Page 93 of 114

Repurposing Knives and Guns for a Sustainable Cause

February 15, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

Of the many concerns for Olympic host cities, safety is one of the top priorities. For London, a city in full preparation for the upcoming Summer Games, this has been an even hotter topic than in past Olympics. London is still dealing with the global focus of their violent summer riots, in addition to rumors of terrorist attacks.

With that in mind, it is interesting that there will be an estimated 14 tons of guns, knives, and ammunition in the Olympic Stadium. That’s right: 14 tons. You will not be able to carry them in, nor will they be any help in protection. Rather, you might be sitting on them or using them to help yourself up the stairs. Continue reading

Knives Save Lives: Hungry and desperate cougar

February 10, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

Danger always seems to pop up when you least expect, like when a burglar bursts through your door late at night or when you get into a terrible car accident on the way home. While you can rarely predict when danger strikes, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t always be prepared.

Take the Hobbs family in Texas, for example. According to the Daily News, the family was recently walking on a sidewalk between a restaurant and a lodge in the Big Bend National Park while enjoying the outdoors. Six-year-old Rivers Hobbs walked with his mom and dad, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Creeping up on the family was a lost and very hungry cougar who waited for the perfect moment. Then, he pounced.

With little warning, the cougar lunged at the small boy and clamped down on his face. Seeing your child on the ground with a cougar mauling his face is probably unimaginatively frightening. It’s this point when the fear and shock could be too debilitating to help. Even a few seconds in the grasp of a hungry cougar is life-threatening.

But, without hesitation, Rivers’ father Jason Hobbs sprung into action, pulled out his knife and stabbed the beast in the chest. The animal immediately let go and skulked away.

The boy, who had a few gashes and puncture wounds on his face, was rushed to the hospital and stitched up. Aside from a few scars and a gnarly story, he’ll be perfectly fine.

Teen fights off burglar by hitting his head with sword

February 3, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

When burglary suspect Jeremy Olson kicked open the door to someone’s house late at night, he probably never expected to have the epic battle that ensued.

As Olson was rummaging through the house looking for valuables, a teenager who had already pushed the alarm’s panic button was patiently waiting in his room armed with a sword

While the kid was undoubtedly frightened at what was going on, it’s great to see someone take the initiative to do everything to defend themselves.

Here’s what happened next according to Tulsa World:

The 17-year-old victim hid in his bedroom until the suspect entered the room, at which time the victim used a sword to try to stab the intruder, said Cpl. George Frye.

Frye said the altercation moved into the living room, where the victim smacked Olson in the head with the sword, causing a gash.

Fortunately, for the burglar, the sword was an imitation and was likely very blunt. Had it been a real sword, the intruder would probably be in a box somewhere. Still, despite being an imitation, his mugshot shows a pretty bad cut on his head.

New Victorinox Swiss Army knife to feature a terabyte of data

January 31, 2012 / Tim / 2 Comments

The Swiss Army knife has been known for years for its incredible versatility. Traditionally, it packs a a huge range of accessories, such as: a bottle opener, saw, nail file, flashlight, numerous knives, scissors and more. However, Victorinox, the company that produces the knife, has recently made a tech-savvy addition that could be a sign of things to come.

In April, Victorinox will release a knife that contains a flash drive with 1 terabyte of memory. To put this into perspective, in 1993, the entire sum of Internet traffic only accounted for 100 terabytes.

One terabyte is enough memory to hold 220 million pages of text, two years of non-stop music or 330,000 photos at three megabytes each.

Breast implants: the ultimate armor against knife attacks?

January 27, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

After centuries of looking for the best defense against a knife attack, we’ve finally found that the answer has been literally right under our noses: gigantic fake breast implants.

Sure this is a cheap story and cheap topic to cover relating to knives, but it’s been in the news and it seems like there’s no way to avoid it.

Apparently, a Florida woman was attacked by her ex-fiance’s new girlfriend with a knife. The woman said she was trying to calm the new girlfriend down before she suddenly took out a knife and stabbed her. The woman said the next thing she knew, she was covered in water.

That water turned out to be the saline water from inside her implant, which was just strong enough to save her from getting a punctured lung. The woman, who wishes to remain unidentified, said the $6,000 to get implants was the best investment she’s ever made. The new girlfriend is probably feeling pretty foolish after grossly misusing a knife and ultimately puncturing an implant.

But, if you think this is an extraordinary story that’s atypical, think again. Another case of life-saving breasts happened not long ago.

A while back, a Russian woman got into a pretty intense fight with her husband that culminated in him pulling a long knife on her. However, when he tried to stab her in the chest, the knife became lodged in what one Russian news organization called her “silicone body armor.”

The ironic part of this whole event is that her husband encouraged her to get the implants five years ago. Although he was trying his best to stab her in the heart, his own vanity was blocking his vapid attempt at murder.

Knives Save Lives: Man fights off vicious staghound dog with pocket knife

January 24, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

A 69-year-old man was taking a peaceful jaunt down the street with his Jack Russel Terrier in New South Wales, Australia, when a wild, enraged staghound attacked him and his dog.

Undaunted, he used his pocket knife to fend off the beast, slaying it in the process, another prime example in our series of how knives can save lives.

Staghounds are often used, and, in many cases abused, during the process of hunting wild boars. These dogs are can weigh up to 130 pounds and are often poorly trained by cruel owners who keep them in small confines.

According to this article from ABC News, these giant staghounds have been wreaking havoc on the Australian town of Wagga Wagga lately. Last month five people were injured when two staghound dogs attacked them and officials say that the unregistered, wild dogs present a continuing problem.

Check out the brand new 2012 Spyderco knives

January 20, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

Spyderco is a brand well-known for innovation, unique designs and quality, which is why we’re so excited for this year’s batch of brand new Spyderco knives. Here’s a look at a few of the most anticipated new blades you can buy today.

Spyderco Junior by Alexandru Diaconescu

Inspired by his son who was entering a “curious stage in his life,” Romanian designer Alexandru Diaconescu created the Junior with uncoordinated child’s hands in mind. The handle gives the wielder complete control without running the risk of accidentally sliding their fingers upward. This design has been making the biggest waves in the knife community.

Spyderco Squeak Slipit

Here’s a description from the Spyderco catalog: Produced in Maniago, Italy, the Squeak SLIPIT is a non-locking, one hand open, clip carry folder. Need I say more about this awesome-looking knife?

Continue reading

The Dos and Don’ts of Carrying Knives While Traveling

January 17, 2012 / Tim / 2 Comments

Leaving your favorite blade at home when going on vacation can be a bummer, especially if it’s something you need for your job. Since 9/11, intensified security screens have made it increasingly difficult for knife owners to transport knives. A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the innumerable difficulties these crackdowns have caused on hair stylists, chefs, engineers, knife collectors and others who use knives as a function of their job.

So, what do you do if you must bring your knife on a trip?

The best course of action is to put your knives in your checked luggage, although many knife owners are hesitant to part, even momentarily, from expensive shears or blades. However, some knife owners are able to buck security and make it through.

According to the article, chef Rey Benavidez is usually able to travel from San Francisco to New York with his chef knives in his carry-on luggage. He packs his knives in a special chef’s kit and even wears his chef jacket. However, Benavidez said he’s still forced to check his knives, worth approximately $500, at times.

For these occasions, he has GPS tracking tracking chips in his knives and photographs his suitcase contents before flights.

Custom knifemakers who travel frequently to knife shows can have knives worth tens of thousands of dollars that need to be transported. In this situation, the best course of action is to have these knives shipped via UPS and insured for the full amount.

Ken Onion, a knife maker from Honolulu, said he had 14 custom knives worth about $40,000 stolen from luggage in 2006 on a trip to a show in California. He recommended that travelers buy insurance and that they photograph or videotape luggage contents and the handover to airline employees.

For valuable items, he said, “place them in a Pelican case, with a GPS tracker at the bottom of it,” adding that once his luggage has been checked in, he can follow it via the GPS locator to ensure it is on the same flight.

How about you? Have you flown with knives since 9/11? Do you have any advice for those with knives pursuing air travel? Let us know in the comment section below.

World’s oldest Swiss Army knife made by Romans

January 13, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

Some 1,800 years before the production of the first official Swiss Army knife the Romans built their own multi-tool that both stands the test of time and is really cool.

Many times people (myself included) get so pumped up and excited about latest and greatest inventions that we fail to reflect on history, but this ancient knife is truly something to marvel at.

This multi-tool, which dates back to sometime between 200 AD and 400 AD, features a spoon, fork, blade, spike (probably for eating snails), toothpick and spatula. The surprisingly well-kept tool is made entirely from silver except for an iron blade.

According to the History Blog, multi-tools like this one weren’t uncommon in ancient Rome, but they were typically made from bronze and had significantly fewer parts. That’s why it appears as though the owner of the knife was probably much wealthier than others at the time and may have even been a traveler.

Student suspended after accidentally taking knife to school

January 10, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

A while back, I took an informal survey on Facebook of whether there should be any laws restricting the use of knives in the United States. While a couple people thought there should be none, a large number said that schools are among the few places that should have restrictions on knives (for obvious safety reasons). However, no one could possibly support what happened to a boy at a Georgia school.

According to WSB TV, seventh grader Jack Persyn was suspended for accidentally bringing a 1.5-inch knife to school. Here’s a description of the incident from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Jack Persyn discovered a pocket knife in the military-style backpack his aunt had bought second-hand at a yard sale and had given to him for Christmas. The teen reported the knife and turned it in to his teacher.

But even though the 7th grader admitted having the knife, and his parents contend it wasn’t his fault it ended up at school, the boy was given a four-day in-school suspension for violating the Gwinnett school district’s policy on weapons.

Knife groups are up in arms over what they’re calling a zero tolerance policy gone awry. It’s hard to disagree with the knife groups.

Had the boy knowingly brought the knife to school, things would have been different. Had the knife been discovered by a peer or a teacher, it might have even been different. However, it was an accident and he did the right thing by turning it in to school officials. Punishing him for telling the truth is simply wrong.