So today’s guest had to cancel due to an illness. So I was left with no topic, no guest and well potentially no show. Rather then gin up a last minute topic I decided to talk about a bunch of … Continue reading →
Episode-2564- Topic Round Table With Jack and Nicole Read More »
Posted on the Culpeper County 2A FaceBook page (of which I am a moderator) and also on the MVT Facebook page:
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed…..”
This may seem to you to be a political / Facebook struggle right now. Making some noise to hope to avoid the promised plans from the Democrat majority in the 2020 session. But make no mistake, this is EXACTLY the kind of tyranny that the 2A is there to prevent. Do not sit in denial. Thus, it is possible that on July 1 2020, you may become a felon, for standing by your natural and enumerated right to self-defense. It is your duty as a free citizen to NOT ALLOW THE 2A TO BE INFRINGED.
We are not here making threats, and I don’t really want to see any in comments. Chest beating is pointless. We are standing by as free citizens, and you need to get your head in the game in terms of what it may mean depending on what comes down the pike from Richmond. To me, there is no course of action other than to ensure that MY (YOUR) RIGHTS are not infringed. As such, you will very likely need to be prepared to ACT in SELF-DEFENSE should Richmond send armed men against you. That this may happen is totally un-American, and seems almost impossible in our times of peace and prosperity. But it appears we are there, on the very cusp of that tyranny. If we do not stand, then we lose it for all that come after us. It is a civic duty as free American citizens.
I am a tactical trainer and professional soldier. I run a company called Max Velocity Tactical. I am resident in Culpeper, with a training facility in Romney, West Virginia, and run classes across the country. We train responsible citizens in firearms and infantry tactics, and run pre-deployment training for US Special Operations Forces. My vision with the company is to provide real training to keep the good folks (you) alive. I would, in principle, be happy to train groups of Culpeper Volunteers, in order to improve their ability to defend themselves and their families.
I advise you to work on your preparations. Physical fitness, equipment, and training. I will post a video here from my YouTube channel with a little bit of information. Filmed in my backyard right here in Culpeper – soon to be illegal on July 1st 2020.
GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! Culpeper / Virginia! Read More »
Whether Buck, Bolo, or Bowie…Kukri, Kris or Katana, iconic knives are alive and well. Even as the world seems to spin faster by the day, age old knife designs still have a rock solid grip in our hands. The centuries of knife use has honed blades and handles into a near-perfect blend of design features to maximize its symbiotic relationship with humans.
By Doc Montana, contributing author to Survival Cache and SHTFblog
As one moves from the poles towards the equator, the food gets spicier and the blades get bigger. At least that’s what it seems like. So the most recognizable Scandanavian blade, forged far from the equator, is the humble Puukko, a knife with a blade that barely crosses a man’s palm. But oddly, given the near featureless design of the Puukko, knife aficionados and blade historians alike find ample content to argue over and plenty of ammunition from all kinds of sources. So when Benchmade jumped into the Puukko, two things would happen. First, Benchmade would make a very fine knife, and second, it would cause esoteric arguments about the undefined nuances of the Puukko concept. The camping knife lineup at BladeHQ’s website highlights the diversity of knives in that category. From the Otzi neck knife that will make you smile, to the El Chappo cleaver that will make you cringe, the immense number of choices will make you applaud the simplicity and tradition of the Benchmade Puukko 200.
When I see a puukko in the wild, I generally assume the best about the user. And the opposite when a bowie is unsheathed to gut a deer. Puukko knives just ooze utilitarian efficiency, design minimalism and general confidence by the user. Which is exactly why it’s so hard to get excited about the Puukko. Kind of like the thrill driving on new tires. The truck owner is thrilled, but the rest of us are underwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of mundane utility.
That said, Puukko knives are primitively attractive. Deep down in human DNA shared through a thousand years of breeding has planted the seeds of the Puukko into our knife desires regardless of how bland and uneventful the design. Of course that means the Puukko has to try extra hard to capture our attention in the knife store. With no flashy pommel, bolster, guard or inlays, the humble Puukko is little more than a handle with a blade. Or perhaps a blade with a handle.
Benchmade jumped into the Puukko last year which is surprising either way you look at it begging the question, “Why?” And that would be “why so late to the Puukko party?” Or “why bother at all” given the saturated Puukko market? My guess is that the Benchmade’s answer is somewhere between this being the 21st century and there is room for Puukko improvement. And Benchmade makes knives and the Puukko is a knife. No matter the reason, the Benchmade 200 Puukko is here, and I for one am very glad it is.
Diverting from the ancient and traditional, the Benchmade 200 Puukko employs a thermoplastic elastomer handle rather than the usual birchwood. And a blade steel of semi-stainless 3V is a departure from traditional high carbon steels. The subtle differences in edge profile and grind are more a matter of splitting opinions rather than splitting hairs.
The grind is not the traditional scandi, but a slightly more complex high flat grind with secondary bevel. The scandi grind is a simple machine that is easy to sharpen. But while the purists will sing the praises of the scandi, most blades that started as true scandi grinds slowly deviate to a more convex bevel as variations in human motion while sharpening gradually rounds the metal. Either way, the real question is does it cut?
On the handle side of things, Benchmade used a Santoprene material that is extremely common in many other industries for many other purposes, but not that common in knife making. Frankly, reading the rich resume of Santoprene, it sure should be on more knives. The handle color that Benchmade calls Ranger Green, is a nice flat dark earth variant that I fell in love with on my Benchmade Bugout knife.
Overall, the Benchmade 200 Puukko is eight and a quarter inches long with just under half that in a drop point blade. It’s a full enclosed tang design with usable lanyard hole at the rear. The 0.14 inch thick blade is plenty of girth for anything this knife can do. Of course that’s circular logic, but in reality the size and design of this knife is an example of truly balanced engineering, with nothing missing and nothing extraneous. Anything you should do with this knife, you can do with this knife.
Related: Survival Gear Review: Benchmade Bushcrafter
The grip swells in two dimensions around the center of the palm giving a positive handhold shape on an already grippy grip. While not totally enough comfort to comfort those wanting some sort of physical guard between blade and handle, its well within specs of the Puukko. Thrusting, stabbing and fast poking are not what the Puukko is for so do so at your own risk. The Puukko is a utility knife that excels at cutting, carving, slicing, drilling, and other blade chores on the lower end of gross hand movements. Keep looking if you want a knife for fighting, prying, hacking, chopping or stabbing. In other words, the Puukko is exactly what you need for what you will be doing but not maybe the best single choice for wandering the dusty, sun-drenched post-apocalyptic hellscape of the future. But should you find yourself in need to stab with the Puukko, just roll your palm around to cover the butt of the handle that that should keep your hand from sliding onto the business side of the knife.
The choice of CPM-3V steel is interesting. On the Benchmade website, I get exactly four types of knives they produce that use the 3V steel. And oddly, there is very little in common among them, from a knife standpoint anyway. They include the Boost, the Bailout, the Outlast, and the Puukko with the Puukko as the only fixed blade in which Benchmade uses 3V steel. On the BladeHQ website, over 475 knife and tool choices are listed that use 3V steel with nearly 150 of them in stock and ready to ship.
So what is 3V? In yesterday’s world it would be a full fledged member of the supersteel family, but today it’s more of a entry-level superish steel. Oddly, human civilization is often categorized into time eras named for the material used in cutting tools. Stone, copper, bronze, iron, and… now what? Steel? Supersteel? Super-duper steel? Basically we are splitting steel hairs over a few years compared to the absolutely massive leaps in cutting material technology over many centuries. So the differences we perceive between blade steels today are miniscule compared to those other civilizations experienced. All that said, the 3V choice made by Benchmade was a very good one. While not quite tradition of an original Puukko, it is a worthy choice for a Puukko knife that will likely still be used in the 22nd century.
CPM-3V steel, as a near-stainless steel has some stainless characteristics, but not enough to ignore care and feeding. The knife strengths of CPM-3V steel include toughness and edge retention. Where 3V scores average in with ease of sharpening and corrosion resistance. Not a bad choice set when your lowest score is average and your best is perfect. Beyond its high grind, the point of the drop point (not the purpose but the actual point) makes a quick taper to its end allowing for a maximum retention of strength through thickness until the blade absolutely has to end. And that end is a very usable Puukko-quality tip that’s great for drilling, poking, tip slicing, and minor prying.
The sheath Benchmade includes with the Puukko 200 is actually much better than I expected. Benchmade has a mixed reputation on sheaths. I’ve had every one of Benchmade’s dive knives and exactly zero have good sheaths, with a couple downright dangerous disasters. The Puukko’s sheath is a single-stitched black leather slip-on with a firesteel loop. The standard belt loop is integrated, and an additional leather strap is included to make the sheath dangle for added comfort when sitting. Since the dangler loop is secured by a single snap, I chose to use the dangler strap with the snap wedged between belt and pants to give some added protection against loss.
For reference, the Puukko’s sheath is a modified dangler. A pure dangler has dangling as it’s only carry option, while other sheaths have an included D-ring for an optional dangler strap. The difference actually may have more to do with the position of the knife in the sheath than the sheath attachment. The Benchmade Bushcrafter has a dangler option, but sits very high in the sheath causing extraction issues when dangling. A proper dangling sheath like that of the Fallkniven Jarl addresses much of the knife including the handle usually requiring a two-fingered pommel grip to slide the knife free enough to wrap a few more fingers around it. The Puukko falls much closer to a pure dangler thus committing more to it’s Puukko roots.
A plastic insert inside the sheath adds protection to the sheath from the Puukko’s blade, as well as a smooth hang-free insertion. The friction fit of the sheath snuggs up around the palm swell. Depending on your carry scenario, the sheath-grab may not be enough for your needs. In that case you can easily spend more money than the buck-and-a quarterish that the Puukko costs on a new fancy-smancy custom bushcraft sheath, or you can add some retention to the included sheath by either a O-ring addition to the belt loop, a horizontal strap to belt loop or dangler loop, or use the lanyard hole on the Puukko’s handle to string an additional rope or bungee cord. On mine, I tied in a short knotted lanyard that assists in retraction from the sheath. It works thus far, but I can see a length or loop adjustment in the future. Not sure which way just yet.
Using the Benchmade Puukko 200 is a treat. The balance point is slightly handle-heavy where the knife will titer at about one inch back into the grip. This keeps the knife leaning into your hand which makes a solid footing for all the necessary tasks the Puukko excels at. The spine of the Puukko 200 is flat, as it should be, for additional thumb and palm pressure as needed. However, traditionalists might find the edges of the spine a fraction too rounded to efficiently scrape a firerod. The Benchmade Puukko 200 will throw sparks in its current configuration, but not with the ease of its sharp-spined brethren. A light spine grinding to sharpen the corners are fine if that floats your boat. However, the cutting edge throws sparks as well as anything, and pushing on the spine will likely happen much more often than the need to scrape a firerod. Err on the side of most-use.
Probably the most surprising aspect of the Benchmade Puukko 200 is its price. BladeHQ advertises the Puukko 200 for only $127.50 with free shipping which is about the price of a Griptilian, often described as the affordable entry into the Benchmade lineup. The Puukko is an excellent example of how we can look to the past for help with survival in the future.
All photos by author unless noted
The post Survival Gear Review: Benchmade 200 Puukko appeared first on Survival Cache.
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Believe it or not, though Christmas is now only two days away, you still have time to order last-minute stocking stuffers from Amazon. If you’re looking for one last gift for that happy hiker in your life, there’s still plenty of time to download the Kindle e-book version of my book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking!
Ramble On: A History of Hiking is a great gift idea for anyone who loves hiking, and wishes to learn more about the rich and amazing history of one of the world’s top pastimes.
For more information on the book, and to purchase, please click here.
Thank you very much, and hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Last-minute gift idea – a virtual stocking stuffer Read More »
Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]
This is just the start of the post Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy. Continue reading and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!
Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy, written by Thomas Xavier, was created exclusively for readers of the survival blog More Than Just Surviving.
Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy Read More »
Today it’s time for the expert council show. To ask a question for a show like this, just send an email to me at jack at thesurvivalpodcast.com with “TSPC Expert” in the subject line. Today on The Survival Podcast, the … Continue reading →
Episode-2571- The Expert Council Show for 12-20-19 Read More »
Funny Holiday Napkin… (any truth to the caption?) Hahaha…
Original source: Holidays With The Family Are Always A Trip…
Holidays With The Family Are Always A Trip… Read More »
There are plenty of locations to hike near Los Angeles. Many people enjoy getting lost in nature and observing the world around them while they’re hiking. But what if you could also go for a treasure hunt?
Yes, that is right. There is more than just nature lurking out there waiting to be discovered. All you have to do is go geocaching.
Okay—so, you’re not going to get rich from geocaching. It isn’t that kind of treasure hunt. Instead, you’re going to be using GPS coordinates to look for a hidden geocache box. Geocache boxes are usually metal or plastic containers of any size. You can geocache anywhere.
Inside the container, you’ll find small trinkets and a log of other people that have found that box. The trinkets can be anything. Foreign coins, plastic dinosaurs, old photos—anything that is relatively inexpensive. Some geocache boxes have specific themes. Once you find the box, you can swap a trinket and write your name on the log.
Many people enjoy geocaching because it allows them to explore and discover new locations. Tracking GPS coordinates takes you to locations that you would otherwise never visit. And while you’re not tracking down actual treasure, looking for a physical box is still a fun challenge.
It can also help you connect to different people. Sometimes you’ll run into other people that are looking for the same box as you. This will either allow you to team-up with them or start a friendly competition. Some people even write little personal stories on the geocache logs, which can help you feel connected to people that you’ve never even met! Larger communities (such as LA) have plenty of geocache boxes hidden away.
Geocache boxes can be found everywhere—outside of stores, hidden in caves, and, of course, on hiking trails. Geocaching can lead you to new trails that you didn’t even know existed. It is a good way to get out and do what you love, with the added challenge of finding a geocache box.
Another bonus of geocaching is it can add to your navigation skills. Knowing how to read a map or read GPS coordinates is a necessary skill for if you ever find yourself stranded in the wilderness while hiking. Even if you plan to stay on a well-marked trail, you never know trail damage might force you to go down an unmarked trail.
Getting started with geocaching is relatively easy. The first thing you’ll need is the coordinates of a geocache box. Using a search engine, search for “geocaching” and the area where you’re planning on hiking. This can help locate the coordinates of a box in that area. If you’re hoping to stay close to Los Angeles, try starting your search in a national park.
Once you have the coordinates, you’re going to need a navigation device to plug them into. Avoid using your phone, because if you lose service while on the trail, you won’t be able to finish tracking the box down. Instead, use a GPA with satellite reception, such as this one from Garmin.
If you do it conscientiously, it is possible to geocache in an environmentally friendly manner. This article has some good suggestions for responsible geocaching.
Something to keep in mind about geocaching is that the coordinates won’t take you to the exact location. The coordinates are meant to lead you to within 30 feet of the box, so once you reach the general area, you’re going to have to actively search for the box. You’ll have to look under rocks, check along riverbanks, and look for anything that looks out of place.
Many people try to disguise geocache boxes. They might make them look like a brick that is part of an existing wall or they might put them inside of something. While burying geocache boxes isn’t allowed, everything else is fair game.
If you’re struggling to find a box, make sure to check the hints. Geocache pages offer small hints that are meant to help you locate the box.
If you’re looking for ways to switch up your normal hiking routine, geocaching could be for you! Geocaching is a particularly fun way to make hiking more enjoyable for children, but it is also an activity that many adults will find challenging. Just make sure to return the box once you find it so that others can enjoy it!
Treasure Hunting in LA: Combining Hiking and Geocaching Read More »
Many preppers keep dedicated bug-out vehicles in the form of trucks and SUVs with equipment and supplies. If you’ve got a family that you need to look out for, this is the only way to go. However, if you have … Continued
Bugging Out On A Motorcycle Read More »
Origin stories are always interesting. Whether the first life on earth, or the beginnings of a Super Hero, the origin story starts the character arc. In the case of a knife, for some, the origin story can be as important as the actual blade. The Bowie Knife, for instance, or the Puukko. Some like the Fairbairn-Sykes might not carry household name recognition, but anyone in the knife-know would quickly say, “Oh yes, I know that knife.”
By Doc Montana, contributing author to Survival Cache and SHTFblog
There’s another knife popularly known as the “Tracker.” It’s a unique shape, or rather combination of shapes that are baked into a single blade design. While the knife has a documented history that dates back to the 1980s, the uniqueness of the overall knife silhouette really hit the big screen, the actual real big screen in the 2003 movie “The Hunted” starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro. Although the knife in the movie was promoted as a combat blade, the actual Tracker was a dedicated survival knife.
Through documentation and primary sources, the initial design of what will become the famous Tracker Knife, or more specifically, the Tom Brown Tracker, had its roots with Robb Russon whose son Mark runs Utah Knife Works and produces a Tracker variation named the Survivor. The story about Russon and Brown would make a fine Hollywood movie on its own.
By any measure, the Survivor Knife is a beefy blade. Built of 9CR18MoV stainless steel, and almost a quarter-inch thick, the starting slab of steel of the Survivor is plenty for anything hand-operated. Six main features of the Survivor knife jump out on first view. Forward of the handle is a flat knife blade followed by a strong curved front end, The point of the spine has aggressive and offset saw teeth, and behind that is a cutting hook that doubles as both a seatbelt cutter and sharp gut hook. Rounding out the features is a distinct flat hammer face protruding from the back end of the handle.
The famous profile of the knife shape is mainly the transition from a somewhat inset flat blade to a seperate curved blade profile with saw teeth of some sort gracing the front end. In the case of this Survivor Knife, the presentation is about a foot long, and in a bright stainless with black glass-reinforced canoe-shaped nylon scales each fixed in place with three bolts.
Also Read: Survival Gear Review – Fallkniven A1Pro
Other versions of the Tracker knife use high carbon steel, powder coated blades, and various scale choices. There are even larger and smaller versions being sold. What they all have in common besides an ancestor from Utah is an obvious shape; the shape of the Tracker.
In the field, the Utah Knife Works Survivor Knife produces results. The first thing you would notice when hefting this blade is the heft. It’s substantial at a full pound. The six-inch blade doesn’t get any thinner until the final half inch of tip. And care needs to be taken given the top of the blade also cuts both with saw and hook.
The initial two-and-a-half inches of straight blade just forward of the grip is steeper flat grind with its six covered by a solid thump ramp with melted jimping. The Survivor Knife’s flat blade works as draw knife and batoning face as well as a traditional cutting blade. And when batoning, care is needed because you don’t want to strike the saw teeth. Instead, you can go easy and aim just in front of the teeth where a small tip platform is open space, or you can strike to the rear of the gut hook on a sloping plain of steel directly above the straight blade. Of course you will quickly exceed the girth of the blade but at that point I’ve found I can often twist the knife handle counter-clockwise (right handed) further splitting the workpiece.
There’s a hard stop to the blade before it transitions into the frontend curved blade. There’s no drop on the point, and given the forthcoming safety hook as one follows the blade edge up and around, the tip of the Utah Knife Works Survivor is more of an upswept ending easily inline with the top of the grip or maybe a touch above it.
Cutting surfaces on the Utah Knife Works Survivor Knife do their job without complaint. When making feather sticks, the straight blade works wonders. And as a batoning section, it works well up to its full length. Given that it is a portion of the overall blade length, you can use it’s entire dimension to baton branches and section larger wood.
As a chopper, the Utah Knife Works Survivor Knife performs, but not at hatchet-level. The weight-forward blade has the mass and edge to hack wood, but being at the end of the blade, it also curves up rapidly leaving only an inch or two of chopping surface. Chopping with the straight portion of the blade sacrifices much of the moving mass.
The cross-cut saw teeth address the first two inches back from the point, and they are aggressive. Making more of a grinder than a saw, the teeth are exceptional at carving notches, short-throw sawing, and producing more sparks off a fire rod than you can imagine. Trying to saw a branch with the teeth is questionable. The short throw of the saw means you have to use it more as an oscillating tool.
The cutting hook is the most factory-sharp surface on the knife. Second is the straight edge, and the third is the curved edge. The cutting hook can be used for domestic survival chores including cord and strap cutting along with linear slicing. On the homestead, the hook will quickly delimb small branches with efficiency, and provide a precision carving surface for making pointed sticks. As a gut hook it is more of a gut cutter that works great for initial skinning, and, well, gut cutting.
The black leather sheath is a single-stitched, two snap, belt loop design. The unique shape of the Utah Knife Works Survivor all but demands an unconventional sheath design. It works well. A nice touch in the future that would also accent the “Survivor” nature of this blade would be to sew a firesteel loop onto the sheath.
Another one of the appealing features of the Utah Knife Works Survivor Knife is its price. Retailing for $150, the knife is a strong contender for a bug out, planned or otherwise.
The post Survival Gear Review: Utah Knife Works Survivor appeared first on Survival Cache.
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