Liberty or Slavery?

“As R. R. hunted for his flight gate, he prepared for the prospect of a security guard peering through his clothes with a full body scanner. But R. doesn't mind: what he gives up in privacy he gets back in security.”

This quote comes from a Dec. 31st Yahoo news report. Does anyone else have a problem with this attitude? Am I the only one who sees this as the final capitulation to terrorism and slavery?

“Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.” Benjamin Franklin. Does anyone remember who Benjamin Franklin was, or is he just a face on a hundred dollar note? Not only do these give-me-safety-at-any-cost people not deserve liberty, it will be stripped from them by the very people they run to for protection. Rather than upset a violent minority by profiling we will walk into the mouth of the beast and surrender our liberty and security. For those of you who don't understand what I am saying try reading "Atlas Shrugged," or "1984." Maybe its already too late..........

I can only wonder what 2010 will bring.

Happy Holidays

We wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year.

While I am in the Spirit lets offer a 10% discount on any item on our website http://www.whiteshadowsecurity.com/ We are temporarily out of stock on our book but more will be available after the holidays. Email me that you want one and I'll give you the discount when they are ready. ghdave2@hotmail.com

Training at Blackwater or Xe

This is a long one but I hope you enjoy it.


A lot of people have been asking how the Carbine Operator training went at Blackwater. For those of you who are not familiar with the Blackwater Facility in Moyoc, NC, it is huge. Since the big blowup in Iraq they changed the name to US Training Center, or Xe, so you see all of the names used here and there. The company owns over 7,000 acres. Here is a link to their website. It is worth the time to look and see what they offer. http://www.ustraining.com/new/index.asp
There are over 35 shooting ranges from 100 yards to one 1200 yards. They have places for water rescue, shipboard insertions, small villages, a large driving course, and even their own airport. It is an amazing place. When you arrive at the gate to check in you are greeted by friendly armed guards. We stayed in the Blackbear lodge which was spartan but had nice hot showers and computer access with laptops available upstairs in a lounge area. The lodge had modern laundry facilities too. Everything was well kept and pleasant. We did not know what to expect and were pleased with our lodging. Close by was the large modern cafeteria and "Pro-Shop." Our breakfast and noon meals were included in the course fee. Just past the pro-shop was the armorer’s well stocked building. You can rent firearms but of course we took our own. We took (3) M-4 carbines (one was a spare), Gwynne took two Glocks and I took two 1911’s. In the trunk of our rental car was 4,000 rounds of .223 ammo and over 500 rounds of mixed pistol ammo. Almost all of this ammo was consumed in the five days we were there. As a side note, my old Bushmaster M-4 and fairly new Kimber Stainless II functioned flawlessly throughout the entire week. We were shooting Brown Bear ammo in the M-4s and I used Sellier & Bellot ammo in my 45. Gwynne had magazine issues with her Bushmaster M-4 where they did not want to lock in. Of course her Glock ran just fine.

Our instructors were absolutely top notch! I can not praise these two guys enough. One, Jason Falla, was from the ADF Australian Defense Force, the other, Chad Moorman, was an x-Seal Team member. They could shoot like nothing I have seen before! Monday morning was spent in the classroom with lectures on safety (obviously), the evolution of the Colt AR-15 into today’s modern and more reliable M-4 versions, ballistics of the .223 round, shooting techniques, tactics, etc. Monday afternoon was spent zeroing in our rifles at 50 yards (mine was previously zeroed at 25 yards) which gives a second zero at 200 yards. We did this from the prone position on granite chunks the size of ping pong balls. Yeh it was miserable trying to get a good solid shooting platform digging your elbows in and rolling around on the lumps of gravel and expended shell casings. Monday afternoon ended in a cold drizzle as we were finishing up our practice.
Believe me the days all blended together as we learned the proper carry positions and how to mount the gun from each. We also learned in a hurry about any deficiencies in our gear. My big problem was my new Vickers two-point sling would not cooperate. This was especially a problem transitioning from rifle to pistol and back again to rifle. By Thursday I’d had enough and bought a new single-point mount and sling, which the armorer installed free of charge. Speaking of the armorers, whenever any student had a weapons failure the instructors called the armory and a van showed up with the tools and a man to fix it on the spot. Within minutes the class was back up and running.
We performed all sorts of drills with the rifle and pistol combo from 7 yards to 400 yards. My eyes (my prescription glasses do not fit under my shooting glasses) precluded me from hitting anything at 400 yards. Gwynne managed to hit the steel targets 30% of her shots at 400 yards despite the fact we were among the minority using iron sights instead of optics. I had some good hits at 300 yards. The instructors said ballistically beyond 200 yards the .223 round was not an effective killer anyway. We did moving and turning and shooting, then moving, turning, and shooting while continuing to walk, frontwards or backwards. They progressed us pretty quickly because they said we were more advanced than some groups that take this course. Altogether there were only 9 of us which also helped speed things up. Sometimes at the end of the day we would divide into two groups and have friendly competitions. Gwynne and I stuck together all week, as you might have guessed. She was the youngest and I was the oldest student.
The instructors had no qualms about picking on us and driving us to do better. By Thursday I was shooting great with my Kimber 45ACP. By Friday it was gone again as I began to tire a little and loose that sharp edge. Jason asked to see my Kimber and nailed a foot square target at 75 yards off-hand, dead center. He said "this is the most accurate pistol here, but not in dave’s hands" and we all had a good laugh. Most of the other guys were shooting 9mm Glocks, what else, a few had Beretta and Browning 9mms. It was funny to hear their rounds go "tink" against the steel while my 45s went "Clank". That was funny until Jason said to load up the pistols with "only" 10 rounds. I held up my seven round mag and he said, "Gee that sucks for you dave" So I loaded two mags and went with it. Tactical reloads were a big part of the training for both rifle and pistol. You learned in a hurry how to drop an empty mag and get the gun running again. I never had this sort of training in 1968 before I went off to Vietnam. Another good lesson was how to clear malfunctions and when to forget it and go straight to pistol. For example we had to fire 2 round to the body and one to the head, then transition to our pistol and shoot one to the body, I think it was in 6 seconds or less! We also did night shooting using flashlights. Hmmm, no one mentioned this in the literature. Luckily we both had flashlights but they were not weapon mounted like everyone else. So we had to shoot the rifle and/or pistol one handed and hold our flashlights with the other hand. It was close range, as if we were clearing a house, but it was still tough. One of my favorite drills was running up to a "threat" slowing to fire off 5 rounds while walking, charging off to hit another, and a third. Then you took cover behind a wall, fired five pistol shots and reloaded your rifle to shoot at a moving target at about 50 yards. These were all supposed to be for combat accuracy too, not just spraying bullets down range. The typical target area was an 8 inch circle at closer ranges, 12x18 inches for the long range shots.
Wednesday we trained in driving rain and near-sleet conditions. It was miserable especially working prone but that’s life. We adapted and persevered. Of course that would be the same day we came back and did the night shooting. The entire course was interspersed with excellent range-side lectures and explanations of what we were doing and why. Good honest up-to-date information based on what is being practiced now in Afghanistan and Iraq, not old-fashioned methods. They emphasized that everything was subject to change if a better method was discovered. I cannot begin to tell you how much I gained from this class. Confidence in my weapon, improvements to my gear and my shooting are a given. But I also learned more about the tactics and thought processes of running a carbine.
We were treated well by everyone, from the moment we arrived at the front gate, to the moment we left. If you see a Blackwater class you think is interesting, go for it. Life is too short not to. If ever I were to go into combat again I’d pray to have optics and guys like Jason and Chad backing me up. Thanks for everything guys!

When Am I Going to Learn?

Well I just wasted another $40 on a DVD by one of the top-rated knife instructors. (I’ll tell you right up front it wasn’t James Keating, because in my opinion he is one of the few true artisans of the blade, or my friend Pete Kautz.) This instructor’s book was highly rated on a knife forum I belong to so when I found a copy of the material on DVD I bought it.
I was enjoying the DVD up to the point where the instructor demonstrated the basic grips. He is a proponent of the saber and hammer grip, which is fine. But then he half-heartedly demos the reverse grip and gives some BS reason for why it was developed and then flipping a few expletives he dismisses it as being stupid and useless, unless you are attacked by someone wearing bamboo armor. Ok so he doesn’t like the reverse grip I get the message. In my opinion that makes his understanding two-dimensional. His prejudice may someday leave him wide open to an attack by a skilled reverse grip fighter.
As I continued on through the video I was not seeing anything especially new. He brags about "spending all of 3 minutes" on footwork and grips. Must be he figures we are either too stupid, or the moves are too simple, to waste his time on them. Next, I guess to add some classicism, he says against a slash or thrust you can use a technique called In-Quartata. As a side note he credits John Steyer for it. Well John Steyer learned it from Anthony Drexel-Biddle, who learned it from his fencing master, who learned it from, etc. etc. Then this instructor doesn’t even bother to perform this 300 year old technique correctly. Maybe we are just supposed to figure that out too. By the way In-Quartata was designed to be used against a thrust not a slashing attack. The instructor has a preference for an almost square stance, saying that blading your body places your rear ankle at risk of folding under. That is because his rear foot is not properly positioned. If he had trained with those idiots in bamboo armor he would have learned that. Standing square-on is markedly the weakest possible stance to defend against a frontal rushing attack.
I guess it depends on what level the buyer of the DVD happens to be, but this guy’s attitude seems unnecessarily dismissive. Lets be honest, any time an artist sells books, DVDs, or lessons he is merchandizing his art, myself included. Therefore we need to properly serve our paying customers not insult them. This is the real root of this blog/rant: rudeness, condescension, profanity, arrogance, machismo. Why is it so many notable knife instructors feel they need to act this way? Do they believe this makes them more fearsome or masterful appearing? Arghh when will I learn? The knife work that Gwynne and I do is every bit as effective and in many ways more advanced than what is on this DVD. I have not intimidated any of my students lately that I know of, and I certainly have not felt a need to punctuate my lessons with colorful expletives. Maybe this is why I am still not enshrined in the halls of rich and famous instructors.
For my simple skills I am indebted to my instructors, Hanshi Juchnik, Sensei Bob Cook, Masahiro Tsukedate, Sensei Yagyu Koichi, Sensei Ron Long, my training partners, and most especially my warrior daughter! If you want to see what we teach, buy a copy of our book "The Rhythm of One" or come visit us. I promise you, no profanities, and no photos of us dressed in camouflage BDUs or ninja-esque outfits.

A Holy Pilgrimage

Life goes on and one can only hope that those is power search their souls and do what is right and not simply what is expedient or favorable to their own ends. Power is a drug, a dangerous addiction, I wrote the following blog a few months ago related to power of another type. I hope you enjoy it.

A Holy Pilgrimage

Many years ago I set out on a holy pilgrimage to find the pure warrior. I am still in search of both the ideal and the man. I know that from where I stand I have a long path yet to walk and that I personally fall far short of the ideal. My search has led me to several mentors and instructors, books and videos, and Internet forums.
I have queried other men and women, martial artists, religious, and otherwise. None of them have seen the pure warrior either. In the long arduous process I have found many fools and profilers who thought they qualified. Following the thorny heroes’ path revealed many of the things that ultimately caused me to disqualify them. I have shared some of the same faults and these have sullied my quest, tarnished my armor.
My Abbot once told me, "Never give a sword to a man who cannot dance." In my younger years I assumed this had everything to do with coordination or physical balance. It is amazing how youth sees so clearly, even if not accurately. This old Celtic proverb is about balance, but not the physical type. As I find myself aging and needing stronger prescription glasses it is ironic how much clearer I see some things, things of the inner heart. As Miyamoto Musashi said in his seminal work The Book of Five Rings, there are two types of sight, kan and ken. One is physical, the other is intuitive, and the latter is by far the more powerful. It is the second sight that I more recently find myself reverting to.
As I grudgingly pass 60 years of age, I am also beginning to realize that the pure warrior may not be endowed with 20/20 vision, a set of taut abdominals, and bulging pectorals. His walk may be a little tottery at times, but his balance remains impeccable. The pure warrior’s hearing, although dulled by age, clearly hears the movement of eternity ticking in his ears. He can still swing a sword lively and deftly side-slip any sword cut. His attacker never sees him move, and only the pressure of the master’s sword against his flesh informs him of the folly of his ways.
In a sense it is all about balance! As we bustle through our youth we swing from one extreme to another, pushing and shoving trying to expand exponentially. Like a boat rocketing down a river gorge we are raw emotion and energy. Over time we learn how to modulate the swings and find a sense of balance and moderation in our life. (At least most of us do.) As our reserve of energy diminishes we see that taking the path between the rocks is easier than bouncing off them or grinding over the top of them. In our youthful esprit when our karate instructor tells us that to be fast you need to be soft, smooth, and flowing, we nod yes and continue to move as fast as our bio-mechanics will allow. Our inter-personal actions often reflect the same jerky, quick to ire, non-flowing actions. We tend to enter into and carry out our personal relationships in an equally brusque fashion, without grace or elan. In fact, elan does not enter into our vocabulary until later in life, and until we age a little we do not have the faintest idea of real balance or power. Balance and power require more than application of force. The Japanese refer to it as Bun and Bu, the combination of fine arts and war. The Celt also knew that the pure warrior had to be able to dance, compose rhyme, perhaps carve wood or form calligraphy.
Up until his death, the best students in the Nagoya Yagyu kai, some of them in their sixties, took great pride in testing their skills against the unbeatable master, Yagyu Nobuharu. Over seventy years of practice had embued Yagyu Sensei with perfect timing. The sword cuts of its own accord without the need of excessive power, and the master’s task is to simply guide it on its path. When speed and power had begun to leave him, his intuitive sight and his exquisite sense of timing and distance still enabled him to defeat men many years younger. I think that there, within the frail body of Yagyu Nobuharu, beat the imposing heart and immovable spirit of a pure warrior. Even unto his end, I bet you would never have gotten Nobuharu sensei to admit to being anything other than a student, also in search of the pure warrior.

The Death of Liberty

It is with deep regret that I awaken to find the death of the American ideal. Political pundits said the health care vote would reveal whether congressmen were more afraid of their leaders or their electorate. The answer is in and Socialism and the Thugocracy of the new Administration have "won" a tainted victory. The last great bastion of human freedom and liberty was given a mortal blow by the very people who swore to defend it. America is dead, long live the american dream.

This is for all of the traitors in Washington DC who have forgotten what every school child learned when I was in grade school. No praises to a false messiah, no votes taken in the dark of night, just a firm belief in what was right and just.

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands,

one nation under God, indivisible,

with Liberty and Justice for all.

Don't forget to thank a Veteran for your Freedom and all of the gallant men and women in uniform today.

The Edge of Functionality, Part 2

I’ve carried knives since I was maybe eight years old and I used them daily for chores and play. Fast forward five decades to today. To understand how a knife cuts, the first thing I needed to understand was the arc that a knife blade travels. In my mind I envisioned it as a parabola, but how to determine if that was correct. Taking a black marker, held crossways in my palm, and a large sheet of paper I made a "cut" along it. In fact I made several passes to ensure I had established a natural and repeatable line of motion. Voila! It was a parabola. The red ink marker lines indicate a makeshift blade tip following the same basic cutting arc as my hand.
In our first book, The Rhythm of One, we described many different cuts:

snap cuts
push cuts
chopping cuts
continuous cutting
power slashes

For now I want to concentrate only on the psycho style power slash. We may discuss the other cuts in subsequent posts. For openers, the power slash will be most effective if it hits the target at the apex of the parabola or just after passing the apex. This point of travel coincides with the highest velocity of the blade. This is also where the knife rounds the corner, so to speak. For those of you who are martial artists, imagine the velocity of an ura ken (back knuckle strike) and how the snapping back of the fist is faster than the striking out. This is important to visualize as I will explain later under the topic of tip speed.
The focus of "The Edge of Functionality, Part 1 & 2" is defining the correct "approach angle" that should be used with each of the three knives described in Part One. I hope the following sketches will provide added clarity.

Knife Example Number 1:
Knife example number one is the straight edged Morris tanto. As this blade approaches the target the tip should be cocked back slightly positing the blade at nearly 90 degrees to the target (and coincidentally about ninety degrees to your arm). Your arm, as it rounds the apex of the parabola beginning its retraction, imparts a curved movement to the straight blade. If by mistake, you strike the target at any angle approaching 180 degrees, blade extended straight out, a straight edge will tend to "bump" into the target and may chop through (if its really sharp) or (not being sharp) will bounce off rather than cut. Practice will quickly show you that the straight edged blade is the least forgiving of the three concerning the approach angle used for cutting.

Example Number 2:
Knife example number two is a good neutral blade design, more flexible in the way it is used. Therefore this would be the best choice for a beginner or someone who is less interested in studying cutting dynamics and more interested in general utility purposes.
The Blackhawk™ Tatang’s medium curved blade makes cutting almost effortless. (I say almost because you still have to worry about a thing called hasuji.) You will note in these three sketches that as blade curvature increases, the approach angle also increases. This is what keeps the tip buried in the target rather than allowing it to pull out. The nearly vertical angle used with the Morris tanto becomes a nearly zero angle with DJ’s extremely curved fighter, example number three. Successfully cutting with that increasing curvature makes the arc of the blade and the hand become more parallel, ie following the same path.

Knife Example Number 3:
Number one and three establish the extreme design limits. Example number three has the most extreme curvature. The best approach angle for cutting with this knife is the one found to be least effective with a straight edged blade. As your blade approaches the target, the highly curved blade and your arm should be nearly in alignment with the blade cocked very little, if any. If you cock this blade back during the cut it is possible that the tip will never even come into contact with the target. This is because the blade edge, and the tip in particular, will be drawn away from the target as your arm rounds the curve and begins to retract. This will become painfully obvious in test cutting when, despite being within physical range, your knife fails to cut completely through the target. You keep moving closer but because your blade is cocked you continue to have problems cutting. Straighten out your arm/wrist and see what happens. In the next blog I will address hasuji and tip speed in more detail.

Not an Inch to Spare

I have nearly finished the sketches for part 2 but I wanted to share these photos with you. These shots explain why precise targeting and using the correct angle are important. The other major factor is having a high quality knife like this little Shobu by Gary Bradburn.

Prior to making this cut I stood the pool noodle upright on the dojo floor and cleanly severed it with a cut from my Hogosha, a larger Bradburn Shobu. Then, on a whim, I stood up one of the remaining halves (free standing) and to my student’s surprise made this kesa cut with the little Shobu. As you can see by the photos of the blade, there is not an inch to spare. Too close or a little too far back and I would not have made the cut. As we continue to explore cutting we are going to start using more challenging targets but for now we are trying to perfect our technique. Part 2 of "On The Edge of Functionality" shortly, I promise!

Check out our website

While I am working on the drawings for part II don’t forget to check out our White Shadow Security website for great prices on custom tactical knives and Hanwei swords at http://www.whiteshadowsecurity.com/ The Spartan Blades knives, Vipers and ITACS are terriffic fighting knives and we still have a few Cobras available.

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On The Edge of Functionality, Part 1

How does a knife cut? I suppose that sounds like a stupid question! OK then explain it to me. How does a knife’s edge sever solid materials and divide atoms? We can attempt to resolve that question later, for right now let’s talk about how differently shaped blades perform.
Reason would suggest that a curved blade will always out-cut a straight one. If that is so, then why will a high quality German longsword with a straight tapered blade cleave targets as cleanly as a gently curved katana? Explain that to me and we’ll be getting somewhere. I go into greater detail about this in my next book but let’s give it some thought. So, I’ll give you three good examples to consider.

Example #1 is a tanto made by a man named Morris. It is a quarter inch thick slab of steel ground to a fine, but absolutely straight, edge. My first impression of this knife was that you could pry open a bank vault with it but it would be a reluctant cutter. By golly it cuts pool noodles cleanly. I have never touched up the edge and it had seen some use prior to my buying it. Another thing about this knife is that the handle is also straight, which makes the knife swing like a tire iron. But it still cuts.

Example #2 is a mini-barong shaped knife that Blackhawk™ calls the Tatang. The Tatang blade is broad but flat ground and given a coarse black coating of some sort. I would rate this as a moderately curved blade. Does it cut? Does Superman wear a cape? This relatively inexpensive, commercially made knife cuts like there’s no tomorrow. It is one of the few knives that I have been able to make clean yoko giri (horizontal cuts) with. The first time I did yoko giri I amazed myself. The handle shape increases the cutting power but that is a topic for another post.
Example #3 illustrates a knife with an extreme curve. While not as extreme as a Derespina karambit or my Laci Szabo Kamaitachi, it still has a very radical curve. This knife is by far the sharpest of the three. It is chisel ground and razor sharp. Made by D.J. Urbanovsky this is one wicked fighter. The interesting thing is, I have a terrible time cutting with it! Yeh, I have a problem cutting pool noodles with this knife. No it is not the knife’s fault.
It all comes down to something, which for a lack of a better term, I call approach angle. This is the angle at which the user delivers the blade relative to the target. I know there are a lot of angles, which one am I talking about. Let’s assume that all of my cuts are at 30 degrees off the vertical, like doing tameshigiri. The approach angle I am talking about is related to the way the knife is positioned in your hand and the angle of your wrist. It’s a bit complicated so I’m going to post this for now and let you think about it. In the meantime I will try to make a drawing that illustrates what I consider the ideal approach angle for different blade shapes. So think about it and we’ll get back to this topic shortly. When we do I’ll also explain how the curvature of the blade on our Cobra is, by happenstance, right at the limits of functionality.

Living in the Age of Fear:

Read this while you still can.

This is a follow-up to my earlier blog about an impending storm. I hoped things would change and I would have no cause to post this. Do you remember my intimation of something amiss? When a storm is approaching I get a tightness in my gut that tells me to beware. Well the clouds over our nation keep getting darker.

"There's something happening here What it is ain't exactly clear There's a man with a gun over there Telling me I got to beware I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it will creep. It starts when you're always afraid. You step out of line, the man come and take you away"

These Lyrics, from the song "For What Its Worth" by Buffalo Springfield echoed public concerns of a heightening police state in the 1960s. The rising state of paranoia, on both sides of the "street," was in response to civil unrest over the ongoing, and very unpopular, Vietnam War. The military draft and government corruption fanned the fires of discontent. Hard lines were being drawn and radical groups like the SDS (Students for Democratic Society), Weathermen, FSM (Free Speech Movement) and Black Panthers rose in violent opposition to increasing government intrusion into, and control over, our lives. Are there any parallels here? Does any of this sound familiar? There is a subtle difference. Instead of trying to tear the government down from the outside, many of these same people are working inside the government today. They have never given up their crusade and they still want to destroy our government and our way of life.

On a positive note, today our fear has a color chart. What terror threat level are we at today: Yellow, Orange, or Red? As you know, in 2001 a handful of terrorists provided our leaders with the opportunity to create/enlarge the shadow government accountable only to the inner circle of the White House. Wait what’s that sound? This is America! What are we afraid of? We have ICE, DHS, DEA, DEC, FBI, CIA, NSA, NSC, INS, TSA and the list goes on, all dedicated to protecting us. Protecting us from whom or what? Try Googling "government agencies" and see what you find. My short list does not include your local Police, State Police, Air Marshals, Federal Marshals, Sheriffs, Texas Rangers, Park Police, and dozens of other agencies I have overlooked. Yet we are afraid, and we worry that if "You step out of line, the man come and take you away."

The lines of freedom are becoming narrower day by day. When legislators pass bills into law and never wrote or read them, stepping out of line might happen innocently. No one can possibly know all of the laws, regulations, and ordinances that now rule over the very minutiae of our lives. When we go through airports, cross borders, enter government buildings, drive through police road check points, we have no idea what laws we may be breaking or who is watching us, and innocent or not, fear begins to rise up in us like bile. How can this be happening in the Home of the Free and the Land of the Brave? Didn’t we win the cold war against dictators and repression? Or did tearing down the Berlin Wall simply allow the contagion of fear and repression to spread around the world?

Are our phones tapped? Is this blog being monitored for anti-American sentiment? Am I on someone’s hit list as an extremist radical? Why should I have cause to ask these questions? Maybe because now there is a public hot line so you can email the White House to report malcontents and misfits like me. It is shameful that promises of free speech, transparency, accountability in government, and bi-partisanship in congress have, within a brief six months, been ground under the heels of Chicago style thugs. But here we are, living in the shadow of fear. Bills like the Bush's Patriot Act were designed to protect us from a handful of Islamic extremists. Now we find ourselves monitored, ruled, and regulated by the Orc-like Czars, advisors, and the minions of the president and the goons of The Department of Homeland Security, who abuse this power to intimidate us.

Storm Clouds are building and there is an electric charge in the air. People are listening, standing in the streets. "What’s that sound?" I pray it is the sound of the American soul awakening. I think we are only beginning to have some small idea of how the Jewish people felt living under the brooding skies of Nazi Germany. "I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound Everybody look what's going down………". My gut tells me there is definitely a storm coming down.

One Giant Step, Hisshou:

The CRKT Hisshou:

Just when I had decided not to buy any knives for awhile a package showed up at the door. It was a pre-ordered Hisshou from CRKT. I had truly forgotten it was coming, although my wife didn’t believe that. Now that its here I am wondering, "Why did I order this?"
It is a very nicely made knife and a capable combat weapon. The only problem is its really big! Sure the dimensions were given in the advertisement and I should have paid more attention. Would I send it back? No of course not. It is a superb fighting knife. I am just warning you to pay attention to what it says in the Ad. The sweeping twelve inch blade is wonderfully ground and polished. The blade has a deep ¼" tori sori. The only thing missing is a traditional hibaki (blade collar). The tsuka is fitted with a finely detailed wave decorated fuchi, covered in black ray skin, and then cord wrapped. Despite the foot long blade the Hisshou’s overall balance is quite nice.

I seldom like commercial sheaths, and as you can imagine, I don’t like this sheath a lot. It exhibits excellent quality and it will work well strapped onto your rucksack. What I would like to see is an optional, kydex lined, leather sheath that could be slipped into your waistband. This sheath is approximately twice as wide as the blade! We have gotten accustomed to these monstrosities, which bear no resemblance to a graceful traditional tanto sheath. Like the Hissatsu sheath this one is intended to be worn with the blade edge up and the mouth of the sheath is designed so that the knife can be aligned and inserted one handed. The Hisshou also came with a high quality fitted wooden box.
This is the Japanese counterpart to Cold Steel’s Natchez Bowie. My final take is that I really like the knife. It could have been smaller, maybe a nine inch blade, somewhere between this size and the Hissatsu. Maybe James Williams will introduce one in that size later. As always, great design work from James and top workmanship from CRKT. So if you want a big intimidating cutter, this is it.

The Essential Ricasso

Some incredible Bowies are being turning out today. The guidance and support of the American Bladesmith’s Society and the Knifemakers Guild have enabled many aspiring knifemakers to rise to a level of unprecedented excellence. Not surprisingly, many of these makers’ Bowie knives reflect a shared lineage. The up-side of this is a generation of well forged knives with very good proportions and refined aesthetics. The downside is a certain lack of individuality.
I am not sure how many of these knife-makers are also knife-users. How many of them work with or train with the knives they make? I would love to take a poll. But this blog focuses on a single part of the whole knifemaking/shaping process, the ricasso. If you are not a knife user then the ricasso is probably of minimal interest to you. Many see it as simply a place for the maker to stamp his name. The arched recess ground or forged into the lower part of some ricasso is referred to as a choil. The choil works like a finger groove extended past the guard and onto the blade.
There are situations in knife-work where it is very desirable to slip your forefinger around the guard and on to the ricasso. For example, if you are up against a martial artist who likes to employ kicks and you need an extra firm grip. Another reason for using the choked-up grip is if your hands are wet, the handle is slippery, or you are just afraid of dropping the knife. Large Bowies also tend to have a weight-forward balance that quickly tires your hand and may cause you to lose your grip. The choked up grip acts and feels like using a sub-hilt knife.

A fair majority of modern Bowies and fighters have ricasso less than 3/4 inch long. The maker’s name may fit but it does not provide enough space to fit your finger. If you look at the Bowie knives in the photo you will quickly see which ones can accommodate the choked-up grip and which ones cannot. Even with a choil, extending the razor sharp edge all the way to the ricasso makes using a choked-up grip risky. Very little cutting is performed at the extreme back edge of the blade and therefore it would be more useful if the last inch had the edge dubbed off. The problem is, if your knife has a too-small choil you cannot just Dremel™ it out bigger. That’s right we’re talking about grinding on that $600 fighting knife you just bought. While it only takes a couple minutes with a stone or diamond hone to dub off the sharp edge, what are you going to do about the lack of a ricasso? There is a limited solution. Lacking a ricasso, you can invert the knife, primary edge facing upward and place your pointer finger on the back edge of the blade wrapped around the guard. This does change the way the knife feels and sits in your hand but it is an option. In fact, this was a method commonly used by seasoned Bowie knife fighters in the olden days.
Experienced knifemakers like Mike Sturman, Steven Tedford, and Gary Bradburn know the value of a useable ricasso and/or a choil. Mike and Gary are military veterans and know something about handling a fighting knife. Matt Lamey obliged me by adding space for my finger when he forged a fighter for me. Anyway, it is something to think about before ordering your next custom fighter.

By the way, find a good instructor and really learn how to use that knife, then you’ll appreciate the essential ricasso.

Derespina Keris, Kriss etc.

Wandering around the internet one day I came across a very neat little Kriss (keris) by Richard Derespina. Unfortunately it was already sold and no more were available.

Having bought karambits from Richard I emailed him and asked about the production status of this design. He was so busy with custom karambit orders it looked like I had a long wait ahead of me.
Lo and behold a few days ago I got an email from Rich and one of the items for sale was a Kriss with a kydex sheath just like I wanted. It took me all of five minutes to email back and ask him if it was still available. He replied that it was and the deal was sealed. Since it was the July Fourth Weekend he couldn’t get it mailed out that day but within 5 days I had the knife in my sweaty little hand.
Ground out of ¼ inch thick steel it is a wicked blade. The grind lines on this 5 inch blade are absolutely perfect from side to side, no easy task on a Kriss. Considering the steep bevels required by this double grind, the blade is quite sharp. Certainly a Kriss is intended more for thrusting, than cutting, but a sharp edge is always nice to have. It feels almost weightless. Maybe because the full thickness of the steel under the handle slabs balances the knife far back in the hand. G-10 handles are nicely grooved and held in place with two countersunk fasteners. Now I am thinking how neat would it be to have a similar knife but with an eight inch blade. Rich is ready to make it. All I have to do is give him the word and a small pile of money. (Rich's prices are very reasonable for the quality of his work)

To own a truly tactical, functional Keris has always been a passion of mine. As most of you know traditional Keris, like the one in the photo, are seldom sharp, usually have rounded tips, and the handles just push onto a very tiny rat-tail tang. Not exactly what one would consider the best traits for a fighting knife.

Rich always makes really neat stuff and this Kriss is just one more example of his exceptional knife making skills. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go look for that pile of money for a bigger kriss.

The Great Lie

We are fighting to "Make the world safe for Democracy." These words meant very little to me in 11th grade back in 1964 when my father was preparing to go to Vietnam. I still remember how we watched TV and laughed at odd sounding names no one had heard before, villages and hamlets in far off places. Letters from Vietnam trickled in with messages like "today we had 12 KIA." As she read the letter out loud my Dad’s mother laughed at the word kia until I explained to her it meant Killed In Action. A few years later I was writing my own letters from DaNang: describing the landscape, the war and the people. They were a beautiful people that we were killing to "Make THE world safe for Democracy." Killing and dying, some 35,000 of us and hundreds of thousands of them. Was it really to set them free, make them safe?

It is nearly July Fourth 2009, our Independence Day, and we are pulling our troops out of one war and sending them off to another. Isn’t democracy safe yet? How much blood must flow to stem the tide of what: communism, socialism, terrorism? In the process of "winning" these wars against "isms" we have destroyed most of our democracy here at home. I am a patriot, but once again by God I do not, cannot believe we are fighting a righteous war. Carry in your heart this holiday, and the days to come, the torch of Freedom and the spirit of Independence.

God bless our troops, and guide our nation, as we stumble drunkenly down a dark and bloody road to a destiny as yet unrevealed, but subliminally dreaded. Beware, another great lie is in the making and history being repeated.
Written by David Decker, Instructor, White Shadow Dojo.

A Classic Fighting Knife

A Classic Fighting Knife:

Undoubtedly Bo Randall was one of the most formative knifemakers of the past 60 years. Bo's Model One was the iconic fighting kife of the 1940-60s. This knife, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a Mod. 1, was made by Kurt Zahm of Indiatlantic, Fla. The resemblance to Bo Randall’s best known creation is unmistakable. A lot of knifemakers today get apoplectic if anyone even makes something vaguely resembling one of their knives. Having designed a few knives I sympayhize with them. But, you should understand that knives are, for the most part, unprotected by copyright laws. I rather think Bo would be flattered by this high quality rendition. Shown with the Zahm is my Kimber Sainless II.
Here is the description as given by the seller. "The 440C stainless steel blade length is 8" and the overall knife length is 13". The blade thickness on this knife is just shy of 1/4" and the blade width is 1-1/4". This is a large knife. The blade is marked ZAHM on the left side, just in front of the double brass guard. The handle is nicely sculpted from a piece of dark maroon Westinghouse Micarta which is set off with some black, white and brick colored spacers where the handle joins the guard. There is a brass tube thong hole in the butt section. A natural colored leather sheath with a pocket for a sharpening stone is included and this pocket contains the original unused sharpening stone."
Typical of most 440C blades it is sharp but not scary sharp. While the knife is solidly built and suitable for serious combat duty it appears to have remained unused. Story has it that it came from a Priest’s collection. The exquisitely shaped handle is reminiscent of Bo’s Border Patrol grip and comfortably fits my hand. I am glad to have this knife in my collection and to share it here with you. I offer my compliments to Mr. Zahm for his design choice and the very high quality of his work.

A Life Too Short

Funny how things work out sometimes. When I did the blog for Craig Edens I could not find the photo I wanted even after searching through dozens of CDs. Then as Gwynne was cleaning off our Dell computer there was the folder with the photos I was looking for. Craig is the smaller person on the right as you look at the photo (Matt Drehmer is the other student). In retrospect I wish I had taken more photos but I could never get all of the students to class at the same time. Anyway, now that I found this photo I want to share it and a few thoughts with you.
Some of the people we meet in life are for specific reasons. Sometimes those reasons are apparent sometimes they are not. Coming from a very ancient faith system I believe that we often meet people we have known previously from another life or time. People are like magnets. When the poles are correctly aligned wonderful things happen. When they are opposed, well things just don’t click. Craig was on a short-list of people I was sure had entered my life before and we just clicked. He was familiar to me like a younger brother and we shared many of the same interests. He was very interested in Art and Shamanism. At his age I had already missed an opportunity to go to Art School and during the time we were training together I was reading a book about indigenous peoples and their folk magic. Craig was obviously a student of the martial way, training with myself in kenjutsu and with another sensei in Shorin ryu Karate-do. In fact the katana Craig is holding in the picture was built from a blade he bought from me and then mounted himself.
Unfortunately Craig was our second sword student to die in a car accident. I guess the same consuming passion that fuels a young person’s desire to learn the way of the sword is the same one that causes them to climb cliffs, jump from airplanes, explore caves, and drive too fast. They believe they are invincible. I still remember when I felt that way, don’t you?

Humility

The Japanese sword is the perfection of the sword-makers art, at least according to one forum "expert." In response to the suggestion that maybe, just maybe, there were other swords of merit and other legitimate martial arts that were not Asian he continued on to say, "I’ve been in the martial arts for 25 years, but I suppose you mall ninjas know it all."

This was his abrasive and condescending slam of a fellow member of the forum. This expert might be shocked to know that some of the Asian martial arts are not much more than 25 years old. That is no reason to knock them if they are truly martial. The more important point I would like to make is that because a person has been doing an art for 25 years is no guarantee that he is any good at it.

Here is my take on this squabble. A man who has spent 25 years learning an Asian martial art and has not learned humility has learned nothing! It would have been better if he had spent those 25 years learning how to fight with a tire iron or a beer bottle. That way his ignorance would not reflect on his teachers and his art. This martial artist needs a lesson in Keigo.
(keigo, literally "respectful language"). The more advanced a student is, the more he should naturally refrain from insulting or degrading a fellow student, even those of lesser rank or skill. Unfortunately this example is not an uncommon attitude. Whether it grows out of a belt/ranking/status system, or out of simple arrogance is hard to determine. It doesn’t really matter because it is unwarranted and completely counter to the basic principals of the Tao or Zen based Asian martial arts.

Concerning lessons in humility, I am reminded of the sign said to hang over the sword polisher’s shop visited by Miyamoto Musashi. Supposedly the sign read, "I polish men’s Souls." The cranky shop owner refused to accept Musashi’s sword for rework until Musashi learned the critical difference between a samurai’s duty and gratuitous killing. Even though Musashi was an undefeated swordsman it seems he still had much to learn. This lesson, coming from a local craftsman, must have seriously stung Musashi's pride. I can honestly say I have played with knives for over 50 years and I think I am finally beginning to understand them. As I told my good friend and knifemaker Gary Bradburn, I wish I had started seriously training in knife fighting 30 years ago. I might have become good at it! Anyone know of a job opening for a humble old knife-fighter?

Never Take a Knife to a Gunfight

Never Take a Knife to a Gunfight:

"Never take a knife to a gunfight," how many times have you heard this sage advice? What is the contemporary wisdom concerning Knife vs Gun? Fact: a bullet, shot from any firearm, bores a tiny hole through the air. Less than a half inch in diameter, that hole may extend in a liner fashion for hundreds or thousands of yards. But, if it has missed you, by even the smallest of margins, it has missed you forever. It will not twist sideways or come flying at you from another direction (excluding a ricochet). Compare the bullet’s flight to a knife’s slash. The keen edge of a good fighting knife is infinitely thin but seldom does it travel in one nice straight line. A blade driven in as a thrust may suddenly cut sideways, disemboweling its victim. The blade may extend out in a long slash, and failing to reach you, stop in mid-flight to reverse its direction and stab you through the throat or heart. A knife is not a linear weapon in the same way a bullet is. A knife will cut a curving swath a foot wide and several feet long and then instantly and unexpectedly return along the same path or a completely different path. If you look real close at the photo you can find the bullet. Look at the bullet, look at the knife, and you decide. At 5 yards, seven yards, maybe 25 yards I'd start getting comfortable with the bullet but remember it only travels in a straight line and God help you if you miss. (By the way I’m still working on my trigger pull.)

The skilled knifer will use feints to draw you into his true attack. Try executing a feint with a bullet. Once released, your bullet cannot be redirected or recalled, nor can its impact energy be controlled. A bullet is a mindless killer. In the hands of a skilled practitioner a knife can merely prick or powerfully puncture, it can lightly touch or terminate, all at the discretion of the user. Within its circle of engagement the knife is unexcelled. The uneducated defender may assume that the knifer’s circle of engagement is only a few short feet, but an attacker possessing even moderate skills can quickly extend his reach to a dozen feet or more. That is what our upcoming book is all about, extending your fighting range and expanding your knowledge.

Knife Class

Monday Nights Knife Class:
Since I started this class a few people have already come and gone. Learning to use a knife is not glamorous. It is not a spiritual experience, although you can be a spiritual person and still learn this art. The men who are training with me now have good reason to do so and they have approached it with the right attitude. They understand that it is better to never enter into any confrontation, but when it is absolutely necessary, then it would be best to not jump straight to a firearm. The knife gives them one more tool in their skills set.

The knife art I teach at the White Shadow Dojo is completely eclectic. It is the result of personal training I received from good people like Bob Cook Sensei and Hanshi Bruce Juchnik. My art also comes from studying rapier manuals of the 16th century and small sword manuals from the 18th century, DVDs from Pete Kautz and James Keating. Some of the moves are derived from the fencing instruction I received locally from my good friend Maestro Steve Wilson. There are all sorts of ingredients that went into the stew I teach. The one thing they all have in common is that if they are too contrived or too complicated they get eliminated. If it takes more than three steps to achieve a strike then there is something that needs to be removed.

I try to teach each individual differently, based on their stature, experience, and the knife they intend to carry. Over a period of time I am sure they will select several different EDC knives therefore certain common techniques are taught to everyone. For example, how to enter into range, how to transition safely from inside to outside, and of course the classical angles of slashing and thrusting.

I am very happy with this small band of brothers. We are all learning together. Them, how to use a knife, and myself, how to refine and better teach what I already know. You cannot ask for much more than that. And lest I forget, thanks Gwynne for the many precious hours you invested training with me.

inventory update

Hi folks.

Here is a web inventory update. Almost all of our indonesian knives are gone and we will not be replacing them due to supply problems. If you want something please let us know soon! We have more Cobras coming both blasted and black blade versions. They just keep getting better as Brent refines the design.
The Hogosha is GONE!! Honestly you missed one heck of a knife. If you are interested in a pair of chinese swords contact me for an unbelieveable price break. They are new and I originally bought them for myself but I am still too attached to kenjutsu to spend the time learning Chinese sword. I am also going to list a couple hand-forged primitive bowies that are great quality but not highly polished. Again email me for particulars and get a great price before I put them on the website. We still have a few of the ITAC knives left as well. These are top of the line fighting knives that are attractive and fully tactical. I own two of them myself.

If you want a good investment buy an ITAC or one of our reasonably priced Hanwei swords. I wish my 401K held its value half as well.

Re-Defining Sharp!

Lets talk about sharp for a few minutes.

I recently bought a new Matt Lamey knife. He calls it the "Urban Fighter." I had been wandering around on the web looking for a small easily carried Bowie for EDC and this fit the bill. Sure I can slip a Hells Belle or another large Bowie inside my waistband and make it work, but it is not always practical nor comfortable. Upon first opening the package I was a little disappointed. It was a small Bowie. Well that was exactly what I was looking for, and once I readjusted to that fact, I began to appreciate the details. The Urban Fighter is a very sweet piece of workmanship with a stout, flat ground blade handled with a gorgeous piece of Desert Ironwood. One of Matt’s finely shaped and fitted steel guards provides the requisite hand protection. Carefully checking the edge I was shocked by the sharpness of the blade. (By the way the false edge is also sharp.) This knife begged to do some test cutting.


One of my martial arts videos shows a Japanese swordsman cutting tatami mats from only an inch or so away and this intrigued me. I decided I wanted to try this sometime with a Bowie knife. This Urban Fighter’s razor edge induced me to try it. So, getting to the dojo early I set the blade one inch away from my trusty pool noodle target. I aligned the knife at the correct angle, and literally dropped the blade right straight through!

It cut so cleanly I thought it might be a fluke so I did it again, five times! This technique requires a well-honed edge, perfect edge geometry, and proper technique. I did not use a drawing cut, it was not a wind up and swing at the target cut, just drop right through it. As you can see by the photos the blade size is a very modest 6.5 inches. The cuts are laser clean and all at the same angle. Am I impressed? You bet I am and I was so excited that my technique produced these results that I called my daughter to tell her about the test.
A little bit about the technique I used. Dropping, is not a matter of squatting down and pulling the blade along with you, rather, you pull your feet up and simply drop, using the full force of gravity. The blade was held absolutely still and not moved as it was passing through the target. When doing this cut you must focus on your breathing, dropping as you exhale. It also helps to envision the blade passing through the target. There are other applications of this technique that will be discussed in our upcoming book, "When Two Tigers Fight."
The only other knives I own that share this degree of sharpness are my Gary Bradburn Shobu tanto and an RJ Martin "Manta Ray." Next time I go down to the dojo I am going to repeat this same experiment using the big fighter Matt Lamey custom made for me, the one recently reviewed here. It doesn't seem quite as sharp but I have a feeling it will also be up to the task as long as I do my part. In the mean time, this Lamey Urban Fighter has redefined my understanding of "sharp."

Custom Fighter

Bradburn Hogosha

Ladies and Gentlemen if you want an opportunity to own a superb custom japanese fighting knife please check it out at the bottom of the fighting knives page on our White Shadow Security website. Please take a look and if you hesitate it will be gone. I am a big fan of Gary Bradburn's knives and own about a dozen of them. Here is where you can find it.
http://www.whiteshadowsecurity.com/FightingKnives.html

This custom "Hogosha" tanto by Gary Bradburn features a clay tempered 6.25" high carbon steel blade in the Shobu style with bright hamon 1.25 inches wide at the handle. The handle has dark red rayskin wrap with black Ito, large silver dragonfly menuki on one side and skull crusher pommel. The knife is 12" overall in length and includes a Kydex sheath with adjustable belt loop.

Our Books at Spartan Blades

Spartan Blades LLC

Copies of our book, "The Rhythm of One", and our mini-manual, "On the Edge" are now available from the guys at Spartan Blades LLC. Check out their website and pick up a copy of our book to go along with one of their fine fighting knives. Be safe, always use a training knife when you practice any knife defense techniques!

A Magnificent Fighter

Matt Lamey Fighter:

I promised a full review of my custom Matt Lamey Fighter once it arrived. The knife is awesome, good enough?

Just teasing, there are a lot more great things to say about this knife. Number one is the quality of service from the maker. I don’t care how good a knife is, the deal can quickly turn sour if the maker is some arrogant jerk. When I am spending my money it isn’t to stroke some guys ego and listen to him tell me how great he is. It’s all about the knife. Matt is great to deal with and his knives speak volumes for his artistry and workmanship.
The hand-forged 1095 blade is about ten inches long and 1¾ inches wide. It has a very active hamon that wraps up around the fully sharpened clip. The handling of the knife is enhanced by the six inch long clip and forged-in distal taper. Matt enlarged the choil to suit my inclination to sometimes wrap my pointer finger around the guard. To make it more comfortable he softened the corners of the guard and choil. Unlike some custom knives this one is frightfully sharp where it is supposed to be, and pleasantly smoothened where it counts.
Matt carefully blended the flats on the blade down to the edge, acutely in the major portion of the blade, and more obtusely near the tip. This method provides added strength to the tip where the blade is traveling the fastest and the impact forces are the highest. Subtleties like this are seldom found on knives costing even hundreds of dollars more. Either some makers don’t understand these finer points, or they assume that their customers won’t know the difference. The result of Matt’s extra handiwork is an edge that is hair shaving sharp from one end to the other. By the way, I asked for a sharpened clip and that is exactly what I got. The clip on this knife is properly hardened and sharper than the primary edge on some custom knives I have bought.

The handle is of hidden or mortised tang construction. This requires a lot more work than a fully exposed tang but it makes for a beautiful knife. One single copper pin is all that interrupts the flow of highly figured walnut. The functional handle shape is typical of many of today’s competition cutting knives. It is comfortable and well sized to fit my hand. Finished off with a satin sheen, the colors in the walnut are perfectly complimented by the copper guard. Formed out of solid copper, the guard to blade fit is perfect and the sculpting is graceful, leaving only that material necessary for proper function. Rakishly angled forward, with the branches positioned to make gripping and thumb placement natural, this is a guard designed with the user in mind. Far too often "custom" knifemakers solder on a lump of metal, call it a guard, and neglect to sculpt it or blend it into the flow of the handle. The balance point of this fighter falls just ahead of the ricasso. Having the point of balance slightly weight-forward adds to the cutting power of the knife without seriously affecting its maneuverability, like when performing quick blade reversals. A fighting knife like this is ideally designed for cut and thrust techniques and it will offer up a lively offense or defense.


A custom Kenny Rowe sheath finishes out the package. While it might look mundane, I specified a plain sheath. The fit and workmanship is of the highest order. There is a belt loop on the back and a stud on the front giving me the option to slip it IWB or place it on my belt. Together, the knife and sheath are a magnificent example of the knife fighter’s stock in trade. Without a doubt Matt Lamey is a master of his trade and you would be hard put to find a finer fighting knife or a nicer guy. Thanks Matt.

An Artful Nuance: A John Gage Fighter

Artful Nuance:
"A very slight difference or variation in color or tone." This is one online definition of nuance from Dictionary.Com. Some knives are overtly aggressive in looks and attitude, like the ITAC knives. Others are more subtle, like this H.S.L.D. Fighter made by John Gage. When I asked John what the initials stood for he told me, High Speed Low Drag. Not truly being a man of the 20th century I had to look that term up on the internet. It means something purely functional with no fluff or irrelevant baggage attached. In some ways this description seems too stark for such a beautiful knife.
My first impression of the HSLD was that it had a strong Persian flair. Once I held it in my hands I could see that there was a definite Japanese influence too. The seven-inch, hollow ground blade, exhibits that artful nuance of colors and textures so reminiscent of Japanese blades, in fact anything Japanese. It is more than the presence of a vibrant billowing hamon. In the marginal area between the hamon and the shinogi lies a wonderfully textured surface suggesting a forged and folded blade when in fact it is a stock removal blade. The shinogi ji is satin polished and contains an etched JG logo. Although the back edge is curved differently than most tanto, it has the same peaked shape typical of an iori mune.
The handle profile is pretty basic, totally tactical, and with a single finger cutout in the ricasso area, makes the knife highly maneuverable. Covering the ¼ inch thick tang are four thin scales of green and black G-10. The scales are held in place by five pieces of tubing serving as rivets. The last tube also functions as a lanyard hole. I have never been a fan of lanyards on fighting knives. I figure if I lose my grip on my knife during a fight the last thing I want is to have it tethered to me where it can flop around and cut me numerous times. So when this knife arrived I removed its lanyard. It was actually more of a braided dangle, since there was not enough room to slip your hand through. As part of the man-knife bonding process I noticed that the point of balance is more blade forward than I generally prefer in a knife this size.
Experimenting, I decided to slip a silver Emerson Skull bead on the dangle and reinstall it. Bingo, the HSLD Fighter now balances perfectly at the finger cutout. For some reason I never thought of using a dangle to balance a knife, although many Chinese Jian dao (swords) are balanced by the application of sashes to their pommels. Would the dangle inhibit grip changes? It probably would but I don’t advocate messing around changing your grip during a fight anyway. John’s green and black leather sheath is functional and very well made but the sheath somehow lacks the excitement and inspiration of the knife itself. Hey I can live with that. Why did I buy this knife? Chalk it up to the fatal attraction of artful nuance and the subtle ways John blended lines, colors, and textures. Great job John. This is my first John Gage knife and it’s definitely a keeper!

(John Gage photo: )

For Craig

For Craig

There are times that you just shake your head and wonder what its all about. I came home from the East Coast Custom Knife Show in NYC all pumped up only to find a disturbing voice mail awaiting me. A martial arts friend left a brief message saying that a young man named Craig Eden had died that day in an auto accident.

Craig was a very old soul in a too young body. He was used hard and life had not been easy or kind to him. Craig was the first to admit that he had been in trouble all too often. Maybe he was just wild, reckless, spirited or ignored too much when he was a child. Probably a little of all of the above. He came to me wanting to learn Japanese swordsmanship. I don’t even remember how he found out about me, not that it really matters. Several people said I should not accept him as a student. He was "trouble." Indeed, trouble seemed to plague Craig’s days but in my class he was no trouble. We were like the old dog and the new pup, Bear Claw and Jeremiah Johnson in the movie by the same name.

Bear Claw Chris Lapp: You've come far pilgrim. Jeremiah Johnson: Feels like far. Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Were it worth the trouble? Jeremiah Johnson: Ahh, What trouble?

That’s how it was with Craig and I, "what trouble?" One night at the beginning of class I asked Craig, "What would you like to do tonight?" His reply, "Whatever you want me to do." Never have I had a student answer that way in all the years I have taught. In that one short exchange I looked into the soul of a true warrior. Craig was also an artist and one of his drawings of a samurai is hanging in our dojo. His talents included making mounts and a saya for his own katana using a forged blade he bought. He was always tinkering with it, improving the wrapping or reshaping the tsuka.

There came a point where Craig was in some ways better and faster than me. As any teacher knows that is rewarding and frustrating at the same time. One night I picked up a wooden wakizashi and took a stance. Craig held his bokuto (wooden katana) in the jodan or overhead posture. I told him to cut straight down on my head. He hesitated, knowing how fast he was. I told him again, "CUT." He did. I slipped his cut and brought my wakizashi to rest right alongside his head. He never flinched or faltered in his cut but I knew I would never be able to beat him twice with that technique. Sometimes you only get one chance at life or death.

Life is seldom fair. Sometimes we get what we deserve and other times it seems disproportionately good or bad. This one time, this one night, fate dealt Craig an unfair hand. but he would not complain. He always accepted life as it came, the bitter and the sweet. Craig I wish you well whatever path you are on, and until we can train together again, keep practicing.

A Knife Fit for the Gods

Finally a review of the Erebus from Spartan Blades.
I am partial to tanto inspired blades and this one is a big hit with me. In fact it constantly resides in the gear bag that I haul to the dojo on Monday nights for knife defense class. I called Spartan Blades and asked them if they had a "second" that I could use and abuse. They had one and their only request was that I never sell it because it was flawed. Had I not been told where to look I would not have found the "flaw." Most companies would have sold this knife as first quality without a moment’s hesitation. Such is the standard of excellence that Mark Carey and Curtis Iovito have set for their products. To learn more about these men check out their website. http://spartanbladesusa.com/cart/index.php

The Erebus is fairly straight bladed and has the typical, more American than Japanese, armor piercing tip. That’s OK we were raised on Cold Steel’s tanto design and that is what the average American expects in a tanto. My Erebus has the sand colored coating that I find attractive and which has resisted scuffing during the many thrusts I have made into the cardboard boxes I use for practice.
The lines are very dynamic, fairly bursting with latent energy. This is a knife that is ready and waiting to be used. My first round of tests showed that having a straight edge did not hinder its cutting ability. The Erebus cut through my standard pool noodles with cool aplomb, no fuss, no problem. Thrusts? What do you think? One look at the lines told me that it would point and track right where I wanted it to. Penetration with the Erebus is excellent. While I gravitate toward fighting knives with blades in the 9-10 inch length I realize this is not a convenient size to carry into combat. The Erebus has more than enough blade to reach any internal organ, even through heavier clothing.

The low profile handle is well designed, ergonomic, and sized to comfortably fit all but the largest hands. The guys at Spartan Blades did their research and it paid off. The point of balance falls right at the single finger groove making the knife lively in the hand. The kydex sheath is extremely well built and securely holds the knife in place, even without using the velcro strap. The only suggestion I have is to offer the sheath with the web belt loop and a smaller rubber loop, the type I find preferable for IWB use. The standard set-up is suitable for field and military use but not concealed civilian carry, and yes some of us do carry knives that large. So…..The Erebus is a Great knife, and Mark and Curtis are great people to deal with! Based on my experience I highly recommend any of the Spartan Blades products. That is exactly why we are carrying them on our website.