SUPER STEEL (!!!!!!!!!!!)

First ZDP-189 knife I have owned.

Someone did some file work on it and sold it back to the knife shop. I got it for less than the price of an unmolested knife.

Spyderco Delica (Light weight?) ZDP-189 British Racing Green...

I guess it weighs less now.

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Quick talk about ZDP-189

The Good The Bad and The Fake

I don't know much about knife steels.

From the little research I have done S30V is one of the better steels you see in common production knives (Spyderco comes to mind).

That said I'm interested in the Buck Hartsook as it is the least costly option in S30V.

But buyer beware there are some  close copies out there, with all the markings of the real thing.

I don't really know if the Buck Smidgen is that bad. It is 420HC steel which is at the bottom of the scale. I don't know if it is much better than the Chinese mystery steel (maybe it is). 

Cold Steel Hello/Goodbye

Found a new/old Cold Steel Voyager, and I am planning to give one away...

So group photo time.

The Gunsite II is the newer old model with the metal clip. The Gunsite I and the two Medium Voyagers are the old old model with the plastic clip, which I like much better.


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Beware of Waltons bearing gift sets

Walmart has Knife set from Kershaw and sadly they Walmart'ed the quality of these knives.

Preparedmind101 Has the info.

Here is his vid on the "Normal" versions of these knives.

Sad. I really like the look of that black Freefall...

If guns are outlawed...

... can we use swords?

YouTube: Work Sharp Knife Sharpeners

Sharpening knives is a skill I do not possess.

Go like his FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/preparedmind101

Sharknado 2

It totally needs one of these.

 

Video Here.

YouTube: Big Bag O Blades

I'm going to try to breath some life back into this blog, mostly with blade posts.
I will try to but up more Photos of my knives (and swords, and kukris, and tomahawks), but I also want to post other people videos that have good info or simply show something that I want (and might never have).

First up is  a vid from preparedmind101. Quick yes/no opinions on several blades.
He is pretty hard on some Cold Steel products, and you may know I am a huge CS fanboy, but I have no problem with his criticism.

I love the mods he does especially the CS hawks.
 

You can also like his FB page at facebook.com/preparedmind101

One day it will be mine

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Hey... I know that Dude.

SHADOW TECH KNIVES

If you are going to the INDY 1500 next week (March 15th/ 16th/17th)  stop and take a good look.
Also the Indy Blogmeet on the 17th Watch this space for info.

Ice Breaker

My very first Kukri, and the start of my knife collection. It was love at first sight. Bought at the Ohio Renaissance Festival about 18 years ago, today it is battered and abused.

I don't recall that I ever really sharpened it. Still it managed to take down a small tree (or was it a large bush) in a friend's back yard.

It's true calling however was breaking ice. I may have used it on the side walk a few times, and I remember using it to carefully remove very thick ice from my car windshield.  

But the main event was at my restaurant job, where I used it to de-ice the tile floor in the walk-in freezer.
It did the job well, but it suffered the price. The edge of the blade has been beaten completely flat.

 Usurped by my Cold Steel LTC Kukri (which gets abused doing yard work) This blade has been retired for years. But it served faithfully and did everything asked of it. As a Kukri should.
...   

UK Pen Knife

Grabbed a New Spyderco at the gun show today.  A  UK Pen Knife drop point.

Keep your index finger in the choil.

 Where Great Britain Used To Be You can't carry a locking knife without a good reason.

  

From Spyderco.com

Spyderco's non-locking, one-hand open, clip carry folders are called SLIPITS.  Starting in 2004, Spyderco launched a folding knife model called the UK Penknife, targeted for carry in the United Kingdom where newly imposed legal restrictions forbade folding knives with locking blades.  As the SLIPIT concept gains momentum Spyderco keeps expanding the line with folders in varying sizes, steels and handles.  Newly added are Lightweight SLIPITS.

Lightweight UK Penknife blades are held open by a notched-joint at the knife's pivot.  When closing the blade the notch produces resistance functionally similar to traditional slip-joint penknives.  Heightening control and comfort, Spyderco designers added a deep finger choil positioning the index finger on the bottom of the blade directly under the thumb.  This lets you choke up near the cutting edge with comfort and dexterity.  A tension-wire clip carries the folder deeply in a pocket, tip-up and ambidextrously. 

Very light (1.9 oz), and fast and easy to open and close. Blade length is just under 3 inches.
Made in Golden, Colorado, U.S.A. Earth.  (Says so right on the blade.)

Next to my old Endura.

The knife come with instructions on proper grip (index finger in the chiol), and advises cutting with pressure that keeps the blade open, and a warning to only use the point for delicate tasks. Stabbing something hard with this knife could cause it to close on your hand.

Not the proper grip.

 I usually carry a big scary knife on me. But I also like to have a small not-so-scary knife to use in polite company. Right now it is clipped on my shirt collar and I can hardly feel it there (bonus the wire clip is not grabbing my beard).  

Last year I posted a video of another slip knife the Spyderco Squeak.

And here is a "short" vid from Nutnfancy.

Fake but Awesome

Do you know what the six coolest words in the Queen's English are?

Brown.

Bess.

Socket.

Bayonet.

Kukri.

Blade.

Saw one with my own two eyes at the Indy 1500 gun show yesterday. Looks something like this:

old-smithy.info

Sadly these appear to be fake as hell. A tourist Kukri welded onto a socket.


This one is also fake, but a much more accurate fake. (OK reproduction.)

You can find more info here.

Even worse I know it is fake but I still want it badly...

Trail Master

 

                 

C(old) Steel

Old, Old, Cold Steel.

I like the old Zytel clip knives much better than the new metal clip ones.

I might give this one away... If I could find someone who likes tanto points... Maybe she could drive down and take a knife class at TDI...

Only a Flesh Wound.

Cleaning the brass guard of my dad's Cold Steel Stag Trail Master (I bought him) I look down and see red on the paper towel i was using.  With a quick flash of panic I peel of the rubber glove I was wearing to find a paper cut sized nick in my thumb. Never felt a thing.

That was a close one...

Left Side

Finally took a pic of my Cold Steel AK-47 (old model) which is a very good for left hand carry.

Mind you I am not left handed. Well I write and shoot with my right hand, I throw and swing a sword (SCA) with my left.

I do fancy the notion that if you carry a pistol you should have a knife on the opposite side. If someone ever grabs for your gun, your dominant hand will be busy trying to keep the gun locked into the holster, and your off hand will be left the task of convincing said someone they have made some poor life choices.

EDC K

This whole take the knife out of your pocket meme assumes you are wearing pants (but we will just skip over that part).

I have lots of knives (no idea how many) so I tend to rotate what I'm carrying.

But most of the time I will have a Cold Steel AK-47 (old model) on my left side.

not my photo

On the right side I change thing more, but the Byrd Cross Bill or Spyderco Harpy get carried a lot. (top and middle.)

bottom is my first flee market special

And I always have my ace in the hole.

NO SPYDERCARD FOR YOU!

Normally I'll have some kind of neck knife tied off inside my leather vest, (like the CS Spike or Mini-Tac or Para Edge) but not right now. 

And I also have knives I carry inside the waistband but those don't count in this meme...

Stupid Question

Does anyone make a multi-tool without a knife blade???

Cause knives I got plenty of...

And the answer is:

 The Leatherman Style PS.

Danger Close

The Miller has a post about last ditch zombie knives...

I really don't want to get that close to 'em.

Magnum Kukri Machete

In the Weeds

I've been falling down on the blog this week and I really am far behind on blade posts. So here are so quick and dirty (heh) pics taken before yard work  commenced.

Two things I clean less than my guns.

This is one of my first (good) knives. A Cold Steel LTC (Light Terrain Chopper) Factory Second.  Note it is NOT a machete, IIRC it is Carbon V steel.  You really don't want to know how many times it has been smacked into the stone foundation of the house, for what must be almost 20 years.