Monday Night Knife Fights: Mall-Ninja Wall Hangers   

Apocalypse Josh

I talk about good knives, swords an axes a fair bit. I’m fan of dense steel with an edge. There’s a lot of it out there, some good, some amazing, and some unspeakable trash. It’s the latter stuff I want to discuss for a bit.

Lets talk Mall-Ninja wall-hangers. First you might ask, what’s a mall-ninja?

A mall ninja is a breed of weapons and combat enthusiast characterized by being so ungrounded in reality as to make even the most hardcore gun nuts shake their heads. Equal parts naïveté, delusion, and obnoxiousness, the mall ninja contributes to countless ill-informed online debates concerning arms, armor, and warfare, and is a common consumer of assorted paramilitary woo, broscience, and shared misconceptions about history and the world. The term “mall ninja” is pejorative; no one self-identifies as such. We hope.

If you’re worried there’s a simple test you can take to assess your-mall-ninja status.   Good luck.

Now, if you’re an avid Master Ken of “Enter the Dojo” disciple, you’ve probably had all the training and experience you’d need to make your own correct choices when purchasing your own pointies.

When it comes to some real Mall-Ninja wall hanger blade there are some key aspects that seal the classification:

1. Black. Real Ninja’s need black weapons for their Tier One Wet Ops. Powder coated, painted, teflon coated, oxidised, it doesn’t matter.
2. Cord-wrapped handle. Every real street-samurai wants their blade wrapped samurai style, and that means cord-wrapped.
3. Curves. Like every bad-lady has a curves and ever mall-ninja want’s a bad lady of their very own.
4. More curves. See Above, but unnecessary curves are even better.
5. Extra cutting surfaces. Primary edges aren’t very high speed-low drag. For true body-dropping power, you need blades on all faces.
6. Unnecessary serrations.   It’s not a sharks mouth, buddy, its a knife. You need a chainsaw, get a Husky!
7. Tactical sheath. Drop-leg, back-scabbard or just “ballistic nylon”.
8. A scary name. “No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.”Add a few “NINJA, ZOMBIE or DEATHs in there for good measure.

However; there’s a lot of shiny bling out there. Here’s a quick guide to some examples.

A – Zombie ass kicker. This is a bad-assed blade, but a serious wall-hanger. Extra serrations, extra edges to catch and snag, it’s styled after the Aztec war swords to look extra scary. Ribbon-wrapped rather than cord, and a pretty thin, light steel. I don’t have much faith in it’s utility.

B – Living dead apocalypse full tang ninja sword.  Twin blades are better than one, obviously. Extra curves and serrations along the non-striking edge of the blade, as well as holes cut into the blade to lighten it, adding weakness.

C -“Hunting Knife.” Perhaps if you’re the Predator tracking Dutch and the other Rescue Team members.. This no-name piece  actually performs pretty well, regardless of its extra curves, useless serrated spine and extra holes. Its “full-tang, one-piece construction” is quite sturdy and the cord wrap handle well done. It’s pretty well balanced, well finished, and were not for the extra holes and the saw on the spine, it might not even qualify as a Wall-hanger for Mall-Ninja’s were it not for the dual shoulder strap back-holster  and the extra holes.

D – Black legion undead machete. Scary name, and wicked post-apocalyptic hammer finish. Now just add to the list the impressive looking spiked knuckle-guard, the “zombie-green’ cord wrap and the drop-leg sheath and you’ve a “take-em-all-out before they getcha”special to scare mom with if she ever busts in on you practicing kata in the basement. water-bottles and melons of the world beware. To be fair, the blade appears to be well made, but the fitting are a tad flimsy for my tastes.

E – Z-hunter-axe. Not really an axe. Not really a hunting knife. Unnecessary saw-back serrations, extra curves and hooked edges. Great cord-wrapping and a single piece of steel for resilience, with sick jolly roger logo for extra-scary pirate aesthetic. Maybe if you’re going from to room on a beached Somali cargo ship? I have a feeling it wouldn’t  serve too well dressing a water-buffalo either. But zombies? narp.

F –KA-BAR War sword On first glance, this one looks like a prime candidate for Mall-Ninja wall-hanging.   It’s got some curve to it, a lurid green scale grip, for extra zombie killing power, and a fully decked out nylon thigh sheath. However, its a serious work horse of a knife, but the scary name, and green scale gives them the potential for Mall-Ninja wall hanging.

G – Ontario Black Wind. Not every Mall-ninja wants a blingtastic katana straight out of Highlander or Blade. Some might prefer a more-or-less traditional “ninja-to style” short, straight and heavy sword, which is exactly the kind of blade that the Ontario Knife Co. put into Army Disposals and into the pages of martial arts catalogues. This is a bad-ass blade, undeserving of any scorn, and is in fact one of my go-to blades in the event of Apocalypse or civil unrest.  Even with its high-speed looking kydex scabbard,  just too good to be a wall-hanger.

H –Cold Steel Gladius. Last up from my own collection is the hungry-for blood Gladius from Cold Steel. Now, even the mighty Roman armies had their own groupies and  modern-day hangers on, thanks to a steady stream of “sand and sandals” action pictures. The humble Roman ground-pounder was issued one of these Gaul-stickers and bade go forth and pacify the Empire. The modern version hanging on my wall would have been a high-tech marvel of construction but fit in nicely in the shield-wall. I don’t recommend trying to take that angle when trying to explain why you have one lashed to your hip with your Company First Sergeant, but, if you wanted a big ass blade for defending the empire “outside the wire” you could do a lot worse than one of these.

Lets take a moment to talk thickness. Cheap blades are often cut or pressed  from sheets of thin steel. This doesn’t offer much cutting mass, strength or rigidity, all things I would want in a fighting blade. Different steels have different densities so its hard to gauge what steel is in the kick-ass zombie slayer you found at the disposal store, but the thickness of the blade can be a good indicator. I’ve found the thinner the blade, the less likely to be a practical tool (unless you’re cutting sushi or shaving).

So. My last bit of advice to prospective blade collectors: Buy quality. It needn’t be expensive, but should be from a reputable maker, be it a big company or a small smith. Be sure to give your new-found tool a run through its paces, before staking your life on it, (and get some formal training if possible). Don’t be a mall-ninja.

Josh

5.11 Tactical (@511tactical) is a member of JTF Awesome.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

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Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

About the Author: Josh Orth is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places around the world and has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: Mall-Ninja Wall Hangers appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

This is not your typical knife report – we’re not looking to carve up someone engaged in violent criminal fuckery with this one…but we do like how it looks for some culinary activity. We first mentioned this thing back in May; now we have a field report on it. Mad Duo

Report: the TOPS FMS XL

Craig Metzger

Lets assume we’re all into knives. We have our “EDC” pocket pokers, our bushcraft widdlers and our “oh-fuck-I-just-got-into-some-real-shit” sneaky slicers, but one type of knife we need to talk about is the kitchen knife.

I did an internship in college with the NYC Sheriff’s department, and besides putting stamps on envelopes and answering phones I got to go to the car auctions. The Sheriffs would let me search the cars for weapons, and the most popular weapon I found (besides cut-down bats) was the kitchen knife. So in honor of my getting-coffee/licking-stamps experience with the Sheriffs, we are going to look at no-ordinary-kitchen-knife but instead the TOPS Frog Market Special, also known as the FMS XL.

The FMS was designed by Steven Dick, who on a recent trip to Vietnam was inspired by a style of blade used by butchers and fish mongers in the local markets. The FMS comes in two sizes but we had the pleasure of slicing and dicing with the XL version.

The XL version is a large knife. The overall length is 12.75″ but it looks bigger in person. The actual blade is 7.50 inches with a cutting surface of the same length. Thickness is about 3/32 and the steel is 1095. The blade has the TOPS Black River Wash which gives it a unique look. The handles are green canvas Micarta. I should also note the knife comes with a kydex sheath for storage or carrying during an end-of-days type event.

The knife I received would be relegated to home kitchen duties. In person, the knife is impressive looking and the finishing is top quality. The weight felt balanced and according to TOPS it’s about 9.4oz. The FMS XL saw a variety of kitchen chopping duties from ribs, whole chickens, tuna steaks, tofu (yeah I said tofu) and veggies. It’s first day was spent cutting pizzas for the kids. When ever we had guests at the house I would showcase the knife and the initial response from the guests was that this was some sort of “tactical trinket” I just bought, but after they spent any time cutting with it, they were impressed and asked questions about it. They weren’t just impressed by its cutting prowess but even how detailed you could get with the scalpel-like tip.

When laid down beside my normal kitchen knifes you realize how the FMS is a stand out. Sure, it’s not a normal-looking kitchen knife but its ability to slice and dice with minimal effort has won a special place in my heart. Before I continue to ramble I thought I’d give you a quick guide to my experience.

Postive

• Shape of blade and ergonomics make it a real joy cutting any thing
• Even with its large size the sharp tip allows for some surgical-like cuts
• The Micarta handle is comfortable and stable when wet
• The finishing qualities is top notch and precise
• I would describe it as a nimble cleaver

Negative

• You must wash and thoroughly dry the knife or rusting will appear on the cutting edge. It happened once but after some better care it’s been a non-issue.

Overall

The FMS XL is an excellent addition to your kitchen. My wife even says it’s become her favorite knife. There are two sizes to fit your needs but I found the XL to be a perfect size for most home kitchen/BBQ cutting duties. It cuts extremely well and feels really comfortable. You can learn more about the TOPS FMS XL here.

This article was made in part by Leupold (@leupoldoptics), a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Craig Metzger is some sort of evil creative genius who enjoys everything from Billabong to Zev Tech. He’s one of those dudes who mountain bikes, hikes and snowboards with the same enthusiasm he has for spending time on the range, offroading in Moab and attending Renaissance Fairs. He’s definitely our first minion so far to have a subscription to Thrasher magazine. Kyle Lamb (the Viking Tactics Kyle Lamb) really does call him the Tactical Hippie, that’s a true story. Although we cannot confirm rumors that he played the role of Everett in Delta Farce, we can advise you to check out his work on his website or on his blog.

The post Report: the TOPS FMS XL appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

MNKF: The Mora Eldris

Ryan Houtekamer

You call that a knife? Now, this is a knife… albeit a very small one.

Mora came out with the Eldris in the past year and we were itching to get our hands on it. If you’re not familiar with Mora Knives, or Morakniv (which sounds much better when uttered by drunk Europeans), they tend to be some of the best bang for your buck when it comes to knives.

The designs are solid, comfortable to use and did we mention the come almost filet knife sharp? Not only that but their prices can’t be beat – unless you’re buying a Swiss Swarmy knife from an Asian knife store in Chinatown.

We were interested in the Eldris for several reasons. First of all, it’s a small handy-sized neck knife with a flat spine which can be used to strike ferrocerium rods. Its convenient retention system means you won’t be stumbling around on a beach at night in a drunken stupor and have it fall out, never to be seen again (I’m looking at you, nemesis neck knife).

Speaking of the retention, the Eldris comes in two forms: with neck knife kit and without. The neck knife kit has a ring with a snap on it and a leather strap. This slides onto the knife with the strap straddling the butt of the knife to keep it in place while inverted.

The kit also comes with paracord to make a neck lanyard and a ferrocerium rod. We would have liked to see a holder on the sheath for the Ferro rod, but the lanyard loop can be looped onto it if need be. The Eldris has a full thickness handle and isn’t skeletonized so while it is noticeable under a shirt, that’s okay – it’s not designed to be concealed, it’s made to cut stuff in the woods.

The thick handle on the Eldris lends itself to a very comfortable and usable grip. Your hand won’t fatigue which means tasks like making large feather sticks can be done with ease. ‘What the heck is a feather stick?’ I hear some of you ask. Well, it’s when you take a dryish piece of wood and cut long slivers into it that you leave attached, sort of ‘feathering’ the stick. After your tinder is burning, the long thin slivers ignite easily catching the larger piece of wood on fire, so it’s like having tons of tiny pieces of kindling.

The Mora Eldris also cuts through meat like a damn shark with a frickin laser beam attached to its head and the rear of the blade is ground flat to be used for striking a Ferro rod. The neck kit comes with one such rod that throws a ton of sparks. Over the past several months we have used it exclusively to light our wood-fired BBQ, fire pit and anything else that needs fire. The included Ferro rod works fantastically, however, we did replace this one with a much larger rod.

If you’re looking for a bombproof knife that can pry open steel drums and be used for an ax, perhaps you should look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a small, razor-sharp knife with finesse, then the Mora is the knife for you. At around $30 for the knife and another $25 for the neck kit, it’s a screaming good deal. You can also buy the whole thing as a single kit for $50 if you aren’t buying it bit by bit.

You can get yours from the North American importer Industrial Revolution here.

Find 88 Tactical on the Book of Face right here, or on Instagram @88tactical. You can subscribe to ’em on Vimeo too. 88 Tactical is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

Aboot the Author: What can we say aboot Ryan Houtekamer? Well, he was a cannon cocker in the Army for a while, then moved on to some sort of metal-bending aircraft structural engineering type billet in the Canadian Air Force.  He’s a keen outdoorsman, spelunker, and fisherman who loves to tinker with all the things. Houtekamer is Breach-Bang-Clear’s northernmost Minion; he actually lives where it costs us extra to ship stuff to ‘cuz if has to go by dogsled part of the way.

True story.

Houtekamer actually enjoys cold weather and revels in bombogenesis. Come to think of it, he’d fill a pretty good supporting role in a Jack London story. You can follow him on Instagram, @2centtac  if you like (his tag is not, as you might expect, @Rhinopithecus bieti Canadius giganticus); there you will discover that he’s not just gear-curious, he’s a nerd too.

Grunts: bombogenesis.

The post MNKF: Mora Eldris appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

A Monday Night Knife Fights (and one well suited to the name) from the archives. Mad Duo

MNKF: The TOPS TAC-Raze Straight Razor

Chris Hernandez, revisited from the archives; originally published 19 September 2016

Now Leroy he a gambler

And he like his fancy clothes

And he like to wave his diamond rings

In front of everybody’s nose

He got a custom Continental

He got an Eldorado too

He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun

He got a razor in his shoe

-Jim Croce, Bad Bad Leroy Brown

I’m old enough to remember both Jim Croce and a time when it wasn’t unusual for someone to carry a straight razor. When I first became aware of knives in the 70’s, straight razors were being replaced by switchblades as the weapons of choice for hoods and street thugs. Even though my favorite “street” knife was a Balisong butterfly, I always admired the coolness factor of an old school straight razor.

Since I thought straight razors had gone the way of the Dodo bird and ‘NSync, I was surprised to see two TOPS “TAC-Raze” knives this past week at Breach Bang Clear’s #Trails Found16 event in Arizona. One was in the hands of Tim the Russian, and he was positive he’d slash his own throat if he tried to use it. He passed it off to me, and I fell in love in seconds (no, not with Tim).

As you should know, TOPS makes fantastic stuff. Their TAC-Raze ($130 on the TOPS website, $85 on Amazon and Prime eligible) just screams quality, and feels built to last forever.

TOPS has this to say about the TAC-Raze:

“One of the first things people notice about the Tac-Raze is that it’s reminiscent of a straight razor (although with the recurved blade we don’t recommend actually shaving with it). Leo Espinoza designed it with that type of blade in mind.

This is TOPS’ first ever friction folder. Leo wanted it to fill two purposes specifically. It had to be a good-looking gentleman’s EDC that could be carried and used in public, and it had to be a functional tool. To accomplish those needs, he started with simple shapes and added curves in all the right places. Even the sheath is stylish, but also gives the wearer a variety of carry options.

It’s not just about looks though. This knife will perform everyday tasks quickly and easily, such as opening packages, cutting down boxes, cutting rope, etc. The TAC-Raze is also a devastating slasher with its recurved blade. It never hurts to have that last line of defense.

It comes with TOPS’ classy Cryptic Cyber Scales on Black G10 handles. The tumble finished 1095 steel blade looks great and has TOPS’ famous differential heat treat. The strong brown leather sheath can be worn vertically or horizontally on a belt for ease of carry whether open or concealed.”

The TAC-Raze’s specs, as listed on the TOPS web site:

Despite having only a scant few days experience fondling this knife, I’m pretty impressed with it. As TOPS says, and just like straight razors of old, its intended uses are limited. This isn’t what I’d mount on my gear for a patrol in northeastern Afghanistan or Amazonian trek, but it’s good for light tasks like cutting 550 cord or MRE throats. It also seems to be one hell of a good “slash and break contact” tool for when you inconveniently empty your last mag, or the locking lugs on your issued M9 crack.

As TOPS also points out, the TAC-Raze is a “friction lock” knife; that is, there is no locking mechanism whatsoever. If you hold this knife wrong, or hit the blunt side of the blade hard enough, the sharp edge of the recurved blade is going into your fingers (or your throat, if you’re a Russian named Tim). That’s cool and to be expected with this type of weapon, but you should thoroughly understand the risks before you ever draw it from its sheath.

Speaking of the sheath, that’s the only thing TOPS needs to improve. The sheath is small, stylish and fine for carrying in a gentlemanly fashion, but under stress it doesn’t securely hold the TAC-Raze. I learned this the hard way during a horse ride, when my knife was knocked from its sheath and lost forever. I wound up off the horse and on my ass twice during that ride, but didn’t find the knife at either of my crash sites. Somewhere on that rocky trail, the TAC-Raze got knocked or jostled out of its case. I got the other TAC-Raze later, but I’ll be depressed forever about losing that first one.

Someday, some lucky kid at the Triangle T Ranch in Dragoon, Arizona is going to stumble across my original TAC-Raze. He’ll probably fall in love just like I did. And hopefully by then TOPS will have a more-secure sheath available, so he won’t live his life crying over the coolest knife he ever lost.

–CH

[You can find the TAC-Raze online here]

This article originally ran on Monday, September 19, 2016. The following comments were left:

Brothers In Arms is a member of JTF Awesome. Find ’em on Facebook /BIATulsa/ or follow ’em on Instagram, @biatulsa.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Chris Hernandez, seen here on patrol in Afghanistan, may just be the crustiest member of the eeeee-LITE writin’ team here at Breach-Bang-Clear. He is a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also a veteran police officer of two decades who spent a long (and eye-opening) deployment as part of a UN police mission in Kosovo. He is the author of Tacos Are Racist, Females in the Infantry – Yes Actually, The Military Within the Military, and several other delightfully opinionated bloviations. He has also penned several modern military fiction novels, including Line in the Valley, Proof of Our Resolve and Safe From the War. When he isn’t groaning about a change in the weather and snacking on Osteo Bi-Flex he writes on his own blog. You can find his author page right here on Amazon.

The post MNKF: TOPS Knives Tac-Raze appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Tomahawks. Either you like them, you’re lying about not liking them, you’re one of them nervous type rakhâs, or you’re a damn sissy. Don’t worry, it’s okay to like tomahawks (we’re talking about the classic type, in the Algonquian/Renape style), even if you don’t really have a need to hew off someone’s head. Today we’re revisiting our tame Australian’s report about just such a tool, this one built by MTech. Mad Duo 

Report Revisited: the MTech “Tactical” Tomahawk

Apocalypse Josh – originally published Monday, Nov. 28, 2016

I have a great fondness for hatchets and tomahawk and quite a collection, ranging from the low-key Fuller camping hatchet to the knockabout United Cutlery M48 to the singular Boker Tomahook. A new addition to my armory was the very blingtastic MTech – tactical axe.

At 36cm (14 1/4″) overall, this is a decently sized chopper and at 650g (1.4lbs) it’s lighter than I expected. It has a black rubberized ABS handle with lightly textured lanyard loop, and is peppered with seven locking bolts and nuts with Torx fittings. The axehead is 18cm (7 1/8″) with a 9cm (3 1/2″) cutting edge. It has a spike on opposite end, interesting secondary edges, and to top it all off it’s titanium anodized to a gold finish.

One thing that struck me was that ABS, which felt really flimsy. Not that it was flexing under my grip, more that it was light and sounded hollow. The black nylon sheath was simple enough, with a press stud retention loop, and press-stud closures at the rear to keep it in place.

The blade was shipped sharp and had a knife edge, with deep secondary grinds not only along the primary face but also a deep inwardly curved bite in the top of the axehead as well as the underside of the beard. The top of the axe features a set of aggressively cut jimping.

I was hard pressed to think of what that top scalloped edge would be useful for, other than an “upwards” axe thrust. However, scalloping the blade inward rather than having it sweep forward into a point like in a Dane Axe seemed counter productive. Perhaps as a branch trimmer? More likely to make it look extra cool and scary. Gold. Plated. Scary.

The edge at the underside of the beard was alright as a down-sweeping cutting edge although it did come back quite close to the very top handholds, and my delicate pink flesh, when using a choked-up grip. There are cutaways in the bottom of the axehead for thumb and forefinger to rest in, and they were well placed. But again, there was no beveling, and the sharp edges seemed too close and unguarded.

At the back of the axehead is a spike, ground down into a diamond cross-section, and down to quite a significant point. I liked the geometry of it, and it certainly had a fair “bite” when punching holes in logs, chipboard and cans.

Overall, the cutting power of the axe was somewhat limited by its lightweight design. The knife-edge blade was sharp with a thin cross-section, chopped into boards well enough and cut through bike tyre like nobody’s business, but on a meaty target like a log it bit and stuck.

Too light to travel deep enough to cleave, too narrow to form a splitting wedge.

I gave the butt-end a strike to test durability and its utility as an impact weapon, and THIS happened. The ABS plastic, which is what LEGO is made out of, shattered at the shock of impact.

It also exposed the inside of the axe handle, which is something else I wanted to mention. Having felt how light and “hollow” it sounded, I had taken the handle apart with my trusty min/Inch TORX screwdrivers, and popped it open.

It turns out that as well as the thin and hollow framed handle, which I could have lived with and probably filled with resin or replaced with a cord-wrap, the handle itself was made of three separate pieces of different steel. One for the Ti-anodized blingtastic head, a powder coated lanyard loop piece at the butt-end, and a plain piece through the middle.

I’m sure that made the fabrication easier. But I don’t know what kinds of steel are in there, and the welds don’t look all that flash to me. I would have some concerns about wailing too hard on a solid door, wall, or even a tree-trunk with this.

Perhaps a metallurgist out there can tell me otherwise, but I’m going to relegate this to the back of the collection and save the serious work for serious tools. It seems my MTech Extreme Cleaver was the exception to the rule that these are not hard-use tools.

-AJ

By the way, if you like tomahawks, you prob’ly oughta check out the Tomahawkology group. Purty interdasting. Plus, how cool would it be to put tomahawkologist on your CV? Mad Duo

Find 88 Tactical on the Book of Face right here, or on Instagram @88tactical. You can subscribe to ’em on Vimeo too. 88 Tactical is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Josh Orth is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places all over the globe, from near-dystopian parts to cities to Gabon, west Africa. Thus he has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: MTech "Tactical" Tomahawk appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Report: the “Rambo” Hunting Machete 

Apocalypse Josh

One of the post-stroke rehab tasks I assigned myself was to clear some backyard jungle and make way for a badly-needed cleanup. Normally for brush clearing, I would turn to my Ontario Blackwind, or perhaps another of my mid-sized blades, even turning to my petrol powered brush-clearer. But I wanted to get some physical exercise, and didn’t want to swing long blades where there were metal posts and the like.

As it happened, I had a RAMBO TACTICAL Combat Survival 14″ Fixed Blade Bowie Hunting Machete sitting on a shelf, unused. The backyard jungle is clogged with morning glory vine, a fast-growing and tenacious vine, that needs a fair amount of chopping to get through and I thought the Ontario Blackwind would really do the trick. It weighs in at 1.25kg (2.75 lbs) with an overall length of 37 cm (14.5″), with the blade making up a hefty 20cm (8″) of that.

Some of the things I liked about the Rambo’s big-ass blade are the wide broad blade with its keen edge and the steel bar handguard which runs from the base of the edge all the way to the pommel. A full tang gives it both sturdiness and rigidity. I am never too keen on cutaway holes, or the exaggerated sawback, but the simple short serrations on the front of the blade are a nice touch.

I don’t usually care about extra features like glass breakers and saw blades on my knives, but both felt useful and well thought out. The painted wooden handle, though lurid zombie-toxic-green, was well finished and it felt good in my hand, even though I wore heavy gloves to protect from the sap of the vines.

The Rambo Tactical Hunting Machete comes with a decent nylon sheath with a wide, broad belt loop, and several press-stud closures to keep it secure. It seats nicely on the hip and was unobtrusive as I got on with the rest of my chores.

The black-powder-coated finish held up well, and even though it’s made from the fairly pedestrian 440 steel, it kept its edge nicely even though I DID find a couple of star-pickets in the jungle with it. It was certainly cutting as well at the end of the task as at the beginning, though I was tired. A quick lick of a sharpening stone and a wipe of oil and it was ready to go back on the wall, not nearly as ornamental as I first suspected it to be.

5.11 Tactical (@511tactical) is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Comms: Our PACE Plan

Primary: You should immediately subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you should also be reading all our pontifications and every single Op-ED we publish.

Alternate: We present superb gun pr0n, knife pr0n, and tactical industry news on on the Breach-Bang-Clear Facebook page; there will be more of that, and some military humor as well, on our Instagram account (@breachbangclear), so be sure to check in there frequently.

Contingency: There will be an additional chance to read tactical news, gun reviews, outdoor gear reviews, adventure equipment reviews, and blade pr0n on our Google + account;

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Josh Orth (“Apocalypse Equipped”) is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places all over the globe, from near-dystopian parts to cities to Gabon, West Africa. Thus he has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self-reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: Report on the 14 in. Rambo Hunting Machete appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

MNKF: Boker Subcom F

Alexander Crown

This Monday Night Knife Fight isn’t about a brand new blade. No, this article is about a knife I’ve had for well over ten years. The Boker Plus Subcom F is a micro lockback pocketknife that’s sized for easy everyday carry.

The Boker Plus Subcom line has expanded since I bought mine and now includes numerous blade types. The blades are constructed from AUS-8, a type of steel known for taking and holding an edge. This material is also generally known to cut down sharpening time. The blades are available in standard clip point with or without serrations, a rescue hook (the Rescom model), and even a hawkbill style.

The grip of the knife is made of Zytel, a high-strength nylon resistant to abrasions and impacts. Molded into the grip is a pleasant, not-too-aggressive texturing. The grips are also available in a variety of colors to match your outfit or mood, I suppose.

When unfolded the overall length is 4.625”, and the knife measures .29” at its widest. The knife locks via a frame lock and the blade features an ambidextrous thumb stud for quick deployment. The blade is a flat grind and is .08” thick with a cutting edge of 1.75”. Lastly, the pocket clip is configurable for tip up or down carry.

I can’t say I’ve carried this knife every day for the past ten years, but I do use it often, particularly when I don’t want a large pocket clip showing (for example, while wearing a suit). I’ve found one of the best places to carry this little Boker is inside the waistline of my pants with the clip behind my belt.

I affixed a 550 cord quickdraw piece to the knife many, many years ago, before it was cool. This helps with deployment of the knife from the waistline and in no way is a tacticool fashion statement.

I wouldn’t want to get into a knife fight with this little guy, but it’s proven very useful over the years for cutting mundane boxes, mail, string, etc. I’ve lost this knife on more than one occasion and am always very happy to find it again. For a knife that’s sub-three ounces, costs less than $40, and practically lets you forget you’re carrying it, the Boker Subcom F is worth its weight.

Breach Bang Clear

This has been another pulchritudinous installment of Breach Bang Clear. Breach Bang Clear is the warrior scholar’s choice for commentary and analysis of national and international events, gun news, tactical industry news, and of course gear reviews. Here we embrace the abstruse, encourage civil discourse, meet uninformed dogma with snarktastic vituperation, and always eschew sesquipedalianism. Think and be dangerous.

Grunts: sesquipedalian.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Comms: The Following Is Our PACE Plan

Primary: You should immediately subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you should also be reading all our pontifications and every single Op-ED we publish.

Alternate: We present superb gun pr0n, knife pr0n, and tactical industry news on on the Breach-Bang-Clear Facebook page; there will be more of that, and some military humor as well, on our Instagram account (@breachbangclear), so be sure to check in there frequently.

Contingency: There will be an additional chance to read tactical news, gun reviews, outdoor gear reviews, adventure equipment reviews, and blade pr0n on our Google + account;

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Alexander Crown was the littlest big mistake Gemtech ever hired–and they even manage to continue to promote him to higher positions. Prior to his early retirement (caused by an enemy winning a marksmanship award at the cost of his hamstring), Alexander served in the 3/509 PIR out of Ft. Richardson and spent a little time in Iraq. In addition to dabbling in the world of silencers and science fiction, he has a BS in biology and is an avid gardener — like, the kind of gardener Hugh Farnham would appreciate and Alec Holland would envy.

The post MNKF: The Boker Subcom F appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

The Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 big-ass survival knife – yeah, we have a couple. Don’t judge us.

Apparently, the 80s were a weird time for the “tactical” community. With larger than life heroes like Arnold, Stallone, and Weathers, I suppose it only makes sense that a knife like this came about.

The Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 is a huge, heavy survival knife. The blade is 425 modified stainless steel and measures 7 ½” long and ¼” thick. Three different cutting surfaces are applied to the blade: the standard straight edge graces the front of the blade, a serrated edge is nested on the top half of the back, and the venerable sawback adorns the bottom half. So you can pretty much cut anything.

The hollowed handle is also stainless steel, and is home to the threaded guard (more on that later). The handle is sealed with an O-ring and would make a nice place to store firestarting materials, or a shot of whiskey, but we don’t judge. The pictured example is accompanied by OD green 550 cord, because what survival knife is complete without that beautiful seven-stranded mistress we all know and love? Tip to tip the Buckmaster is 12 ½” long and weighs a whopping 23.8 ounces. With sheath, it tips the scales at just over two pounds. The end of the handle also features a lanyard attaching point for more 550 cord.

The sheath accompanying the Buckmaster is a heavyweight plastic and has two removable pouches for more survival paraphernalia. The knife originally included a Silva compass on a red lanyard, which fit perfectly in one of the pouches. The other holds the other more noteworthy feature of this knife, which we’ll address later. The ballistic nylon accessory pouches fit to the sheath via Velcro that wraps around the back and shields the embedded sharpening stone. The sheath also has places for more 550 cord tie downs, most likely for the survivalist’s leg.

But what is easily the best part of the substantial knife? The threaded guard mentioned earlier is for two large tines. Supposedly this somewhat unique addition was for anchoring divers in place (this knife was at some point issued to SEALs, from what I understand). Most others say this feature is for making the knife into a grappling hook. I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a bad idea.” I agree, and I would never use this knife as a grappling hook, ever. I can only imagine the knife coming loose and shooting into the top of your head with all 1.5 pounds of steel.

Most “survival” knives nowadays are more reminiscent of bushcraft styles like Moras, ESEEs, and several others, making the beefy Buckmaster a bit outdated (but nonetheless awesome). I mean, who doesn’t want a freaking grappling hook with them all the time?

AC

♚

The post MNKF | Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 Survival Knife appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Our own Dave “Norseman” Williams took some time out to review the Kershaw on video, so give it a watch — but keep in mind he does nothing in half measures. He breaks it down completely Barney style, so grab some popcorn and your note-taking materials. This isn’t some bullshit 2 minute ass-kissing review for free stuff, nor is it a half hour long fanboi unboxing.

Of course, if you’ve been reading us for any length of time, or know anything about Norseman, you probably expected that.

This is the Kershaw Camp 10 in what we call “Mud Hut” (FDE), which is new in 2018. Kershaw provided the knife without proviso or expectation. They’re not one of our sponsors.

If, after watching this review, you decide you’d like one of this or some other Kershaw, please consider buying it via Amazon.com or Brownells. We’ll get a small commission if ya do.

From Kershaw:

The popular Kershaw Camp 10 machete has been widely praised for both value and durability. And while its original black-and-gray color scheme looks great in the field or in the backyard, we thought we’d try this favorite in a new color, too. This new black-and-tan color scheme was inspired by a Camp 10 that was put to work and got all dusty in the process. Turns out, it looked pretty good doing it. 

The new “Camp Tan” as the designer likes to call it, has all the features of the regular Camp 10, but with a tan handle and sheath. From clearing brush to making kindling, the Camp 10 Tan is the ideal outdoor and survival tool. Cut, slash, hack, split, scrape—just about any task you ask of it, the Camp 10 Tan can handle. The full-tang Camp 10 Tan is made of 65Mn carbon tool steel for toughness and wear resistance. A black powdercoat protects the steel and makes maintenance easier.

With its rubber overmold, the Camp 10’s handle is super-grippy and provides an extra-secure, contoured grip. The handle has a built-in hand guard and is drilled in both front and rear so you can attach a lanyard either place—or both—for carrying versatility. The new Camp 10 Tan comes with a matching tan molded sheath with handy lash points and nylon straps. It attaches to pack, belt, ATV trail box, or saddle bags with ease.

Kershaw is online at kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/. Subscribe to Norseman’s channel why don’t ya? You should also check out his blog.

Need a drinking horn to keep your coffee warm and the blood out of your mead?

The post Norseman Talks Kershaw Chopper | MNKF appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

MNKF: Colonel Blades 

Alexander Crown

I was told at a young age to, “…never do anything without a knife.” This has proven sage counsel in the years since. Thus, except for those occasions when I’ve been disarmed by the sad, prufrockian functionaries running the TSA, I always have a knife on me. Over the years these knives have changed from multi-tools to automatics to small folders to fixed blades.

Of late (and out of pure laziness) I’ve been daily carrying a Spyderco Endura 4 for its lightweight and slim profile. However I’ve been pondering the wisdom of throwing a fixed blade knife into the EDC rotation, so when Colonel Blades (@colonel_blades) asked for a couple of us to report on their knives I jumped at the chance.

Grunts: prufrockian.

There were two blades inside the package I received from Colonel; the LowVz Colonel kit and the Full Bird kit. The Full Bird was sent along to another Minion for a longer term review, while I retained the LowVz.

Colonel Blades are fighting knives, plain and simple. They’re dubbed the “Blade made for Shooters,” which is apparent by the distinctive shape.

Specifications:

Blade Material: N690Co steel

Blade thickness: .2” (at thickest point)

Blade OAL: 2.75”

Coating: QPQ (Quench Polish Quench)

Grip Size: 3.5”

Grip Material: G10 with jimping

Sheathe: Kydex

Trainer: Injection molded plastic

N690Co steel is a popular material for higher end knives and is also used in making surgical instruments. It can be hardened to desirable levels and can still be sharpened relatively easily. The LowVz is a compact sized knife for easy carry and concealment but also large enough to fit the hand without feeling like you’re holding a banana. The coating on the blade is a durable QPQ which is well known for lubricity, durability, and corrosion resistance. G10 and kydex are pretty standard these days in well-made knives.

As soon as I got the blade and adjusted the G-Code sheathe, I did the most hardcore gunfighter thing I could think of. I shoved it in my pants and went to a 3 hour long meeting. The Colonel Blade has been hailed by other reviewers for its ability to wear like a pistol. As I usually carry AIWB with a Glock 19, I simply put the blade on the opposite (left) side and sat for the next 3 hours going over spreadsheets and PowerPoints.

At first the feel of the knife was evident and distracting, but just as my mind grew numb to the endless numbers and graphs, so my pliable dad bod grew accustomed to the new piece of EDC.

Now, realistically the Colonel Blade is meant for fighting. However, despite wearing it for several weeks now, I’ve yet to encounter a situation that actually calls for knife fighting — so I can’t tell you how well it performs when called upon to carve some miscreant into portable pieces.  What I can give you are my impressions of it.

While it might functionally be doing the blade a disservice, the Colonel does make for a decent everyman’s EDC knife, particularly given the strength and thickness of the blade. I have used it to open packages of (course) and even to pry open some crates, which it did well. To me, an EDC blade has to do more than just stick bad guys. It needs to be a utility tools that can dig holes, cut various materials, break glass, etc.

The Colonel is a robust blade and can handle these tasks without issue, although some might find a more conventional knife better suited.

The Colonel ships with an injection molded trainer that is blunt tipped and shorter than the actual blade, which is a nice touch. This of course is so you do not develop training scars by not having full blade thrust into the target receiver.

Final tally? The Colonel LowVz Kit is a great option for folks that want to carry a fixed blade knife comfortably every day. The unique shape does require some getting used to and to be truly proficient you will (like with any new fighting implement) need to hammer out a lot of reps. Luckily the guys that designed it included a trainer and made it ergonomically similar to that thing so near and dear to so many of us all, the Glock 19.

You can find Colonel Blades online at ColonelBlades.com and also on Facebook, /colonelblades/.

Please note: the pictures here are of the NCO which is made in Taiwan.

Follow Armageddon Gear on Instagram, @armageddongear.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first. 

About the Author: Alexander Crown was the littlest big mistake Gemtech ever hired–and they even manage to continue to promote him to higher positions. Prior to his early retirement (caused by an enemy winning a marksmanship award at the cost of his hamstring), Alexander served in the 3/509 PIR out of Ft. Richardson and spent a little time in Iraq. In addition to dabbling in the world of silencers and science fiction, he has a BS in biology and is an avid gardener — like, the kind of gardener Hugh Farnham would appreciate and Alec Holland would envy.

The post MNKF: Colonel Blades appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Monday Night Knife Fights: Mall-Ninja Wall Hangers   

Apocalypse Josh

I talk about good knives, swords an axes a fair bit. I’m fan of dense steel with an edge. There’s a lot of it out there, some good, some amazing, and some unspeakable trash. It’s the latter stuff I want to discuss for a bit.

Lets talk Mall-Ninja wall-hangers. First you might ask, what’s a mall-ninja?

A mall ninja is a breed of weapons and combat enthusiast characterized by being so ungrounded in reality as to make even the most hardcore gun nuts shake their heads. Equal parts naïveté, delusion, and obnoxiousness, the mall ninja contributes to countless ill-informed online debates concerning arms, armor, and warfare, and is a common consumer of assorted paramilitary woo, broscience, and shared misconceptions about history and the world. The term “mall ninja” is pejorative; no one self-identifies as such. We hope.

If you’re worried there’s a simple test you can take to assess your-mall-ninja status.   Good luck.

Now, if you’re an avid Master Ken of “Enter the Dojo” disciple, you’ve probably had all the training and experience you’d need to make your own correct choices when purchasing your own pointies.

When it comes to some real Mall-Ninja wall hanger blade there are some key aspects that seal the classification:

1. Black. Real Ninja’s need black weapons for their Tier One Wet Ops. Powder coated, painted, teflon coated, oxidised, it doesn’t matter.
2. Cord-wrapped handle. Every real street-samurai wants their blade wrapped samurai style, and that means cord-wrapped.
3. Curves. Like every bad-lady has a curves and ever mall-ninja want’s a bad lady of their very own.
4. More curves. See Above, but unnecessary curves are even better.
5. Extra cutting surfaces. Primary edges aren’t very high speed-low drag. For true body-dropping power, you need blades on all faces.
6. Unnecessary serrations.   It’s not a sharks mouth, buddy, its a knife. You need a chainsaw, get a Husky!
7. Tactical sheath. Drop-leg, back-scabbard or just “ballistic nylon”.
8. A scary name. “No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.”Add a few “NINJA, ZOMBIE or DEATHs in there for good measure.

However; there’s a lot of shiny bling out there. Here’s a quick guide to some examples.

A – Zombie ass kicker. This is a bad-assed blade, but a serious wall-hanger. Extra serrations, extra edges to catch and snag, it’s styled after the Aztec war swords to look extra scary. Ribbon-wrapped rather than cord, and a pretty thin, light steel. I don’t have much faith in it’s utility.

B – Living dead apocalypse full tang ninja sword.  Twin blades are better than one, obviously. Extra curves and serrations along the non-striking edge of the blade, as well as holes cut into the blade to lighten it, adding weakness.

C -“Hunting Knife.” Perhaps if you’re the Predator tracking Dutch and the other Rescue Team members.. This no-name piece  actually performs pretty well, regardless of its extra curves, useless serrated spine and extra holes. Its “full-tang, one-piece construction” is quite sturdy and the cord wrap handle well done. It’s pretty well balanced, well finished, and were not for the extra holes and the saw on the spine, it might not even qualify as a Wall-hanger for Mall-Ninja’s were it not for the dual shoulder strap back-holster  and the extra holes.

D – Black legion undead machete. Scary name, and wicked post-apocalyptic hammer finish. Now just add to the list the impressive looking spiked knuckle-guard, the “zombie-green’ cord wrap and the drop-leg sheath and you’ve a “take-em-all-out before they getcha”special to scare mom with if she ever busts in on you practicing kata in the basement. water-bottles and melons of the world beware. To be fair, the blade appears to be well made, but the fitting are a tad flimsy for my tastes.

E – Z-hunter-axe. Not really an axe. Not really a hunting knife. Unnecessary saw-back serrations, extra curves and hooked edges. Great cord-wrapping and a single piece of steel for resilience, with sick jolly roger logo for extra-scary pirate aesthetic. Maybe if you’re going from to room on a beached Somali cargo ship? I have a feeling it wouldn’t  serve too well dressing a water-buffalo either. But zombies? narp.

F –KA-BAR War sword On first glance, this one looks like a prime candidate for Mall-Ninja wall-hanging.   It’s got some curve to it, a lurid green scale grip, for extra zombie killing power, and a fully decked out nylon thigh sheath. However, its a serious work horse of a knife, but the scary name, and green scale gives them the potential for Mall-Ninja wall hanging.

G – Ontario Black Wind. Not every Mall-ninja wants a blingtastic katana straight out of Highlander or Blade. Some might prefer a more-or-less traditional “ninja-to style” short, straight and heavy sword, which is exactly the kind of blade that the Ontario Knife Co. put into Army Disposals and into the pages of martial arts catalogues. This is a bad-ass blade, undeserving of any scorn, and is in fact one of my go-to blades in the event of Apocalypse or civil unrest.  Even with its high-speed looking kydex scabbard,  just too good to be a wall-hanger.

H –Cold Steel Gladius. Last up from my own collection is the hungry-for blood Gladius from Cold Steel. Now, even the mighty Roman armies had their own groupies and  modern-day hangers on, thanks to a steady stream of “sand and sandals” action pictures. The humble Roman ground-pounder was issued one of these Gaul-stickers and bade go forth and pacify the Empire. The modern version hanging on my wall would have been a high-tech marvel of construction but fit in nicely in the shield-wall. I don’t recommend trying to take that angle when trying to explain why you have one lashed to your hip with your Company First Sergeant, but, if you wanted a big ass blade for defending the empire “outside the wire” you could do a lot worse than one of these.

Lets take a moment to talk thickness. Cheap blades are often cut or pressed  from sheets of thin steel. This doesn’t offer much cutting mass, strength or rigidity, all things I would want in a fighting blade. Different steels have different densities so its hard to gauge what steel is in the kick-ass zombie slayer you found at the disposal store, but the thickness of the blade can be a good indicator. I’ve found the thinner the blade, the less likely to be a practical tool (unless you’re cutting sushi or shaving).

So. My last bit of advice to prospective blade collectors: Buy quality. It needn’t be expensive, but should be from a reputable maker, be it a big company or a small smith. Be sure to give your new-found tool a run through its paces, before staking your life on it, (and get some formal training if possible). Don’t be a mall-ninja.

Josh

5.11 Tactical (@511tactical) is a member of JTF Awesome.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

About the Author: Josh Orth is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places around the world and has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: Mall-Ninja Wall Hangers appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

This is not your typical knife report – we’re not looking to carve up someone engaged in violent criminal fuckery with this one…but we do like how it looks for some culinary activity. We first mentioned this thing back in May; now we have a field report on it. Mad Duo

Report: the TOPS FMS XL

Craig Metzger

Lets assume we’re all into knives. We have our “EDC” pocket pokers, our bushcraft widdlers and our “oh-fuck-I-just-got-into-some-real-shit” sneaky slicers, but one type of knife we need to talk about is the kitchen knife.

I did an internship in college with the NYC Sheriff’s department, and besides putting stamps on envelopes and answering phones I got to go to the car auctions. The Sheriffs would let me search the cars for weapons, and the most popular weapon I found (besides cut-down bats) was the kitchen knife. So in honor of my getting-coffee/licking-stamps experience with the Sheriffs, we are going to look at no-ordinary-kitchen-knife but instead the TOPS Frog Market Special, also known as the FMS XL.

The FMS was designed by Steven Dick, who on a recent trip to Vietnam was inspired by a style of blade used by butchers and fish mongers in the local markets. The FMS comes in two sizes but we had the pleasure of slicing and dicing with the XL version.

The XL version is a large knife. The overall length is 12.75″ but it looks bigger in person. The actual blade is 7.50 inches with a cutting surface of the same length. Thickness is about 3/32 and the steel is 1095. The blade has the TOPS Black River Wash which gives it a unique look. The handles are green canvas Micarta. I should also note the knife comes with a kydex sheath for storage or carrying during an end-of-days type event.

The knife I received would be relegated to home kitchen duties. In person, the knife is impressive looking and the finishing is top quality. The weight felt balanced and according to TOPS it’s about 9.4oz. The FMS XL saw a variety of kitchen chopping duties from ribs, whole chickens, tuna steaks, tofu (yeah I said tofu) and veggies. It’s first day was spent cutting pizzas for the kids. When ever we had guests at the house I would showcase the knife and the initial response from the guests was that this was some sort of “tactical trinket” I just bought, but after they spent any time cutting with it, they were impressed and asked questions about it. They weren’t just impressed by its cutting prowess but even how detailed you could get with the scalpel-like tip.

When laid down beside my normal kitchen knifes you realize how the FMS is a stand out. Sure, it’s not a normal-looking kitchen knife but its ability to slice and dice with minimal effort has won a special place in my heart. Before I continue to ramble I thought I’d give you a quick guide to my experience.

Postive

• Shape of blade and ergonomics make it a real joy cutting any thing
• Even with its large size the sharp tip allows for some surgical-like cuts
• The Micarta handle is comfortable and stable when wet
• The finishing qualities is top notch and precise
• I would describe it as a nimble cleaver

Negative

• You must wash and thoroughly dry the knife or rusting will appear on the cutting edge. It happened once but after some better care it’s been a non-issue.

Overall

The FMS XL is an excellent addition to your kitchen. My wife even says it’s become her favorite knife. There are two sizes to fit your needs but I found the XL to be a perfect size for most home kitchen/BBQ cutting duties. It cuts extremely well and feels really comfortable. You can learn more about the TOPS FMS XL here.

This article was made in part by Leupold (@leupoldoptics), a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Craig Metzger is some sort of evil creative genius who enjoys everything from Billabong to Zev Tech. He’s one of those dudes who mountain bikes, hikes and snowboards with the same enthusiasm he has for spending time on the range, offroading in Moab and attending Renaissance Fairs. He’s definitely our first minion so far to have a subscription to Thrasher magazine. Kyle Lamb (the Viking Tactics Kyle Lamb) really does call him the Tactical Hippie, that’s a true story. Although we cannot confirm rumors that he played the role of Everett in Delta Farce, we can advise you to check out his work on his website or on his blog.

The post Report: the TOPS FMS XL appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

MNKF: The Mora Eldris

Ryan Houtekamer

You call that a knife? Now, this is a knife… albeit a very small one.

Mora came out with the Eldris in the past year and we were itching to get our hands on it. If you’re not familiar with Mora Knives, or Morakniv (which sounds much better when uttered by drunk Europeans), they tend to be some of the best bang for your buck when it comes to knives.

The designs are solid, comfortable to use and did we mention the come almost filet knife sharp? Not only that but their prices can’t be beat – unless you’re buying a Swiss Swarmy knife from an Asian knife store in Chinatown.

We were interested in the Eldris for several reasons. First of all, it’s a small handy-sized neck knife with a flat spine which can be used to strike ferrocerium rods. Its convenient retention system means you won’t be stumbling around on a beach at night in a drunken stupor and have it fall out, never to be seen again (I’m looking at you, nemesis neck knife).

Speaking of the retention, the Eldris comes in two forms: with neck knife kit and without. The neck knife kit has a ring with a snap on it and a leather strap. This slides onto the knife with the strap straddling the butt of the knife to keep it in place while inverted.

The kit also comes with paracord to make a neck lanyard and a ferrocerium rod. We would have liked to see a holder on the sheath for the Ferro rod, but the lanyard loop can be looped onto it if need be. The Eldris has a full thickness handle and isn’t skeletonized so while it is noticeable under a shirt, that’s okay – it’s not designed to be concealed, it’s made to cut stuff in the woods.

The thick handle on the Eldris lends itself to a very comfortable and usable grip. Your hand won’t fatigue which means tasks like making large feather sticks can be done with ease. ‘What the heck is a feather stick?’ I hear some of you ask. Well, it’s when you take a dryish piece of wood and cut long slivers into it that you leave attached, sort of ‘feathering’ the stick. After your tinder is burning, the long thin slivers ignite easily catching the larger piece of wood on fire, so it’s like having tons of tiny pieces of kindling.

The Mora Eldris also cuts through meat like a damn shark with a frickin laser beam attached to its head and the rear of the blade is ground flat to be used for striking a Ferro rod. The neck kit comes with one such rod that throws a ton of sparks. Over the past several months we have used it exclusively to light our wood-fired BBQ, fire pit and anything else that needs fire. The included Ferro rod works fantastically, however, we did replace this one with a much larger rod.

If you’re looking for a bombproof knife that can pry open steel drums and be used for an ax, perhaps you should look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a small, razor-sharp knife with finesse, then the Mora is the knife for you. At around $30 for the knife and another $25 for the neck kit, it’s a screaming good deal. You can also buy the whole thing as a single kit for $50 if you aren’t buying it bit by bit.

You can get yours from the North American importer Industrial Revolution here.

Find 88 Tactical on the Book of Face right here, or on Instagram @88tactical. You can subscribe to ’em on Vimeo too. 88 Tactical is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

Aboot the Author: What can we say aboot Ryan Houtekamer? Well, he was a cannon cocker in the Army for a while, then moved on to some sort of metal-bending aircraft structural engineering type billet in the Canadian Air Force.  He’s a keen outdoorsman, spelunker, and fisherman who loves to tinker with all the things. Houtekamer is Breach-Bang-Clear’s northernmost Minion; he actually lives where it costs us extra to ship stuff to ‘cuz if has to go by dogsled part of the way.

True story.

Houtekamer actually enjoys cold weather and revels in bombogenesis. Come to think of it, he’d fill a pretty good supporting role in a Jack London story. You can follow him on Instagram, @2centtac  if you like (his tag is not, as you might expect, @Rhinopithecus bieti Canadius giganticus); there you will discover that he’s not just gear-curious, he’s a nerd too.

Grunts: bombogenesis.

The post MNKF: Mora Eldris appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

A Monday Night Knife Fights (and one well suited to the name) from the archives. Mad Duo

MNKF: The TOPS TAC-Raze Straight Razor

Chris Hernandez, revisited from the archives; originally published 19 September 2016

Now Leroy he a gambler

And he like his fancy clothes

And he like to wave his diamond rings

In front of everybody’s nose

He got a custom Continental

He got an Eldorado too

He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun

He got a razor in his shoe

-Jim Croce, Bad Bad Leroy Brown

I’m old enough to remember both Jim Croce and a time when it wasn’t unusual for someone to carry a straight razor. When I first became aware of knives in the 70’s, straight razors were being replaced by switchblades as the weapons of choice for hoods and street thugs. Even though my favorite “street” knife was a Balisong butterfly, I always admired the coolness factor of an old school straight razor.

Since I thought straight razors had gone the way of the Dodo bird and ‘NSync, I was surprised to see two TOPS “TAC-Raze” knives this past week at Breach Bang Clear’s #Trails Found16 event in Arizona. One was in the hands of Tim the Russian, and he was positive he’d slash his own throat if he tried to use it. He passed it off to me, and I fell in love in seconds (no, not with Tim).

As you should know, TOPS makes fantastic stuff. Their TAC-Raze ($130 on the TOPS website, $85 on Amazon and Prime eligible) just screams quality, and feels built to last forever.

TOPS has this to say about the TAC-Raze:

“One of the first things people notice about the Tac-Raze is that it’s reminiscent of a straight razor (although with the recurved blade we don’t recommend actually shaving with it). Leo Espinoza designed it with that type of blade in mind.

This is TOPS’ first ever friction folder. Leo wanted it to fill two purposes specifically. It had to be a good-looking gentleman’s EDC that could be carried and used in public, and it had to be a functional tool. To accomplish those needs, he started with simple shapes and added curves in all the right places. Even the sheath is stylish, but also gives the wearer a variety of carry options.

It’s not just about looks though. This knife will perform everyday tasks quickly and easily, such as opening packages, cutting down boxes, cutting rope, etc. The TAC-Raze is also a devastating slasher with its recurved blade. It never hurts to have that last line of defense.

It comes with TOPS’ classy Cryptic Cyber Scales on Black G10 handles. The tumble finished 1095 steel blade looks great and has TOPS’ famous differential heat treat. The strong brown leather sheath can be worn vertically or horizontally on a belt for ease of carry whether open or concealed.”

The TAC-Raze’s specs, as listed on the TOPS web site:

Despite having only a scant few days experience fondling this knife, I’m pretty impressed with it. As TOPS says, and just like straight razors of old, its intended uses are limited. This isn’t what I’d mount on my gear for a patrol in northeastern Afghanistan or Amazonian trek, but it’s good for light tasks like cutting 550 cord or MRE throats. It also seems to be one hell of a good “slash and break contact” tool for when you inconveniently empty your last mag, or the locking lugs on your issued M9 crack.

As TOPS also points out, the TAC-Raze is a “friction lock” knife; that is, there is no locking mechanism whatsoever. If you hold this knife wrong, or hit the blunt side of the blade hard enough, the sharp edge of the recurved blade is going into your fingers (or your throat, if you’re a Russian named Tim). That’s cool and to be expected with this type of weapon, but you should thoroughly understand the risks before you ever draw it from its sheath.

Speaking of the sheath, that’s the only thing TOPS needs to improve. The sheath is small, stylish and fine for carrying in a gentlemanly fashion, but under stress it doesn’t securely hold the TAC-Raze. I learned this the hard way during a horse ride, when my knife was knocked from its sheath and lost forever. I wound up off the horse and on my ass twice during that ride, but didn’t find the knife at either of my crash sites. Somewhere on that rocky trail, the TAC-Raze got knocked or jostled out of its case. I got the other TAC-Raze later, but I’ll be depressed forever about losing that first one.

Someday, some lucky kid at the Triangle T Ranch in Dragoon, Arizona is going to stumble across my original TAC-Raze. He’ll probably fall in love just like I did. And hopefully by then TOPS will have a more-secure sheath available, so he won’t live his life crying over the coolest knife he ever lost.

–CH

[You can find the TAC-Raze online here]

This article originally ran on Monday, September 19, 2016. The following comments were left:

Brothers In Arms is a member of JTF Awesome. Find ’em on Facebook /BIATulsa/ or follow ’em on Instagram, @biatulsa.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Chris Hernandez, seen here on patrol in Afghanistan, may just be the crustiest member of the eeeee-LITE writin’ team here at Breach-Bang-Clear. He is a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also a veteran police officer of two decades who spent a long (and eye-opening) deployment as part of a UN police mission in Kosovo. He is the author of Tacos Are Racist, Females in the Infantry – Yes Actually, The Military Within the Military, and several other delightfully opinionated bloviations. He has also penned several modern military fiction novels, including Line in the Valley, Proof of Our Resolve and Safe From the War. When he isn’t groaning about a change in the weather and snacking on Osteo Bi-Flex he writes on his own blog. You can find his author page right here on Amazon.

The post MNKF: TOPS Knives Tac-Raze appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Tomahawks. Either you like them, you’re lying about not liking them, you’re one of them nervous type rakhâs, or you’re a damn sissy. Don’t worry, it’s okay to like tomahawks (we’re talking about the classic type, in the Algonquian/Renape style), even if you don’t really have a need to hew off someone’s head. Today we’re revisiting our tame Australian’s report about just such a tool, this one built by MTech. Mad Duo 

Report Revisited: the MTech “Tactical” Tomahawk

Apocalypse Josh – originally published Monday, Nov. 28, 2016

I have a great fondness for hatchets and tomahawk and quite a collection, ranging from the low-key Fuller camping hatchet to the knockabout United Cutlery M48 to the singular Boker Tomahook. A new addition to my armory was the very blingtastic MTech – tactical axe.

At 36cm (14 1/4″) overall, this is a decently sized chopper and at 650g (1.4lbs) it’s lighter than I expected. It has a black rubberized ABS handle with lightly textured lanyard loop, and is peppered with seven locking bolts and nuts with Torx fittings. The axehead is 18cm (7 1/8″) with a 9cm (3 1/2″) cutting edge. It has a spike on opposite end, interesting secondary edges, and to top it all off it’s titanium anodized to a gold finish.

One thing that struck me was that ABS, which felt really flimsy. Not that it was flexing under my grip, more that it was light and sounded hollow. The black nylon sheath was simple enough, with a press stud retention loop, and press-stud closures at the rear to keep it in place.

The blade was shipped sharp and had a knife edge, with deep secondary grinds not only along the primary face but also a deep inwardly curved bite in the top of the axehead as well as the underside of the beard. The top of the axe features a set of aggressively cut jimping.

I was hard pressed to think of what that top scalloped edge would be useful for, other than an “upwards” axe thrust. However, scalloping the blade inward rather than having it sweep forward into a point like in a Dane Axe seemed counter productive. Perhaps as a branch trimmer? More likely to make it look extra cool and scary. Gold. Plated. Scary.

The edge at the underside of the beard was alright as a down-sweeping cutting edge although it did come back quite close to the very top handholds, and my delicate pink flesh, when using a choked-up grip. There are cutaways in the bottom of the axehead for thumb and forefinger to rest in, and they were well placed. But again, there was no beveling, and the sharp edges seemed too close and unguarded.

At the back of the axehead is a spike, ground down into a diamond cross-section, and down to quite a significant point. I liked the geometry of it, and it certainly had a fair “bite” when punching holes in logs, chipboard and cans.

Overall, the cutting power of the axe was somewhat limited by its lightweight design. The knife-edge blade was sharp with a thin cross-section, chopped into boards well enough and cut through bike tyre like nobody’s business, but on a meaty target like a log it bit and stuck.

Too light to travel deep enough to cleave, too narrow to form a splitting wedge.

I gave the butt-end a strike to test durability and its utility as an impact weapon, and THIS happened. The ABS plastic, which is what LEGO is made out of, shattered at the shock of impact.

It also exposed the inside of the axe handle, which is something else I wanted to mention. Having felt how light and “hollow” it sounded, I had taken the handle apart with my trusty min/Inch TORX screwdrivers, and popped it open.

It turns out that as well as the thin and hollow framed handle, which I could have lived with and probably filled with resin or replaced with a cord-wrap, the handle itself was made of three separate pieces of different steel. One for the Ti-anodized blingtastic head, a powder coated lanyard loop piece at the butt-end, and a plain piece through the middle.

I’m sure that made the fabrication easier. But I don’t know what kinds of steel are in there, and the welds don’t look all that flash to me. I would have some concerns about wailing too hard on a solid door, wall, or even a tree-trunk with this.

Perhaps a metallurgist out there can tell me otherwise, but I’m going to relegate this to the back of the collection and save the serious work for serious tools. It seems my MTech Extreme Cleaver was the exception to the rule that these are not hard-use tools.

-AJ

By the way, if you like tomahawks, you prob’ly oughta check out the Tomahawkology group. Purty interdasting. Plus, how cool would it be to put tomahawkologist on your CV? Mad Duo

Find 88 Tactical on the Book of Face right here, or on Instagram @88tactical. You can subscribe to ’em on Vimeo too. 88 Tactical is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you can also support us on Patreon and find us on Pinterest.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Josh Orth is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places all over the globe, from near-dystopian parts to cities to Gabon, west Africa. Thus he has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: MTech "Tactical" Tomahawk appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Report: the “Rambo” Hunting Machete 

Apocalypse Josh

One of the post-stroke rehab tasks I assigned myself was to clear some backyard jungle and make way for a badly-needed cleanup. Normally for brush clearing, I would turn to my Ontario Blackwind, or perhaps another of my mid-sized blades, even turning to my petrol powered brush-clearer. But I wanted to get some physical exercise, and didn’t want to swing long blades where there were metal posts and the like.

As it happened, I had a RAMBO TACTICAL Combat Survival 14″ Fixed Blade Bowie Hunting Machete sitting on a shelf, unused. The backyard jungle is clogged with morning glory vine, a fast-growing and tenacious vine, that needs a fair amount of chopping to get through and I thought the Ontario Blackwind would really do the trick. It weighs in at 1.25kg (2.75 lbs) with an overall length of 37 cm (14.5″), with the blade making up a hefty 20cm (8″) of that.

Some of the things I liked about the Rambo’s big-ass blade are the wide broad blade with its keen edge and the steel bar handguard which runs from the base of the edge all the way to the pommel. A full tang gives it both sturdiness and rigidity. I am never too keen on cutaway holes, or the exaggerated sawback, but the simple short serrations on the front of the blade are a nice touch.

I don’t usually care about extra features like glass breakers and saw blades on my knives, but both felt useful and well thought out. The painted wooden handle, though lurid zombie-toxic-green, was well finished and it felt good in my hand, even though I wore heavy gloves to protect from the sap of the vines.

The Rambo Tactical Hunting Machete comes with a decent nylon sheath with a wide, broad belt loop, and several press-stud closures to keep it secure. It seats nicely on the hip and was unobtrusive as I got on with the rest of my chores.

The black-powder-coated finish held up well, and even though it’s made from the fairly pedestrian 440 steel, it kept its edge nicely even though I DID find a couple of star-pickets in the jungle with it. It was certainly cutting as well at the end of the task as at the beginning, though I was tired. A quick lick of a sharpening stone and a wipe of oil and it was ready to go back on the wall, not nearly as ornamental as I first suspected it to be.

5.11 Tactical (@511tactical) is a member of JTF Awesome.

If you wish to share or repost, please so kind as to follow our terms and conditions.

Comms: Our PACE Plan

Primary: You should immediately subscribe to the Breach-Bang-Clear newsletter here; you should also be reading all our pontifications and every single Op-ED we publish.

Alternate: We present superb gun pr0n, knife pr0n, and tactical industry news on on the Breach-Bang-Clear Facebook page; there will be more of that, and some military humor as well, on our Instagram account (@breachbangclear), so be sure to check in there frequently.

Contingency: There will be an additional chance to read tactical news, gun reviews, outdoor gear reviews, adventure equipment reviews, and blade pr0n on our Google + account;

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Josh Orth (“Apocalypse Equipped”) is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places all over the globe, from near-dystopian parts to cities to Gabon, West Africa. Thus he has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self-reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.

The post MNKF: Report on the 14 in. Rambo Hunting Machete appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

MNKF: Boker Subcom F

Alexander Crown

This Monday Night Knife Fight isn’t about a brand new blade. No, this article is about a knife I’ve had for well over ten years. The Boker Plus Subcom F is a micro lockback pocketknife that’s sized for easy everyday carry.

The Boker Plus Subcom line has expanded since I bought mine and now includes numerous blade types. The blades are constructed from AUS-8, a type of steel known for taking and holding an edge. This material is also generally known to cut down sharpening time. The blades are available in standard clip point with or without serrations, a rescue hook (the Rescom model), and even a hawkbill style.

The grip of the knife is made of Zytel, a high-strength nylon resistant to abrasions and impacts. Molded into the grip is a pleasant, not-too-aggressive texturing. The grips are also available in a variety of colors to match your outfit or mood, I suppose.

When unfolded the overall length is 4.625”, and the knife measures .29” at its widest. The knife locks via a frame lock and the blade features an ambidextrous thumb stud for quick deployment. The blade is a flat grind and is .08” thick with a cutting edge of 1.75”. Lastly, the pocket clip is configurable for tip up or down carry.

I can’t say I’ve carried this knife every day for the past ten years, but I do use it often, particularly when I don’t want a large pocket clip showing (for example, while wearing a suit). I’ve found one of the best places to carry this little Boker is inside the waistline of my pants with the clip behind my belt.

I affixed a 550 cord quickdraw piece to the knife many, many years ago, before it was cool. This helps with deployment of the knife from the waistline and in no way is a tacticool fashion statement.

I wouldn’t want to get into a knife fight with this little guy, but it’s proven very useful over the years for cutting mundane boxes, mail, string, etc. I’ve lost this knife on more than one occasion and am always very happy to find it again. For a knife that’s sub-three ounces, costs less than $40, and practically lets you forget you’re carrying it, the Boker Subcom F is worth its weight.

Breach Bang Clear

This has been another pulchritudinous installment of Breach Bang Clear. Breach Bang Clear is the warrior scholar’s choice for commentary and analysis of national and international events, gun news, tactical industry news, and of course gear reviews. Here we embrace the abstruse, encourage civil discourse, meet uninformed dogma with snarktastic vituperation, and always eschew sesquipedalianism. Think and be dangerous.

Grunts: sesquipedalian.

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Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

T&C: All original material published by Breach-Bang-Clear is the copywritten property of Breach-Bang-Clear, Inc. If you wish to repost, republish, or otherwise share our content, feel free to reproduce an extract of up to 225 words and one complete, unaltered image, preceded by attribution crediting the source and author’s name, to include a link to the Breach-Bang-Clear home page, with a link back to the full article on our website, BreachBangClear.com. You do not require our permission to do this. Please do not reproduce our content in its entirety without contacting us first. We do allow full syndication on a case by case basis (credited, and posted with a canonical link, as is common practice and in good form) but only when mutually agreed upon beforehand. If you wish to reproduce a complete article, please contact us for permission to publish first.

About the Author: Alexander Crown was the littlest big mistake Gemtech ever hired–and they even manage to continue to promote him to higher positions. Prior to his early retirement (caused by an enemy winning a marksmanship award at the cost of his hamstring), Alexander served in the 3/509 PIR out of Ft. Richardson and spent a little time in Iraq. In addition to dabbling in the world of silencers and science fiction, he has a BS in biology and is an avid gardener — like, the kind of gardener Hugh Farnham would appreciate and Alec Holland would envy.

The post MNKF: The Boker Subcom F appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

The Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 big-ass survival knife – yeah, we have a couple. Don’t judge us.

Apparently, the 80s were a weird time for the “tactical” community. With larger than life heroes like Arnold, Stallone, and Weathers, I suppose it only makes sense that a knife like this came about.

The Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 is a huge, heavy survival knife. The blade is 425 modified stainless steel and measures 7 ½” long and ¼” thick. Three different cutting surfaces are applied to the blade: the standard straight edge graces the front of the blade, a serrated edge is nested on the top half of the back, and the venerable sawback adorns the bottom half. So you can pretty much cut anything.

The hollowed handle is also stainless steel, and is home to the threaded guard (more on that later). The handle is sealed with an O-ring and would make a nice place to store firestarting materials, or a shot of whiskey, but we don’t judge. The pictured example is accompanied by OD green 550 cord, because what survival knife is complete without that beautiful seven-stranded mistress we all know and love? Tip to tip the Buckmaster is 12 ½” long and weighs a whopping 23.8 ounces. With sheath, it tips the scales at just over two pounds. The end of the handle also features a lanyard attaching point for more 550 cord.

The sheath accompanying the Buckmaster is a heavyweight plastic and has two removable pouches for more survival paraphernalia. The knife originally included a Silva compass on a red lanyard, which fit perfectly in one of the pouches. The other holds the other more noteworthy feature of this knife, which we’ll address later. The ballistic nylon accessory pouches fit to the sheath via Velcro that wraps around the back and shields the embedded sharpening stone. The sheath also has places for more 550 cord tie downs, most likely for the survivalist’s leg.

But what is easily the best part of the substantial knife? The threaded guard mentioned earlier is for two large tines. Supposedly this somewhat unique addition was for anchoring divers in place (this knife was at some point issued to SEALs, from what I understand). Most others say this feature is for making the knife into a grappling hook. I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a bad idea.” I agree, and I would never use this knife as a grappling hook, ever. I can only imagine the knife coming loose and shooting into the top of your head with all 1.5 pounds of steel.

Most “survival” knives nowadays are more reminiscent of bushcraft styles like Moras, ESEEs, and several others, making the beefy Buckmaster a bit outdated (but nonetheless awesome). I mean, who doesn’t want a freaking grappling hook with them all the time?

AC

♚

The post MNKF | Buck Knives Buckmaster 184 Survival Knife appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

The Zero Tolerance ZT0095BW isn’t actually called the Grey Man, but it ought to be. This is one very nice folder; we’ll explain why we (and several other pubs and sites) think so.

Join us at Nancy’s Squat & Gobble! (It’s our double dog secret, members-only discussion group.)

Note: This article not paid for or sponsored, but Zero Tolerance did provide the knife for our report.

The ZT0095BW Is One Baller Little Blade

We’d Lie To You About Some Things, But Not This

The Zero Tolerance ZT 0095BW (Black Wash) has been available in the US for about a year now. Unlike many of ZT’s folders, this one was designed and built “in-house,” but the lack of a knife-making celebrity name has done nothing to subtract from the quality.  It’s a production version of a previous limited edition 0095BW; some people refer to it as the ZT Harpoon Flipper. We prefer ZT Grey Man, and yes we’re using grey with an e. It’s a very nice daily carry folder, and we’re gonna tell you about it.

You’re welcome. 

This article originally ran in 2017. 

The ZT Grey Man is made in the USA. It’s a little slimmer than many of their other designs (particularly the brawnier models like the ZT0456) and is about the length of a standard pencil (8.4 in.) tip to butt once the blade is deployed.

The flat grind drop point (they describe it as “harpoon style”) combines with a sleeker but broader-bellied blade than we expected when looking at the website. This makes it a great “slicer” (for food prep while camping or backpacking, for instance), though obviously, it would work just as well for a wide array of your typical EDC activities: opening packages, pruning in the garden, working in the shop, or, if you’re really lucky, emasculating guys like Mohammed Karrar and William Charles Thomas.

No, we don’t mean metaphorically.

The action is smooth and crisp, moving on a KVT ball-bearing system, and the Ti handle has a nice blackwash finish — which will quickly scratch (as you can see in these images) if you use it like a tool. (Which, you know, is kinda the point.) It uses a steel tube spacer, a reversible clip (left or right handed, tip-up carry only), titanium frame lock, and a steel lockbar insert so it doesn’t fold up on ya. Lockup is what you’d expect of a ZT production folder, which is to say it works just fine; Zero Tolerance has not, to our knowledge, put out a substandard product.

That’s one of the reasons we really like Zero Tolerance.

The 0095Bw is an open pillar design, which has come in handy a couple of times when we needed to wash fish guts or other viscera out of it, and there’s an overtravel stop so you can’t hyperextend the lockbar…or at least, not easily. Theoretically, you could hyperextend it, but you’d have to subject it to some retard-strong mishandling to do so.

There’s a scooped thumb ramp on the spine of the blade, which we appreciate, but given our ‘druthers many of us would prefer a more overt thumb ramp. That’s a matter of personal preference, of course, and isn’t a deal breaker in any event — though if you’re one of those who subscribe to the code duello, we’d recommend looking at some of ZT’s other options.

Grunts: code duello.

There are some people who don’t like the ZT logo on the pocket clip. We respectfully disagree. Mostly because that’s a stupid detail to piss and moan about.

Here’s a look at the manufacturer’s video. Our gallery of photos follows. More reviews below that.

Specs

• Made in the USA
• KVT ball-bearing opening system
• Flipper
• Reversible clip (left/right, tip-up)
• Titanium frame lock, hardened steel lockbar insert
• Decorative pivot hardware
• Steel: S35VN, tungsten DLC BlackWash finish
• Handle: Titanium, BlackWash finish
• Blade Length: 3.6 in. (9.8 cm)
• Blade Thickness: 0.121 in. (0.307 cm)
• Closed Length: 4.9 in. (12.4 cm)
• Overall Length: 8.4 in. (21.3 cm)
• Weight: 5.3 oz. (150.3 g)

For more imagery, check out hashtag #zt0095bw on Instagram, there are a couple hundred pictures there as of this writing. There are also quite a few just using #0095.

The ZT0095BW has an MSRP of $275 here on their website, but there’s at least one on Amazon here for $229, which saves you enough money for a lap dance and cab fare (or three lap dances and the breakfast buffet at Nancy’s Squat & Gobble if you have less discriminating tastes).

Reviews on Amazon average 4 1/2 stars, which is a pretty good indication of value. Reviews on any manufacturer’s own page (or one of the product-centric retail sites) are likely to be skewed by hard-core [insert manufacturer here] fans, but that’s typically not the case with Amazon.

Hit us up in the comments if you have any specific questions.

Other Perspectives on the ZT0095BW

Looking for more info on it? PROTOOL Reviews gave it an overall score of 4.7 (using the 5 categories of Build Quality, Features, Sharpness, Edge Retention, and Value) out of 5 in this article.

Tactical Reviews published a very thorough review a few months back as well. Here’s an excerpt.

What it is like to use?

Again this knife surprised me, as in contrast to its modest appearance (mainly thanks to the stonewashed finish), the 0095BW displays modern lines and has particularly good slicing and piercing ability. The blade cuts very aggressively and eagerly.

With a narrow point angle, the tip cuts very deeply (frequently deeper than you might want) and means you have to be wary of this. The high flat grind makes this almost a full flat grind and as such it slices very well. Add to this the blade being only 3mm thick and it makes those deep slicing cuts very easily.

The 0095BW is a good size folder with 3 1/2″ blade, yet remains slim, light and easy to pocket due to the Titanium used for the handles. This cuts both ways though, and does make the handle a little thin for heavy or extended work. As an EDC blade for sporadic cutting, the compromise is ideal.

You can find that article online in its entirety here; it’s extraordinarily thorough, so if you’re seriously considering buying a ‘0095 we strongly urge you to read it.

  Want your product or service featured in a SPOTLIGHT article? Contact Jennifer(at)BreachBangClear.com. She’ll get you sorted.  

But wait, there’s more.

Phil White reviewed this knife on The Firearm Blog as well, to wit:

During the seven or so weeks I’ve used it I’ve used it for the regular chores I mentioned as well as giving it some abuse in testing. I went so far as sticking in through the top of a metal 55 gallon drum that was on the shooting range. It went right on through the first time I tried it. The steel drum left a few minor scratches to the blackwash finish but they didn’t really amount to anything. I even used the butt of the handles to drive a couple of smaller nails into a target stand. The edge held up well with no chips noted even when viewed under a low power microscope. Generally just using a fine ceramic rod would bring the edge back good as new.

Read the rest of that here on TFB.

Lastly, if the written word is just too much for you, check out the following videos.

The post Spotlight On: the ZT 0095BW Grey Man appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.

Rey’s Bros Blades — you are going to be very happy you read this installment of Monday Night Knife Fights!

There are vast numbers of people wanting to be “instafamous” in the tactical world. Their arrival brings an increasing trend of people being pushed to train with things other than guns. You cannot scroll through your feed without seeing a video someone stabbing a rubber dummy or ten pictures of everyday carry loadouts that has a fixed blade knife in it. This has brought on a wave of newly designed knives made specifically with the purpose of self-defense and daily carry. Instead of the 90s era Rambo knives strapped to an old LBV, we see knives made to sit flush against the body and conceal underneath average aparel.

I recently stumbled across a knife of this type while scrolling the interwebz (and not one-handed, either). It was a picture of an acid etched knife with a Persian style blade that just looked like it belonged in a vampire’s neck or in John Wick’s fist. Upon investigation, I found the knife was called the Reynoferoce Knife and that it was made by Rey’s Bros Blades in France.

I reached out to Rey’s Bros to get a little more background and was surprised to find that their first knife came off their grinder as recently as July of 2017. Taking their love of drawing weapons for comic characters as kids, they began drawing realistic knives around 2014.

The brothers, who hail from France, were frustrated with a local knife scene where most collectors prefer a more traditional style. They took this frustration and decided to build their machines and shop in 2016. The brothers are 100 percent self-taught, largely through trial and error, and only make knives that they designed. When asked what their favorite style of knife to make was their response just made me like them even more.

“Whether it’s my brother or me we have a particular affection for knives that have hairy balls, with an aggressive look.”

Seems reasonable.

They further explained their favorite style of knife to make is smaller self-defense weapons with a Persian style blade. Looking up to knife makers such as Claudio Sobral and Bastinelli, the brothers continue to hone their knife making skills.

They explained further.

“We make tools, not works of art, so I would say that our style is simple with a touch of character, slightly aggressive. I think we understand immediately what our knives are meant for. we make knives for well-intentioned people, that’s what we put forward as part of our slogan for gentlemen only that must be interpreted by only for good men.” 

With an ever-expanding line of unique knives, it seems like these self-made men will continue to prosper in the market. Rey’s Bros currently builds just a handful of gorgeous models of varying sizes, but there are new designs on the way. If you are in the market for a new carry or self defense blade, I recommend you give them a serious look.

For more information on Rey’s Bros, check out the Rey’s Bros Blades website. They’re also on Instagram, @reys_bro_blade.

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The post Rey’s Bros Blades | MNKF appeared first on Breach Bang Clear.