All posts tagged tactical knives

Timberline Tactical Knives

I had the fortunate experience to work the Gatco Sharpener booth at the NRA Convention last Spring and it was a very insightful experience.   When I first showed up most of the knives looked the same to me, but after about 2 days of handling them, I was able to distinguish between all of the knives and how they were different.   There are numerous sharpeners from Gatco that are options in sharpening your knife, but some of them are pocket sizes and others are kits.   The Military Carbide sharpener is probable the most straight forward, but since not all knives are straight edge or plain edge.   You may have a hard time getting to partially serated knives.  That’s where the the sharpening kits come in.

We ran a giveaway at the Gatco sharpener booth where we gave away an SOC knife with every kit that was purchased.  Probable the biggest seller for those that purchased the Timberline knives, was the Edgemate Professional Knife Sharpening system.  There is a stone that can be used to get to the serations and it only took a few strokes to notice the difference.  Once you get the hang of using the sharpening system, you can sharpen knifes even faster.   One thing we didn’t see at the show was any blood flow, but I was informed that almost every year somebody cuts themselves there.   Safe handling of knives is something you’ll be practicing whenever you use a sharpening system.

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Things to keep in your car besides firearms

There is a mindset that goes with the responsible Citizen and it’s not all about firearms and self defense.   I’m a big proponent of getting First Aid or emergency response training if you are a concealed carry holder or if you have taken defensive firearm training.  Not only are you preparing yourself for defending  yourself, you may be involved in a situation where others besides the BG may have been shot or injured.  I’ve witnessed enough violent crime in my life to know that some old guy or an old lady may have a heart attack in a crisis situation and knowing  how to deal with that is important.

I keep a spare magazine in my car for the nightmare scenario of needing it, but I also carry jumper cables, fix a flat and tire pressure gauges.   Another thing to consider having is small fire extinguisher and something you can use to cut a seat belt or smash out a car window.   Breaking car windows can be difficult if you don’t have the proper tools, but  many tactical knives and something like the SOG Fusion tactical tomahawk will make it easier to smash open a window to free someone from a burning car.   I witnessed several car accidents that turned into car fires and sometimes people will become unconscious after an impact. There are many ways to save peoples lives.  Having the tools to do so

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Having fun but having the right stuff

I would have to say that the vast majority of those that have anything more than a flashlight and optic on the M4 are probable putting something on our guns that we really don’t need, but just enjoy having on.   There’s nothing wrong with having an LWRCI upper with a quad rail or a MidWest quad rail if you think you can put it to use, but when we actually have to carry the Carbine for any real length of time, we’ll wish we could strip a few extra pounds of weight off the gun.  Many of our Staff have been attending competition shoots lately that have been really well run.   These events are everything from battle scenarios or even Zombie shoots.

Last  year in Pennsylvania we attended a Carbine shoot where the the attendees has to sign in at 8am and once they left the club house, they couldn’t drop off any gear and had to lug it all with them for the day.   All of the competitors were carrying M4 or AR15 variants and a few had AK rifles.    Ammunition loads were approximately 400rds of rifle and 100rds of handgun ammo.    I enjoy these events because we get too see some real hard use of tactical gear and tactical accessories.   We tend to not see things fail at these shoots because the competitors are in the higher class as far as skill and the types of firearms they use.   If you ever want to see what kind of optics work and which firearms and when things jam, go to a competition shoot at your gun club and sit back and watch.

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5.11 tactical jeans review pt 1

I finally did my rounds and checked out a few local 5.11 dealers to see what they had in stock.    Something I always find annoying about stopping in these places is how much of a mess the clothing usually is.   I always have to dig around for my sizes and rarely do any of these gun shops or police and security stores keep there crap together.   The other thing that I find annoying is that so many of them clear out certain styles of clothing during the year like there is a non-season for polos and jeans.   Some of these tactical clothing manufacturers are running huge shortages and various products are out of stock for 6-9 months at a time.   I actually noticed many of the gun shops in my neck of the woods stopped selling 5.11 tactical pants because it was too much of a headache for them to deal with.

It was time to restock my tactical pants inventory and I’m not prone to sticking to only one manufacturer.   I have worn 5.11 tactical pants, Eotac, Woolrich Elite and even SigTac.   Each tactical clothing company and tactical gear manufacturer has it’s pros and cons,  but I’d give Eotac and Woolrich Elite the edge on quality control.     I am comparing the Eotac 205 concealed carry jeans to the 5.11 jeans and there is no comparison.   I feel a difference in the movement of each jean, but I really don’t think I feel restricted in any way.   They are both well made, but there are huge differences in the designs.   The Eotac jeans are very similar to the Woolrich Elite Discreet MKII pants, but they are definitely not the same.   The 5.11 jeans are what I’d call more for deep concealment.   There are internal pockets that can hold a j-frame revolver or a small semi-auto and a few spare magazines.   I find the pockets to be a  little too deep and don’t really like the fact the guns are practically inside the pants.   I tried putting a Sig 239 in the pockets with spare magazines and it was extremely uncomfortable when sitting down, so I would have to say you need something smaller than that.

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Looking for Zombie killing options

Do search for gun clubs and shooting ranges in your State to find out if anyone is holding a Zombie shoot.   They usually occur in the September to October months.   Having some good tactical clothing that will securely hold your gear.   The Eotac Style 201 pants are my favorite because they hold 6- 30rd PMAGS and they are easy to run in.   Tactical vests like the Style 101 are not heavy and don’t make you feel like you are wearing a flak jacket.   There is a time and a place for different types of tactical vests, but mobility is important.  You may want to try getting your magazines loaded up with all of your gear and then try running 100yds with it and see what it feels like and if stuff starts to fly out of your pockets.   Mobility is extremely important.

There seems to be a new craze in competition shooting in recent years.   I’ve seen more high school boys coming home from class with Zombie survival guides, the recent 28 Days later type movies and the doomsday virus outbreaks.    I guess IDPA has lost some traction to the present generation, but I’ve attended a few Zombie survival competitions and they were very good training events.   The best thing about it was the amount of tactical gear that I watched fail, and the number of really novice mistakes people made.   Out of the 5 stages I attended, there was 1 stage that we saw about 18 firearms go down.   About half of those were AK variants and they were mostly magazine related.  Some guys never knew how hard it was to do a tactical reload on an AK if there was a round in the chamber and a fully loaded 30rd magazine.  People found out what happens after firing off the 1st round and the magazine falls out.

 

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Useful tools for practical defense

Tactical KnivesA knife is a tool, tools can be used for many things.   How many times have good people used knives for good and how many have been used for evil.    Just about anything you find in your tool box can be used for self defense purposes and some may be quite good.   Many years ago the Swiss Army knife was issued and it is a great thing to use if your in the Army or in Scounting, but they really aren’t the best thing to use for self defense.

Some self defense instructos may tell you that folding knives are not the best fighting weapons, and they probable aren’t, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use it for slashing a BG or just showing it to a potential robber to ward him off.   Sog Knifes are a great place to look for a diverse tactical knives product line for knives that can be used for camping, cutting, and fighting and you feel real insecure, try the SOG Battle ax.

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It’s metal, it’s shiny and it’s cool

Tactical KnivesUtility knifes can be tactical, but my idea of a tactical knife is something with a good sharp edge that can be used defensively, can pry things open and also be used to cut a seat belt without sawing it.   Folding knifes are in their own category and I know some people frown on them, but you gotta use what you have and know in your mind what it is capable of withstanding and what it can be used for.

I think that sums up about 75% of what the tactical knives market and the remaining 25% have a different reason they own a knife.   I think a lot of America has lost the idea of how useful a knife is these days, probable because people have access to so many fancy tools that the idea of having to sit there an sharpen something that knife owners know is a tool, is something they don’t understand.  Nowadays, most highway emergency reponse and law enforcment are carrying knives that can slice a seat belt in half a second.

 

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New Eotac Products

Tactical Clothing

The Direct Action smock has multiple outer pockets and has velcro and zipper closure.   The pants have cargo and utilitily pockets.   Bushmaster, DPMS, Remington, Emerson Knives, Blue Force Gear, Wiley are involved with the launch of the new line.  Safariland is making helmets, knee pads and holsters with the same patter camo.   The new Eotac Style 410 Sporting Polo and Eotac Style 602 Shooting T-Shirt will be available starting in February and March of 2010 as well as the Womens 702 Tactical Pants.  Keep an eye on RogueElite.net for more info on the Direct Action products from Eotac.

The new and aggressive tactical clothing company named Eotac announced at SHOT Show this year that they are introducing a new line of clothing, the Direct Action.   This new line of combat apparel will be available in the Fall of 2010.   It will be available in their A-Tacs camouflage.   The Direct Action Smock and Direct Action Pant.   Safariland is also putting out several of their products in the A-Tacs camo patter to compliment the Smock and Pants that Eotac- Elite Operator Tactical clothing.

 

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Don’t Confuse Tactical Knives with Switchblades

tactical-kniveIn this day and age, it can be difficult to determine the legality of owning certain weapons. A complex web of state and federal laws dictates what is and is not acceptable in terms of possession. As far as knives go, it’s important to note the difference between a folding knife and a switchblade. Tactical knives that fold manually are widely used on hiking trips, while hunting in the woods, and even on job sites across the country.

Switchblades operate very differently in that their blades pop out manually. Fairly or not, they are often associated with acts of violent crime. For that reason, switchblades are banned in many areas while tactical knives are not. A manually folding knife comes in handy in a number of legitimate situations, so the owner shouldn’t worry about weapons restrictions.

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