Here is the long awaited review of my custom mammoth tusk neck knife. This knife was made by Patrick Roehrman of MT Knives. The handle materiel was purchased from KnifeKits.com
The blade is a laminated steel,with stainless steel outside and a high carbon steel core on the inside (HRC 63-64) blue super steel Presentation grade Mammoth Tusk handle with mosaic pins and a red vulcanized fiber liner.
There are some really great things about having something custom made and truly unique. The mammoth tusk is absolutely high on the cool factor, it does have a few drawbacks as well.
Most of the listeners will know that EDC, stands for “everyday carry”. This is the stuff you carry with you all the time, perhaps a knife, some cordage, a means of defense or may be even a micro survival kit. It isn’t your Bug Out Bag or your Go Bag or anything you don’t have directly on your person at all times when out and about hence the EVERY in EVERYday. I think the Gerber EAB belongs in your EDC and when you see the video below I think you will understand why.
If you are going to make an item part of your EDC to me it must meet certain criteria, not necessarily all of these but a few of them…
Something you will use often or rely upon in certain situations when nothing else will do
Provide some sort of every day function, (like a cordage bracelet)
It must small and lightweight (comparatively speaking of course a gun is bigger then a pen light)
It must be convenient to carry so that you will actually carry it EVERYday
Provide for multiple functions or provide a way to preserve other EDC items from excessive use
Afford the ability to create things that you can’t carry
It must be concealable or blend it so as not to arouse the interest of others
Like I said you don’t have to have all of the above but I won’t make something part of my EDC unless it fills a few of the roles listed above. Well I just found the Gerber EAB Folding Razor Knife (EAB means exchange a blade). You can find these on Amazon for between 9-12 bucks via this link. I will leave it to you as to which of the above roles this nifty little tool will fill for your needs but suffice to say I think it can do a lot for most of us.
Additionaly I just want to be clear, I am not saying to carry this as your primary knife but as one of your knives. There are many things you may need a knife for that the Gerber EAB will not do well and there are some things it will do better then a full sized knife. To me the chief advantage is that I can replace very cheap blades as I need to and I save my primary knife blade for the critical tasks that I need it for. The EAB may also be one of the very best small game skinning tools I have ever found.
I have carried the Cold Steel Spartan on and off for about 6 months now as part of EDC. It is a good knife and well built but not with out its flaws. Honestly I don’t really like it as an EDC tool but must admit it is a formidable self defense tool.
The Good
Very solidly built
The lock has amazing strength and zero play
Good self defense tool
Excellent feel in the hand
Can be used as an impact weapon for non lethal use
Opens extremely fast once you get familiar with it
Despite being large carries very nicely due to the high clip placement
The Bad
Not practical for EDC, draws to much attention when in use
Curved blade is not practical for any type of intricate use
The over-sized handle is not practical for a lot of tasks
Might be seen as a “weapon” by under informed LEOs
Doesn’t open easily with one had, need to flick or pocket draw
This knife is a very good tool as a defensive weapon over all but not very practical for much else. They are available on Amazon.com for about 55 dollars. My recommendation only buy this knife as self defense tool or to add to your collection if you simply collect knifes of all types. It is a purpose built tool in my view and not the best thing for EDC.
The M3 Medic bag is a top choice for US Military and various first responders across the U.S and abroad. Our version is designed for the civilian, it features the official TSP Medical Patch (an original design by Tiffany Rockwell of Rockwell Survival) and is made in high visibility red.
This bag is designed to keep your first aid kit, blow out kit and other emergency medical supplies close at hand, easy to access and ready for quick deployment.
Our supplier is Voodoo Tactical located in Gardena, California. We choose Voodoo due to their excellent quality and rugged off the shelf design of the popular M3 Medical Kit Bag.
These bags are available at the TSP Gear Shop and retail for $29.95. http://bit.ly/gAz5TS
This video will be the first in a series of test I will be doing with the 400 Watt inverter function of the Wagan 400-Watt Power Dome EX. In this test I ran a Sony Vario Laptop playing a DVD and a Seville Classic Tower Fan on Medium Speed. The Laptop was run with out the battery to insure the results measured the actual power draw. In an actual power outage of course you would not do that.
Some additional tests will measure the PC doing various tasks both with and with out the battery, running a DSL modem, running a small television and DVD player and some other ideas I have.
This device has a lot going for it, some features include….
600 cranking amp auto jump starter
260 PSI high power motor air compressor
400 watt AC power inverter, high intensity LED light
Built-in AM/FM radio with iPod™ input
2 AC Outlets and 1 DC outlets
I have used the jump starter and it worked perfectly, we also use the radio feature by our pool and on our decks often. I have used the compressor and it was effective but not stellar, certainly good enough to air up your tire enough to get to better services. I firmly believe that one of these belongs in every car or truck you own. The tests I am doing with the inverter for back up power is really more a nice to have, the main function of this device is to keep you mobile, informed and with lighting on the road.
Note that even when the power was to low to run the devices that the light and radio still worked for a long time.
If you do choose to order one from Amazon please consider using my link to help support the work I do with The Survival Podcast and on Youtube http://amzn.to/bWOtKL
This is a tour of our garden which is currently in a transitional stage, it also covers a few of the species I mentioned in yesterday’s show that we have harvested from the wild and now are cultivating in our garden such as purslane, lambs-quarter’s, amaranth and ground cherries.
There is kind of a moment at the end were as I am speaking I really come into touch with the fact that we will be leaving this house behind this winter when we move. While I am very excited to move out of the city it did hit me just a bit that after all the years here of working and making this place into something special it will soon be turned over to someone else, someone who might remove my garden and plant good old civilized grass! While I hope not it is up to the new home owner to either value or devalue the nitrogen rich organic soil we built.
Like I say at the end though, do it even if you will leave at some point, learn, gain the knowledge and make the place better than the way you found it. While I will miss the place I don’t regret one second of the work we put into it or the countless meals that had something we grew for ourselves as part of them.
I am at the BOL today but there will be a show tomorrow it is already prerecorded and ready to go via the magic of automation and the wordpress blog platform,
Many preppers seem to shun technology in exchange for more “primitive” skills such as bush-crafting and stellar/solar navigation. Personally I feel neither should be relied on to the exclusion of the other. For instance I carry a lighter in every kit I own but I also know how to make friction fire and I can fire steel as well. Each tool has its place and acts as redundancy for the others.
A fellow prepper once mocked my use of a GPS, I simply asked if he rode a horse to work on a daily basis. The point was received with that one question. Technology can be both a blessing and a curse, it is up to us to fully utilize it while still understanding its limitations.
Join me today as we discuss the following technologies
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