The lust in my heart

The HK handgun picture thread at ARFCOM.  Have I posted this already?

Oh man.  I've got a ton of firearms in my que these days, but I neeeeeeeeeed to make an exception for a USP 45.  Maybe after that SP101 that's now on my list (Thanks MSgt B!).

Also, for your entertainment, check out the Choose Your Weapon at theBrigade.  I'd go with that Mk12 Mod 0 without hesitation (#8. . .be still my beating heart!).  A damn fine rifle.  That Rockstead knife is a honey, too.  I think there's some side-bewb in there for y'all as well, if you're into that sort of thing.

Custom ballisong

Here's a thread on the construction of a custom, titanium handled ballisong. Looks like fun. . . . .hmmmmmm.

Beauty is in the eyYOW! MY EYE!!

While it is very intricately made, and pretty neat considering the machining involved, the price of $800 made me snort and laugh at the same time. "Art" is the best word for it; I don't see any utility whatsoever here:



Oh Microtech. How far you've fallen. . .

Knife review

The TOPS Knives USMC Combat Knife. Looks pretty sexy to me.

I like big knives, and I can not lie

Waiting for me when I got home yesterday was a package from KnifeCenter.com that contained two of Cold Steel's new extra-large Voyagers; one for me, and one for my homie (snicker!). I ordered them back in like April, but Cold Steel hadn't released them for sale yet for some reason or another. I'm glad they're here now.



For scale:



That's a 1st generation Cold Steel Recon-1 with a 4" blade, and a 2 liter of Coke at the top.

This is a massive knife, which most people are not accustomed to or don't see the need for that much blade. Most folks stick with 3" - 3 1/2" blades for EDC, but I've always preferred a 4" folder. I don't consider folding knives to be weapons; they are convenient utility tools that I put to use every single day for mundane tasks like cutting up boxes or getting rid of irish pennants (Google is your friend). The more blade you have, the more you can get accomplished.

To be honest, the Voyager won't be my EDC unless I'm going to be doing work outside. It's niche is probably in a backpack or clipped to a belt when you go down into the woods. For the moment though, it's in my pocket so that I can get a feel for how it carries. With Grivory grips with aluminum liners, it's not all that heavy for its size. The handles have iron cross-like texturing that provide excellent grip, and the contour is such that you can grab up close to the blade for more control, or down towards the hook at the bottom of the handle for chopping. The Voyager would be great for camping.

Here's another picture for scale:



The 5 1/2" blade is still not in Ka-Bar territory, but it dwarfs the Benchmade Rukus' 4 1/4" blade. The Voyager weighs in at 7.2 oz., which is lighter than the Rukus at 7.7 oz. The S30V steel in the Rukus is also a bitch to sharpen, but the Voyager's AUS-8A should be easy to take care of. Overall I'm impressed with the quality: the lockup is very tight and everything feels very well made. It came shaving sharp, but as always I can do better. It's a good knife to have around, and I'm sure I can find a proper career for it somewhere.

Saving the world from warriors and knife collectors

TSA spokesman Kawika Riley says an officer operating an X-ray machine at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport last week noticed something suspicious in the man’s luggage, and a fellow officer’s search turned up the knives. Riley says they included switchblade knives and a butterfly knife.

This wouldn't be the first time some dude lost all of his knives to the meat-gazing, kiddie -fondling, TSA pecker-checkers at the security checkpoint at BWI; I have had almost the exact same thing happen to me once while on my way to the beautiful beach-like resort of Ramadi in the exciting province of Al-Anbar, and I guess it would be alright if I told another whopper of a story this week about that experience:

About five years ago I had a task to go to Iraq as a contractor on a program for a year, and I had a lot of training to get done in a short amount of time which meant that I had little time to pack. I was offered the services of a company that ordered a large portion of the equipment that I needed, and my time to pack it came the night before I was to leave from BWI to El-Paso for processing into South West Asia.

I packed all through the night waiving all of my time to sleep, and the finished product was two very packed seabags, a lock box to transport my M9, ammo, and magazines, and my ruck that was almost ripping at the seams from my gear. My wife took me to the airport that morning to see me off and, having very recently married to compensate for the timing of this trip, and the fact that she was saying good bye to her husband for a year while he went to a dangerous place to do dangerous things, she was not in high spirits. Neither was I.

I checked the two seabags and my M9, at which point the ticket lady said that I could not check any more baggage, but my ruck was small enough that it would pass as a carry on item. Tears were already flowing at this point and my mind was elsewhere, so I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed the ruck and headed over to the security station. I was the only one being checked at that moment, as there was nobody in line, so I kissed my wife goodbye and watched her walk around the corner before picking my ruck up and putting it onto the conveyor for an x-ray.

By that time a few other travelers had shown up for the violation of their rights, body and property, and I was cursing under my breath at whichever one of those morons was holding up the x-ray machine; I needed to get going to catch my flight. There was a dogpile of TSA goons at the x-ray machine, all in one great big confused ball, and then two police officers showed up and postured themselves like something was wrong.

Then it hit me. . . .

"Oh. OH! Yeah, about that bag. . . .hey guys, uhhhmmm. . . . I know what y'all are looking at, and I can explain" I said to the TSA people, because I had just realized the mistake that I had made at the ticket counter. All of my knives were in my ruck, along with an MSR stove and empty aluminum fuel bottle, several large sharpening stones (a TSA goon asked me if they were "rune stones." Amazing), and also my desert boots and cammies and stuff. I had intended to check that bag, but in the moment of everything I had forgot that I had packed my 8" tanto Ka-Bar, CRKT M21-04 folder, Cold Steel Arc-Angel balisong, Klein folding electrician's knife, and Gerber and Leatherman multi-tools, and had just carried them right into a security checkpoint.

This was all a misunderstanding because I wasn't trying to sneak them through security, and I had no intentions of harming anyone in this country with those knives, so I hoped that cooler heads would prevail and I would be escorted back to the ticket counter. That turned out to be a stupid idea.

I was promptly arrested and charged with the same charges the man in the above article was charged with. The arresting officer and his Sergeant were realists about it, telling me that this happens all the time and that Soldiers, Marines and such go to jail left and right for forgetting that they have a knife in their pocket or a multitool in their bag. The Sergeant even told me that he had to arrest a Marine Brigadier General the week before who forgot his loaded M9 was in his briefcase when he flew back from Iraq.

One older officer there though --officer Diddlydooright -- was a complete and total fucking moron, and was a constant douchebag about every little thing even though I was as calm and cooperative as I could be and had shown everyone my government orders, ID, cammies, and the ticket stub from my M9 that I checked at the ticket counter. Why would I try to smuggle a bunch of knives on a plane to do harm when I had a pistol and ammo? That didn't matter to Diddlydooright.

He flipped out that I even had a gun; flipped out when he found holsters in my ruck, yelling at me about "why do you need a holster!?!?" I told him I was on my way to Iraq; you know, that hot place where Americans are being shot at? I held up my government orders that stated where I was going, and that I was to be armed while I was there, signed by a Major General, so that Diddlydooright could see it, and his eyes glazed over like I had just told him I was heading to Ohio. "You don't need a gun! You don't need a holster! This is a SWAT TACTICAL KNIFE! What are you doing with a SWAT knife?!?"

IIIIIRRRRRAAAAAQQQQQ. He didn't get it.

That fucktard cop tormented me for hours and hours while I was booked. When he measured and photographed my knives, he recorded the blade size as being the entire length of the knife. About every fifteen minutes he would come by, pick up my CRKT, and then shout at me for having a SWAT TACTICAL KNIFE! "What err yeeew dooooooin' with a SWAT TACTICAL KNIFE?!?" Then he would stick me in a cell. Ten minutes later when the arresting officer or the Sergeant would come by and see me in there, they would shake their head and pull me out of there and uncuff me, letting me sit quietly in a chair next to them. Whenever officer Fuckface would walk by or try to talk to the other officers, they would roll their eyes or respond to him with a snarky comment. Whenever they would leave, officer Fuckface Von-diddlydooright would come by, sigh out loud, put cuffs on me and stick me back in the cell. I had the impression that everyone was waiting for his ass to retire.

The arresting officer eventually took me before the Magistrate, who let me go on my own recognizance. She also said flatly that this happens all the time, and that the officers are not allowed any discretion to solve the matter without arrest. There's the door - good luck.

By the time that I got to El-Paso about eighteen hours had passed. I still hadn't slept and was a very bitter person to say the least, and my anger was about to go full into the red. When I got to the unclaimed luggage office, the lights were off and no one was there. A stack of luggage four foot high completely filled the office and spilled ten feet out into the lobby; and there at the very end of the stack was the shitty plastic lockbox that held my M9, six magazines, and two fifty round boxes of 124 grain NATO ball ammo - a shitty plastic lockbox that could be opened with a paper clip.

Way to make the world a safer place with that zero tolerance policy. You guys really saved the day.

I ended up having to spend $2,000 on a lawyer to settle the charges. I tried to handle it on my own by calling the Clerk of the Court from an Iridium sat phone while sitting in the sand next to a dumpster, explaining to her my situation, but was told that if I missed my court date they would issue a warrant for my arrest and I would come home a fugitive. Tough shit.

I never did get the $600 in knives back. I picked up another Ka-Bar in Texas, and also a Benchmade Rukus to put in my pocket, and they served and still serve me well. I wonder about how many Servicemen and Servicewomen get jammed up in the gears of "justice" while trying their best to do their duty under adverse conditions. I have no doubts that the poor guy in the article above really is a knife collector, and just made a mistake. At least he doesn't have to go to war after being processed through jail.

High end knife making

If you've ever been fortunate to see a hand made knife crafted by a true artist, you may wonder why they can fetch upwards of $750 or more. If you want to know why they cost so much, and what you can expect the knife maker to go through to build it, check out this picture thread by Stan Wilson as he takes you through countless hours building a custom knife for a customer. Lots of sweat went into making it, and it takes the use of special equipment and a steady, gifted hand to create. This man's knives are worth every penny. Simply amazing.

1911 Commemorative Knife

A custom knifemaker designs a fighting knife using a 1911 grip that holds a magazine containing survival stuff. Too frickin cool!

Fit and finish look top notch, too!

Back to the grind

Memorial Day weekend in the CTone family was spent with the little ones at Virginia Beach. We all had a blast, and it was a lot of work. Keeping three toddlers out of trouble was interesting to say the least, but it was worth it:



I saw on Drudge last night that it was mayhem in Miami, Myrtle Beach, Boston, and other touristy coastal venues over the weekend. Not so at VAB. It was certainly crowded, but everybody was super nice. My wife and I managed to keep the kids busy, and not hang out in the hotel. Since my laptop died on the first morning we were there, I had to find out via trial-and-error whether the VAB Zoo and the VAB Aquarium were Gun Free Victim Pastures; they were not. It was a comforting thing too; the VAB Zoo is not in a friendly part of town, and some parts of the Hampton Roads area is sketchy.

I was pleased that my trusty Kel-Tec didn't rust at all while sitting in my bag on the sand. Not that I thought I would need it, but it was nice to know it was there. My shiny new Spyderco Pacific Salt with its H1 steel was the perfect folding blade for the weekend as well. It rode faithfully in my swim trunks in the ocean every day, and got rinsed off passively in the highly chlorinated hotel pool; a pretty harsh environment all around for a piece of steel. On the last evening we were there, I finally rinsed off all the crunchy sand it had accumulated in the sink at the hotel, and there wasn't a hint of corrosion. Last night I put it on a stone for the first time to get rid of the factory edge, and it honed up well. Mike Janich had mentioned that H1 steel work hardens, and that over time as you sharpen it the edge will get better and better. I was amazed at how sharp it got last night on my first try, and it didn't take long. Not just hair popping, but face shaving sharp. Just the ticket for an EDC blade that does a great deal of light work:



I haven't put it into anything tough yet, but it slices through carboard just fine, and works great at making PB&J sandwiches.

I'm still waiting on the barrel for my MK12 Mod 0 build, and I owe a picture of how that's going. I'll do that tonight if I have a chance. I am also now on the hunt for a computer that lasts more than a month or two. My dead ASUS that had fried its last hard drive will soon meet its fate to the tune of a box or two of shotgun shells and some gasoline and matches. Maybe I'll take some pictures of that too.

Force Protection Equipment Demonstration VIII

This is the second FPED trade show that I've been to, only this time I was asked to staff a booth as a Subject Matter Expert. I didn't have time to wander as much as I'd have liked, but I got to see a few cool things.

If you recall, I've posted about this show before; there's nothing new under the sun, or not a whole lot of new stuff since the last one, so I didn't take a ton of pictures at all the crazy surveillance equipment.

Probably the coolest thing to report is that I got to meet Mike Janich, who was attending the Spyderco booth. I made sure to thank him for his work on The Best Defense show, and then he answered some questions for me about Spyderco's H1 stainless steel. At 2 o'clock, Mr. Janich started letting the demo knives go at 50% off, and I picked up a Pacific Salt model for the beach this year:



The reason I appreciate The Best Defense is because Mike Janich and Rob Pincus cover topics that will interest John Q Public. Sure, I find shows that cover how to set up level IV armor for convoy ops or the responsibilities of the 3rd operator in the entry team stack to be very interesting, but I don't need them. The Best Defense covers things like how to interact with law enforcement while lawfully armed or how to deal with an aggressive person in a parking lot; things I can use.

Back to the FPED show, the first thing I did when I got there early on the second day was heckle the L3 guys and their EOTech and FLIR wares. They let me take a picture of this EOTech XR500 sight for the M2 Browning Machine Gun. They said that in testing, Soldiers and Marines were making 1st round hits at 800 yards with it, and I believe it. Sure beats the iron sights:



Notice the drops in the reticle to compensate for range.

Next they let me check out a FLIR camera mounted on an M4 upper receiver in front of an ACOG sight. I wanted it for shooting hogs at night time, all $20,000 worth, and by the time I whipped out my cell phone camera for some reticle shots, the L3 guys were about done with me. I knew I was being annoying at that point, but I got some pictures out of it before the guy took the rifle from me:





In that 2nd pic, the treeline is 412 yards away according to the range finder that they had. These pictures don't do any justice to what you actually see through the camera and sight; I have every confidence that I could make head shots at that tree line. Clear as a bell.

I didn't catch the name of this company, but they make a humongous EOTech-like sight for the M2 BMG, but without the drops in the reticle:




Neat stuff.

The rain at the show was brutal as we had lots of thunderstorms, and sheets of water ran down the tarmac leaving 2" puddles to stand in for hours on end. Most of the vendors there were showing surveillance equipment or armor. I saw a big Smith and Wesson logo on a tent top which drew me in, only to find out that S&W makes Force Protection equipment too; there were no firearms. Most of the weapons were props for sighting systems. It seems that spying on the enemy is paramount to killing them outright at this show.

I still had a good time, and plan on being there next year.

Dinner Pic

All the rage these days:




This one was from a couple of days ago. Cheap turkey burgers are a staple in my diet. If it weren't for frozen and canned foods, I would starve to death in the urban habitat where I currently live because I can't cook for shit. You can turn me loose in the woods with nothing more than a loin cloth and a Ka-Bar, and I can make a weapon capable enough to kill an animal, skin it, then make a fire and burn the beast's flesh until it's fit for consumption. Put me in a grocery store though, and I will die unless it can be torn out of a box and eaten. I could live for years on Stella Artois though.

Simple food for simple people!

Gun/Knife/Tomahawk/Sword P0rnucopia

Lots of good stuff over at ARFCOM.

Comparison between NAA mini revolvers - .22 LR and .22 Magnum. I think I would go for the .22 LR after reading that.

Sword P0rn. Do I even need to add anything there?

Pictures of Cold Steel's ginormous Espada folding knife. That thing is awesome, and may be classed as a sword.

A custom blade made for a Microtech Scarab.

Tomahawks!!

Knife Steals

Being the knife dork that I am, I tend to collect them like a kid collects Pokemon cards or those little plastic skateboards. Every one has its own individual use, and these days I favor tough budget-friendly knives that fill several roles.

Not everyone needs a high end knife. I think highly of super steels for super people who do super things for a living, like getting stabby with bad guys in unhospitable places where one may not have the luxury or time to touch up the blade to a hair popping edge. I have knives like these, with D2 and S30V steel, sitting in my gun safe. I still carry them every now and again, and they can do the simple stuff too, but they are a pain in the ass to sharpen. For the mundane tasks that I typically ask a knife to do, I chose solid quality knives with good "working steel" (my term) that can maintain a nasty edge for awhile, but doesn't take a lot of time or effort to sharpen, and doesn't cost over $100.

This weekend I had the good fortune to pick up a 1st generation Cold Steel Recon 1, since like a dumb ass I had lost the same knife this past winter at Bass Pro Shops, and they don't make this generation anymore. It was the last one the man had for sale at the local funshow, and I had to have it. My first Recon 1 sold for about $65, and this one I got for $79. That's still a steal.



This knife has rode in my pocket for years, and I trust my life to it. Years ago I talked my brother in law into the Recon 1 since I was no stranger to Cold Steel products, and knew that they could take a beating. I was impressed with it enough to buy one for myself after witnessing said brother in law using it to dig with, often stabbing it into the dirt to hook leads to and use as a ground. After several months of unspeakable abuse, he would bring it to me to clean up and put a new edge on, and it always did. He gave that knife to his nephew with reluctance, but I know where he can find one more just like it if I don't get to it first.

The other knife that is a recent purchase is a CRKT M21-04. I have a history with this one as well. The first one I bought my dad fell in love with, so I gave it to him. I got another one brand new, and it was taken from me in the famous BWI Airport incident on my way to Iraq. My third chance at buying this knife yielded the M21-02, which is the smaller version of the knife. I had bought this same one for a close friend years ago, and he lost it. I found out shortly after I got this one in the mail, and it made his day when I gave it to him. Now I have another M21-04, and I will take better care of it.

Both of these knives have 4" blades made of AUS8. Some folks bash this steel because you don't find it in $500 Strider knives, but I find that it's a great compromise between high end stainless and carbon steel. It will rust a little given enough time, but not like 1095. I don't mind the rust that much because I can wipe a bit of motor oil on the blade to keep it in shape. This can pose a problem if you decide to use your cutting tool to hack your childs McNuggets into smaller pieces, since society tends to frown upon children eating oil tained chicken, so I like to keep the teflon coated blade of the Recon 1 in my pocket most of the time.

Both CRKT and Cold Steel make high quality knives that will take an edge and take lots of abuse, but may lack some of the fit and finish that knives like Benchmade, Emerson, and Protech are known for. That fit and finish make up the last 15% of knife's character, and to get it will cost you an additional 2 - 3 times what the two above knives will cost you. I've never been hartbroke to lose a budget knife, either because I broke it doing something I wasn't supposed to, or because I had to toss it in the trash, like the SOG Trident that I forgot to place in my check-on luggage in a foreign country that I won't name here. Had that been my Rukus, I would have cried.

Hopefully this post gives my several readers a look at lesser folders that will last a lifetime doing tough tasks, but not break your wallet.

Gun and knife things

I was having a hard time keeping the new Benchmade 3550 sharp (my expectations of sharp are high), so I switched back to the ol' standby, the Cold Steel Recon 1.




The AUS8 steel in this knife may not qualify as a super steel, but it's just stupid how sharp it gets. When I say I can get it shaving sharp, I mean that I could lather my face up and get a clean shave with it. I just can't do that with a Microtech.

A couple of years ago my brother-in-law was on the hunt for the perfect beater knife. His requirements were for high quality, decent price, and for a knife that could take not only a savage beating, but years of harsh neglect. I steered him towards the Recon 1 at a local gunshow, and the knife exceeded his expectations and mine, to the point (feel my pun!) where I bought one myself.

It has been, by far, the best EDC pocket knife I've ever owned.

As an aspiring knife collector, I have all kinds of knives that I can carry for EDC, and the quality of this knife is very high for what you pay. My Benchmade Rukus has a better fit and finish, and has a heavier super steel blade, but the Recon 1 is 85% of that knife for almost a fifth of the price. I am more likely to use the $75 Recon 1 in a manner that it was not intended than a $250 Benchmade, regardless if it can stand up or not.

To give you an example, the blade of the Recon 1 came with some sort of black coating, but one day at work the foreign made can opener in the break room shit the bed, and I didn't hesitate for a minute to use my knife to open that can of Ravioli. The can scratched off some of the coating on the blade, so I just removed the rest of it so that it didn't look so trashy. I don't use it as a pry bar, but I'll put it to harsh use when I need to.

Would you pull out your $300 Tactical Tommy Night Ninja auto, complete with glass breaker and tourniquet hidden in the skateboard taped handle, and jam it matte side down into a can of pork n' beans? What, don't want to risk tearing up the finish? Yeah, me neither. It's just not a problem though with the Recon 1.

As for the baby Glock, I highly recommend the Infidel holster from Comp-Tac. I simply must have one for every gun that I own, as it's very convenient to be able to don or doff my blaster with the least amount of effort. It stays put and doesn't come off with a draw, and at like $70 it's affordable. You should get one.

I've been sticking with the convenient carry arrangement for the last couple of these posts, as the small-and-light gun/knife combo really works. For my next post, I'm gonna have to change gears.

What gun for gator?

Certainly not a .22 for my pick, but to each their own.

The huntress demonstrated the utility of her knife when the gator wasn't feeling the power of whatever .22 caliber weapon she first used. Good for her.

Also, browse the comments for a chuckle. I found this one to be the best, from commenter Ryan:

Some of you people are fricken nuts. You live in your little condos in the city eating tofu and drinking lattes and buy your mexican raised meat from your local grocer. What's the point in arguing with people who think Obama is a great president. I'm going to bed so I can get up in the morning, drop my daughter off at school and go shoot a deer with my bow and arrow. Afterall, it helps feed my family for nearly a year.

Well said!

Update: More reading in the comments reveals the reason for the .22:

Attention city people with big mouths and no knowledge of gator hunting.

It is illegal to hunt alligator with anything other than a 22. Its dangerous to shoot into the water at close range with anything that has more power. The reason for the poor weight/meat ratio is because it is the tail of the gator that is eaten, not the body which holds the bulk of the weight.

Alligator are not endangered. They do need to be culled to avoid overpopulation. By taking a few you keep the population stable so there is plenty of food for the gators. If you dont know what you are talking about, best to keep your mouth shut rather than be viewed as a ignorant loud mouth fool.

Yes, it may shock you but some people still harvest their own meat. If you get your meat in a plastic wrapper there is no reason to bad mouth people that still choose to legally obtain their own meat from wild game. It's the law!

The comments are where it's at, apparently.

Knife p0rn!

Check out a review of the HTM-DDR Gun Hammer by Darrel Ralph at Sharptactics!

A good knife is a welcome investment.

The Izula done got its har' did

She shore's puuuuurrrrdy pawwwww!!!



I'm fresh out of 550 cord at the moment, so I played around with some boot laces that I had and came up with a better grip for the handle. Yes, the cord wrapped handle will pick up funk and water which can be uncomfortable, but the real reason behind wrapping the handle is to have some cordage handy if your plane goes down in the Alps. 550 cord is perfect because it can be used as-is for building a shelter, or you can pull the internal strands out of it and use it to affix hand made broad heads to your arrows for slaying Bambi's baby brother. Mmmmmm. . . .backstraps!

Too bad bootlaces don't have the internal guts to make primitive arrows; I'll have to order some from Saigon Sam's. While I had the time, I took the shitty metal clip off of that abomination of a cell phone case that I bought from Maxpedition - yes, the very one that abetted the death of my Blackberry this past winter - and drilled some careful holes in it to use on the Izula's sheath.


I used two Chicago screws from a Blackhawk Serpa holster to hold it together, and I have the ability to change the angle if I so desire:



Once I get some 550 cord, I'll re-wrap the handle and my fixed EDC knife will be complete! MUGH-HUH-HWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Here is a way to comfortably carry all day and have the knife instantly available to either hand for the very moment you get that JuJubes stuck in your teeth in a darkened movie theater:



Add in not one, but TWO shiny new Brownells catalogs and things get super cool in a New York instant:



Imma gonna hit the Brownells website like a ton of bricks here in the very near future; there's a couple of AR upper builds I have in mind that will get my undivided attention soon.

But back to the star of our show: I found out on the ESEE website that the steel of choice in their knives is 1095, which happens to be my fav. Some consider 1095 a pain because it rusts fairly easy unless you take proper care, but you can't beat it for its ease of sharpening, the nasty edge it holds, its toughness, or how freakin cool the edge looks when you get it polished!



Try that with your super steel!

I learned to sharpen knives when I was a little boy using bench stones. Many folks prefer to use one of the fixed setups, which I can appreciate, but bench stones give a very rounded edge radius vice the beveled radius that you get from a fixed rig. That has many advantages in my world, one of them being a smoother cut in flesh - like when you're skinning a flock of alpacas or scalping tangos after your berserker rage settles down.

I find that factory edges from all manufacturers pretty much suck, so the first order of business is to remove that sucker and put a worthy one on. That takes some elbow grease to do, especially for big knives like a Ka-Bar:



Fortunately, Ka-Bars have 1095 steel in them so it's not too bad; the one in the picture I sharpened in Iraq in 2006 and haven't touched since. One night I fell in the back of an RG-31 on a road in Hit, and the blade cut through the stitching in the sheath and hit the floor, putting some dings in the blade. Last night I finally got around to addressing them, and I could shave my face with the edge it has now.

And while I have the stones out, why not just knock the edge off them all? My little Benchmade 3550 auto has 154CM steel, which can sometimes be fickle when it comes to sharpening; this one's no different. I find stainless in general to be like that at times, and last night was one of those times because the Cold Steel Spike didn't want to take a sick edge either. It does take a pretty nasty point though.



The smaller stone is a hard Arkansas which is decent for removing material to get the edge radiused like you want, and it does OK for getting a fine edge. My stone of choice for radiusing is a soft Arkansas, but I generally follow up with the hard Arkansas so that the edge will take a good polish; if you only use the soft stone before a polish you can't get rid of the micro cuts that the stone leaves behind. The larger stone in the picture is a translucent Arkansas which is only used for polishing: it does not sharpen. Once you get the blade as sharp as you can get it on the hard Arkansas, or if you get a bur on the edge which you can feel by dragging your thumb perpendicular to the edge, than it's time to put it on the translucent stone. Follow that up by stropping it on the top of the wood case that my father made for me and you can go shave a whole litter of puppies with it. Of note is that I use basically any oil on the hard or soft Arkansas, but use none with the translucent stone as it doesn't have large enough pores to soak in the oil. The outcome is that you have a lot of wasted effort when your blade rides just off the surface of the stone instead of on it.

So, the long and the short of it all is, go forth and purchase thee an ESEE Izula and sharpen it! It's therapeutic! Take the laces out of Paw Paws snow boots and dressy the lass up! Take a couple of days off from work and spend the night in the back yard whittling marshmallow roasting sticks and fending off wild bears. Or, you could be like me and only use your darling shiv for trimming your cuticles while watching Deadliest Warrior. Which, speaking of, the season finale this week pitted US Navy SEALs against Israeli Commandos, and their close range weapons of choice were the Cold Steel Recon 1 (in one of my pics above) and the Ka-Bar, respectively. If you look close, just for an instant, you can see that the SEAL broke the very tip off his Recon 1 when he massacred a ballistic gelatin torso. Coooooool!

This is my pillcase; there are many like it but this one is mine

So there's a new gal in my life. Her name is Ana. . . . Anaphylaxis. She randomly visits me every month or so while I'm hammering down a chicken salad sandwich like it's the last one on the planet, and I've been getting concerned at her aggressiveness.

To counter the aggression, I have some sort of magic pill to take that's supposed to make the bad thing stop, and just in case that doesn't work, I have also been given epinephrine injectors to carry around for the rest of my life. Lovin it.

Since I'm having issues remembering to carry all this cool medical goodness, I have been looking at ways of convenient EDC transport; and because I can't seem to buy something unless it will help me in the wake of a post zombie-penguin apocalypse, I usually go for the multi-purpose equipment. I'm also a sucker if the word "tactical" comes up anywhere in the description of the item, because we all know tactical stuff cuts through the BS and gets the mission accomplished.

Enter the ESEE Fire Kit, cos' you never know when you will have to set a zombie-penguin horde ablaze in Vietnamish typhoon after waking up from anaphylactic shock! Also, it has enough ass to hold the humongous pill capsules that I have to carry around to keep Ana at bay, and also a compass so that I can find my way back to the Mi-171 with the rest of the operators:


I had to cut those suckers down just to get them to fit; and seriously, this was the only thing I found large enough to take them, so it was the only option that I'm aware of. Adding a Nite Eyes carabiner to it lets me put it on my keychain with the rest of the stuff that I'll never need. While I was ordering the ESEE Fire Kit, I also picked up one of the highly regarded ESEE Izula knives because. . . .well, who doesn't need another neck knife, right? Every self respecting corporate yahoo like me needs at least two of them, so there it is. BLAM!

I have a Cold Steel Spike necker already, and it's a really affordable knife that is probably impossible to destroy:



It's a bit longer than the Izula, and the blade is super thick, but it isn't as wide. The Izula is built to last lifetimes, and is an ideal blade to use to create your own civilization after the zombies destroy the one we currently have. I envision the Spike as a good blade to silently get in between the vertebrae of the zombie sentry barring access to Piggly Wiggly, but not so much for building the island hamlet of your dreams.

As for the two massive auto injectors that I'm supposed to have close at hand whenever I eat, which is pretty much at all times, I have no idea how to practically EDC it. I'm betting that they would carry smartly in a AR15 magazine pouch, which pretty much every American wears on their belt in public to keep their carbine topped off. So I probably wouldn't stand out, right? Who would notice?

And before you say it, I already have one of Maxpeditions man-purses, and it's good to go. My wife loathes the thing, so it's a no go for public carry. Truthfully, I'd rather keep them in the truck, but the heat will destroy them, and if they froze, well, than I'd just get a nasty needle stick without the good stuff. No joy. I'll figure something out though, and until then, I have magic pills in my fire starter pill case! Yay!

The bare essentials

How about some Friday evening EDC gun and knife pr0n! I've been meaning to get this one out for a couple of days, but technical difficulties abound.

What is EDC? Extra Delicious Cutlery? Evil Devil's Chili? Nope, EDC is Every Day Carry.

Knives and guns go together like peanut butter and jelly; coffee and cigarettes; brandy and cigars. I thought I would show off my new cutlery next to some bear essential protection gear, and perhaps make a habit of it with some similar posts every now and then. Perusing threads like this one at AR15.com and this one at Bladeforums gives many new ideas that may make your life easier.

My day to day carry gear depends on the situation; if I'm going out for the day with my family I'm gonna be armed to the teeth - I double up on everything. Sometimes though, you aren't going to gear up with your 6" 1911 in 10mm and Springer EMP in an ankle holster just to go out to gas up the car. I know, I know, that's precisely when the tangos will spring on you; I'm here to tell you though that there will be times when grabbing something small will be the way to go. When you have to run out to Food Lion for baby formula at 0300, small things work.


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Just the bare essentials. I can drop that stuff in the pockets of my jammies in about two seconds and be on my way. I will not, however, be getting into a running gunfight with suicide vested terrorists to save the day; this set up is anti mugger/banger gear only.

The Benchmade 3550 represents a watershed moment for me - normally I carry at least a 4" knife. Like most people, I consider a knife a useful tool first, and a last ditch weapon second. I've read about incidents where a knife was successfully used to stop an attacker, but I'm rarely without a firearm, so I think of the knife as more utilitarian. Smaller blades are great for opening boxes and such, but a larger blade offers more edge for useful things like cutting up vegetables for my lunch.

Nowadays there is all this super steel out there that is great for everything but sharpening. Since I use a knife every day, I can't afford to be sending the thing back to the manufacturer once a week for a touch up; I use bench stones for that. My Cold Steel Recon 1 has been my EDC knife for over a year now, and the AUS-8 steel is good working steel. It may not hold an edge quite as long as S30V, but it takes only a minute or so to bring the edge back with the help of a translucent Arkansas stone. This new Benchmade has 154CM, which in my experience is also good working steel that takes a fine edge. It cuts carrots well, too!


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You will not find me clothed without a knife. There are very few circumstances in life where I am without this simplest of tools; it is something that separates me from the animals. With a good knife in my pocket, I can survive anywhere under basically any circumstances, with much confidence. I could start my very own civilization sans people with one well made knife, if I had the time. Let's hope that doesn't happen!

If you get a chance, dig through some of those threads linked above; you would be amazed at how smart some of this gear has become. I was browsing yesterday and found out that the 15 lumen Surefire E1e that I bought four years ago is ancient technology, and that there are many palm sized lights out there that could kick its ass. One will be in the mail shortly.

So, what's your EDC blade/heater combo? Is your knife for cleaning your nails and skinning bucks, or do you envision it more for reaching the frontal lobe of a determined zombie after you've ran your carbine and sidearm out of rounds? My plan is to put together some sexy glamor shots of old knife and blaster teams that I used to carry in my day for your entertainment and commentary. Stay tuned!

Get your knife rights on

Aaron at Sharp, Bright, and Tactical WebMagazine brought to my attention a knife rights win in New Hampshire!

Good to go!

The 2nd Amendment is more than just firearms. Now, if they can just get blackjacks, "slung shots" (?), and metallic knuckles crossed off the list, life would be even sweeter!!