The Rest of the Story

Now For the Rest of the Story:

In less than a week my dull knife traveled from NY to Colorado and back! Now it is really sharp like a fighting knife ought to be. And now, I will tell you who made it and why I was convinced that it was not the maker’s fault that it was dull. Shown here (top photo) is the re-sharpened knife and my other fighting knife (bottom photo) by Mike Irie. Mike says the top one was a customer design and it left his shop sharp. Based on my other Irie knife I knew the high quality of his work. Now I also know the high quality of his commitment to the people who own his knives, even those, who like me, bought it second or third hand. The third party to this transaction was a knife dealer, Lee Beene.

Lee said if I was not happy, he was not happy and to send the knife directly to Mike. Lee never questioned my judgment and within a few days I had a check to cover my postage. These actions are consistent with professionals and the type of people whom I like to deal with and who I will go to again for the best service and quality in edged weaponry. So as Paul Harvey would say; “That’s the rest of the story.” You can google Mike Irie to find several dealers who carry his knives. Or go straight to Lee Beene and see what he has available. Here is Mike’s and Lee’s contact info. Go buy a good knife from good people.

Mike Irie Handcraft, 1606 Auburn Dr., Colorado Springs, CO, 80909

Lee Beene, http://www.leescutlery.com/

LIBERTY!

Pundits are already predicting that the primary election wins of the Tea Party favorites are bad for the Republican Party. I have been a registered Republican all my life and I say tough! For years the pendulum of power has swept back and forth with the American people being rudely knocked aside and trampled under foot by both parties. Pundits are saying that these new people have no experience. What they are really saying is that they are not career politicians and they have not suffered any corrupting influences yet.

When the lines of battle formed at Lexington and Concord how many professional, career soldiers stood in the American ranks? The ragged ranks were filled with Tea Partiers, merchants, artisans, farmers, hunters, and men from all walks of life. Each and ever one of them had one thing in common, they were all patriots. Each one of them had found the moral courage to offer up their lives for Liberty. May God give us men and women like this again to lead our great nation. Let him fill the halls of congress with people willing to fight and die for liberty. May God Bless America and our sons and daughters of Liberty

Lest we Forget

On this day pray for our nation, pray for our people, the souls lost on that day, the survivors who still grieve and those who served to save, despite their own safety. Pray for peace. Remember this day and all of those who have died in service to their country since fateful 9-11. Do you still wonder why we want the mosque moved? Really, are you that stupid? Call me insensitive, call me a racist, then look at these photos and ask me if I care what you call me.

Its a Frank Burns

I used to be an avowed MASH fan, watching every TV episode. One of my favorite scenes was when Hawkeye was telling BJ about his childhood visit to the beach. He ran up to see what was lying on the sand and his mother said, “Don’t touch it, It’s a Frank Burns and the dullness comes off,” or something very close to that.

I find dullness in a lot of people today. There does not seem to be that spark of aliveness that joi de vivre that people exhibited only a few years ago. They seem to lack breadth or depth. Maybe it is the fault of the public education system. Maybe it’s the economy stupid, or the never ending wars in the mid-east, or maybe its just that we have become immune to the simple joys of life.

Dullness versus aliveness is something that one also looks for, or senses in a fine fighting knife. The lack thereof is a good reason to pass it by. This is not an easy task when buying a knife over the internet. Some people’s “Razor Sharp” is medium dull to me. If it won’t shave hair or slice paper cleanly it isn’t sharp! You can develop a certain appreciation for aesthetics and balance with time and experience but there are still intangibles that can only be defined by holding the knife in your hand and swinging it in a flow pattern to feel how it moves.

The other thing that I talk about a lot is the two primary functions of any knife which are, to cut and to stab. Stabbing is a simple motion and requires very little of the knife, or the knifemaker, except that it be pointed and not overly thick nor excessively thin. Cutting is the true litmus test of a fighting knife’s suitability for hand to hand combat. A dull knife is only slightly better than an empty pistol. Both are close range weapons that won’t function. The bane of sharpness today is usually the steel itself, many of the stainless steels being nearly useless. I have two identical Benchmade knives, one made with ATS34 and the other with a D-2 Blade. Despite my best efforts the ATS34 refuses to take and hold a keen edge while the D-2 blade is always sharp.


The concept that form follows function was the mantra of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. One without the other is an abortion of sorts. I learned this in 9th grade Art Class. A fighting knife without a keen edge is also an abortion[1]. A recently purchased custom fighting knife arrived in an unacceptable state of dullness. How is it that a knifemaker could fail to grasp Wright’s simple concept, or the fact that to be complete, an object needs both form and function? The other major obstacle to sharpness is edge geometry. This knife is neatly hollow ground to a near-edge and then given an abrupt saber grind for the last 1/16 of an inch. This is a common practice and it is probably responsible for the dullness. I used to teach building muzzle-loading rifles and I told my students that the last 1% of the work made 99% of the difference in how well the rifle turned out. The same is true of grinding a knife edge. There is much to commend this knife (for example the terrific handle and overall blade shape) and it is worth some time on a whetstone to touch up the edge. Assuming there is the sharpness in the steel to bring out. The seller has offered me the option of sending it back to the maker. That might be the prudent choice.

[1] an offensive term for something so badly done or made that it is a complete failure

Peace and Quiet?

Two weeks ago I finally had an opportunity to go camping. When I go camping it’s a very austere exercise because I don’t like to take a lot of excess baggage. I don’t take a pop-up camper trailer or even a pop-up tent. Nor do I hop on a four wheeler and drive in. I shoulder my backpack and trek back in about 3miles. Part of the purpose of this hike was to test my gear and my stamina. The gear did fine and I got a so-so grade but I can definitely feel my years. It was near 90 and 98% humidity which did not help. The other reason for camping was to get away from politics, rotten news stories, and relax in the peace and quiet of nature. That was only partly successful as well.

Barely did I have my camp set up and my peace and quiet was rudely interrupted by ten four-wheelers roaring up the dirt road that had a locked gate at the other end. This happened three times! Their last hurrah coming at 11:30 PM, waking me from my sleep with the noise of their engines. At first I thought it was the Zombie Bikers from Hell. As the fog cleared from my brain I realized it was just the same idiots. I wonder how much wildlife they saw? They probably missed the deer and beaver, the squirrels, bluejays, and chipmunks that I enjoyed watching. Although I would have killed for one of their cold beer, I never approached these outriders. I am pleased to say that my hide went undetected by them with their motorized cacophony of spinning wheels, headlights and spotlights, and clouds of dust. My sleep was further molested by a lone coyote, an owl, beavers slapping their tails on the water, and the devil’s own squirrel who insisted on dropping pinecones on my tarp from forty feet up in the air and then chattering about it. I guess he didn’t like that they were ricocheting off into the brush.

Along with my usual compliment of firearms I had the Grayman Knives Kordofan 8 attached to the side of my Maxpedition™ backpack. It came in quite handy hacking dead branches into supports for my tarp and clearing the few briars out of my sleeping area. The deadwood was hard as nails and it took quite a bit of hacking to cut and sharpen the few pieces I needed. (I prefer to not cut up green trees just for an overnight camp.) The edge on the Kordofan 8 stayed sharp and did not knick or roll during hard use. In fact it stayed sharp enough to slice my finger when I brushed against it pushing back my mosquito net in the wee dark hours as nature called. I had driven it into the ground beside me in case the coyote came with his friends looking for supper. The black coating on the blade held up well during the chopping and being driven in the dry hard ground. My only complaint is the handle slabs need a little more radius on the edges to soften them. This is an easy task that I will attend to before my next outing.

Other than a deer nearly trashing my camp out of curiosity no other wildlife came close, that I know of, and the Zombie bikers did not come back anymore. Not quite the serene camping experience I was looking for but any time in the woods away from “civilization” is good time.

TAK Training Knives

This is just a quick review of the TAK training knives. I will post a full one after the Bowie Knife seminar I am attending Sept 18-19, 2010. When I was at the dojo one night I dumped my bag of training knives out on the floor to see what ones I should take to the upcoming seminar. The closest thing I had to a Bowie was two rubber versions of the Cold Steel Blackbear, a subhilt knife. Looking on line I did find one bowie-esque trainer in aluminum that was actually listed as a kitchen knife. It still wasn’t what I wanted. But there in the pile of trainers was a little one duplicating my TOPS Scalpel. It was made by TAK Training Knives. A quick check of their website showed that their selection of training knife styles had greatly expanded. My initial idea of buying the aluminum knife was scrapped and now I had to choose between three big Bowies and one smaller one.

I bought two that resemble the Bagwell/Ontario Hells Belle and two of the Ridge Bowies designed by Dwight McLemore. Both styles came with leather wrapped handles. I called and visited with John Stanley on Friday and placed my order. The knives arrived Tuesday. John’s enthusiasm for what he does, and the products he provides, was absolutely contagious. I warn you that if you call you will not be able to hang up before buying at least one trainer. Buy two and find a friend to train with. The Bowies are very impressive, made out of a thick polycarbonate material that is tough, slightly forgiving, and collect light. They are nicely radiused on all edges and the points are sufficiently blunted. You must always wear eye protection and limit your thrusts to avoid the head. The leather wrap gives a nice tactile gripping surface and will cushion the impact of blade on blade better than 550 polycord will. My only question is whether the grips will remain tight after serious use. Stay posted and I’ll let you know after the September seminar. http://www.takknife.com/index.htm