractor-trailer at work. They are REALLY LOUD. The ANC helps me to think more clearly than I do with all that racket from the truck clogging up my brain.

Silly/not silly. Silly because I have a table saw, I got it last July, and I haven't had all thaaaat much time to actually use it because of the kids. Not silly because the saw I got in July is really small, so light that I feel like I'm going to tip it over all the time, and the fence is terrible and inaccurate so using it is a pain.

I've been watching craigslist postings looking for an upgrade for a good price, and finally snagged this one for $200. It's an older saw, but in really good shape, has a decent fence, and cast iron wings. The only thing I don't love is that it doesn't have a riving knife. The blade guard has a splitter, but I won't always want to use the guard. The stock throat plate has a gap right behind the blade for the guard/splitter, so there's nowhere to put the Microjig splitters there. Not a huge deal because there's a good chance I was going to wind up making a zero clearance plate anyway, and I can add splitters to that, but I still wish it had a riving knife.

Now I just need to get it all adjusted and actually finish organizing the garage so there's room for the thing.

IMAGE(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51068727537_3bd9c60109_b.jpg)

Beautiful saw but get a damn edge guard on there! Unless just not mounted right now.

Hobear wrote:

Beautiful saw but get a damn edge guard on there! Unless just not mounted right now.

It's not mounted right now.

Paleocon wrote:

My Benchmade 940 celebrated its 20th birthday and though it still has plenty of service life left in it, it is getting a little lose in the lockup. So for my 55th birthday, I got myself a replacement knife for casual carry. I thought about going with the new 940 since they now come with an upgrade in steel from the 154cm that came with mine to the new S30V powder steel. I did consider it for a hot second, but the pricetag on that knife left me feeling there was so many other knives out there that offer greater value.

This made me check and you weren't kidding. A bunch of $300+ knives on their website now. My daily carry is a griptilian and I remember I bought it for $80, but that was like 10 years ago. It is now $150. Inflation yo.

A buddy of mine was the flight doc for the Blue Angels a while back. We were discussing their practices and I figured it would be fun to listen in while they fly. I also would like to have something to listen to local ATC to retrain my ears, and to have something on the airfield and in the cockpit as a back-up in case comms go down and I at least need to be able to hear people.

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/M2SMSKN/Scanner.jpg)

LeapingGnome wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

My Benchmade 940 celebrated its 20th birthday and though it still has plenty of service life left in it, it is getting a little lose in the lockup. So for my 55th birthday, I got myself a replacement knife for casual carry. I thought about going with the new 940 since they now come with an upgrade in steel from the 154cm that came with mine to the new S30V powder steel. I did consider it for a hot second, but the pricetag on that knife left me feeling there was so many other knives out there that offer greater value.

This made me check and you weren't kidding. A bunch of $300+ knives on their website now. My daily carry is a griptilian and I remember I bought it for $80, but that was like 10 years ago. It is now $150. Inflation yo.

Thing is though, otherwise in the industry there is a lot of downward price pressure on high quality knives. The stuff you are seeing out of China and Taiwan is actually first rate. I would put the build quality of a WeKnife, Civivi, Kizer, or Besteel on par or better than Benchmade any day of the week. Particularly recently since the QC issues of Benchmades have been making the rounds.

This has driven the price of American made Spydercos, ZT's, and similar high end production knives closer to parity. Only Benchmade has decided now is the time to price themselves out of the market.

I love the 940, but honestly, before I spend $200 on a new 940 with S30V, I am DEFINITELY going to get a FAR superior Hogue Deka in CPM 20CV and a MUCH beefier ABLE lock for $50 bucks less (and still be American made). There is no reason in the world that the new 940 should cost over $120 other than the Benchmade Tax.

#noregrets

IMAGE(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/365526297092292608/824369250986360832/20210324_122956.jpg)

Chaz wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Beautiful saw but get a damn edge guard on there! Unless just not mounted right now.

It's not mounted right now.

Good to hear. I've seen way too many people who've had close calls and a few more who don't have fingers on either hand after incident. I'm going to trade out mine for a stop saw one day but until then I try to be super cautious.

Happy building!

Veloxi wrote:

#noregrets

IMAGE(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/365526297092292608/824369250986360832/20210324_122956.jpg)

Are they really direct from the factory? Can you taste the difference? Do they seem fresher?

RawkGWJ wrote:
Veloxi wrote:

#noregrets

IMAGE(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/365526297092292608/824369250986360832/20210324_122956.jpg)

Are they really direct from the factory? Can you taste the difference? Do they seem fresher?

Yes, yes and yes. There's still some peanut oil on them and they're...sharper...

I was not aware that this existed! I am now on their email notification list. this is bad in the best way!