Zombies

Zombies weren’t always so threatening.

It took a lot of work and juju to turn a person into a Zombie.  They mostly stood around until the Zombie master gave them commands.  Even then, they were primarily insistent; nothing stopped them from carrying out their instructions.  And they weren’t infectious.

In Piers Anthony's 'Castle Roogna', they were pretty nice people, had a lot of friends, fell in love, and did other ordinary things. 

The first record of zombies in literature goes to the English poet Robert Southey in 1819.  Later, Richard Matheson published  'I Am Legend' in 1954.  Sparked by that idea, George Romero directed 'Night of the Living Dead' in 1968, and zombies became insatiable, highly infectious, deadly creatures driven by a killing desire for brains.

Most of the TV shows and movies copied this idea.  It seems there is limited originality in the entertainment media.

We saw a shift in 2005.  Inspired by an old folk legend, Tim Burton produced ‘The Corpse Bride,' suitable for children and adults.  Later in 2019, 'iZombie', a comedy crime drama TV show, ran for several seasons.

MicroTech's ZombiTech

I'm not a Zombie fan, but I fell hard for Microtech's ZombieTech out-the-front auto.

Something about the blood splatter.  I've always been interested in blood splatter, and the almost florescent green handle appeals to me.

The classic way to stop a zombie was to destroy the brain

MicroTech released the ZombieTech in 2012.  I have one from 2019 celebrating Microtech’s 25th anniversary, but I don’t know how much longer they were in production.

I contacted MicroTech, but they remain closed-lipped about everything and have yet to respond.

Real blood doesn't splatter this way, unless it's a high speed splatter

The internet claims that every ZombieTech has a random and different splatter pattern.  I admit that some patterns are a lot nicer than others. 

The 3-inch blade was available as a drop point, tanto, and a double-edge dagger.  I have found images of bright blades and ones with a black finish.  While some websites claim to have a few high-end ZombieTech sets in stock, most say 'Out of  Stock,' which is seller speak for can't get it anymore.

MicroTech uses M390 steel from Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG factory in Kapfenberg, Austria.  Originally designed in the late 1980s for molds used in the injection molding industry, it has found a home in the knife community.

I like OTFs, or Out the Front, but they have their limitations too.  Blade can slip off the internal carriage.

I really shouldn’t bang on the entertainment industry too hard.  Originality is hard to come by.  In 2021, MicroTech released a version of their knife called 'Outbreak.'  https://microtechknives.com/the-outbreak-unleashing/  It sports the same blood splatter on bulbous green and a Biohazard symbol.  It, too, is out of stock.

Screw Loose

 My wife’s current favorite pocketknife, a purple SixLeaf, lost the screw holding the clip to the body.  Fortunately, the knife slipped further into her pocket, and somehow, the clip was retained.  The screw, however, vanished.

Of course, I wanted to repair it.  SixLeafs aren’t that expensive and but there are no local distributors I can contact for a replacement screw. 

Fortunately, I had a SixLeaf of my own and was able to confirm it was the same screw.  But what kind of screw?

She wanted the purple one and I opted for green

My friend Derrick speaks fluent machinist.  He was able to identify it as 2.5mm X .45 screw.  In the bonus round, he even produced the proper replacement screw.

We had the knife and the clip and when we got the screw, well, everything worked.

That greatly simplified my job.  I didn’t want to force an incorrect thread into the knife's titanium frame, so having the correct one was excellent. 

Lot of brands available, any one would work

I got out my semi-permanent (blue) threadlock and #9 Torx drivers and went to work.  I used a single drop and let the threadlocker wet the threads and drained off the excess into a paper towel.  This left me with a tiny ribbon of blue winding around the thread root.  I screwed everything back together, finger-tight.

Done!

My wife got her favorite knife back, so it’s a great outcome in my book.

Thanks, Derrick!

What's In Your Stocking?

Stocking stuffers?  We don’t need no stinkin’ stocking stuffers…

That's not true, is it?  During the Christmas Holidays, there is always a need for little gifts.  This is especially true if you're a knife fancier.  We all need oils, waxes, polishes, sharpening doodads, and whatnots, but we sometimes hesitate to buy for ourselves.

Let me give you two ideas any knife fancier will want.

There are various products like these two, I just happen to have these on hand.

Every pocket knife I’ve owned has screws, nuts, and bolts that all what to back out and get lost.  Every clip has at least one screw that wants to be somewhere else.

The solution: Threadlock.  People have used nail polish, airplane glue, paint, and other solutions to keep screws from backing out.  McBride writes during the Great War, WWI, he and other shooters rusted their screws in place with iodine.  There are better solutions for a pocket knife.

I'd get the blue semi-permanent.  It will keep the gremlins from backing out screws.

The trend today is to use torx screws.  Those are the screws that need a star-shaped driver.  They are the hot fasteners today, and most of your knives will be assembled with these specialty screws.  If you want to replace a clip, disassemble, and clean your knife, you’ll need the correct torx driver.  Husky makes a nice set of four double-ended drives housed in a nice plastic body.  The end cap rotates so you can put finger pressure on it and still turn the driver.  The drives range from the tiny T4 to the smallish T15.

Two easy stocking stuffers for your favorite knife owner, even if you buy these for yourself.