It seems my knife ran off....

Maybe it wanted to get jiggy with the dish and the spoon? ..I just hope whoever finds it treats it with the love and abuse it deserves.. It gave me a good five years of cut-y goodness.

Funnily enough, this one was itself a replacement, The first I lost after having it about a year and a half, while "running" a marathon. It was identical to this one except the first had a dual serrated/straight edge, and the newer one had a straight edge only.

Five years of daily carry and use takes it toll; I've replaced its opening spring once, and had to fashion new grip inserts after the original rubber ones disintegrated from the abuse.

I suppose there's the off chance it'll turn up in the home, but it's far more likely that it's lying amongst some sea oats (yes, the ones pictured below) or in someone else's pocket now. I didn't realize it was missing until nearly 48 hours after I'd likely lost it somewhere along a path roughly a mile long.

So now I'm trying to get lucky a third time around and find another sample of this wonderful, fits-my-hand-like-a-glove knife. It's trickier than it looks, as the original manufacturer went bankrupt before I'd bought my first; indeed both of the ones I ended up with were "made" by the folks who bought out the manufacturer's remaining inventory.

That said, this knife was originally designed by one Keith Wood, and sold under the following models, if not more: * Paragon ATKO-8 (Aluminium handle, ATS-34 blade) * Asheville Steel/Paragon ATKO-8 (bought the name, maybe rights too) * Ruger All-Weather Knife (Composite handle, 440C blade) * MGE Companion (Composite handle, ATS-34 blade)

Both of the ones I'd owned were the MGE Companion model. Digging around the 'net it looks like I really can't afford to be too picky, but most of what I'm seeing are really high-end limited-edition fancy-inlaid not-meant-for-use-as-a-daily-beater knives. Such a waste..

There's no way I'm buying a different model knife without handling it first, but if I can find another one of these online somewhere for a reasonable price, I won't have to. Nothing on eBay at the moment, but GunBroker.com has a combo-edge Companion listed for $85.. Hmm.... Alternatively I could spend $150-200 for one of them fancy-schmancy versions, but that offends my sense of utility. Not to mention my wallet.