Merry Christmas aftermath

Well I hope all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. Being together and sharing time and memories of christmasses past, visiting with friends, and a midnight church service. These are the traditions we cherish. The gifts each year become less of a surprise as we exchange lists. Might seem crass but it keeps us out of the gift exchange-return lines the next day! Our presents ran the full gamut from many exciting books, movie and music cds, M-4 carbon scrapers, new clothes, to commando kinves. Typical American family right? All we lacked was a little snow to top off the celebration. So we made it through Christmas and here we are wishing you a prosperous and Happy New Year! Here is a photo of the newest additions. They will be discussed in detail on our new website as time allows me to add them.

Merry Christmas to you

It is hard to read, but the Christmas card in the background says "Christmas 1943." The knife is a 1941 Wilkinson Sword Fairbairn Sykes commando knife.


War is always toughest during the holidays. We are grateful that our troops will be home from Iraq for Christmas (regardless of the political motives involved in the timing). It would be great to have all of our brave soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen home, from all foreign nations, and home for good. While a strong defense is necessary to the security of a nation, Peace cannot be established by constantly waging war. Let us all pray for peace and pray for a cessation in the hostilities around the world. We wish all of you the peace of the prince of peace, the blessings of your God by whatever name you worship him, and a safe and prosperous New year.

New web site

http://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/

Here is the link to my new website dedicated to the Fairbairn Sykes commando knife. Please check it out and see what you think. It still has a lot of empty folders but I will be filling them in as time allows and adding more material for your viewing. We will explore many of the obscure F~S knives from WW-II and modern interpretations of the genre. It is an exciting topic which I have been studying for many years and decided to share with you. There will be some of the rarest of the breed illustrated here along with many of the standard production knives. Shown above is an example of one of the more obscure knives that we will be sharing with you. If you know who manufactured these please let me know. ghdave2@hotmail.com

No Takers?

I still have a lot of very nice knives and a few Hanwei Japanese swords for sale at good prices. For a current list email me at ghdave2@hotmail.com Send one to someone you love who is stationed in the sand box. Also keep an eye here because in a short time I will be publishing a site dedicated to British Commando knives with all sorts of info and photos of many WW-II originals. Once its ready I'll post the link and let you see what I have been working on. Here's a teaser, a photo of a rare Tom Beasley Second Pattern.

Am I Out of My Mind?

“Am I out of my mind? I am seriously considering getting rid of my rifles. I have an AR or two set up for home defense…..” No, not me but a man on a forum I belong to. He says he doesn’t need the money but despite taking training courses twice a year he doesn’t see any need for a rifle for self-defense. As others offered suggestions and well-meant advice he decided to argue their points. Yeh, that’s right he asked for advice and then argued why he should not take it.

One of his arguments was; where does being able to shoot beyond 20 yards enter into self-defense? This is a good debating point for a lawyer. I should thank him for this question, and I would if he deserved my thanks, but his baiting everyone on the forum was rude.

The samurai’s favorite weapon was his bow. That’s right not his sword. That was his second favorite weapon right? No, the spear came next. Then, if all else failed, he would draw his sword. Then his tanto, bare fists, teeth, etc. Do you get the message? Its all about maai, engagement distance. Self-defense today has de-evolved to what can you do to protect yourself and not end up in prison. Can you shoot someone breaking down your front door, or, does he have to be in the same room, does he have to be within arms reach or actually have his hands around your throat? If the latter is the answer, then a knife is your best defense. Uhh how long a knife? Can I use a katana, or maybe a machete, a bowie knife, a Spyderco ladybug? I know I am being annoying but you see my point.

The US government has decided that in its own best interest we can DEFEND our nation by attacking people in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, or any other point on the globe. The Senate has declared the entire world our battlefield. But as individuals we are expected to allow "bad guys" to enter our homes and not take action? There are still states that have not passed "Castle Doctrine" laws that would allow us to ensure the safety of our families. Would I personally engage a threat at 200 yards to protect my home and family? If that is what it takes, yes, and face the consequences as they came. I could not do this with a shotgun or a hand gun. And, by the way, I can shoot someone at 3 yards with a rifle, but once again at that range a knife is the best option. One final point, if all you want is a pat on the back, or the validation of your foregone conclusions, don't bug folks on the forum, go talk to your mom.

Sale Items

Just a quick note to let you know that since we closed out the old White Shadow website I am selling off the remaining inventory. This includes many fine fighting knives new and used as well as several new Hanwei Katanas at very reasonable prices! If you would like a price list with photos please send me an email at ghdave2@hotmail.com Here are a few examples of kninves for sale.







See something you lke? Send me an email.

Commando Dagger

The quintessential killing knife. Designed for use by the British Commandos in WW-II. Here is a photo or two of a superb reproduction British Commando knife made by my good friends Peter Parkinson and Brent Sandow of Auckland NZ. Unlike any original first pattern F~S knife, this one has a beautiful damascus blade and guard. The guard is also unique in that it has thumb reliefs ground in the guard (by my request) for proper hand placement in the dark.

The handle is a knurled bronze that has developed a wonderful patina over the last few years. This is a fully functional combat-ready knife with a traditional sheath. It will never be mistaken for an original WW-II knife, but in many ways it is superior to some of the late war knives that were produced. There is a unique beauty to any first or second pattern Fairbairn Sykes knife that is due in part to its pure form and symmetry, surely the ultimate example of form following function. I hope you enjoy this pristine replica of one of the world's most renowned fighting knives.

Occupy Gone Wrong

I want to add a note here. As opposed as I am to the use of violence in a peaceful protest, there is no way to absolve the police from using violence to remove peaceful, lawful protestors. The video of the stupid cop spraying those kids with pepper spray shows just how out of control things are getting on both sides. His actions are symptomatic of a growing police state. How long before we have another Kent State on our hands? That would play right into the president's plan.
Well a few weeks ago I pulled down my controversial blog about the Occupy movment. One of my followers said he thought it waas an unfair assessment of the movement. He believed that they were only voicing legitimate concerns, and I agreed with that in principal. He also commented that he did not know where it would end. Well I did, When socialists, anarchists and union thugs are allowed to co-opt (a popular term today) a movement, the only end can be VIOLENCE. Violence is their modus operandi. Innocent merchants, tired workers, private property owners, and tourists are having all of their "rights" interrupted/co-opted by a small unlawful minority. This is not the way to represent a democratic movement by denying the rights of everyone else. They say they don't want any confrontation with the police. Well that is no surprise. But they want to be allowed to break the laws under the guise of exercising their first ammendment rights.

Wait a minute! So its rights for some but not for others? "Four legs good, two legs bad." Do you know where that saying came from? Google it! There is a reason why our progressive, liberal education system doesn't teach history. These types of movements have always ended badly and led to chaos and the eventual subjugation of the commmon man to tyranny. Don't understand? Check out life under Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Lenin, Kruschev, Castro, Chavez, Idi Amin, Sadaam Hussein, go ahead, pick the dictator of your choice, they were all "revolutionaries," and "visionaries" for freedom before they became bloody murderers, cruel despots. And these are your heroes? These are the policies and methods you believe will lead to equality! This is where you want to take America! God help us!

God Bless our Troops

I have tried to post this all day but Blogger was having problems. On this day, this Veterans Day, we should remember and honor all of the brave men and women around the world who have fought for peace. Some have survived with minimal scars, others have suffered great pain and injury, hundreds of thousands have died violent deaths, for peace. They did not choose the battle, they did not pick the countryside in which to fight and die, they merely followed orders, a code of incredible conduct and their conscience. God will have to determine whose cause was righteous and whose was not. Let us do our best to be worthy of their sacrifice and honor their service.

Where You Find It

If you are looking for some serious, no BS, training DVDs I would suggest you check out the ones available from either Pete Kautz or James Keating. I will provide links to their websites at the end. I have just ordered the newest four disc set from Pete on Bowie Knife techniques. You might remember that a year ago I did a blog on the terrific Bowie Knife Fighting Seminar that I attended, taught by Pete and a few of his senior students. The DVDs convey the same quality of instruction at a reasonable price compared to the expense of travel and lodging of a live class. Do I wish he was holding a live seminar again? Sure, but you learn to take what is available and find wisdom where and when you can.

In a similar vein, I recently had a visit from a man, his son, and two grandsons. The youngest grandson was extremely bright and also fascinated with Samurai culture and History. A mutual friend, Mr. Yamaguchi, recommended they contact me as the local authority on kenjutsu. Whether I am an authority or not is certainly debatable. But as far as I know I am one of the few people in this area practicing or teaching any form of Japanese swordsmanship. So when they arrived I led them down to my dojo. I changed into hakama and keiko gi so that I could demonstrate a few of the techniques and kata that I practice. I figured they would find this more interesting than sitting around my kitchen table looking at pictures of Samurai in a book. It seems like this was a good choice because the questions from both the adults and the kids were numerous. They also commented on the rack holding fencing foils and small swords, the bo staff and Yari (spears) standing in the corner, and the Bowie trainers lying by the blackboard. When they asked about the poster of a custom M-4 Carbine I explained that a warrior must know how to use all forms of weapons.
As they got ready to leave the grandfather offered me some money for my time. I politely declined, explaining to him that my sword teachers had always shared their knowledge freely with me, and I did likewise. He said that sharing something this rare for free was in itself quite unusual. Well finding a school of ancient Japanese swordsmanship in a small rural western NY town is pretty rare, but it is what it is. You find knowledge where and when you can. If you are ever out my way call me, and we’ll go down to the dojo.

http://www.alliancemartialarts.com/
http://www.jamesakeating.com/

Get A Grip

The handle on a fine fighting knife does more than provide a means of simply holding on to your knife. Its shape, size, and subtle contours will define the manner in which you manipulate it. In my other writings on the subject I have stated decisively that a knife is primarily controlled through the gripping force exerted by the thumb and first two fingers. This grip provides a delicate balance with the knife pivoting loosely between the thumb and index finger. But, slight differences in the shape of the handle can shift the emphasis clear back to the pinky finger, more like the way a Japanese sword is gripped. What is the difference? The top knife, a Laci Szabo designed Jaws IV, is a perfect example of the thumb and index finger control.

In the bottom knife, a Matt Lamey Bootlegger, we see a very different style handle which is more suited to the thumb-pinky finger grip. These handles are much broader near the pommel. The thumb-pinky method works best for broad, circular movements, ie chopping and cuts. In my opinion the thumb-pinky style also provides a slightly more secure grip, less likely to be knocked from your hand. This is good for a less confident fighter or one with a weak grip.

Which style do I prefer? This really is a personal preference and each student has to decide for themselves. Due to my past training I prefer the handle style of the top knife, thumb-forefinger. How can you determine which one best suits your hand or your style? The cheapest way would be to make one of each out of aluminum and wood. These could be used later for training purposes and will not cost you a lot of money. This is a much cheaper method than buying live blades with different style handles. (But who am I to talk?) I would suggest making these “trainers” with over-sized handles and slowly working them down with a rasp and sandpaper until they perfectly fill your hand and your style. Once you have accomplished this you could find a custom maker and send off your knife to him as a pattern. This is assuming you can find a custom maker who will build a knife to your design. If nothing else, ask him to match the handle size and configuration of your trainer. As a note of warning, I have had to remind one of my favorite makers a couple times when his handles started getting too big for my hands. How important is the handle? While, the blade is the part that does the deadly deeds, the handle is where the human operator interfaces. A properly fitting knife will feel almost weightless, a poorly fitting one, like a club.

The Honeymoon is Over

First Osama Bin Laden, then Hosni Mubarak, then Anwar Al-Awlaki and his son, now Muammar Gaddafi. Hey Hugo you might want to be careful about hanging around with this guy, remember he's from Chicago.

Train Like it Matters

Looking at a marker stained T-shirt from a knife training exercise: “Do you think any of your techniques really work?” I was asked this question by a very skeptical combat veteran as he fingered the brilliant red marker “cuts” on the T-shirt. The T-shirt belonged to the dubious “winner” of the bout and it was obvious she had taken a number of, what would have most likely been, lethal cuts. Many of you may have participated in this type of training exercise.

We have all read the plethora of articles on the effects of adrenaline rush, fight or flight, loss of fine motor skills, auditory exclusion, always expect to get cut, etc. But the question remains, do any of my techniques work? First I have a couple questions for you. Why do people think that training with a knife is any different, more valuable, or less valuable, than training with a gun, a basketball, or a guitar? Do people who play tennis or a cello practice or do they just do it, you know off the cuff? It depends on whether they want to be any good or not. Why does NASCAR have practice sessions and do the drivers have any techniques or do they just push down on the gas pedal and hold on for dear life?

Does every knife technique work every time against all comers? No of course not. When I was asked about the lethality of the simulated cuts on the T-shirt I asked my friend if he had ever trained with air-soft or simmunition firearms. Yes of course he had. And I asked, “Did you drop over dead every time you got hit in a lethal zone or did you continue to shoot back?” “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “I guess I kept shooting back.” Exactly! If the knife duelists had to accept the cuts at face value they probably would have not lasted more than a few seconds, based on the wounds they received. But instead they continued on as if nothing had happened because it was only an ink marker. No matter what type of combat training you do it will always fall far short of the real thing, that is why it’s called training not killing. Given the choice, I would rather train and not need to use what I have learned, than to have never trained and suddenly realize I need it.

There are four major facets to surviving an attack: Awareness, Ability (ie practice, training), Mindset (courage, fear, fortitude, anger) and Luck. (If I could make these letters into a good acronym I could probably market it.) Luck is as important as the other three combined. If you’re having a bad day then your attacker may get in a “lucky” hit. Many of the knife techniques that I learned in my early karate days seemed very “do-able,” after a few years I found many of them were instead dubious. The ones I learned from Cook sensei and Hanshi Juchnik taught me the difference. Set aside what doesn’t work for you and hone what does. Then every once in a while go back and review those techniques you set aside and see if there was something you missed. Train hard, train safe, but for God’s sake train.

Arkansas Toothpick?

The Bowie Knife: Unsheathing an American Legend, at http://www.amazon.com/Bowie-Knife-Unsheathing-American-Legend/dp/193146412X

If you love Bowie Knives or just enjoy American History you ought to have a copy of this book in your library. People still do have home libraries don’t they? Anyway, it is not a cheap book, at Amazon it is $79.99 but it is a great read and the full color photos are terrific. One of the book’s chapters discusses the difference, real or not, between an Arkansas Toothpick versus a Bowie Knife. I was always taught that there was a difference and the toothpick was a double-edged dirk style blade rather than the Bowie which was a clip or spear point style. According to Mr. Flayderman’s extensive research these names have been used interchangeably, or not, throughout history. In the following photo you will see a beautiful Toothpick made by AC Warren and my Big Matt Lamey Bowie. Both knives have twelve inch blades and are very typical of the powerful fighting knives carried in the mid 1800s. Of the two, the Bowie is the more versatile fighting knife. It is quite capable of thrusting but also of creating grievous cuts. The Toothpick has obvious ties to Scottish Dirks of the 1700 & 1800s, or possibly the main gauche of an earlier time. It is primarily a thrusting weapon.
Either one would ruin your day if they were in the hands of an agitated opponent. The Toothpick will require more finesse to be effective but, like the Bowie, it has a big intimidation factor. Kudos to Mr A.C. Warren for creating this beautiful rendition of an Arkansas Toothpick. The handle is ebony and the mounts are brass. The sheath itself is truly a work of art.

Whats your night-time defense?

The question on the forum was: “What do you keep by your bed at night?” The answers varied from shotguns to various handguns. The one answer that stunned me was, “a bokken.” If you don’t know, a bokken is a wooden Japanese training sword. Another man said a katana, (a Japanese sword). A typical bokken or katana is 36-40 inches long. Those who said a small ball bat made more sense.

You have heard me rant about guys who say “If you don’t know how to use a knife don’t get one out during a fight or you will be in worse trouble.” Like somehow using a knife is a magical art, but using a Japanese sword is not? One respondent answered my question concerning the katana: "you don’t need to learn any fancy techniques just swing it." Really, is that all there is to it? I guess I have wasted twenty years training with a sword and knife. Take the word IDIOT and add a few colorful expletives and you get the idea of my mental response. Why is it that every red blooded American on a forum feels they are an expert on Japanese swordsmanship, even if they never held a katana? Baka American.

To begin with, a katana is much too long to use effectively inside most houses. This is why the Japanese traditionally placed their katana in a special rack when they entered a home and wore only their tanto or wakizashi (side sword) inside. After all, the Japanese worked at this for over 500 years they might have an idea or two about home defense. A typical wakizashi has a blade 16 inches or less. Swinging either a bokken or katana inside a darkened room in a semi-awakened state is sure to result in a lot of damaged real estate while your home invader is throwing lead your way from his handgun, not an especially good situation. All of the experts tell you to clear a house by using a firearm technique called cutting-the-pie, or maneuvering your line of sight incrementally around a blind corner. How well do you think that will work with a 40 inch sword? I am not saying a firearm is the ultimate solution either. The negatives of using firearms inside your home are numerous. The muzzle flash will ruin your night vision and the blast will deafen you. Stray bullets become potentially life threatening to other occupants or even passers-by. And last but not least are the legal consequences of killing someone with a firearm.
For years I have kept a legally registered handgun beside my bed. But I have other options as well. For example, a blindingly bright flashlight and a big bladed bowie knife. I also have a set of escrima sticks standing in the corner. They are much more maneuverable inside a bedroom than a bokken. These hardened sticks will easily crack a man’s skull or break his bones. A katana-kake (sword rack) hangs on my bedroom wall holding 5 shinken (live bladed swords). In a time of emergency they would be my weapons of last resort. I could also use my bronze tessen or iron kubutowari, but then what the heck do I know about Japanese weaponry, or home defense? Go ahead and stick to your bokken and play Last Samurai.

Chop Chop!

A few years ago I bought a mid-tech Razel and wrote a report on it. Every since then I have thought that a larger cleaver syle knife would be perfect for a camp knife. There are a few makers that offer these and my prolific bowie maker Matt Lamey is one of them. However this knife is not a Lamey creation. It was made by a maker heretofore unknown to me, one A.C. Richards. http://www.woodchuckforge.com/

I bought the knife secondhand from a forum member in "as new" condition. It only arrived today and I love it. The balance is decidedly to the front, which is as it ought to be for a cleaving knife. The forged W-2 blade is artfully marked with the maker's name and his JS (journeyman smith) stamp. Measuring 11.5 inches by 2.25 (at the widest point) the blade exhibits a billowing, almost choji style, hamon with a nice wrap around at the tip. The black micarta handle and stainless steel mounts are masterfully shaped and expertly fitted. It came with a very high quality black leather sheath. While it is not your typical Bowie, I think you will agree it is a formidible weapon.

Arrgh Matey

My wife walked into the room and said are you watching that pirate movie again? It was on last night! I replied it was either this or Obama, and Capt Jack Sparrow is more believeable. It pays to know your pirates these days.

Without a parrot its hard to tell them apart.

More Bowie Goodness

Just a quick post to let you see the new Bowie that Matt is finishing up for me. It has a stout 9 inch forged blade with a very active clay tempered hamon. A mild steel guard and ferrule are topped off by a very colorful piece of cocobolo wood. The blade has an interesting profile with the tip lying below the center line of the blade. An exceptional fighting knife made for serious use. Now if someone will step up and buy the Bowie I have for sale it will make my wife happy. I'll do a more detailed report on this knife once it is in my hands.

A Small Man

last night I wrote a rant against Mayor Bloomberg for his heavy-handed co-opting of the 10th anniversary commemoration of the 9-11 attack. He has taken religion out of it. He has denied access to many of the firefighters, police, and religious leaders whom people turned to for aid and solace during our darkest hour. Instead he has corrupted it into a political theater.
Then I deleted it. Why? Because I was concerned that there might be some on here who would be offended or who might even draw unwanted attention to a political statement against the people in power.
Survivors and people who lost loved ones have been un-invited or their credentials have been misplaced. Bloomberg says there was not enough time to co-ordinate with religious leaders. Really? There has been exactly ten years to coordinate the event. There was sufficient time to invite people who have no right to be there, except their political connections. Shame on you mayor, shame on you. This day, 9-11-2011 will never come again, and you have chosen to play politics instead of doing the morally right thing. (Who would have expected this from a politician?) The American people need a time for rememberance and healing not more politicians on a stage. You may have millions of dollars but you are a very small man.

Available Knife

THIS KNIFE IS SOLD. I said once in a while I would post a knife here for sale. I have a new Lamey Bowie coming in a few days. If anyone is interested in buying this one from my collection, it is un-carried and never used to cut, contact me by email. I am letting this one go at the same price I paid, $475 shipped CONUS. It has a beautiful english walnut handle and copper double branch guard. The blade is a 1/4 inch thick, about 9.5 inches long and slightly re-curved. It has what Matt refers to as his "working finish" but the hamon is still quite distinct. It comes with a beautiful leather sheath fitted with a belt stud. This is a serious Lamey fighting knife at a price below what you would expect to pay now. email me, before I change my mind, at: ghdave2@hotmail.com The earliest time-dated email saying I'll take it gets first chance. It is also for sale on a forum I belong to.

A Magnificent Cutter

Reading the book in the previous post gave me the urge to do some test cutting. The other night when I went to the dojo to practice Iaido I decided to take along the BIG Bowie that Matt Lamey forged for me. When I went to my gear closet the only thing left were three pool noodles! It would have been silly to cut just one noodle with a knife this size so I decided to splurge and taped all three together. As you can see in the first photo they would barely stay in my test cutting stand. The results speak for themself. Cutting through all three was effortless and all I had to do was make sure my angle was correct and let the blade sweep through the noodles. It was way too easy so I repeated it and decided I needed about six noodles or a real goza tatami mat to practice on. This was no test for this fine Bowie. The cutting power of a full sized Bowie knife like this is simply incredible.

Comments on the Book

Well I have nearly finished reading the Kirchner Bowie knife book. I wanted to say that it is good from front to back cover, all the more valuable as a reference since mr Kirchner points out where myth overshadows truth. Where fact rises its ugly head he still prints it even though it might go counter to established fables or flowery legend. One very importand point is that in those days a bowie knife was more than the equal of even a colt revolver, or the predominant double barreled muzzle-loading pistols. One story in particular, the attempted assassination of the Sect of State Seward, illustrates the difficulty of an unarmed man overcoming one armed with a knife. In this fracas several people are very seriously injured and the assassin still escapes. One final point. Many martial artists who teach knife defense as a sideline are fond of quipping: "expect to get cut." Well many of these characters in this book do get cut, some of them several times, many of them suffer permanent injuries, disfigurement, or deformities as a result. The good guys do not always win. So the next time your sensei says: :just grab his knife and do this, or that," you might want to rethink who you learn knife fighting/defense from.
This Southwest Style Bowie was hand forged by Matt Lamey

Bit By the Bowie Bug?

First impressions can often be wrong. For some reason a description of the book Bowie Knife Fights, Fighters and Fighting Techniques by Paul Kirchner turned me off buying it. That was a big mistake. I finally bought a copy from Paladin Press and I am having a great read of it. It has 376 pages of well annotated tales of Bowie knife usage and the men who made it both Legendary and often Disreputable. Scalawags, murderers, thieves, slaves and slave hunters, Southern Aristocrats and redneck butchers: the Bowie knife was an equalizer when few men carried Colts.

I am only a third of the way through Mr. Paul Kirchner’s book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history or use of this iconic American weapon. The amount of research required to put together a book like this is daunting. If there are any shortcomings at all to the book it is the lack of photos. It does have a number of nicely done sketches to illustrate a few of the stories. If its Bowie knife photos you want you will need to spend a king’s ransom ($80 or more) for the book “The Bowie Knife: Unsheathing an American legend” by Norm Flayderman. Flayderman’s book is also worth the money if you are a true knife aficionado. I would suggest buying both books and spending the coming winter reading them. Then once you have consumed them purchase the two books on Bowie Knife techniques by Dwight McLemore and you will have caught a serious case of the Bowie Bug. It only gets worse because I can steer you to a few custom Bowie Knife makers and fine instructors to suck the last penny out of your life’s savings. Just teasing, sort of. Once you catch the Bowie bug there is no known cure.

Storm Clouds continue to gather

There are so many things I want to say, and that need to be said, or do they? As Glenn Beck would say, "Do your own research." Check out the powers of the new "Super Congress," see how comfy you feel with the way things are going. Personally, I'm more worried than ever. Oh by the way, one little detail.....guess who has reserved the power to cast a tie breaking vote if the six Democrats and six Republicans are deadlocked?? So in actuality it is a committee of six Republicans and seven Democrats.

Bugging in or Buggin Out?

Talk is cheap, prepping is not. How many of you sense something is majorly wrong with our nation, with the world? Are you preparing for tough times or sticking your head in the sand? I am collecting fighting knives at a much slower pace. Now every time I buy a knife I ask myself if the money wouldn’t be better spent buying MREs, or other survival preparations. Look at poor Japan. An empire built on electricity provided by nuclear power is fighting heroically to control that monster. Those poor people had little or no emergency stores put aside and any they might have had were wiped out in the tsunami.

Without being a doomsday soothsayer, we know we face the potential for that same disaster to occur here because of the nuclear plants built along the fault-line running the length of California. Storms ravage our nation from the Gulf of Mexico to New England, bringing ice storms, power outages, blizzards, flooding, wild fires, tornados and hurricanes. We face economic uncertainty the likes of which have not existed since the Great Depression. We are locked into wars against Muslims in three nations. Nation after nation is crumbling into chaos as established rulers are toppled by mobs and their economies collapse.

Like many of the people I converse with on forums, I have a BOB (Bug Out Bag) prepared. It can be simple or all inclusive depending on your finances, circumstances, and ability to carry it. But it would be prudent to prepare some type of backpack containing a few MREs, water purifier, flash light, fire starting kit, etc. There are forums completely devoted to survival preparations. Do some looking around. One of the forums I go to is http://www.survivalblog.com for good sound information.

Of course any BOB worth its salt will include a folder or two and a larger fighting or camp knife. Some of my BOB knives are a Grayman Kordorfan 8, a Fox XL Panga or the nice Fox Kukri, a Becker BKT-10 bowie/camp knife, etc. You get the idea, something brawny and reliable. Another good addition is a leatherman of some description and maybe a small set of wire cutters. Machete and tomahawks all have their uses, it depends the local terrain, on your mission, and your familiarity with various bladed weapons/tools. Keep a small sharpening tool in your BOB too.

Needless to say, firearms ought to be a thoughtful part of your preparations, whether intended for food procurement or self defense. Keep them legal, simple, and make sure you have enough ammo to feed them. Be completely familiar with their safe operation and cleaning. Do your homework first and avoid wasting money on things you don't need. Look around your home and see what you already have that can be incorporated into your BOB. Have fun, but don't put off doing it forever.The knife is a beautiful "Wendigo" by John Gonzalez of Dervish Knives.

Watson Push Dagger

Here is a neat new knife from Channing Watson! I looked at it on my favorite forum, looked at it several more times, and finally I could not resist anymore. It is made from 1/4 in thick steel and the handles are G-10 on one side and micarta on the other. The four inch blade is chisel ground and then treated with an acid etch ala Kiku Matsuda who pioneered this finish. I already have a plan for this knife. It is going to be mounted on the shoulder strap of my bug-out-bag like from the movie "Full Metal Jacket." My second "BOB" is outfitted with a "Tops Knives California Cobra." Based on its profile and thickness I suspect that this blade would penetrate soft body armor. Unfortunately I don't have anyway to prove out my theory. I'd like to find an old cast off bit of chest armor to do some penetration tests with this and a few other knives but no luck finding any so far. Push ddaggers became popular items during the Gold Rush days and were carried by nefarious gamblers, thugs and riverboatmen. This genre of knives is still useful for close-range self defense, especially for people of weaker grip or small stature. The natural gripping shape of the handle makes its use instinctive and solid. The addition of a fingerhole makes this dagger unique. Channing has produced some very dramatic knives with aggressive looks and solid ergonomics. His designs are fresh and innovative. Looking at the shape and finish I can almost hear the fluttering of Batman's wings in the background. The photos are from Mr. Watson. Great work Channing!
For those of you who follow my political rants: Congratulations mr Sorros. Your Obedient servant, the Big O delivered what you wanted. I heard just last week that you had divested yourself of US Treasury Bonds. Nice move spooky dude.

Technique of No Technique?

On one of the knife forums I frequent a self-proclaimed expert says that it is fantasy to talk about defending yourself with a knife and therefore your pick of a carry knife ought to be based strictly on utility needs, and carry a handgun for defense. BUT, you can take a knife defense course from this same man. What? He is also an expert instructor on handguns, sticks, rifles, shotguns, etc. You don’t have to believe me, just ask him. Opinions are a great thing until they inflate one’s ego to the point of incredulity.

I have seen this man work his magic. A lot of what he does might not work except for his size and power. Perhaps he is unaware of this because all of his life he has had a size advantage. Truthfully he is a powerful man, but a good technique cannot rely on any certain physical attribute or it will fail the majority of the people trying to apply it. This was the guiding premise of our book The Rhythm of One. I am a relatively small man, five foot six inches. My daughter is even smaller, five foot, one half inch. To be of value, every technique must rely on technique, not on bulk or strength. So when you go looking for instruction: whether knife, gun or sword, look for a teacher who can (and is willing to) adapt his techniques to your physique, age, weaknesses, etc. One time I had a young woman with one deformed arm show up for sword class. Her left arm was the size of a babies. Her spirit was strong and we worked hard to select techniques that she could manage or adapt those that wouldn’t initially work. We also cut down her bokken to duplicate the size of a ko-katana. I remembered what Yagyu Koichi sensei once said to me, that it is mindset that matters, techniques evolve. I have this bit of wisdom written on the blackboard at our dojo. With time, I have learned that the instructors who eschew techniques usually do so because they don’t have any.

Shinken

I had a young man (Zak) ask me to explain my fascination with the katana, or shinken. This is my reply to him. One of the most famous Japanese sayings is “ken shin ichi nyo,” the sword and the mind are one. But the warrior’s mind and spirit being one with his weapon cuts across all cultures, races, and times.
A true warrior must understand the spirit within his weapons, whether that spirit is forged in or absorbed through the sweat and blood of its owner’s hands. It is not enough to be an efficient killer or a wild barbarian, which result from the mechanical use of the sword without the spiritual. Death comes to all of us but the real way of the warrior, the real bushido, is finding that middle ground and achieving a sense of balance.
Zak, as you said, the katana is a razor, par excellent. But, as we mature in our understanding of Western martial arts we also find that the better broad swords were well balanced and razor sharp too, not the crude armor mashers we originally thought. One of the main differences tactically is that the katana was both sword and shield to its master, unlike the Westerner who blocked attacks with a shield held in his left hand.

Many schools in America that teach Kenjutsu (combat swordsmanship) disparage the use of the blade for blocking, especially edge-wise, because they say the very hard edge will chip, ruining the sword. While it is true the blade may chip, not blocking is simply an old wives tales. Once when 80+ year old Japanese sensei Yagyu Nobuharu was asked about that his response was very pragmatic. Basically he said: Yes my sword blade may get chipped but if I do not block a cut I might get killed. When the battle is over, if I survive, I look around for a nicer sword. If I don’t survive, then it doesn’t matter.

To the samurai the katana blade was imbued with its own spirituality and soul. The mounts (however plain or fancy) were of a distant secondary importance. I think it was a major concession for the blade maker to punch a hole in the tang for the bamboo pin which holds the handle and guard on the blade. If the mystical or spiritual doesn’t appeal to you then I would revert to the original argument, the katana is one of the most capable cutters in the history of the world. It is a ruthlessly efficient killer capable of cleanly severing a human body completely through in one stroke. The metallurgical and tempering qualities are unique, and although Damascus and Wootz were also great sword making materials none of them surpassed the differentially tempered Japanese blade. A well designed and executed katana is exquisitely balanced for one or two handed use. By comparison most modern katana are over sized, over weight, with fat handles and crude mounts.

In use, a sword (like a fighting knife) has two primary functions, cutting or thrusting. A Japanese sword may also be used for deflecting or blocking as I mentioned. Different schools of swordmaking had different degrees of curvature forged into their blades based on the techniques taught by the schools of instruction. For example, if a school liked to use the thrust it would gravitate toward a straighter blade than a school whose principal attack was a slash. Makes sense right? While many people say that a thrust is more lethal than a cut, that rationale does not apply if the cut is so massive as to dismember or bisect the opponent. I don’t know if any of this actually answered Zak’s question. It may be a subliminal thing that is felt rather than a logical thing that can be argued or rationalized. Either way the katana is a fearsome, elegant, and sublime weapon. The photos are by Bugei trading Company of my Peace Sword.

Fire!

It has been a week or more and I need to write a new blog. But I want to make a short comment, an observation. Whenever I post a political narrative I do not get any responses, on the blog that is. Sometimes I am playing devil's advocate, being provocative, purposely antagonistic. One of my good friends is on to me and he doesn't respond on purpose. A few of you email me privately in agreement but often say I don't want to comment publicly. Or I get comments like aren't you afraid to post such things? What if the wrong people are watching your blog? What wrong people, what are they afraid of saying? I once told my abbot that I feel like a mute screaming "fire!" in a theater full of deaf people. So I will continue to write knife and gun articles but forgive me if once in a while I scream "fire!" Whoever you are out there, thanks for reading what I post. ghdave2@hotmail.com

Give us Liberty?

I am not going to comment on this, read it and decide for yourself whether this is healthy for American liberty or will end in abject slavery. If you cannot make the link work, google executive order 13575.
Copy and paste into your browser:

www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7958-obama-signs-agenda-21-related-executive-order/

EDC Bowie

Here is an example of a very cool knife from Sage Blades the creation of Dylan Farnham. His site came to my attention through a posting on MAA James A Keating’s website. http://www.jamesakeating.com/maajak1.html

Initially I went to the Sage Blades site to buy a JAK designed Dao and ended up buying this Bowie knife instead. I’m definitely going to go back and order a Dao too. The EDC (every day carry) Bowie resembles a design I created and have on order from another maker. Mine is different is several areas but the concept/question is the same, how to carry a Bowie style blade in a compact package. No matter how big a Bowie you have in hand, the working part is only the last 4 inches or so. Some people may argue that point with me, but in my opinion, more blade length just increases the ma-ai not the actual techniques. I’m not going to share what the differences are in my design until I have a working knife in hand to show you.

From point of contact to delivered knife was less than three weeks and part of that was spent in communicating back and forth. This is incredible service! During our communications I expressed to Dylan my past experience with a “custom” knifemaker who shipped me a dull Bowie. With an electronic wink and a nod he let me know this one would be sharp, and sharp it is. Both the primary and secondary edges are hair shaving sharp. The G-10 handles are finely fitted and contoured to the full tang blade. What you cannot easily see in the photos is the precise bevel on the top of the scales which makes them very comfortable in the hand. The sharply recurved tip will deliver a very nasty back cut with a flick of your wrist. The curvature of the tip does tend to detract from the thrusting somewhat by moving the centerline of the tip to your left when you extend your arm. That is not a huge problem, the curve simply makes this knife that much more suitable for cutting or ripping techniques. That is part of the individuality, or personality, you find in custom knives. Gently curving like the grip on a 19th century dueling pistol, the handle of the EDC is both ergonomic and provides great leverage for executing comma-cuts. Remember what Frank Lloyd Wright preached, “Form follows function.” With the EDC Bowie you could almost say that “From defines function.”

So travel the world wide web to Sage Blades and you will find some extremely neat forms which will suit any edged function you desire. This knife will provide you with a stout, first-class, line of defense against any and all bladed attackers.
http://www.sageblades.com

Kaboom: Embracing the Suck

I am reading an excellent book right now that ought to be required reading, for highschoolers, politicians and the damned Commander in Chief. The title is "Kaboom: Enbracing the Suck in a Savage Little War." I encourage you to go to Amazon.com and buy this book right now! The author, Matt Gallagher, writes of his experiences in Iraq. I have read a few books on that dirty little war but none have been written as eloquently as this one. I just finished the section on Dear John letters and it touched me personally, as did the dear john letter I got while in Vietnam in 1968. Well one was a dear john letter and the other was just a copy of the wedding ceremony of a young woman who stole my heart and a major part of my soul.

What are we doing over there? I no longer even believe it is for the oil. It has the foul taste of lies and betrayal to our troops and the people here at home. It has all the appearance of the death throes of a decaying empire. When an empire crumbles the emperor always trys to keep his armies at the hithermost outposts for his own safety. Its time that we retracted the tiger's claws, withdrew from Iraq, afghanistan, korea, germany, okinawa, cuba, and all of the other pestilent outposts around the world. Instead of empire building let's focus on nation building.

Please read Matt Gallagher's book, read some books by different authors and see whether you still believe that the wars we are engaged in are vital to our nation's interests. Bring our troops home, and this time lets give them a warm welcome, not like the one the Vietnam Vets got when they returned home. PS, I am the man in the photos with asteriks, or at leaast I was 40 plus years ago.