The Fighting Knife Blog

Good Morning,

Well, I’m back to work at my “real job”. I had a back injury about 7 months ago herniating two discs and finding out in the process that I have a condition called Spondylolisthesis. This condition is when one of the discs in your spine is basically off-set from the rest. This condition makes you back weak and does cause quite a bit of pain.

Being that the above was a work related injury, and I happen to be a government employee, my case was handled by the Department of Labor. All I can say is what a mess!

For seven months I’ve gone through physical therapy and been injected with several different epidurals and an assortment of other useless steroids and pain killers. I’ve been informed by a couple of DOL representatives amongst others experienced with back injuries that the process can take years to get approved.

I have not been able to choose the doctor or procedure that I would like to use as they must be approved by the Department of Labor. They have their own list of approved doctors that I must choose from. So, when I choose from this list, I wind up with waiting weeks for appointments, terrible office staff that treat you like the nasty part of a dog turd, lost paper work, lack of knowledge or concern about taking care of the necessary government forms properly and a slew of other problems that are too numerous and frustrating to get into.

In the meantime, my agency has been pressuring me to return to work or face termination. I’ve been told repeatedly how my back injury is a great inconvenience for them. Well, being that absolutely no progress has been made on my back injury, I have elected to live off of pain killers and return to work.

My surgeon has ruled that I have a list of permanent restrictions preventing me from return to my full duty position. So, I’m currently reassigned to “light duty”. My fate is in the hands of my employer. That ain’t good. If you have had any experience in employment with the feds, and I’m sure anywhere else, we all know that an injured worker is not good for the numbers; neither is keeping them on “light duty”.

I don’t know what is going to happen. I have my eyes open for other opportunities. The unfortunate part is that I’ve made a life of law enforcement and military type work. Employers in my profession don’t like bad backs so they don’t hire you. So, with that in mind, I’ve got to change my profession and way of life. I’ll be blunt, I’m very nervous about it.

Enough about me.

The above is a brief experience with the Department of Labor. This is an example of socialized medicine. Imagine if the entire country had to go through this process. Imagine if every treatment you needed had to be approved by a slew of government officials who are overworked and frustrated by the fact that you are pestering them with yet another case. Imagine the government giving you a list of their physicians that you are permitted to use.

In talking with many Canadian citizens, you will here much of this although the country seems to be very proud of its health care system.

Hate to leave you with that for the morning, but that’s what’s on my mind.

Take Care,
Cole

I really like the sleek look of the Benchmade Mini-Dejavoo collectible knife line. This particular model features the 3.23 inch blade made with S30V steel. The handles are 4.42 inches and made of tough G-10.

I don’t know if this would qualify as a fighting knife, but I guess if the stuff hit the fan, this would do just fine to get anyone out of a tight squeeze. I haven’t had the pleasure of playing with one of these yet or adding it to my collection. But, I can always cut for Benchmade; always top-notch knives.

This knife is solid black making it look like it should belong in the sock drawer of some secret ninja. For the commando and spec-ops folks out there, this is a perfect night operations knife. The bad guys certainly won’t see you out there trimming your toe nails.

This Boker Collectible knife features a 5.63 inch damascus steel blade. This is a very good looking blade and stands out as one nice looking trench knife.

The handle is made from 4.37 inches of Amboina wood. This is very pretty wood and compliments this knife greatly. It gives it a nostalgic WWI appearance.

Comes complete with a presentation wooden gift box and a certificate of authenticity. This knife is a collectible Boker and is limited to 500 pieces.

Get Your Boker Collectible Trench Knife Here!

~ Cole

I’m a bit nervous this morning as I think about our upcoming election. Never before has there been so many threats to our American culture, democratic way of life and American values than there are today.

There are many running for the office of the President of the United States that I wouldn’t give the responsibility of counting the knives in my fighting knife collection to much less the responsibility of a country.

The one that is really getting me fuming lately is the socialist wife of socialist ex-president, Bill Clinton. Yes, you guessed it, I’m referring to Hillary Clinton.

Hillary’s take from the rich and middle class and then redistribute to the poor is the exact things they did in the former Soviet Union. Look how that worked out.

Here is the lying Hillary Clinton’s latest change of mind…

The campaign swiftly amended the remarks to say it wasn’t a policy position, but just an “idea,” even though members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) whom she was addressing seemed to like what they heard. As The Washington Times reported Tuesday, Republicans immediately ridiculed the idea, and some operatives said it was Mrs. Clinton’s first mistake of the 2008 campaign. Polls proved it was unpopular, so it was locked away and never mentioned again, baffling some of her Democratic rivals but illustrating a broader theme of the Clinton campaign — discipline and dominance.

She’s a liar and she intends on changing our way of life to more socialistic values. Look at her plans for healthcare.

I’m scared.

~ Cole

One of the best looking case collectible pocket knife series on the market is the case Damascus pocket knife selection. I’ve got four available in this series, the Case Canoe Damascus, the Case Small Saddle Horn Damascus, the Case Tiny Trapper Damascus, and the Case Muskrat Damascus.

All of the blades of this Case Damascus collectible series are made of rainbow Damascus steel. All of the handles are up peach seed G-8 burnt amber bone.

The MSRP of these pocket knives is commonly just under $200. I keep these knives available at a normal price of about around $100.

Here are a few pics below of this collectible pocket knife series. Click on any of the images to take you to the knife & supply Company website to see more details about each knife. I also have the current inventory available.

A Wikipedia Definition of Damascus Steel

Damascus steel is a steel used in Middle Eastern swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700AD. Damascus swords were of legendary sharpness and strength, and were apocryphally claimed to be able to cut through lesser quality European swords and even rock. The exact technique used to create original Damascus steel is now a matter of historical conjecture.

Damascus swords often had an obvious patterned texture on their surface. Several other steelmaking techniques also result in patterned surfaces, and have often been sold as Damascus steel, Damascened steel and sometimes watered steel. The most common technique for producing these materials is the pattern welding, which is today widely used for custom knife making. Skilled swordsmiths can manipulate the patterns to mimic the complex designs found in the surface of the original, medieval Damascus steel.

Another theory behind the hardness of Damascus steel is that the steel contains a small amount of vanadium, which would theoretically strengthen the blade.

Here’s an interesting video of the forging and twisting of Damascus steel.

Thanks for dropping by.

~ Cole

As I mentioned in the introduction to this series, there is a psychology involved in survival. In part one; we will discuss stress what it takes mentally to survive in a traumatic situation.

Stress is key to survival and a God given asset. Stress indicates to us what is important. Stress improves our ability to do many things. When it comes to a survival situation, stress is good however; too much stress is a very bad thing.

When stress becomes too much for an individual he or she enters a state known as distress. Distress is extremely life-threatening in a survival situation and absolutely dangerous in any situation.

There are many symptoms of distress. To name a few; loss of memory, thoughts of suicide, angry outbursts, low energy level, constant worrying, above normal frequency of mistakes, withdrawing from others and carelessness. As you can see for yourself, these symptoms can mean failure in your attempt to survive.

Stress is the result of stressors. Stressors are circumstances and mechanisms that cause stress. One stressor or a combination of many can result in stress leading to distress. Below is a list of several stressors.

• Isolation
• Fatigue
• Hunger and Thirst
• Uncertainty and Lack of Control
• Environment
• Injury Illness or Death

It is obvious to anyone could become distressed when experiencing the above stressors. There are many reactions to stressors and stress.

There are many instinctive survival mechanisms that can kick in when one is in a survival situation. The survival mechanisms keep the human alive. A large variety of species die off while the human race survives because of these instinctive survival mechanisms.

Below is a list of major internal reactions that a person will experience in a stressful situation. How we handle these survival mechanisms determine our chances of surviving and staying alive.

• Anxiety
• Fear
• Anger and Frustration
• Loneliness and Boredom
• Depression
• Guilt

The above mechanisms absolutely determine your chance of staying alive. As you can imagine, you can mentally give up before your body shuts down. This is commonly what happens to people who fail to stay alive.

The instinct of survival is common in all humans. Being thrown into a situation that calls for a human to survive is not common. You must embrace this and constantly check yourself fighting off your fear. Do not be afraid of your natural reactions in an unnatural situation.

To be successful in survival, you must prepare yourself. The most important preparation is mental preparation.

Know yourself.

The biggest mistake many soldiers and people make in learning to survive is pretending that they will not have any fear. This is a fatal mistake. Learn to acknowledge fear and manipulate it to work in your favor. The trick to this is to build confidence in the areas that you are strong in and reinforce the areas where you are weak. Again, acknowledge your weaknesses.

Be realistic and honest about the situation.

Some people believe that thinking positive requires stating that something is possible when it is absolutely impossible. This is not the way to overcome your fear or to deal with the situation. This type of behavior is what gets you killed.

Keep your hopes and faults within reason. Again, be honest.

Prepare for the worst. This doesn’t mean believe that the worst will happen. It is easier to take on a bad situation when you acknowledge that it is possible than when you go around like everything is a’okay and refuse to acknowledge or plan for things to get worse.

Be positive.

Be positive about the outcome, not unrealistic. You must believe that you’re going to succeed if you have any hope of succeeding. Sometimes we have to tell ourselves repeatedly that we are going to get through this. Your thoughts, whether they be positive or negative, will influence your chances of survival more than anything.

To remain positive, you must always remind yourself what is at stake. Your life depends on getting through a tough situation. The lives of others may depend on the decisions you make and your attitude.

Train and learn to manage stress.

Training would involve practicing your skills and improving on the skills that you are not very good at or lack completely. I can’t emphasize how important it is to read and learn new skills. Survival training is a never ending education.

Without training, stress will lead to failure. Failure means death or capture.

Stress management is vitally important to survival. Develop techniques such as relaxation skills, assertive skills, time management skills and your ability to control your view of the situation.

To conclude this part of the survival series, just remember that your psychology is the most important aspect of your survival. Know yourself.

~ Cole

Introduction - Survival Series - Stay Alive

Survival Series Fighting Knife Pick

We have added several new categories of items to the Knife & Supply Company website. Take a look!

• Law Enforcement
• Flashlights & Lighting
• Camping & Outdoor
• Watches
• Apparel
• Gifts
• Optics
• Books & Videos
• Footwear
• Eyewear
• Grooming
• Lighters
• Hardware
• Headwear

~ Cole

This is the series introduction on military style survival that I will be doing over the next month or two. This series will include information that I’ve learned during a variety of training exercises with the US military. The series will also include much information I gathered from private instruction as well as loads of reading material.

Everything I will bring up in this series is practical as I have used it on various occasions. Some of this material may reference self defense or more aggressive action towards an enemy. Be warned, this is military style survival tactics; there may be some graphic material.

You will find information within the series they can be useful for you in more civil scenarios such as camping, hunting, fishing or really any outdoor endeavor. It is up to you to pick and choose what tips and bits of information that would apply to your needs.

During this series, I welcome all questions and comments in regards to survival whether it be military level or a less stressful type of survival.

Let me begin by saying that one of the most important aspects of survival is your mental ability to stay motivated and find a reason to live. 99% of people who fail in survival scenarios do so because of the simple fact that they give up.

Surviving in enemy territory or a hostile environment is the most difficult thing that a soldier could ever have to face. There are less stressful scenarios that I will be giving advice on as well. As I said earlier, this series will fit anybody that enjoys outdoor activities and finds him/herself in a survival type scenario.

As I go through the survival series part by part, I will include one of my favorite fighting or survival knives at the end of the entry. I will give a brief review of the fighting knife and possibly a little bit more background information on the knife itself.

The SOG Arcitech is one of the best looking collectible folding pocket knives that I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Unfortunately, I don’t own one yet, but will very soon. I played with this knife a little bit and am totally impressed with the smooth opening mechanism. This is the absolute smoothest folder that I have ever seen.

The blade is mirror polished and made of SOG’s San Mai steel. This still is VG-10 core laminated with 420J2 stainless steel. The blade is 3 1/2 inches long and the overall length of the knife is 8 inches.

The handle material is jigged bone, red in color. The bolsters are made of titanium which blend perfectly with this old timey handle.

I can’t say enough about this collectible pocket knife, however we’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Whether you’re a law enforcement officer, a soldier or whatever your trade, one tool you should add to your toolbox is the ability to read others. I can’t say that this tactic is perfect or fool-proof; however it works very well, if used often and practiced frequently.

Many people are uncomfortable with being observed or read. One of the most important things you must learn to do is to not allow your target to know that you’re attempting to read him or her. This is easier said than done.

The first thing you should do when assessing an individual is to relax. Loosen up by clearing your mind, relax your shoulders, and especially relax your face.

One of the easiest ways to relax is to pretend like the individual you’re questioning is a well-known acquaintance. This doesn’t mean that you should be over friendly; however, you should put on a familiar demeanor. Don’t feel like you have to talk down or intimidate the person. You should make them somewhat comfortable.

The eyes tell all.

Always pay attention to your target’s eyes. It is believed that eye contact is one of the biggest telling points of an individual. This is not always true.

Many times in individual will not make eye contact because he is intimidated by you or is nervous by the current situation. This does not mean that he is guilty, hiding something or up to no good. It simply means he is nervous.

Eye contact becomes important when it appears forced. If the individual you’re speaking with appears to make eye contact with you for an unusual long amount of time, a red flag should go up in your mind.

The idea is to key in on unusual patterns in human nature. The most unusual pattern that becomes obvious quickly is a forced action such as forced eye contact. This usually means that there is something the individual is hiding, uncomfortable with or could be a clue indicating that this person may take an unfavorable action.

Always pay attention to where your target is looking. Do not pay attention by actively moving your eyes to focus on what your target is looking at. Simply utilize your peripheral vision to observe what your target is looking at.

A good example would be if you’re a police officer and you wear a gun on your side. If you notice your target making quick eye movements, glancing at your firearm periodically, this could mean that he is thinking about lunging for it.

I wouldn’t advise alerting your target that you do observe him looking at your firearm. I would simply blade myself placing my firearm out of reach.

Observe the hands with your peripheral vision.

Watch for clenching or moving fingers. This is a sure sign of a nervous individual. This does not necessarily mean that the individual intends to do something aggressive; it simply means this individual is extremely nervous and does not like the current situation.

If the target’s hands are always in his or her pockets, this is a sign that the target is attempting to get comfortable. This means that the target is trying to persuade you through body language that he has nothing to hide and is absolutely comfortable.

Always observe the shoulders.

When a target squares his or her shoulders toward you with one shoulder slightly forward; this is an absolute sign of danger. This indicates that the target has the courage to assault you. This does not indicate that this will absolutely happen. However, the target is capable.

My advice to you in this situation would be for you to slightly adjust your position by moving just a bit to the outside of the target’s lead shoulder. This is known as moving out of the fatal funnel.

If the target’s shoulders are bladed toward you; this would indicate that the target is uncomfortable. This indicates that the target does not feel like he or she is in control of the situation. This may indicate that the target could possibly flee as well.

Another unsettling fact about a target that blades his shoulders toward you is that he or she may be trained in some form of hand-to-hand combat. The only way to defend yourself against this is to keep the target off balance. You do this by slightly positioning yourself where your body is actually to the rear of the shoulder closest to you.

Observe the mouth.

The mouth can also dictate nervousness. Nervousness is indicated by the quivering of the lips. Another indicator of nervousness would be if the target continues to bite his or her bottom lip.

Signs of aggression.

• The eyes widen slightly.
• The jaws clench.
• The fists clench.
• The target continues to manipulate his or her position slightly behind your forward shoulder.
• The target size continue to glance into a particular direction.
• The target continues to glance at your hands or firearm.
• The target keeps his hands at his side with the palms open.

These are basic principles of identifying the possible actions or thoughts of a target. These are not always accurate. However, with a lot of practice, you can definitely learn to read a target quickly and rapidly utilizing these principles.

Pay attention to people, placement of their hands, their eyes when speaking, their shoulders and learn to associate these movements with moods and emotions.

People generally act very similar in different situations. Learn to associate gestures with possible emotions. Practice by just being observant of people. Your ability to assess people will grow rapidly with practice.