The Twisted Sisters:

The Twisted Sisters:
If ever there were a group of evil looking knives it is this bunch: from top to bottom center, the Winch/Vago Sweet Dreams, the Loder TRG, and our mild mannered Cobra. Left side of the photos is the Szabo Kama Itachi and the Barnett Sabit on the right. All of these extreme designs are dedicated to the pursuit of wreaking edged weapon havoc and devastation. These unusual knives will be featured in our new book, along with how to tactically apply them and how well they actually perform. (Yes I am still working on the book.) Are they just hype, the frivolous brain farts of some designers? I can assure you that they are serious weapons unintended for mundane tasks like opening mail or trimming fingernails. Compare these knives to the classic lines of the preceding Matt Lamey Bowie and you will see how extreme these knives are.
Extracting the best performance from knives like these takes some experimentation and an empathy for cold steel. They are special-needs cutlery. Each one is a distinct individual with its own quirks and idiosyncrasies that have to be addressed. Some of them, like our Cobra, are more flexible in their use than others. All in all they present a nasty little bit of steel. I hope you enjoy seeing the more esoteric weapons in my collection and that you will read about them in our book when it becomes available.



If you would like to be added to our mailing list please email me at: ghdave2@hotmail.com We will keep you informed of when we expect the book to be ready and put you on our list of clients. Our new book titled "When two Tigers Fight," is over 250 pages long. Put the book's title in the email subject line. By the way, Thanks for following our blog.

Matt Lamey Knives

I guess you know that I love knives, big ones, small ones. I love daggers and karambits, rencong and barongs. There is almost no style of knife that I do not like, with the exception of fantasy knives. When push comes to shove one style of knife trips my trigger better than any other. That is a simple Bowie. I posted photos earlier of Stag and Steel bowies. Even more elegant than those knives are the Bowies, fighters, and camp knives by Matt Lamey of Jasper, Alabama. My first Lamey knife was purchased used from a forumite. The simple elegance of that knife led me to Google™ Lamey Knives.

Not since purchasing the Rader knife from Bill Malloy at MastersmithS, which I illustrated a few weeks back, have I been more excited about a custom knife.

These photos are Matt’s and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new fighter from Matt. Forged from a piece of round stock it has a 10 inch blade with a fully sharpened clip and bright flaming hamon. The minimalist copper guard sets off a beautiful dark burl wood handle. You can bet there will be a follow-up blog once this beauty is in my hands.

Matt's prices are very reasonable considering his tremendous talent. He's a great guy to work with and I plan on ordering another knife from him, soon. Problem is what style??

http://web.mac.com/mattlamey/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Spartan Blades

Spartan Blades Have Arrived !

A bout with the flu bug has prevented me from thoroughly testing the new Spartan knives. Initial cutting tests are positive and I will post more once I have worked my test knife harder. I wanted to post this short blog to let you know the first three knives are on our website and available for purchase. I trust you will find these knives as exciting and fresh as we do. Click on the link and take a look. http://www.whiteshadowsecurity.com/FightingKnives.htmlnives.html

A Clarification?

Globalization vs Diversification:
Because I failed to make my point with the clarity I wanted I decided to remove my blog on Globalization. I have strong attachments to many people around the world. Noviar in Indonesia, and knifemakers in New Zealand, and I enjoy the products of the mountain people of Nepal. So my real argument, my rancor, is directed at one Nation alone and its stranglehold over world trade.

Goods sold under American names, or pseudo American names, American designed and made goods counterfeited by that country, these are the products I have an issue with. Nepalese made Kukri and Indonesian Rencong are indigent made, ethnically identifiable, and culturally significant items. One of my original purposes for carrying these items on our website is to help preserve these articles and makers from eradication by that manufacturer of all things which is threatening to erase the indigent makers from the face of the earth. Diversification is a far cry for Globalization and I should have made the distinction.

New Product Line: Spartan Blades

We have exciting news! We just signed a dealership agreement with Spartan Blades of NC. Initially we will have three blades on our website and hope to increase our offering exponentially as people become aware of these excellent knives. The knives are All-American made of US materials! We will start out with a discounted price to get the word and knives out there. In the next few weeks I will do a detailed evaluation of the knives and post it here. I am very impressed with the owners, their commitment to quality and customer service. The first shipment arrived 3 days early. That’s a good way to start a relationship. Take a look and if you see something you like email me and if we don't have it we will get it in stock for you. More details to follow.
mailto:ghdave2@hotmail.comil.com

http://www.whiteshadowsecurity.com/

The Paralysis of Fear

News Flash:

A man rams his van into his estranged wife’s car, drags her through the broken windshield and threatens to kill her. Luckily quick response from untrained campus officials prevented a possible homicide. Think this happens only in the big city? This happened only miles from my rural NY home.
When this incident occured I had already been in communications with the school’s staff and had presented a plan to teach a self-defense for the general public. Considering how quickly things could have gone bad I offered to put on a free class for the staff. How do you think this was received? You guessed, they didn’t even respond to my offer. The class for the public was also scuttled because it involved the use of rubber training knives. Liability concerns you know.
A few years ago I worked at a large research facility that runs shifts 24-7. The facility is quite remote and not patrolled. Some of the women approached me about putting on a self-defense class because they were nervous walking through the large empty parking lots late at night and early in the morning. I took this idea to my supervisor and it moved slowly up the ladder. It was immediately nixed by a rather officious female executive. She was afraid too. She was afraid that "a self-defense class would send the wrong message." She said that employees might get the idea there was something to be afraid of. Somehow she overlooked the fact that her employees were already afraid.
At one time we taught free classes to the local high school girls gym classes, janitors, bus drivers, and teachers. This went over quite well but a change in principals put an end to the program. Ironically only a few months after we gave our last class an estranged husband took his wife (a bus driver) hostage at knife point. Some of the bus drivers who were present during the hostage taking said, "We wished we could remember what you said to do."
Many people live daily with fear, moving furtively from home to work to stores. Always with the smell of fear on them. They refuse to make eye contact. When greeted with a smile and a hello they shrink back, turn away, and maintain a surly silence. Young people are wary as hens with a fox around, maybe rightfully so. If they aren’t taught fear by their parents they learn it from TV where the media feeds them with tales of rape, torture, and murder. And this is the prime time shows, not the news channels. Just try to get some of these kids to train in self-defense. If they aren’t regaled with colored belts on a regular basis they quit. Martial Arts teachers are afraid to teach serious defense moves because it might be too brutal and the parents will pull their kids out of class. A student might get hurt, and the lawyers will swoop in like carrion crows.
How do we break this pervasive paralysis of fear? I do not know because every attempt I have made to teach awareness, avoidance, escape, or self-defense has been met with fear. Administrators are afraid it will look bad, police chiefs are afraid their officer might be considered too aggressive if it is found out that they are training how to use weapons. (God forbid we should provide our police with any weapons training other than the use of firearms.) People wake up, criminals use weapons. They like to hurt people and they have nothing holding them back except the fear of being hurt themselves. Thanks to our confused court system many people are afraid to defend themselves. "What if I am attacked and I accidentally hurt or kill my attacker, won’t I go to prison?" "I’d rather be killed than spend my life behind bars." These are real plaints voiced by martial artists for God’s sake. We are afraid of Muslims, Terrorists, Talibani, Jihadists, Muggers, Murders, Car Jackers, the police, the IRS, wiretaps, zealous homeland security curmudgeons, the TSA, and on the list goes. What is worse, is we are afraid to look people straight in the eye or stand up for ourselves. How long will be remain afraid, victims in waiting, ripe for the picking?
If anyone out there in this wilderness we call Western Civilization wants to learn how to use a knife in the defense of their life or the lives of their loved ones, please contact me. We’ll have some fun and learn a thing or two together.