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SOG Trident aides in rescue from destroyed Mustang

December 15, 2011 / Glenn / 1 Comment

Image of the wrecked Mustang courtesy of SOG Knives

This blog has always touted the importance of carrying a knife, whether a lockback clipped to your belt or a Swiss Army knife tucked into your pocket. Even though certain cities and organizations demonize knives as dangerous weapons, the functionality of a knife during harrowing situations should not be underestimated.

In our series Knives Save Lives, we thoroughly document how knives are used to help those in life or death situations. I stumbled upon this next example of knives saving lives on the SOG knives blog. A customer named Zach S. submitted a story to SOG about how he used his knife to rescue someone.

The story begins when Zach, a volunteer Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician for a New York fire department, was driving home from work on October 14, 2011. As these stories go, he found himself right in the middle of a terrible car crash. One car slammed into the other, but Zach was able to avoid hitting the out-of-control vehicles. Since he is a volunteer firefighter, it was instinctive of him to immediately pull over and help out at the scene of the accident.

Zombie Killer ‘Pestilence’ Chopper from KA-BAR

December 10, 2011 / Glenn / 0 Comments

Tired of hearing and posturing about what you would do during a zombie invasion? I didn’t think so.

Earlier in the week, I posted about Gerber’s intense Apocalypse Survival Kit featuring some pretty badass tools like the awesome DMF folder that comes in handy when the undead are looking for fresh flesh. Knives, unlike guns that require ammunition, are perfect weapons for battling “walkers.”

So, offering their own solution to the eventual zombie invasion, KA-BAR has been marketing the ZK “Pestilence” Chopper knife as an ultimate zombie killer (hence ZK).

All these companies marketing their knives as safeguards against the undead is a genius idea. Although some people might perceive these tactics as demeaning and toy-like, the knives themselves boast pure craftsmanship.

The Pestilence has an overall length of nearly 16 inches with a 10.25-inch blade made from quality SK5 steel. It has an amazingly contoured handle that’s really comfortable despite the overall heaviness of the tool.

The main issue of the blade revolves around its versatility. It’s too big for everyday carry though not quite big enough to be a practical machete. Although its main trade is probably decapitating monsters, the Pestilence does do a fantastic job clearing brush and undergrowth out in the wilderness.

Four Knives That Make Great Stocking Stuffers

December 9, 2011 / Glenn / 0 Comments

This Christmas, why not give the sharpest gift one can give: a knife. Whether it’s your mom, your dad, your crazy uncle or your fishing buddy, you’ve undoubtedly got a knife fan in your family. Here are five knives that make fantastic Christmas gifts.

Gerber Prodigy Survival Knife: $58

This award-winning knife measures 9.75 inches and has a full-tang high-carbon stainless steel blade that’s coated with black oxide for ultimate corrosion resistance. The handle is soft and ergonomic and the knife comes with a high-quality sheath in addition to a leg strap, ensuring that carrying is always convenient.

Smith and Wesson Extreme Ops Pocket Knife: $22.49

If you’re looking for the ultimate tactical folding knife, check out this Smith & Wesson masterpiece. With its reliable framelock, it can sustain a tremendous amount of pressure in any extreme situation. The sturdy thumb stud on the blade allows you to open it quickly and effortlessly with one hand when you need instant access to your knife. This finely crafted knife is ideal for everyday tasks or intense use in the heart of a jungle.

Carbon Steel Gurkha Service Kukri w/ Sheath & 2 knives: $39.99

This heavy-duty service Kukri is a woodsman’s best friend. Measuring in at a whopping 18-plus inches, with an 11.75-inch blade, this giant carbon-steel beauty slices through small brush with ease. Not only does this knife come with a classy-looking brass-tipped leather sheath, but it is also accompanied by two extra 3-inch knives, great for stocking stuffers for your family’s knife fans.

Personalized Smith and Wesson Military Police 2nd Generation M.A.G.I.C. Assisted Opening Pocket Knife : $59.99

If you’re looking to give a truly individual gift this year, consider picking up this Smith and Wesson military knife and having it stamped with a personal message.

This military police pocket knife is off the charts when it comes to its cool factor. Not only is this extremely sharp and practical, but it also comes equipped with a M.A.G.I.C. assisted-opening mechanism that will leave you and your friends in awe. With the release of a safety switch and the flick of a thumb, the partially-serrated blade will literally spring into action.

Got a favorite of these four? Let us know which knife you’d prefer to find under the tree in the comment section below.

Afraid of a zombie apocalypse? Get the Apocalypse Survival Kit from Gerber

December 5, 2011 / Glenn / 2 Comments

Imagine this scenario. You wake up from a coma in an abandoned hospital. You can’t tell how long you’ve been out, but things seem to be completely different from what you once knew. As you’re exploring, you come across a group of hideously decomposed bodies. The only problem is these dead guys aren’t really dead at all. They are actually flesh-eating zombies looking to kill you. What could you possibly do?

Well, in the likely event of a zombie apocalypse (2012 is just a few weeks away, you know), Gerber is selling an Apocalypse Survival Kit, which comes equipped with three types of machetes, an axe, a fixed blade knife and a folder. Gerber knives, which is a brand that’s no stranger to exposure on television (see Bear Grylls), supplied these items for the season opener of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead.

Since Gerber was able to help out the characters of the show with some amazing tools, they figured it would also benefit the greater population to offer the tools as a proactive measure for that inevitable zombie invasion. Unfortunately, the kits sold out quickly, but you can still buy each of the tools individually. For example, no apocalypse survivor or self-proclaimed zombie hunter should go without this badass Gerber Gator Machete Pro or awesome Survival Series Bear Grylls Parang.

If you’re having any doubts about the usefulness of these tools against an army of undead, check out the descriptions found on Gerber’s site.

Wanna Buy Lawrence of Arabia’s Pocket Knife?

December 2, 2011 / Glenn / 1 Comment

If so, you’re in luck.

The trusty pocket knife of T. E. Lawrence, as he was formally known, will be going on auction in England next week and is estimated to be sold for approximately 300 pounds ($467).

According to a piece in the Mail, the knife was constructed by Royal cutlers Underwood and Farrant and pre-dates the long-popular Swiss Army knife.

If you’re not familiar, T.E. Lawrence became famous after he helped wage an insurrection in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was later immortalized in the film “Lawrence of Arabia,” staring Peter O’Toole.

The knife, below, was found near his former estate near Dorset, and is thought to have been carried during his Arab campaigns. It’s pretty sweet, but would you pay $450 for it? Let us know if the comment section below.

Knife Rights takes on Boston council over proposed ordinance

November 28, 2011 / Glenn / 1 Comment

For most knife enthusiasts, careful attention is paid to the physical knife itself. They focus on what type of steel the blade is constructed from, the durability of the handle, blade thickness, etc. However, an important aspect of the knife involves the convoluted state of affairs in the political and governmental spectrum because they determine what people can buy and own. It’s times like these when we can be thankful for those who fight the good fight for knife rights.

Few groups are doing more of the dirty work to protect our rights than Knife Rights. Founded with the intention of stopping the United States taking stances against knives similar to countries in Europe, Knife Rights has gone on a crusade to defend the rights of knife enthusiasts through legal channels.

Recently, Knife Rights and the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI) went up to Boston to advocate against a law requiring convenience stores to get a license to sell knives. While this might not seem like a major deal, this is a political move to demonize knives and gain points from constituents for being “tough on crime.” There is really nothing in the new legislation that would make Boston any safer from crime. There seems to be a concern that minors get knives from these stores to use with criminal activity, but there is already an ordinance that prohibits the sale of knives to minors. This new legislation is redundant and will only inconvenience small business owners.

Knife Rights and the AKTI offer a glimpse into the complex world of government by going to hearings and voicing opinions. Take the recent hearing in Boston for example. Only two councilors were at the hearing and they were the sponsors of the anti-knife bill. They contradicted their own statements and cited inaccurate news, which is very telling.

Miss Manners Gives the Low Down on Knife Etiquette During the Holiday Season

November 21, 2011 / Glenn / 0 Comments

This Thanksgiving millions of Americans will sit down at the dinner table with their friends, loved-ones, and on some occasions, people they barely know or only pretend to like. They will eat, drink and sporadically run to the living room to get updates on the score of the Packers-Lions game.

And, if the world’s most eminent scholar of dining decorum, Miss Manners, gets her way, they will conform to the basic rules of table etiquette and remember to always set the table with the knife facing in. Rather than poorly paraphrase her witty comment, which provides information on everything from eating etiquette to historical stabbings, I’ve included it with the question below.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: In setting the table for the Thanksgiving repast, there is some debate about which way the knife should face. One of the family recalled that in time of war, the blade faces outward; in time of peace, it faces inward. Another opinion suggested that it always is toward the plate. Your guidance please, sage lady?

GENTLE READER: It is always good to be prepared, and in case of attack you wouldn’t want to have to take the time to turn your knife around.

However, at the Thanksgiving table, any attack is likely to come from one of your relatives. And we want to discourage patricide (even of fathers whose carving destroys the turkey and who keep the drumsticks for themselves), infanticide (even of babies who have been crying steadily for half an hour), and aunticide (even for those whose idea of conversation is, “Isn’t it about time you got married?” and, “I see you’ve put on some weight”).Mealtime stabbings are considered bad form, even at Thanksgiving. In 1669, Louis XIV of France decreed that knives must be rounded at top, not threateningly pointed. (Oh, wait, that was to stop people from using their knives to pick their teeth.)

The rule is that regardless of what else is going on in the world, the table is set with knife blades facing in.

One of the last samurai sword makers holds to tradition

November 19, 2011 / Glenn / 0 Comments

With the amazing advances in technology, it’s hard not to lament the skill and craftsmanship required of people long ago. Few of us still know how to build fires from nature, develop film, memorize telephone numbers or do thousands of basic tasks we might have had to do just a decade ago. Fortunately, there are those that keep traditions alive by preserving its most fundamental purpose.

It could probably be put more elegantly, but mass production ain’t got nothing on Korehira Watanabe. Watanabe is one of the remaining few Japanese sword makers in the world who creates koto swords through traditional methods. The most amazing part is that there are no longer blueprints or how-tos on what Watanabe is accomplishing. When the samurai died, most of their secrets of swordmaking died with them. However, Watanabe claims that he has come to the closest to replicating the truly mythical samurai sword.

He has been working on swords for the past 40 years, quietly and consistently practicing his craft in order to create the best possible weapon. He trains a disciple in hopes that his passion and method of traditional swordmaking is not lost. He also feels that people often update methods to conform to newer technology, but it loses so much of the enthusiasm and rituals of the past.

This guy deserves a Check out this remarkable video of a master at work.

NYC District Attorney tries to dismiss case against him but Knife Rights fires back

November 15, 2011 / Glenn / 0 Comments

After posting a question to our Facebook page about whether it’s ever a good idea to have restrictions on knives, there were a variety of responses with some people arguing there should never be restrictions and others arguing there should be a few, like no knives at school and no knives longer than 6 inches for everyday carry. All of these are valid statement and a point of contention within the knife community.

However, one thing nearly all knife aficionados can agree on is that current knife laws should not be skewed or interpreted to crackdown on perfectly legal knives. Fortunately, Knife Rights is constantly running campaigns to defend knife owners’ civil rights and encourage safe use of knives. Knife Rights’ current lawsuit against New York City is the most important case the organization is working on, but the city is not going down without a fight.

In case you haven’t heard about the lawsuit, there’s been a crackdown on knives in New York City at the bequest of District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. A number of people have been arrested for carrying knives that should not be considered gravity knives, which are illegal in New York City.

DA Vance recently filed a suit to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that there is lack of standing and failure to make a claim. Although these motions are simple formalities, Knife Rights came back with a scathing response. Here’s part of what it said:

It is literally possible for one knife to be simultaneous legal and illegal, and a person has no means of conforming his or her conduct to the law’s expectations. While the DA’s motion necessarily fails because it relies on selectively construing the facts in the DA’s favor, rather than in the Plaintiffs’ favor (as Rule 12(b)(6) mandates), a consideration of the merits shows how far off the mark the DA’s self-serving characterizations are.

Guess what Nicolas Cage plans to do with his custom-made $2,000 knife

November 13, 2011 / Glenn / 4 Comments

If you’ve ever seen the movies Ghost Rider, Vampire’s Kiss or the truly bizarre remake of Bad Lieutenant, you know actor Nicolas Cage is absolutely out of his mind.

He is known for his wild behavior, questionable antics, unbridled spending and now may even be a vampire as demonstrated by a picture found of him from the 1870s. (As a somewhat related aside, I was an extra in a movie starring Cage and I can honestly say the man is frighteningly insane.) So, what do knives and Nicolas Cage have in common?

According to the entertainment site TMZ, Cage was spotted at a custom knife store in Alaska called Northern Knives. The store sells some pretty awesome knives with handles made out of interesting materials. Check out the amazing blade with a stellar sea cow handle made by Bob Merry below. With these types of knives, it’s not surprising Cage would find himself in the shop.

However, he ended up spending about $2,000 on a great knife there. Here’s what TMZ wrote:

We’re told Cage fell in love with a Don Dezarn original — which featured MAMMOTH IVORY in the handle and a patriotic bald eagle engraved onto the 4-inch blade.

Although it’s not crazy for anyone to spend that much money on a great decorative knife (even though Cage owes millions to the government in taxes), he said he was going to use the knife to cut steak. It’s one thing to buy a great knife to put on display or even use for outdoor activities, but to take this great knife and use it to cut steak seems unnecessary and a disgrace to the knifemaker who put so much care into it.

I guess it’s not that surprising considering we’re talking about the man in these clips below.

The Cutting Edge