Chris,

I went whole hog when I bought it, full name (including middle initial), "USAF" and social security number. However, upon further reflection I think you're right that it if were only my social security number my identify theft risk would be low. To tell the truth, I hadn't handled it in so long, I had to go get it and look at the blade to write this paragraph.

I shouldn't complain. When I was stationed in Hawaii I put the Randall knife in the sheath of stereotypically large scuba diver's knife and took it scuba diving. Once. Before the dive was over I realized the knife had fallen out of the sheath. I learned that day how important it is for each piece of a tool to fit together properly. My mismatched knife sheath combination could have been fatal in an emergency.

That story ended happily, there wasn't an emergency. And when I got home there was a message on my answering machine from a Marine who'd been scuba diving in the same spot (Shark's Cove on the North shore of Oahu) and who had found my knife. He saw my name and "USAF" on the knife and tracked me down. I drove to his home at Kaneohe Marine Corp Air Station that evening to retreive it.

I think I'd better keep it, it's traveled a lot of miles with me. It's flown many long boring hours circling over the midwest, spent many weeks stashed in the airplane while it was on alert in Strategic Air Command, and flown across the Pacific many times. While there were inflight emergencies, the planes always came down on runways, even if not the one's originally intended. I think I'll have to take half of Doug's advice and buy a knife better suited to service in an emgency. But I think I'll keep this one ready as a backup, just in case.

That, and continue my education on equipped.org.

Dennis