Friday, April 22, 2016

WNTBTTA 5


WHAT NOT TO BRING TO THE APOCALYPSE 5

5) I’m not sure if I even have to bring this one up, it should be so obvious, but one really just never knows.  Here you are at a redneck cocktail party ( sitting on the porch at Joe Bob’s drinking beers, if employed, or moonshine, if not ) trying to figure out how many times it takes a newborn baby to be dropped on their head before they are capable of growing up and voting for someone like Hilary, and the inevitable apocalypse reference comes up.  If your only exposure to the topic of survivalism has come from zombies, you don’t want to be showing your ass by bringing up The Walking Dead.  The best second alternative you can think of is “Rambo”, the first movie.  You seem to faintly recollect some part with a cool hollow handle knife with lots of nifty survival supplies stashed inside.  Then, your buddies all stop drinking refreshing adult beverages, and/or scratching themselves, all in unison, look at you in a slack jawed amazed gaze, and burst out laughing mirthfully.  Scooter, you dumb hump!  And there you go, another faux pas. 

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The best way to illustrate the silliness of this design is to make one yourself.  Take two toilet paper cardboard rolls.  Between them place a flat piece of cardboard.  Like such: -/-

Attach with Scotch Tape on both sides.  This is your Big Bad Mighty And Righteous Combat Accessory And Survival Kit Rambo Killing Machine.  Now stab something.  Watch the two pieces separate.  Now take a paper towel cardboard tube.  Stab something.  Do you notice the one piece breaking off in the middle?  Knives need to be designed with the blade and handle core consisting of one piece, or they are close to worthless.  You are better off getting some kind of small plastic tube ( of semi-soft material, not brittle ) and filling it with your supplies and using a bunch of electrical tape to secure the lid and attach it to your knife sheath, if you are so worried about having an emergency survival kit with your knife at all times.  I know, it doesn’t look cool.  And High Speed is all that and a bag of chips, isn’t it?  Enough to risk your life for.

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6) power knife sharpener.  Yes, I know your Dremil Tool has an attachment that allows you to sharpen your chainsaw in seconds.  You just had to have that chainsaw, didn’t you?  But come on, people.  An electrical knife sharpener?  Really?  I not only am fearful of screwing up my knife when I sharpen mine, even the cheap ones, but I also am a lazy bastard by nature and have looked for quick fix knife sharpeners all my life ( because, you know, it really is impossible to own enough knives ).  My newest favorite is the Rada brand R119 Quick Edge Knife Sharpener ( buy yours at Amazon for under $8.  Made in America ).  That does a better job than my key ring sharpener with the carbide and ceramic V slots.  Key ring attached sharpeners being more important than stashed fishing hooks and matches in a hollow handle knife.  Anyway, I’d swear by this sharpener before I’d spend big bucks buying some damn thing I need to plug in and that uses a replaceable sandpaper fan belt looking thing.  It might work beautifully.  I have no idea.  But is violates the KISS principle that all survivalists should swear a blood oath to.  It is, really, a solution in search of a problem. 

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If your knife was given the correct angle on its edge at the factory, your regular carbide V or steel wheeled quick edge sharpener should work just fine.  If not, it is probably Chinese and has a crappy angle.  Look up sharpening with a wet stone sharpener ( everyone should own several ).  It isn’t too difficult, in concept.  Holding the blade straight up vertically from the laid flat stone is 90 degrees.  Go half way down towards the stone for a 45 degree angle.  Halfway again is 22.  Once more for an 11 degree angle.  I believe the factory standard is 13 to 16 degrees.  So go halfway between the last and second to last angles.  If the easy sharpener doesn’t work, you go to the stone and even if you lack a good hold to the proper angle, you can’t really screw it up all that much more.  I mean, obviously, don’t keep going until all the metal is gone, if you can’t get the hang of it.  Leave a good enough knife to barter it.  Someone else better with a stone can use it.  But that is the whole point of the machine knife sharpener, to achieve the perfect angle.  Most folks have a good enough factory knife this isn’t going to be an issue.  If it is, try your luck with a stone.  Rough side first, a half dozen strokes away from you ( never pull towards yourself-push away ), then the other side and inspect.  Keep going, taking your time and working at that angle.  When you’ve got a good edge, repeat on the fine side.  From now on you should be able to use the quick sharpener.  Which, needless to say, you need multiples of in case of theft, breakage, etcetera.  Having only one sharpener is like only having one grinder for tons of wheat kernels.

END

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23 comments:

  1. I think you'll like this guy, and in particular this video James. A lot uncomfortable facts that the PC police left out when instructing America's children in their history revisionist classes. Also included are a few fun facts regarding Lincoln as well. Highly recommended for your viewing pleasure.

    33 Fun Facts about Slavery! (And should we apologize for it?)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXwOdSqF8dI

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  2. How to sharpen a knife with a flat stone ( Free hand Turorial )

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK8Osi_Pn3E

    the best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll watch this one too- I probably need it more than most.

      Delete
  3. Us woodworkers never sharpen our tools, we *touch them up.
    If an edge needs sharpened it is either not worth having or has been abused.

    Same with the (Stihl) chainsaws. I can *feel* when they need touched up, which is more often than I'd prefer, but not so often if I don't stick it in the dirt. Before I use a sharp kitchen knife I run it across small small V sharpener in the drawer, makes life so much better, and once you start you'll never settle for less.

    I too am a knife hoon and always have been. I have 2 on me most times, a couple more on my desk, couple more on the workbench, couple in the truck console, and various others scattered about.
    I probably have several hundred around here. I'm a sucker for a pretty blade.

    From scalpels to swords, from stones to belt sanders, I'm all about blades of every kind. And lighters, and keychains, and about a thousand other things.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't claim anywhere near that many knives, just somewhere in the "way too much" range.

      Delete
  4. “You seem to faintly recollect some part with a cool hollow handle knife with lots of nifty survival supplies stashed inside.”

    Yeah, that pretty much rates right up there with an adult male running around dressed in a bat suit, wearing a utility belt whose contents allow him to solve any possible problem that life throws at him.

    When I was younger (sadly, not as much younger as I would like to lie and say that I was) I didn't know any better and went out and spent $80.00 on a genuine Rambo knife.

    I might add though that there is one exception to the rule for these hollow handled knives. Some of these knives are machined from a solid billet of steel, and are quite strong, such as the one in the link below. But the thing is, why bother? Like you say, it's just as easy to carry a survival necklace, or keep a kit in the sheath pocket of your knife, or have a kit elsewhere on your person.

    http://www.amazon.com/Schrade-SCHF1-Extreme-Survival-Special/dp/B001CZFPSE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My brother has one, it rattles unless you pack it right.

      As a rule, my knives are tools first and foremost and if part of the handle is missing (because I'm also using the fishing stuff) then it is not complete and ready to do it's primary job.

      That's always been my problem with multi-tools too. Seems like all the tools are really just trinkets compared to the real tools they mimic. If I need a pair of pliers I'm not going to settle for a pair that are also a fingernail file.

      I too succumbed to Madison Av marketing long ago and have a very expensive multi-toll and it lies on the heap of other useless stuff I have.

      As I get older I am less gullible and wish I was more so when I was younger cause then I'd have more of my hard earned cash now and less useless junk.

      Delete
    2. The great thing about my earlier years moving constantly was I was able to discard all my mistakes. All those stupid buying decisions no longer glare accusingly at me. Of course, moving always chews up assets and savings, too.

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  5. Dad taught me those "survival" knives were crap when I was a little kid. He always had very plain, very tough knives -small enough to skin a rabbit, big enough to skin a moose.

    MREs have considerable packaging too. More stuff to carry for nothing. I could get a lot more food for less money at the grocery store and it took up less space.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But... come on! The High Speed factor. Where is it?

      Delete
  6. Watch this retro Rambo knife review from the 1980"s, funny as heck.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8xmxadK6aM

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    1. I'm glad I watched that through-hilarious indeed.

      Delete
    2. I watched part of the video before fast forwarding to the end. I had to read through the comments section to find out at the end that he wasn't being serious. I was suspicious because I knew that no one could possibly be that incredibly stupid.

      Also, that knife was the cheap Rambo knock off, not the official version. Not that it matters, because the official version would only hold up slightly better if you tried to use it like that. As mentioned in my comment above, if you have to have one of these types of knives, get the version that's machined from a solid billet of steel. Personally I wouldn't even bother with one of those, and would just get a full tang knife, and carry the survival kit in the knifes sheath pocket or elsewhere on my person.

      Delete
    3. The only knife I have that you could call hollow handle is a Cold Steel Bushman. It’s made to have a piece of wood (stick or broom handle) stuck into the handle to make it into a spear. It’s one tough knife, you probably could break it, but it would be hard. I have seen a video of it locked in a vice and a pipe put on it and bent over about 90 degs and then coming back to the original position. Very few knifes can stand up to the test Cold Steel put their knifes through.

      A nice thing about the CS Bushman is it’s only $25.00 and tough as heck, really tough.

      I also have a Cold Steel Trailhawk Tomahawk, it's light weight, works well and is also about $25.00.

      Chuck Findlay

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    4. When I bought a Cold Steel tomahawk it was poor quality. Not sure it was Trailhawk brand, but the price sounds close.

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  7. I don't know how many of you are reading this weekend, but here is a good summary of last weeks multiple "secret" emergency meeting with the Fed and White House and what they are so fearful about:
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    https://srsroccoreport.com/continued-financial-market-deterioration-impacts-gold-eagle-sales-in-a-big-way/
    *
    I put as much faith in this economist as I did/do Gary North, which is to say I'm rather smitten with him and would start a fanboy club if it wasn't so needy. His is the only site I support with a monthly donation-putting my money where my mouth is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link. I've been trying to make sense of this whole mess.

      Idaho Homesteader

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    2. At first I dismissed it as one of the Fear Porn overblown screeds, even though it knawed at me a little. Now that my boy threw in his two cents, I'm waiting with baited breath. We all know its coming, just can't get that pesky timing thing down.

      Delete
  8. Good Afternoon Lord Bison - May your hair ever shimmer like a Raven's wing. I love the Rada sharpener but my first love is the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Simple, stores in a built in case, and non electric. The Spyderco gray stones are not coarse enough for reprofiling or fixing a truly abused edge. You can buy coarse stones online from Congress Tool that fit the Sharpmaker. They are great to deal with, even tho they are named after the Bribe Monkey Club. Bladeforums has a lot of info on aftermarket stones for a Sharpmaker. Hail Darwin

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    Replies
    1. Ach, the price pain on that one though! I need something like that to compensate for my lack of skill, but I can't justify the price so I'll have to learn anyway.

      Delete
    2. “I need something like that to compensate for my lack of skill”

      Hey Jim, you might consider the Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener. My father gave one to me, and I'm able to put a decent edge on a knife, and I totally suck at sharpening knives. It looks like according to the reviews, that many share my same opinion of it. Only $25.

      http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSGFS221-Guided-Sharpener/dp/B009YKHZ96

      Delete

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