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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on March 29, 2017 at 19:30

I am going to reserve judgement until I have read an issue but based on the pics, I am not sure this might be the right direction for bringing in the next generation.

I have often questioned how we get the next generation involved.  As you can tell from the Hammer In recently, I support the effort.  I want to be sure we are being responsible with introducing them to knives.  My personal opinion is that they should be introduced to the tool and the safety.  If they get that part down the wow factor will follow.

So what do you think???

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on March 29, 2017 at 21:48

Somehow, I don't believe that Jack Knyff would be the kind of fellow that you could spend time, on the porch, just making shavings with.

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on March 30, 2017 at 13:46

Looks more like "Mack the Knife" to me !

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Permalink Reply by Steve Scheuerman (Manx) on March 30, 2017 at 14:36

From the Medford site...

Knife Adventure Series!
Please take a look at the debut book in an awesome new serial Comic Book series! �The Adventures of Jack Knife, Beginnings,� Debuts in March of 2017 and is available immediately from Full Tang Comics and Medford Knife and Tool. Every episode features aggressive action, knife play, espionage and mature plots twists and concepts. This is a labor of love and is intended to be great fun and an invitation to bring a younger audience to the knife world. Please take a look and get one for yourself and a friend or kid in your life!

Now...where to start?

Releasing a comic book to kids to get them into knives using "mature plot twists and concepts" is my first red flag. Mature concepts aimed toward kids? Especially when relating to the use of a weapon? That just screams wrong to me. And before someone mentions that a knife is a tool as well, not just a weapon...look at the Medford Praetorian. This thing is a beast of a knife and honestly leaves little doubt that this was released as a fighter, not a whittler. 

In the frame above...is this actually a young kid with a knife facing off against someone with a gun?? How, in any way shape or form, is this remotely close to teaching responsible knife habits to kids? How many little kids will read this and figure packing one of Dad's knives to school is gonna be a cool idea?

On their page, Medford shows the Praetorian at $600USD...Gee...there's a realistic "Kid's first knife"...and near the bottom of the ad it says..."WARNING: Open in private the first time...you will want to stab something." Yup...that sure is responsibility at its finest!

Charging $5USD for something that is meant to encourage kids into the knife world? Sorry...sounds like a sales gimmick, rather than trying to responsibly introduce kids into the world of knives. And in my eyes, showing young kids the glory of knife fighting or as they themselves say "knife play" is *not* the way to safely teach kids about knives.

“I believe we’ve become spectators – and life is not a spectator sport, life is a ‘get involved’ kind of thing. I want to nudge the culture just a little bit,” Medford explains." I don't think teaching kids to Get Involved should encourage whipping out your tactical knife and dealing with dangerous situations yourself instead of going to trained law enforcement professionals.

From the cover picture showing a kid flying through the air at you with his knife out in an aggressive fashion, to the frames I have seen from Jan's post and what I see on Knife News, this seems to be a violent and aggressive medium being used to supposedly promote understanding, learning and responsibility. In my eyes, it fails miserably.

So in my opinion, this is atrocious. This is no way to teach kids to be responsible knife owners, and seems to be encouraging kids to solve their problems with a weapon. Not cool, Medford...not cool at all. "In order to bring Jack Knyff to life, Medford decided to forego many of the knife shows this year, rerouting the cash he would have spent exhibiting to create Full Tang Comics. He hired two professional illustrators and outfitted them with the same kind of equipment that comic industry artists use." I feel that if they truly were looking to properly encourage kids into the knife world, that money should have been spent going to the shows and offering some kind of kids program and promoting awareness and responsible knife safely and ownership. 

Nope...don't like it, don't agree with it, and if this is the way this company chooses to portray their wares and philosophies by tempting kids with very bad ideas, then they will never see a penny or endorsement from myself or my family or friends.

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on March 30, 2017 at 16:27

Dang, Steve, you done good.

I'd hate to see my nephew emulate Jack Knyff.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Scheuerman (Manx) on March 30, 2017 at 16:58

Thanks, J.J. Stuff like that really bothers me. Kids need to be taught properly and I believe this is certainly not the way to do it. I would never let my granddaughter anywhere near this comic. Unless I used it as a "How-not-to" guide...lol

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on March 31, 2017 at 8:25

I agree with the sentiment and the logic in this.  We will not be promoting this and like Steve, we will also not promote their knives.  There are to many companies out there that align much better with how we feel the promotion of this tool to the next generation, can and should be done.

Nope...don't like it, don't agree with it, and if this is the way this company chooses to portray their wares and philosophies by tempting kids with very bad ideas, then they will never see a penny or endorsement from myself or my family or friends.

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on March 31, 2017 at 8:40

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on March 31, 2017 at 20:51

I agree with the previous sentiments.  From what I have seen this is definitely a bad idea.

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by dead_left_knife_guy on April 1, 2017 at 19:05

What a joke.  This is a $5 advertisement, & the reader pays the $5.  Medford's going to take a loss on this one, it's pretty much going to be Medford fanboys (& girls) that buy this -- & they likely have already tried introducing knives to others around them.  Seems like this is a comic an uncle would give his nephew, only to have his mother's nephew complain after finding it in the trash.  I see what they're going for with "Jack Knyff," but he's hardly the character a kid who could muster $5 a month on a comic would be into.

And as others have observed here (excellently scathing commentary by the way, Manx!), Medford's efforts are hardly noble.  How is this comic teaching kids about responsible knife use -- by telling them to bring a knife to a gun fight?  Oh, and use your knife to bust through the window of the speeding vehicle so you have something to hang on to?  

Knives have much more mundane uses, like opening boxes & preparing food & whittling.  It's these activities that any knife user is most likely to engage in, & these are the ones that are likely going to result in the cuts that inevitably occur.  And it's these activities that kids need to be taught about, to handle their tools safely & responsibly.

There's no shortage of bladed weaponry use in comics with "mature plot twists and concepts" -- at least there were plenty in the 90's (the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic was quite violent, & the whole reason I got into it as a teenager), so I can assume there are only more today -- & are more readily accessible.  But "introducing" kids into the world of knives by focusing on their potential use as weapons is, quite frankly, quite juvenile. 

I wasn't likely to purchase any Medford knives even before this comic came out -- I haven't got that kind of money to spend on a tactical knife.  When I first heard of this "Full Tang Comics" thing, I just thought it was ridiculous.  Researching this topic more, all I can say is that I completely respect you, Jan, & iKC, for "just saying no" to Medford.  :)

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