Category Archives: Knives / Tools

The Knife You’ll Want When the Stuff Hits the Fan

by SurvivalGuy Posted on September 8, 2012

Eric Rogell

August 6, 2012

Photos: SOG Specialty Knives and Tools

It’s a fact of life: Stuff happens. And when things go south, you’ll want to have the right tools with you. One of those tools is the Escape knife from SOG.

Just the right size to carry in a pocket, throw in your tackle box, or slip in a glove compartment, the Escape has a one hand-opening, partially serrated spear point blade connected to a hard anodized aluminum handle with a polycarbonate cover for durability. But it’s the features that SOG has outfitted that handle with that could help save your behind in an emergency.

The Escape has a built-in wire stripper and line cutter that can cut through seat belts in an emergency

Built into the Escape’s handle is a line cutter that can cut paracord, string, fishing line, or, in one of those “stuff happens” emergencies, can cut clean through a seatbelt, getting you (or whoever) out quickly. And to get to that seatbelt, there’s also a glass breaker in the handle for extreme emergencies.

They’ve also included a wire stripper, should you need to MacGuyver your way out of a situation, and a compartment that stores extra line cutter blades. The Escape ($65.00) also comes with a lifetime warranty, because you never know what life is going to throw at you.

Posted in Knives / Tools | Tagged SHTF Knife, SOG Escape, SOG Knives, Survival Knife | Leave a comment

MDTS – STAB

by SurvivalGuy Posted on July 19, 2012

Chris Fry of MDTS explains the finer points of presenting the folding knife under duress during a recent “small knife skills” seminar.

Posted in Knives / Tools, Training | Tagged Chris Fry, CQB, MDTS, self defense, tactical training, weapons training | Leave a comment

Ontario RAT 5 After Action Report

by SurvivalGuy Posted on May 15, 2012

I took the Ontario Rat 5 with me to a bushcraft class about a month ago. The knife made short work of splitting pieces of wood in half using another larger piece of wood as a hammer. While using the RAT 5 for fine work such as making notches in branches in order to set traps and making frames it was lacking. The RAT 5 had a flat grind which did not allow me to perform fine woodworking easily. My lady had a Mora knife which had a Scandi /Double Bevel edge and she had a much better time performing the exercises during the class. Her experience with the Mora knife allowed her to make cuts in the wood easily. In the end it all came down to the type of grind a knife had when we were practicing our wood cuts.

The RAT 5 and Mora knives held up very well after 5 hours of wood carving. Both are carbon steel blades. I added Black Magic grip tape to the top and bottom of the RAT 5 knife in order to give it a better grip. I left the Mora knife as is because of it’s fine rubber grip. In an ideal camping / survival / bushcraft situation I would have both but if I were to consider just carrying one knife I would go with the Mora knife. I have some pics of the knives, wood carvings and knife edge types below.

Posted in Knives / Tools | Tagged Carbon Steel Knife, ESEE, ESEE 5, ESEE Cutlery, Mora, Mora Knife, Mora Knives, Ontario RAT 5, Rat 5, RAT 5 Kydex Sheath, Rat Cutlery, Rat Kydex, Swedish Knife | Leave a comment

Ontario RAT 5 First Impressions

by SurvivalGuy Posted on April 18, 2012

So I’m back from my break and ready to continue posting.

I was shopping for a 1095 carbon steel knife that I could take hiking and possibly use as a bushcraft knife. I decided on purchasing an Ontario RAT 5 as it was reasonably priced and well reviewed. When I received the knife I new that it might come with a sad specimen of a cordura sheath. Upon opening the box the knife was solid and really well made. There were no marks on the blade and the micarta handles were properly fitted.

The cordura sheath was a bit sad looking if you compared it to a Kydex sheath but it was perfectly serviceable. The cordura sheath had a plastic insert so the knife did not damage the sheath. Ideally the sheath would be made out of Kydex because the knife is made out of 1095 carbon steel and the cordura sheath would retain moisture and hasten rust. The positive aspects of the cordura sheath was that it had a small pouch for a sharpening stone and that the sheath also had molle straps that could be used to attach to a chest carrier, bag or on a belt. I plan on upgrading to a Kydex sheath from knifeworks.com after an upcoming bushcraft knife class that I am taking. Here are some pics in the mean time.

Posted in Knives / Tools | Tagged ESEE, ESEE Cutlery, Ontario RAT 5, Rat 5, Rat Cutlery, Rat Kydex | 1 Comment

Big City: Self Defense Flashlight

by SurvivalGuy Posted on August 11, 2011

I haven’t had a problem with crime in NYC for over 15 years. The place was cleaned up by Mayor Giuliani. A lot of people complained that he was too harsh and a dic(k)tator. I look at it in a different way. You have to be a mother fucker to get anything done in this city. I’m talking about just getting in the subway every morning. He stepped on a lot of toes and he got things done. Ok enough about the former Mayor.

On the rare occasion that I feel that I’m in danger I whip out my trusty flashlight. That’s right a flashlight. Not just any flashlight it’s relatively inexpensive, comes in NYC’s favorite color (Black), it has a 35 hour plus life span on 3 triple AAA batteries and you are not going to get grief from the police about it. The flashlight is made by Coast and the model is V2 LED Lenser Power Chip Flashlight. I’ve never had to use it against an attacker but when this light is turned on the beam is blinding, even on a sunny day. The aggressor is temporarily blinded which gives you a few precious seconds to get away to get help and call the police.

I personally do not recommend getting into a physical confrontation if you can help it. There is no shame in running away. I have several friends who are in the NYPD and they regale me with stories of people getting caught in the maw of the justice system trying to protect themselves or their loved ones. The law doesn’t look at circumstance it only see’s a crime and if you are arrested the prosecutor is going to press charges. Call the police and let them do their job. Keep alert and stay safe.

Posted in Knives / Tools, Self Defense | Tagged city living, coast led lenser coast V2 led lenser, combat flashlight, safety, self defense, self defense flashlight, weapon flashlight | 6 Comments

Leatherman – Wave Multi Tool

by SurvivalGuy Posted on May 30, 2011

I have been carrying my Leatherman around since 1995. I bought it at a shop in Camp Casey, South Korea. I have put it through all sorts of stress and it keeps on working. I recently purchased a much newer model. The Leatherman Wave in black. Most of the product line is in silver but I like to be different so black was an ideal choice for me.

My old Leatherman was/is great but if you’ve ever used an old mutli tool with the hollow grips thne you know they bite into your hands when using the pliers. That was one of the reasons I purchased the new one, that and I like shiny new things. I replaced my current Leatherman with the Wave and demoted my old one to a Go (GOOD) Bag. This multitool and the Led Lenser v2 flashlight from a previous post are constantly on my person, backpack or brief case depending on the situation.

Posted in Knives / Tools | Tagged emergency preparedness, Knives, Leatherman Wave, Multi Tool, tool kit, Tools | Leave a comment

Accusharp: Knife and Tool Sharpener

by SurvivalGuy Posted on May 26, 2011

I came across the Accusharp: Knife and Tool Sharpener at a local store a couple of months ago. The cashier at the store said that it’s the best knife sharpener he has ever come across. I took his opinion with a grain of salt and paid for my purchase. I took the sharpener home at tested it on a kitchen knife. It worked very well and then I put it in my kitchen drawer and forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago.

Since I just rediscovered the sharpener I wanted to try it out on a few of my older knives. I bought a KA-BAR knife and a Cold Steel push dagger about 17 years ago. Both of these knives have been with me through the military and all the years since. The knife sharpener worked really well on both of the knives and I was really happy with the outcome. The knife sharpener is not perfect. It got my knives pretty sharp but they weren’t razor sharp. I would take the knives to a wet stone to make them extraordinarily sharp. Considering the sharpener was under $12 I think it’s a good purchase if your considering an easy to use knife sharpener for the house. Here are some pics below.

Posted in Gear Review, Knives / Tools | Tagged gear review, Knives, Tools | Leave a comment

Kabar TDI Straight Edge Knife Comparison

by SurvivalGuy Posted on April 14, 2011

A couple of people who read my previous post were wondering how well the full size TDI knife compares against the smaller TDI Law Enforcement Knife. Since it was brought up I thought I should do a side by side comparison.

The smaller TDI knife has a slightly thinner handle and is a bit more comfortable. The downside is that the blade is smaller. The best feature about the smaller knife is that it has a larger finger groove that will help prevent your fingers from sliding across the blade. The larger TDI knife has a longer blade and a thicker handle that is slightly less angled. The larger TDI knife is slightly easier to conceal because the handle doesn’t stick out at a more extreme angle.

Both knives conceal really well and are very light. The construction of the knives is excellent and I did not see any sloppy machine markings on either of them. Considering they are both under $60 each, depending which options you get, you can eventually buy both and not regret it. If I had to choose between the two I would select the smaller one for daily carry because of the more secure grip. As always there are pictures below.

Small TDI on the Left – Large TDI on the Right

Posted in Gear Review, Knives / Tools | Tagged emergency preparedness, gear review, kabar belt clip, Kabar tdi, knife review, Knives, pocket knife, self defense | Leave a comment

Kabar TDI Straight Edge Knife With Metal Belt Clip

by SurvivalGuy Posted on April 11, 2011

I bought the Kabar TDI straight edge knife a couple of weeks ago. I kept putting off writing a review due to laziness. I purchased the Kabar TDI metal belt clip separately because I ordered the ankle version of the knife accidentally. So the knife and belt clip sat there on my table staring at me begging to be put together but I was too busy / lazy to put in four screws.

I have owned Kabar products since I was 17. I’ve purchased far more expensive knives as I have gotten older but I keep going back to their product line. The quality is pretty good and the knives are always sharp. I don’t feel bad about abusing them because they are inexpensive. The Kabar TDI was my latest purchase. I wanted to have a straight edge knife that I could carry that was discreet and readily accessible. I tried a few pocket folders but they did not suit my tastes.

The Kabar TDI is a simple knife with a Zytel handle. It’s pretty darned sharp and conceals really well. The angled grip is comfortable but a little small for my above average hands. I think of it as a back up knife so it’s not meant to be really comfortable. I recommend the blade for the price and I have a hard time recommending something better for about $60 dollars. Here are some pics below.

Posted in Gear Review, Knives / Tools | Tagged concealed knife, kabar belt clip, Kabar tdi, Knives, pocket knife, self defense, Tools | Leave a comment

GRAYMAN Satu (sah’-too) Folder

by SurvivalGuy Posted on March 10, 2011

I picked up the Grayman Satu folder a few months ago. I saw the pictures on the Grayman’s Knives website and I knew the knife was going to be big. It still did not prepare me for the size of it when I opened the box. It’s one hell of a big knife. The first thing I did was inspect it closely. The knife did not have any machining marks or scratches and all the screws were tight. The action was initially stiff. I put a little white lithium grease in the action before I began to open and close the knife a couple of hundred times in each hand over the next several days to loosen it up. I know that may seem a bit obsessive compulsive but it’s the way I get familiar with the action of a folding knife. This way I get very familiar with the knife and opening it becomes second nature in both hands.

I primarily wanted to use this knife as a hiking knife. I was looking for something very well built that I can put in my pocket or backpack. Since I live on the east coast I have to be more discreet than those of you who live elsewhere. The knife has a really strong clip that will hold on to your pants like a leech. It might be a little to tight in case of an emergency but I’m not carrying this knife as a self defense weapon. You can definitely use it as such but that’s not it’s main purpose. I would like to test this knife further but I can’t bring myself to start chopping at branches just for the hell of it. For now it’s residing in my home waiting for it’s first trip into the woods. Until then I will have to leave you with a bunch of pictures.