Politics Seen From The Knife Edge

The sunglasses don't bother me, but the coffee cup seems so damn disrespectful!

You've seen the picture.  No?  Well, look up.

Our Commander-in-Chief returning a salute to his honor guard with a coffee cup, WTF!

I don’t like President Obama.  I don’t think he’s the right man for the job and I look forward to voting for what I hope will be a better man or woman. 

BUT, he fills the office of the Presidency and the office deserves a measure of respect from every American.  Respect cuts both ways.  The Marines that serve as President Obama’s honor guard take an oath as do all of our enlisted men and women.

“I (state name), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United stated against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the regulations and uniform code of Military Justice, so help me God.”

That’s a pretty powerful oath and there’s no expiration date.  I respect those Marines; they volunteered to take that oath.  I was born an American citizen, just like the President.  I’m not required to take an oath.  In fact in some circles the idea of taking an oath of loyalty is considered uncultured and a trespass on intellectual freedom. 

I need a cup of coffee as much and sometimes more than the next guy.  But even I would ditch that cup to ensure I could return that salute.

Let’s get right out to edge of life, where our vision is the sharpest and ask the question that needs to be answered.

If our Commander–in-Chief shows so little respect to men and women he commands, what must he think of us?

Twitchy EOD

Another knife gun show has rolled past.  I get a lot of compliments on the quality of the knives I sell, but the sales go to the guys with the buckets of 6-dollar knives and the knock-offs.  Still, as much as it bothers me, I’d rather be true to my vision of quality and needs, than to know somewhere a knife I sold is failing someone.

The weather was beautiful, the show was slow.  I suspected something was wrong when two guys walked up to the table shorting after opening and I greeted them with, “Feel free to pickup any of the knives”.

They stood there, frozen like deer in the headlights, not even an ear twitch.

Yeah, that's what they looked like!

I looked at my wife, she looked at me, and then we looked at the two statues.  I don’t think they were breathing.  For a split second, I wondered if this was some Candid-Camera moment and then one blinked.

The two men walked off and I never saw them again.

I did see a lot of Shadow Tech.  They came up to the show from the Columbus, Ohio area.  ST is one of my favorite local knife companies.  I’ve got to admit, I’m impressed with people who start manufacturing businesses.  I’ve said it before, small self-starting businesses are the sparkplug of American well-being.

I had a chance to see their EOD.  It’s a 10.5 inch slice of 1085 steel currently being used by the EOD teams in Afghanistan.

Shadow Tech's EOD.  Note "glass breaker'" and form fitting sheath.  This is one knife that isn't popping out by accident. 

Let’s talk, shall we?

The blade is 5 inches long with a 5 inch handle and a glass breaker/skull crusher for a total of 10.5 inches.  The steel is high carbon, a 1085 and I would suspect, hardened to 56-58 Rockwell C.  That’s a good hardness for that steel and field use. 

Camera angle makes the knife look small, or I have a giant hand.

Extending outward from the top and bottom of the handle’s spine are small regular bumps.  I didn’t think I’d like them.  I thought they would distract from the feel, but despite my preconceptions, my hand liked them.  The knife sports an integral guard with sharpened ends.  I don’t know if they have a purpose, or just part of the aggressive combat nature of the knife.  Shadow Tech builds the sheath so you’re protected from the points when carrying the knife.

I had just enough time to finger it and photograph it, but I still liked it.  The knife was a little blade heavy for my taste.  I like a little more weight in my hand as it makes the blade livelier, at least in my opinion. 

It's a stout knife.  You can pry, dig, chop and slice with it and the EOD looks like it's up to it.

It might be a little big for wearing to the store for a gallon of milk, (Yes I know Soldier of Fortune says you should be able to conceal 12 inches of fighting steel under your sport coat.  They didn’t say anything about sitting in your car.)  But I’d pack it if I was heading off the paved trail any day.

I was told it was evaluated for a month in California and is now issued to Explosive Ordinance Disposal Teams in Afghanistan.

Complete honesty: I’ve bought several Shadow Techs for myself, and I’ve sold a few on my table.  They have never given me one, but for the money I’d recommend them to anyone.  Keep your eye on them.  I keep hearing rumors of collaborations and autos in the future.