Daily blade - Spyderco P'kal

This knife - a Spyderco P'kal - has been riding in my right front pocket since I got it...4 or 5 years ago at this point. Pretty much perfect design for a reverse grip / edge in folding knife.

Ed: Disposable Kit

Via mi amigo Ed @ Ed's Manifesto:

"Friend of the page sent in this picture. He arrived in an unfamiliar place and went with the on site procurement method. Basically he built his cheap throwaway kit from just one trip to the Local Walmart. This method allows you to bypass a lot of problems as far as transportation of gear from one country to another for example." -  Ed

Commentary: Sometimes circumstances separate you from your tools. Air travel is a big 'un, especially if you're packing light and limiting yourself to carry ons. A little cash and improvisational ability can get you re-equipped in no time.
Or plan ahead and cache it.

I'm seeing maybe $40 worth of stuff here, but well rounded set for daily carry.

How to use a Carbon Fiber Ventilator Pen

From EdWood. For educational purposes only :).

Ventilators available from Vigilant Gear and Amazon.

Karambit work, how to not die on an elevator and more - Friday YouTube Dump - 7/25/14

Doug Marcaida demonstrating possibilities with the karambit - impact striking to dynamic deployment of the blade. We're big fans of the k-bit in various forms and Marcaida is one of the best edged weapons dudes in the world...good stuff.

Reader question: Survival strategies without firearms

A question came in from a British ex-pat living in Taiwan:

Everyone, every blog and every site I read (especially in English) always talks about self defense and using arms but what if you had none?

Everyone talks about bug out locations and protection through the use of arms but what if on route they were confiscated by the authorities and you found yourself unprepared with none?

I myself have a little place away from populated areas here in Taiwan and am fully conscious of the fact that if the laws break down and you are on your own, it’s gonna be hard.

Now I am about as removed as I can be BUT on an island like Taiwan which is heavily populated it’s impossible to be that far away from anyone looking for food or a place to hide.

So with that in mind and NOT having the availability of any arms, maybe as a question to your clearly wise audience “How would you defend yourself? Hide? Stand? Fight?”

This is also tough as there would be some weapons but not for all the masses and as a British Guy living in an Asian country blending in is not an option.

When faced with a violent aggressor or pissed off mob, there are two time-tested strategies - fight or avoid the trouble altogether.

On fighting:

In terms of fighting, there's an old saying - "God made men, but Sam Colt made men equal." Firearms are the great equalizer - a dude can outweigh you by a hundred pounds of muscle...doesn't much matter when put a couple rounds into his chest.

Moar Blacksmithing: Nepalese Blacksmiths & Man at Arms

Since we've gotten onto the topic of blacksmithing, a couple videos I thought you might find interesting.

First up, video from a blacksmith shop in Nepal where they mass produce Khurki knives. A practical, proven design for a big ol' chopper, made with the most basic of hand tools.



And, Man at Arms, a look inside a 'modern' weaponsmith's shop. Lots of powertools - the power hammer is especially cool.

These are movie and video game designs, but the tools and techniques would work for more practical designs. There's a couple dozen of these videos and other every week or two - some of the weapons are more practical, some are not, the process is interesting to watch for all.

The Raid: Stick & blade

Brutal stick and blade work from the movie the Raid...some of the most intense hand to hand fighting put to film. Not for the squeamish.

EdWood gets down to business

T-Blog friend and sometime guest contributor EdWood has Tumblr blog up, with lots of his typically wicked gear, photos and creativity on display. About time! Should be lots of good stuff to come.

Check it out and bookmark it up:

http://edpoint.tumblr.com/

Edwood: Tracker Dan's Honeybadger karambit

Ed has all the nice toys, doesn't he?

If you can draw your attention away from the MP-5, you'll note a small blade in his support hand. That's the Honeybadger, a wicked little karambit made by Ed's buddy, Navy SEAL Tracker Dan.

When he's not putting boot to ass for the country, Dan brings his considerable real world experience and training to making custom knives. You may remember seeing one of Dan's tomahawks here on T-Blog a little over a year ago, when we asked Ed to share his thoughts and experiences with 'hawks in modern/urban defense.

While on the opposite side of the size spectrum, the Honeybadger is no less impressive than Dan's Graymatter 'hawk. In fact, it's probably the single best design for a concealable retention blade that I've seen. I'm a huge fan of the karambit for self defense in general and weapon's retention specifically, and the Honeybadger takes that to the next level. It's small enough that you can still use your support hand to perform weapons manipulations (as Ed demonstrates above), yet more than effective enough to cut someone off of you in a clinch.

More details and awesome pictures after the jump.

Knife versus Gun

Another one that you may or may not have seen floating the interwebs: A couple interesting techniques for countering the classic Teuller drill - guy with a knife in hand at 21 feet versus a guy with a holstered gun.

Knife guy is Doug Marcaida, one of the leading experts in kali and knife fighting in the world.

Thoughts? Practice your combat rolls lately?

I don't see too many school practicing this hot on the range...

Exotic Blades: The Karambit

An Emerson folding karambit

The karambit comes to us from Filipino Martial Arts (FMA), where it has a long history and complex technique background. The tiger claw shaped blade, held in a reverse grip, edge out, brings with it unique characteristics for slashing, hooking and controlling an opponent. It can be straight up nasty and very effective.

Inside View: Edwood's Persian-esque Fighter

When I reached out to Edwood for his thoughts on tomahawks, he also shared a little behind the scenes on a knife design that he is working on with knifemaker Thomas Pepper. Pictured above, it's a wicked looking, combat-oriented design, meant to be big enough to be effective, but small enough to be concealable.Of course, I had to get a few details around the thought process behind the design.

At some point in the future, this knife design may become available for purchase. Details are to be determined. Edwood is doing initial field testing right now, and I can only imagine what that consists of...

Anyways, enough intro junk and let's get down to business--here's what Edwood and Thomas had to say about their collaborative design.

Interview with Edwood: Tactical Tomahawks

Edwood's Tacker Dan Graymatter Tomahawk

Some of you may recognize Edwood's name from his jaw dropping contest entries here on T-Blog or his prolific posting on Bladeforums. If you do, he's a man who needs little introduction.

For those who don't recognize him, Edwood is an active member of a specialized law enforcement unit in Mexico--a country that has been quasi-apocalyptic for years now. Fighting on the front lines of the war with the cartels, Ed's worked a lot of dangerous jobs and survived a lot of dangerous situations. He has stories about raids on growing operations, drug houses, running protective details for politicians and more.

Edwood is also a man who knows his blades; in addition to on-the-job experience, Edwood has sought out training from some of the best edged-weapons trainers in the business. He's currently studying under Scott Babb, founder of the Libre Fighting System. Ed understands the art and technique behind using blades in modern combat...and he's got years of experience doing so.

If you are ever in the Salt Lake area..

Make sure to stop by the retail shop for BladeHQ, just south of SLC in American Fork. BladeHQ is one of the interwebs biggest knife sellers, and the shop is a small storefront attached to their warehouse. Anything they have on their website you can check out, in person, which is of course much better than surfing the web and relying on other people's reviews. They have literally thousands and thousands of knives to choose from, from cheap to uber high end customs. It's pretty much a Mecca for knife fans, kid in a candy store type place. If you're ever in the area, you've gotta check em out!

Jan 2013 Pocket Dump

Ryan over at TSLRF is having himself a lil' contest of every day carry pocket dumps, so I had to enter :). This is my "special edition" version with a few added tidbits from my initial entry and likes to past blog entries.

Pocket dump contents is of course backed up with my EDC bag and vehicle kits.

Contents are:

Smith & Wesson 642 with S&W grips and a Tyler-T Grip. I've found this combination quite good for concealment purposes and controllable when shooting. While the Smith isn't an ideal weapon, it is easy enough to conceal in a wide range of clothes and carry methods--pretty much anywhere, any time--and gives 5-for-sure rounds of respectable .38 Spl. A decent enough compromise.

I'm not a die-hard snubbie guy and am well aware of the short comings, and would be hesitant to recommend them to anyone without setting expectations - heavy DA trigger, bad sights, recoil, slow reload time, etc. I will eventually pick up one of the new pocket 9s and see how they fare. But, this is what I run at the moment and I'm not losing sleep over it.

Alexander Wolf's Signature Apocalypse Weapons

Here's one I owed you guys - my end-of-the-world, the Nazi Zombies are marching load out. AR-15, Eagle plate carrier with Level III plates, Glock 17, ESEE-4 and Church & Son's forged Skull Cracker.

Survival Knife question for the tribe

Wanted to pick the collective brain of the T-Blog Tribe with a quick questions.

I'm getting rolling on planning an ebook version of the Preparing on $40 a Week series--expanded entries, more detail, some budget friendly DIY projects and a other few additions. There are a few entries that I plan to revisit, and one of those is the entry on the $40 Survival Knife.

My recommendation was a Mora Bushcraft Triflex, which is an excellent knife in many ways. It's awesomely sharp, excellent slicer, whittler and carver, easily resharpened, with a comfortable grip and serviceable sheath. It does, admittedly lack some durability - the thinner blade steel and partial length tang mean that it won't stand up to some of the abuse that a more ruggedly built knife might. Don't get me wrong - it will stand up to some hard use, and Moras have long been a favorite among survival instructors because, well, they just plain work.

That all said, I wanted to take a look at some of the other solid knives in the $40 price range, to see if I can better hone in on an ideal choice given the budget. The Mora Bushcraft may win in the end, but another knife might, too.

I'm planning on picking up 3 knives for the showdown, currently they are:

• Cold Steel Bushman
• Condor Bushlore
• Schrade SCHF-9 Extreme Survival Knife

I've had/messed with a Bushman in the past, and generally like it, aside from a quasi crappy sheath and a bit too large. I have zero experience with the other two, but both look quite promising. The Bushlore is probably the most similar comparison to the Mora, the other two veer into bigger/chopper turf, which is fine by me.

Am I missing an obvious candidate? Is there another knife that needs to be considered? Let me know!

Preparing on $40 a Week: Last Week & Index!

It's over (for now!)

This has been a fun series to write, and it's actually helped pull me buckle down and fill in a couple gaps in my preps, too. This is our last week of the series - if you've been following along, you've made it to the end!

This final week is pretty simple. Take $40 in cash and add it to your bug out bag (or, if you're disciplined, a back corner of your wallet). $40 isn't much, but it'll fill up a tank of gas, pay for a cab, buy a week worth of cheap food, and so on. It's also the start of an emergency savings - add more funds to it as you can, and don't spend it unless there's a real emergency.

If you've been following week-to-week, you should have some money in the "bank" - around $15. I'd recommend spending that money on a quality knife sharpener...I'm partial to this model - the Eze-Lap brass sharpener. Good for getting a basic edge going and then strop to get a finer edge as needed. Works pretty well and the all-metal construction will last you through years of hard use.

If you've missed a week here or there, here's the whole list of posts. You can also see them by clicking on the "$40 a week" label at the bottom of the post.

1. Everyday Carry Knife
2. Everyday Carry Light
3. Bugout Backpack - they've jacked the price up a bit on these, but still a good deal!
4. Survival Knife
5. Fire Gear & Container
6. Sleeping Bag
7. Shelter
8. Water Filter
9. Budget Individual First Aid Kit
10. Protective Gear
11. Chopper/large cutting tool
12. Bug Out Food
13. Toiletry Kit & Odds n' Ends
14. Headlamp
15. Food Storage Week 1
16. Food Storage Week 2
17. Food Storage Week 3 & Barter Goods
18. Start emergency savings

Yep, your total spend will be around $720 when you total it all up - the price of an entry level AR-15 or a decent long-weekend vacation. Nothing to sneeze at. But, it's gear that will last you a long while, and it's stuff that you can put to use every day, not just leave sitting in a closet/trunk/garage.

The preps we put together are by no means exhaustive, but they're a dang good foundation. And, if you want, continuing regular $40 investments in preps quickly adds up - food, water, fuel, savings, etc. Just keep at it!

Thanks again for following along with this series - this was the first time I've done something this extensive & weekly on T-Blog, and it was, I think, a big success. This certainly is not the last you'll hear of the $40 a week concept or budget minded prepping in general. Stay tuned!

Every entry from the Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest!

From COBB - Another excellent entry in our latest contest!

Here it is - all of the entries from our wicked awesome Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest in one place - for archiving, linking and your enjoyment! Again, great work everyone, thanks for your support and engagement on this contest.

Aside from gratiutous gun/knife/gear enjoyment, there's also some merit in checking out what others are going to be running after the apocalypse. Sure, more than a few entries went extra heavy on firepower, but when you're hunting for zombies, that can be a good plan. We had 32 entries, which is a decent sample size. Of those, we had:

• 13 entries running some variety of 12 gauge shotgun, either as a primary or backup
• 10 entries running an AR-15 or variant
• 4 AKs and 1 SKS in 7.62x39mm
• 9 with pistols in 9mm
• 7 with pistols in .45 ACP
• 6 with pistols in .40 S&W
• 3 running a pistol as their primary
• 5 with .22lrs of some variety - 2 running a .22lr as a primary, three others with a .22 in a secondary role
• 4 entries without any kind of firearm - two from Europe, one new prepper, and 032125, who chose to go with heavy Viking steel
• Biggest bore rifle was SC's .30-06 bolt action; I was a bit surprised to see nothing in .308. Guess JWR needs to get on his battle rifle soap box more often these days.
• Biggest bore handgun was Neuro's .454 Casull Super Redhawk
• 2 entries had body armor (plate carriers with plates)

If we take this as a somewhat representative sample of preppers/survival types, 12 gauge is the most common across the board, AR-15s are the usual rifle of choice, and pistols in 9mm tend to be a bit more common than .45s or .40s, though not by a wide margin.

I've got to round up my gear and channel some of the creativity seen in this contest to show you guys and gals my personal selections for when the Nazi Zombies come knocking. Stay tuned for that, though you've seen most of the pieces at some point or another here on T-Blog.

This will take a while to load - if you've got a slow connection, you have been warned!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #11 - Last one!

Here's the last one! Thanks again to all who entered. I'm planning on pulling all of the entries together in one place - then they'll all be together for your perusals down the line.

This has been my favorite contest thus far - way to step it up, loyal readers!