[Mark]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

Yes gobble'd'gook like all beliefs, I bet you could get similar results from a potato. Tim

I am not sure what you mean by "like all beliefs," but its not gobble'd'gook, since the observed phenomenon is real. It was just mis-interpreted (and I suppose still is in some quarters). From the linked article noted above:

Once highly regarded by the paranormalists, Kirlian photography has now been shown to only indicate variances in pressure, humidity, grounding, and conductivity. Corona discharges are well understood and explained in elementary physics.

Subjecting a piece of metal to Kirlian photography would give pretty dramatic results, I should think. More so if the blade had any inherent magnetic charge.

You might try a control test using a kitchen knife, or a hunting knife or a big nail or similar object (tell the Kirlian photographer that the hunting knife was your grandfather's prized possession, or was used to kill someone, and you think part of his soul inhabits it ... ). It would be interesting to see the results.

"The Great" Randi (whose site hosts that link) is a notorious hard-core skeptic, of whom I am actually a bit skeptical myself. Sometimes he does disprove things, but just as often he takes the position that if you can't prove something to be due to the paranormal, it isn't. He doesn't need a logical or scientific explanation -- he assumes there is a trick, and the absence of proof to the contrary is proof enough for him. Not exactly the scientific method at work there. I haven't seen him exlaim how Yuri Geller can move a compass needle on a brightly-lit plain wooden table outside, with his sleeves rolled up. He did show how Geller could be bending spoons, though ...