Weekend Adventure

I was unpacking my ditty bag and my little Swiss Army-style knife slipped out and splashed into the water-filled sink. I keep a little Kershaw with the ditties because of its multi-functions: two small blades, sturdy little scissors, nail cleaner and file, good tweezers and the all important fruit peeler. A hair blower and a little oil and the knife is as good as new.


I was unpacking from an overnight expedition to Camp Perry for the pop-up spring pistol match. It’s a fun match to raise money for the Friends of Camp Perry and run by the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association or ORPA. The goal, worthy in my mind, is to improve the lot of service men and women stationed at Perry for tune-ups before shipping out. A very worthy goal.


It’s a fun match. Seven half-size humanoid plastic targets pop up and down forty times controlled by computer.

Nuff said!

Target rich environment

At most, two targets stand and you have to shoot them down. You get about 5 seconds per group, which is plenty of time to tactically engage each target with a pistol. Tactical come from a Latin word meaning ‘shoot the closest one.’ There are several scholars who believe the word actually comes from a different root meaning ‘make it black and cost more.’ What do I know?


I used to believe the targets had a steel plate behind them that sensed the impact and took the target down. This trip I stood in back of one (before the shooting started) and saw no plate, just holes.

It appears the plastic is a ‘self-healing’ material and the impact of the bullet vibrating the target is sufficient to trigger a response. It seems to work for .22 cal through .45ACP. Still, starting with a partially punctured green guy, adding 8 or more holes per target each relay, the 14th or 30th relay shooter starts to wonder, “Am I missing or am I shooting through a hole?”

No matter the score, it’s a fun time and we managed to eke out a dry and warm day. Friday was cold and rainy and Easter Sunday is cool and rainy, but Saturday was warm and sometimes sunny. But the wind!!

If you go to Camp Perry which is pressed into the shores of Lake Erie, be prepared for wind, wind and MORE WIND!

But truth be told (shooting anything .22 or bigger from 10 to 30 meters at a half-humanoid target), the wind isn’t a significant factor. I had a great time.

So is the Kershaw the only knife connection? Of course not. I know in our little group every shooter had at least one pocket knife.



SOG Spec Elite in pocket - Mouse gun in hand
(I asked...)



So I’m estimating there were at least 100 blades, maybe more at Perry. I know I had two.






Cosmoline Adventure

Everyone likes getting mail, so when the package arrived, I couldn’t wait to get it open. I suspected it was the sailor’s knife I recently won on eBay. I opened the package and found a cocoon of newspaper. When I sell stuff on eBay I try to pack the item so no damage can occur. After all, once it sells, I am sending it to its rightful owner so I want to be careful. So, seeing the wad of paper, my first thought was “wrapped the way I wrap things!”


Unrolling the knife revealed a grease covered slathered oval shaped object.  Well, there was so much cosmoline I wasn’t sure there was a knife present.


The time honored method of cleaning cosmoline from rifles is to stand in a hot shower in your skivvies and scrub the rifle with your toothbrush. Yuck…


I knew I needed a different way. I did find a site what showed a hot steam method and listed other methods of cleaning cosmoline.


http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/cosmoline/pdf/cosmoline.pdf

Partially cleaned - Now for the soak!

The best I’ve seen was a large two-tub ultrasonic unit at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot. You just opened the bolt and placed it in one tub for half an hour and then into a second bath which contained a rust inhibitor and light oil for a second half hour. When you came back your rifle was waiting for you. The cost was around 25 bucks and everyone who bought a surplus rifle thought it was a deal!


I wiped the majority of cosmoline off with old newspaper and submerged it in a solution of equal parts:


Mineral spirits,
Clenzoil,
WD40.


Between an old toothbrush and a spare turkey baster, I cleaned off most of the cosmoline. The blade compartments were too deep for my brush, so I cut a strip of cardboard and scoured them out. Still, it required a lot of soaking. If I were smart I would have left it in the solution overnight, but I was too impatient to wait.

Nothing Like a good soak

I finally got the gunk out of all the nooks and crannies. My cleaning solution went from a nice clear green to a muddy, turbid gray. I was afraid to use it on anything else, so I disposed of it.


It took a lot of wiping with rags followed by paper towels but I got most of the solvent removed. I suspect it will have to wait for a sunny hot summer day when I can wrap it in newspaper and leave it in the sun while I work around the yard. It would not surprise me if more cosmoline worked free in the heat.

Well at least I don’t have to worry about oiling it or protecting the blade for awhile.

Benchmade VS Spyderco

People ask, “What should I buy?  Spyderco Delica or Benchmade Mini-Griptilian?”

Good question, and as of now I don’t know which I would recommend, the Delica or the Mini-Griptilian.

First let’s ignore price.  It isn’t that I don’t want to get embroiled with deutschmarks, yen or dollars, but really,  the difference in money isn’t that much.

Also let’s ignore the stud option on the Griptilian.  That’s one less factor to compare.

	Delica	Mini-Griptilian
Handle	Flat, easy to nestle in pocket	Round, more natural feel
Lock	Spine, requires changing grip	Axis, just needs a free thumb
Clip	Movable to all 4 positions	Movable, left or right only
Steel	VG-10	154 CM, option of 440C
Weight	2.5 oz	2.56 oz
Blade Length	2.87 in	2.9 in
Handle length	4.25 in	3.87in

Well, that certainly makes it easier, right?  

Benchmade Mini-Griptillian with the cool reptile shaped blade

Truthfully, no.  I like the natural feel of the Mini-Griptilian.  The handle swell fits my hand and my wife’s hand equally well.  I like the flat thin Delica as it fits my pockets better.  Both knives open well but the Mini-Griptilian has a slightly smoother opening and a much better closing.

I prefer tip-up carry and I match the knife to either right or left pocket.  Either knife works for me.

Blade length?  If I can’t get most of the jobs done with either blade length, then the job calls for a specialized knife.

Weight?  If you can tell the difference between the knives based on weight, you are one sensitive dude.

I’m not a steel junkie.  Yes, there are some very special steels that give you incrementally better performance, but could you tell in the double blind cutting test?  I’d wager you could with sophisticated testing equipment.  By hand?  Nope!

Spyderco Delica

So where does this leave me?  I gotta go Spyderco.  Mostly for emotional reasons, these knives are tied to me.  The Delica was my first tactical knife.  My first published article was about a Spyderco.  My favorite tactical teacher carried Spyderco.  The first knife I gave my wife was a Spyderco.  And most important, they are completely dependable.

Benchmade, it’s a great knife.  My wife carries them and loves them.  So it remains your choice.  If you can’t decide, well, that’s nature’s way of saying buy them both.

Mini-reptile, not Griptilian.   Hard to fit in pocket or open

A Number Game

All blogs no matter the topic, knife, airgun or apron wearing, all blogs attempt to attract readers. We write blog, therefore we seek an audience. And bigger is, in this case, better.


Let’s cut through the mumbo jumbo and stats we get from blogger or wherever you get your numbers.  We all feel this way sometimes.



Take it away Stephan Pastis’ Pearls Before Swine

A Carry Knife To Remember

One of the more innovative knife designs, in my opinion, is the TDI knife made by KA-BAR.  This small fixed blade knife is the brain child of John Benner, the president and chief instructor of Tactical Defense Institute located in West Union, Ohio.

The original TDI Knife with reversible clip sheath

The previous mythos was while struggling to retain your firearm against one or more thugs assassins (let’s be real – they get your gun, you’re dead) you would take your free hand, reach down into your pocket, slide the knife clipped there out, open it and strike your opponent with the business end of the knife.  I’ve trained it and it doesn’t work very well.

John’s idea was a small fixed blade that would be practically invisible behind an officer’s reloads and could be taken out by grasping the handle and cutting your way to safety.  He wanted something that a person could strike hard and fast with and not have to hold back in fear of injuring himself.  

The short bladed, curved handle knife with clip sheath has become a favorite of LEOs and armed civilians.  I have carried mine for days at work and nobody paid any attention to it.

Recently I have been hearing about a folding TDI knife.  Part of the problem was designing a lock that would hold the knife securely open, not accidentally close while fighting, and still have that curved handle to prevent you from sliding up onto the blade.

It’s been introduced.  Called the TDI Sidelock, KA-BAR has introduced a folding knife modeled on the TDI fixed blade.  The handles are G10 and the knife is set up for tip-up carry.  You can switch the pocket clip to left or right carry.

The TDI Sidelock -- Bigger bladed, stout design but … better than the original?

Yes, it’s made in China, but it has KA-BAR's quality and knowing John, he would never let his reputation ride on crappy workmanship or materials.  The blade locks open with a stout liner lock.  The lock has a low profile to prevent accidental closing.

It’s a fighting knife.  Oh, sure you can use it as a letter opener, cut string and maybe make shavings to start a fire, but it’s clear what it’s designed for.  Take his knife class and you’ll see it in action and learn how to put it in action.  http://www.tdiohio.com/cqpc.htm#knife

I like it.  I think highly of John and everyone thinks highly of his school, but I’ve got to say the knife misses its purpose:  To draw an edged weapon efficiently, quickly and immediately deploy it to save your life.  The only justification I can see is not being able to carry a fixed blade.  Once the blade is deployed; you have a powerful tool for self-defense.  I already own one.

Jail House Knives

A lot of my coworkers find the monthly safety meeting a complete waste of time, except for the donut you snag after you sign in.  I don’t share that view.  Safety meetings have a lot of useful information.  Sometimes they remind you of how insensitive companies can be and other times it can be quite amusing.

One of our departments uses homemade utility knives.  Picture a foot long, one inch wide strip of steel.  Like from the duct work in your house. Now bend it in half.  That’s the body of the knife.

Image a second piece of the same material, but this one is a 1x2 inch rectangle.  Fold it short ways over the back of the knife body so that about half inch of metal overlaps from the back to the front of the knife body on both sides.  This forms a locking buckle that can be slid up and down.  That’s the knife, almost.

Slip an industrial utility knife blade in the front of the knife, slide the buckle forward until the extra thickness of the utility blade jams the buckle and ...Presto! a homemade utility knife.

They showed a picture of it.  It was the nicest prison shank I have ever seen!  The buckle was made from brass, so little tapping with a hammer tightens it up nicely.

The back end of the blade is exposed to your fingers, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone.  I know a lot of people wear the cut resistant yellow Kevlar gloves at work, so maybe they figure, what the heck.

The company is now going to replace them after a worker took a swing at the plastic sheeting that  pallets come wrapped in, missed and cut  his arm.  The only question from the workers was, “Are they paying for new ones?”  The answer was yes, which made everyone happy.

Me, if I need a utility knife and the company didn’t pay for it (why else would you make a utility shank?), I’d buy one.  This seems a lot safer and easier than making a POS* knife.

Knife front:

I ran into a fellow who was shopping for a knife with a sub 3-inch blade at the last gun/knife show.  He didn’t find anything at my table, but I asked him why he needed that length.  Many cities have sub 1.5-inch or a 3-inch no serrations blade rule.  I was wondering if his company has a similar knife policy.  (Me?  I carry two pocket knives with different blades for different cutting conditions.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

Him:  I need it for work.

Me:  Where do you work?

Him:  The jail.

Me:  I’m surprised they allow you to carry a knife on the job.

Him:  Everyone is supposed to have a cut-down knife.

Me:  Oh! 

I’m still surprised about this, but police tell me most people in jail are on good behavior because they are going to trial and hope good conduct will buy them some juice with the courts.

*POS  'Piece of Shot', (dot the o)

Cleveland - The Edge of Spring

The creepin’ crud is evident at work so I don’t feel too bad about being under the weather myself.  In fact, most of the chemistry lab has called in sick!   

Let me explain why I find this so amazing: we don’t have sick days. If you’re hourly or piece work (the chem lab is all hourly), you could lose half percent per sick day of your bonus.  Based on last year’s bonus that could be, …let’s see, …carry the six…over $100 a day plus your daily salary!  Sick days are like a big fine you have to pay to the company.

I hear welders are in great demand but the supply is low.  It’s not an easy job, but making something (other than rust and shavings) out of metal has to be rewarding.  I can’t imagine the pride a welder must have when he points to a bridge or building and exclaims, “I built that!”

It’s been suggested we hire teen heart throb Justin Bieber to say he relaxes by welding, and in two years we could be over washed in welders. 

Hmmmm, maybe that’s not such a great idea after all.

I’m back from Florida enjoying this wonderful, damp, miserable weather Ohioans call early spring.  It’s true there is no place like home, but Florida had a lot going for it.

The perfume of orange blossoms drifts though my father’s backyard and into my mother’s house.  It takes you awhile but you can sniff your way to the source.  Watch out for the busy bees.

Next to orange trees Dad planted several lemon and grapefruit trees which he started from seeds.  It does a man good to plant seeds and see the resulting trees blossom heavy with fruit. 

By accident the lemon and grapefruit met, dated a while and moved in together.  The resulting fruit, rounder than any lemon you have ever seen, has a subtle but distinct grapefruit taste.

On one of his trees he has a staghorn fern.

Hey, Rocky1  Watch me pull a fern outa my hat!

It’s an odd looking plant, reminds me more of moose antlers, but what do I know.  Still, for an amateur botanist like myself it’s very close to heaven.

Of course, there’s the Gulf of Mexico.  The pelican squadron was not fully activated.  I watched one scout glide over the shallows looking for fish.  Do they ever flap their wings?  They always seem to be gliding so gracefully over the waves.   

Scout to base--sighted fish--starting  run...

When I’m at the Outer Banks, where the Atlantic Ocean is rougher, the post graduate pelicans fly in single file formation, gliding low over the water’s surface between waves.  They disappear from sight flying in the trough between the waves and reappear as the wave passes.  Quite wonderful.

There are some downsides to Florida.  Bugs…you’ve got to professionally spray once a year to keep the cockroaches palmetto bugs at bay.  You should also learn to love mildew.  I believe it is Florida’s state fungus.

And of course, any fresh or brackish water spells alligators.

I spotted this guy hanging out at a pond near Venice Beach. 

I’ve got to admit my first two thoughts were: Oooh! They taste like chicken and I could get a really nice knife sheath out of him.

Yeah, Florida has some downsides, but did I mention the sunset over the gulf?

On The Knife Front...

Best comment I have heard recently weighing in the practicality of carrying expensive knives:

“Do I carry an expensive knife I could lose or a cheap one I’m embarrassed by?”

This could be the touchstone to parse your differences between cheap and expensive.  Look at your carry knife and ask, are you embarrassed when your buddies ask to borrow your pocket knife?

Better Words Than I Have----

If you love knives, click on the link on my sidebar.  http://bowieknifefightsfighters.blogspot.com
Check out the comments for March 10 2011.  England is trying to find a new source to blame their internal problems on.  We are following England's example with gun control and knife control is on the horizon.  See England, see your future.  It isn't nice.

The Sun Is Warm And The Wind Is Sweet

The wind doesn’t cut like a knife.  Sunglasses aren’t worn to prevent snow blindness.  Any sand we have is to run between our toes and not for traction.  Why?

I’m not in Cleveland today.  I’m in sunny Florida were the natives are bitching about how cold 78 degrees is.  Me?  I think it’s Heaven.  Especially after during our winter.

I’m down here celebrating my father’s 90th birthday.  He and my mother decided to leave the northern states and move to Florida after he retired.  None of us kids live down here, so they established a beachhead and grew into the community.  They’re happy, but I still worry about them.  My wife is able to help her mother with daily activities but not only can I not help my parents, I don’t get to visit them either.  Florida is just too far for a weekend jaunt.

My father gave me his father’s knife.  At one time it was nice and new, but like a lot of old timer’s knives, the blades are literally sharpened away.  Still, I’ll treasure it as it is.  It is one of the few connections I have to my grandfather.  I’ll get a picture up later.

I like this group of people outside of Chili’s.  They look like a nice family so I took their picture for my blog.  Well, it was either them or hire actors for a family shot.

Really, this is part of my family.  I’m still missing a brother and sister.  They haven’t arrived yet.  I hope they are alright.  Travel can be hazardous.

One of the reasons I think Florida is heaven besides the warm winters is the botany and biology.  This is one of the little guys I see hangin’ around the house looking for a quick meal.

Flies?  You got flies, maybe yes?

Warther Expo Recap

The Warther Expo is over for this year.



Was it a success? I’m taking a page from Bill Clinton. It depends on your meaning of success. If success means getting friends and other knife aficionados together under one roof, it was a success. If you define success as high attendance and foot traffic resulting in sales, the answer is no. Reasons and excuses aside, attendance was down. But it was still great fun!


For those who did attend, great deals, wonderful knives and outstanding sausage sandwiches were available. Here’s some of what you missed.

 Communication was difficult in the large open room we occupied. We soon came to depend on the man known as The Voice.

I didn’t know you could still buy Warther combat knives with the metal sheath. They are, I’m told, a special order but one can be made for you.





 James Pengov was set up at one table with his lovely engravings and tools. James makes knives, but his engravings are spectacular.

Work in progress   Jim@pengovinc.com

My spies tell me (I talked to his father) James is working on achieving national recognition and is close to completing his apprenticeship. Expect his prices to jump, but they will still be worth it.

I showed you one of Jack Hatton’s miniatures in a previous post. Here’s one of his small decorative knife handles.  (For reasons not understood by me at least, Jack's miniature is at the bottom of this blog, at least it was in my previews.)  Jack can be e-mailed at hattongwy@aol.com


 I can't begin to figure out how someone carves a figure this small and so nicely.

Warther knives were quite well represented; after all it was the Dale Warther Memorial Expo. I didn’t know Dale very well, but he always said hello and I miss seeing him at the knife club meetings.

I am always surprised at the stories people tell of finding a Warther treasure at a yard sale or flea market. You see them on eBay once and a while, but these knives have developed quite a following in Ohio. It was a great chance to see the displays.
 

But don't let me confuse you. There were plenty of other knives.

If you couldn’t find something to your taste, well, you weren’t looking hard enough.












And if by some strange chance you have acquired all the knives you want (How can this be?!?), there were wood cases to display your collection.



Well-made wood boxes and cases always remind me of my mother’s father. He was an old-world cabinetmaker. He came over after the First World War and could make magic with wood. He would have never allowed it, but I sometimes wonder if I should have taken a year or two off between high school and college to study under him. Boy, talk about paths not taken and only dimly understood.


Even in the middle of the hubbub and excitement, you could find knife makers lost in thought thinking about their next creation.

See you next year!
 

Knives and Hearts

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and if you missed giving that someone special a gift or at least a card, you have to wait a year.  Better still, do it sooner, or that someone special may not be in your life that long.

The day was originally named after Saint Valentine in 496 by Pope Gelasius.  The saint’s day was removed from the Roman calendar in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.  Not exactly a cutting edge holiday, it has shown remarkable staying power.  Most nations have some custom or celebration marking the love between two people.  They go by various names, but I like the Guatemalan day, “Dio del Carino” or Day of Affection.

Naturally, I didn’t forget my wife.  How could I?  She grounds me, lifts me up and has my back.  I would not be who I am without her love.

So what did I get her?

It’s a neck knife made by Gary Bucklew.  The small 2-inch 440c steel blade has a dyed giraffe bone handle.  The knife and its dark leather sheath is supported by a tiger conch shell necklace.  I think it’s lovely and she likes it too.  Or, at least she’ll wear it.

I got a partial mystery knife.

It’s a sailor’s knife with non-lockable marlin spike, sheepsfoot blade and can opener.  The main blade is stamped Coricama and is claimed to be (here’s the mystery) 1950-ish Italian navy issue.  I haven’t taken the time to research it.

I like odd knives.  Not any oddity, but oddity as a result of function.  Doctors’ knives are the perfect example.  A proper one has a spatula for compounding and mixing, a slender blade for lancing boils and other minor surgery and a metal base for grinding medical ingredients.

Sailor knives are the next best example.  A spike for working knots free and splicing lines, a blunt tipped knife to prevent injury while working on a rolling ship and can opener for survival rations are often the key components.

I’m already looking at other sailor knives and wondering if there’s a book or website where I can learn more.

Dale Warther Memorial Knife Expo - 2011

I found my Spyderco Salt.  We both looked at it but it was hidden under several flat bags of disposable ear plugs.  My wife claims I keep them around to block her out, but the truth is I take them out of my pocket at the end of the day and forget them the next day.  Somehow the Salt slipped under a few pairs and was overlooked.

You can imagine my chagrin when I moved the box of Kleenex next to the ear protectors and noticed a hole looking out at me.  So, Lassie has come home and I for one was glad to see my knife.

The Dale Warther Memorial Expo is in full swing.  Several club members have their Warther knife collections on display, but the family is showing knives which may have never been seen in public.

I find these closet knives very interesting.  Don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I think there are 5 maybe 6 basic patterns to the depth of the Warther knife universe.  This is clearly wrong.  On display is a one of only four sets ever made of three knives.  One of them is a Bowie with the traditional Warther jeweling.  I hope to find out more about them tomorrow.

Here are a few images to enjoy.  Frankly, if you’re a knife person and you’re within two hours, it would be worth your drive.  Sunday is our last day until next year.

One of the knife vendors specializing in factory new

.

Flint handled knives by Joseph’s Designs

Ohio has some of the most colorful flint in the States, possibly the world.  The patterns are one of a kind and I love look into the handle by way of translucent patches of stone.

The entire knife is under an inch and a half!

Miniatures are hot!  The three or four Jack Hatton had were gone within hours of the opening bell.  You can see why too.

By the end of the day the customers had petered out and there were more vendors than buyers.  This makes for good deals if you know how to bargain.  Sunday promises to be a good day for buyers.

Behind every successful event there is a core group of worker bees to keep everything running smoothly and on course.  One of the many the show can’t do without.

The Missing Knife

I find myself in the same predicament Little Bo Peep did.  Oh sure, I know where my sheep are, but I’m missing a knife.

There are many knives like this knife, but it's not my knife.

I’m not sure it’s lost.  Things aren’t really lost until you stop searching for them.  Just because you can’t find your car keys doesn’t mean it’s time to call the dealership and order a new set.  It just means you have to look a little more.

I’m missing my Spyderco Salt.  I got a fully serrated Salt several years ago when they first came out.  I remember packing it in a salt paste to see if I could get it to rust.  After 12 hours of keeping the paste moist I cleaned it off and found a clean blade.  But I wasn’t surprised.  It’s a Spyderco.

My nightly knife ritual varies.   During the week when I wear the same pair of pants to work, I leave the knives clipped in the pockets.  (Yeah, I carry two knives, different tools for different jobs.)  If I go out that evening or even if I don’t, two different knives are clipped into the after work pants.  On laundry day I have a different ritual.  Everything comes out of the pockets and goes on the counter.

My wife has a simpler ritual on laundry day.  She checks my pockets because she knows I’m forgetful.

Superbowl Sunday morning she discovered I was missing a knife.  I did a quick tally (Let’s see…one SOG, one CRKT, one Endura, two byrds….Where’s the Salt?) and found out I was missing one.  Call out the dogs!!

The seat belts in our cars tend to catch the clips when I get out, but the knives usually end up next to the seat.  Checked both cars, no dice. 

We were at a restaurant last night and it’s easy for a knife to work out of your pocket and onto the seat or floor.  We called, no dice.

Checked the couch.  I’ve lost and found knives there before.  No dice.

Checked the clothes basket.

Checked the counter, again.

Checked the workbench where I sharpen knives.

Checked the cars, again.

Patted the pockets of clean pants I just put on, just in case.

NO DICE!

I have one more chance.  I remember it at work on Friday.  I could have put it down by the microscope, or on my desk.  I don’t remember opening any packages, but that doesn’t mean too much.  I tend to forget the routine daily functions.  I hope I never get in real trouble -- (“Where were you the night of Dec 22 when Col. Mustard was killed with a candlestick in the kitchen?” The detective said.  “Ahhh, I don’t know,” I reply.)

Sure, I can order another one, but it won’t be the same.  I used that knife to publish an article.  I got it from Joyce who has greatly helped me in my fledgling attempts to publish knife articles.  For a lifeless lump of steel and plastic, it was a great comfort in my pocket.  It was a touchstone to so many people and events.  A new one wouldn’t be the same.