JAX TELLER FOR PRESIDENT 2012....after all we can't do worse

Considering the fictional motorcycle club in question sells guns and runs drugs I figure they would legalize a lot of stuff. CSPAN would get a serious jump in viewers after President Teller slammed some dingbat Congressman's head into a wall.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Ordered a PVS 14 which I am pretty psyched about. Also finished my August Challenge to run 50 miles. I did some reading and hit the weights both of which where cool.

Also did some initial testing of the Sawyer Water filter and I am pretty happy with it. Also I have been using my EDC Benchmade Griptillian, Ontario RAT 3 and Buck 119 Special to do all manner of household tasks. The Benchmade and RAT 3 have done great, proving they deserve their places.

The Buck 119 Special not quite so much. I kind of envisioned it's role as a large food processing knife with a secondary role as a defensive knife. Kind of filling a traditional long hunter type large knife role if you will. The clip point is a bit too far off center for food processing at least to me. The ergonomics are great for cutting but what exactly I am not sure. As a largeish camp type knife I would prefer a Ka-Bar hands down.

I will relegate this knife to some sort of backup piece in a kit or alternate location. A replacement for it's role is something I will look at down the road. Then again the whole thing might be pointless. I have done a lot of outdoors stuff carrying a medium (3.5-4.5 in) knife and a hatchet without finding reasonable tasks I couldn't complete. I am not sure a larger knife is needed except maybe for a dedicated base camp type kit (which I am planning to put together). The Jeff White French Trade Knife reviewed by Alexander Wolfe looks kind of neat. Then again and I am not sure why I didn't think of this before, one of the Cold Steel Longhunter knifes I picked up for a next to nothing might be the ticket. Also free/ already in inventory is a good solution as I am trying not to buy new stuff these days without a good reason.

Anyway that is what has been going on here. What have you done to prepare this week?

What If- Knives

I was doing some knife preventative maintenance and had a bit of inspiration. While looking at a stack of knives I wondered what if I had to chooose? We talked about what we would choose if we could only have five guns awhile back and talking about knives seems fun.

Anyway you get five. To define it we will say you get five knives to suit every normal cutting need. No need to get sidetracked into strictly kitchen culinary stuff, herilooms or industrial things like razor knives, I am thinking more general purpose, survival, defense type stuff. These knives could fill most of those other roles anyway. In no particular order here we go.

First I thought about a good all around edc knife. For this I would choose a Buck 110. A great knife to carry around. It won't cause any awkward looks in a sheath on your belt but it handles and cuts like crazy. If I found myself stuck in the woods with one I would not feel at a serious disadvantage.

Next I considered something I could carry concealed and use effectively as a weapon. Without a doubt this would be a cold steel push knife. I have a bit of experience in knife fighting but a decent background in striking and knifepunching people seems rather intuitive to me.

A relatively large sheath knife for general purposes or fighting came next. I would have to go with a Ka Bar for this. Ergonomic as can be with a big solid blade, not much to argue with here. They are just a darn good knife and I cannot imagine not owning one.

A multi tool is just a darn useful thing to have. I do not carry one as I do not use them that frequently but I keep them at home and in my ruck. I like the original leatherman. (Pictured is a SOG multi tool because my leatherman is MIA.)

Lastly I would want a solid camping/ survival kind of blade. Without a doubt I choose the cold steel kukuri. A few years ago I was watching Lost and thought "what knife would I want if I was stuck on a jungle island?" and ended up buying one of these. They are definitely pricey and it would be genuinely hard to argue they are worth the price when you can get a good machete for 30 bucks or so but I happy that I own one.

Narrowly missing selection was the Buck 119 special which is just a darn good knife. Great as a hunting knife or for all manner of tasks. In all honesty sentimentality is probably the reason the Kabar beat it out for the general purpose sheath knife spot.

Noteably absent is the modern one hand opening "tactical" folder with a pocket clip. I am just really soured on them due to a slew of bad experiences with a variety of big name models. I fiddled with a small belt knife to do everything. It worked OK but carrying one all the time is problematic. A buck 110 to do stuff and a push knife as needed just in case is what I am trying right now.
What would your five be?

A Great Post I Read Recently

The other day Commander Zero wrote a great post. I have been thinking about it more or less since I read it.

As always I have some thoughts. First it can be noted that Commander Zero and I have the same taste in group standard guns so maybe I am preferencial to his writing. In any case here we go.

First I think that it is important to realize that something newer and fancier coming out doesn't mean what already exists is any less. For example if 60 years ago your grandpa took a kerosene lantern and a double barreled shotgun outside to investigate a wierd noise that lantern would cast the same light and that shotgun would still have two shots today. It would not magically become less than it is because he could have a surefire LED flashlight and a fancy combat shotgun. This is a bit extreme of an example but it sort of brings us back to the point.

Second I think that Commander Zero's point about ruthlessly and objectively assessing equipment based not on its history but its true functionality is a great one. If the 1911 were dropped into the market today I honestly doubt anyone would know its name because it would not go anywhere for a variety of reasons (expensive, lots of machining, single stack mag, the various weird parts and complicated assembly, etc).

I think there is a balance between searching out and purchasing the newest and coolest thing or sticking with vastly inferior technology. Do you need to switch to the newest coolest tacticool systems every 6 months? I do not think so. However there is something said for making determined choices to upgrade your equipment to newer, better but still proven technology.

Thoughts?