Gil's Blog

I have been carrying one for years, but only today am I thinking of reviewing it. An every-day-carry knife should not be an impulse-buy. You will use it for countless tasks, from opening letters and boxes to saving your life in an emergency. How many times have I heard “Hey, someone got a knife?” How come you don’t have one? Is my answer, as I pull my Emerson Commander out of my jeans pocket. The day you need to cut yourself free of a sinking car, or stop someone from choking you to death, I probably won’t be there to hand you mine. A knife is a tool, the simplest one of all, and we have been carrying them since we earned the name “humans.” They are as vital today as they were back then. What type of knife to carry? You already know what my favorite is, let’s see why.

Folding or fixed blade. Any fixed-blade knife that isn’t junk is stronger than a folding one. Your choice might be a legal one. Most states or countries do not allow carrying fixed-blade knives. Open-carry raises eyebrows. My friend Kolyma, who works at a farm was once shopping at Whole Foods with his knife on his belt. He was promptly surrounded by police officers who politely asked him not to carry it in the store, even though it was perfectly legal. Next time you go out, pay attention to the little metal clip of a folding knife on people’s pants. Nobody pays attention to that, but many do carry them. The legal limit is usually four inches for the blade, single-edge. If you can carry a strong fixed-blade knife, do it. Otherwise, keep in mind that the most important part of a folder is the lock. Since this article is about folders, let’s see what makes a good one.

The lock prevents the knife from folding on your fingers while you use it. These days, because one of America’s favorite sports is litigation, folders made in the United States have decent locks for normal use. The same can’t be said of cheap imitations from China. Stay away from unknown brands, Ebay deals and dubious cheap folders. Your life or your fingers may never depend on it, but why take the risk. I usually shop from three reputable brands, Emerson, Cold Steel and Spyderco. You can read all about locks and watch a great video on Bob’s Knife Town locks page.

The grip: I was once looking for a folder at a Manatee Civic Center gun-show. I came upon a large table full of knives and started handling them one by one to find the best fitting one for my hand. This is where hands-on shopping beats the Internet. The salesman was getting impatient, as I took my sweet time to find the best model. I grabbed an Emerson Mini Commander. Love at first grab! The handle was perfect, both in standard and reverse grip. I had never handled a folder that fit my hand so well. It wasn’t only my hand actually, since many friends trying my knife made the same comment. Next came the bad surprise, the $175 price tag. I looked at it more closely. The quality was obvious. The knife is very strongly built and looks like it would survive pretty much anything. Five years ago I had a bad motorcycle accident, and while I lay on the asphalt with a broken femur and dislocated shoulder, someone stole my Mini Commander. As soon as I recovered, I immediately ordered the full-size model. I hear they have a super-size one now, guess what I’m going to buy next.. I also own the Commander Trainer for Systema practice. This knife is worth every penny they charge for it.

The blade will most likely be stainless steel. There is no need for a strong carbon steel blade of less than four inches. I prefer straight edges, as they are easier to sharpen without special tools. Spyderco has nice short, serrated blades like the Co-Pilot (not sure if they still make that one), which I used to carry on flights before 9/11. I unfortunately lost it in the snow near the Lille (France) train station more than a decade ago. The blade should be thick enough to be strong, but thin enough to cut efficiently all the way through. Buying from a reputable brand will assure you that it won’t be brittle and keep a decent edge. My Emerson Commander had a chisel grind, meaning that it was ground on one side only. I gave it to a friend once for resharpening, and he suggested to turn it into a regular “V” grind, I agreed. The problem was, 154CM steel is pretty hard, and it took forever to get it to cut again. I finally took it to a grinder and at last, it shaves hair again. Fortunately, Emerson listened to it’s customers, and the new Commanders do have a conventional V Grind.

Opening your knife is a very important function. You must be able to open your folder with one hand, left or right. Read my story about having to cut a banner towline during a tricky go-around with an ultralight. I can’t emphasize enough that you need to practice pulling your knife out of your pocket and opening it. Practice without looking at it, with your knife in any position in your hand. You must get a feel for it, and get proficient at opening it quickly in any circumstances. The Emerson Commander has the advantage here, with it’s wave feature:

You can make your own “poor man’s wave feature” on knives which have a hole for blade opening, like Spydercos. Simply put a tie-wrap around the hole (those ties used for electric wires), et voila! Instant wave feature. Some people cut one into their knives, but you must be careful not to overheat the blade with power tools, which destroys the hardening process. Unless you know how to re-harden a blade and have the tools, your knife is junk.

Self-defense with a knife is a touchy subject. Never pull your knife out of your pocket unless not doing so will result in your death. That might not always be true, so use your best judgment. I once saw a man pull a knife on another in a bar, when the other guy also pulled his. They then looked at each-other with an expression that said “What the hell are we getting into here..” and they simultaneously pocketed their folders, exchanged a few more insults, and the incident was over. That took but three seconds. The outcome could have been much different, but the fear of injury cooled them down. Whether to draw or not is a difficult decision, most of the time, in my opinion, don’t. Training is most important here. Pulling a knife without knowing how to use it is not a wise option. Get some Systema or Filipino martial art instruction, it will be time well spent. Keep in mind that no matter who’s right, if you use a knife against an unarmed attacker, you will go to jail. Avoid buying a knife that looks too “tactical” or has a name like “Combat Skinner” or anything aggressive. Avoid black-coating blades. Judges and jury do not like tactical looking weapons. If the Commander came in pink, I might be tempted, just for that reason. A Karambit might be a great weapon, but it isn’t anything else. Make sure your knife looks somewhat like a regular pocket knife, not a weapon someone looking for trouble would carry.

My best advise to you is, carry a knife. Buy a good one. Ask one for Christmas, it’s coming.. I feel naked if I don’t have my knife with me, and never leave the house without it. Many times I was happy to have one for simple tasks that would have been a hassle without it. It sucks not to have one when you need it most. Hopefully you’d never need to defend or save your life with it, but if need be, it should be there for you.

So, you want to forge knives… Well, I just started myself, only made a few blades so far. I have learned some information useful to beginners that might not be readily available online, or scattered all over the place. These lessons learned might save you some time, aggravation, even a few dollars.. Follow any advise here at your own risk, I am no expert and forging is inherently dangerous.

About forging: Forging is not just that, hammering a red-hot piece of steel into a blade. You need to consider what else comes into building a knife. A lot of time will be spent grinding, sharpening, and polishing. If using sand paper gives you unpleasant goosebumps, or you cringe at the thought of getting burned or cut, you might want to look into knitting. Heat treating is not as simple as plunging your steel in water. Some knowledge of metallurgy about different steels and what happens to them at different temperatures is a must. Annealing, normalizing, hardening and tempering are important phases in creating a blade. Then you need to make a handle, sheath, and sometimes apply different finishes. Building a knife is a whole process, forging is only part of it.

Forge: I started by building a charcoal forge. It worked, but it is slow and dirty, a pain in the ass, really. Sure, It only cost me $60, and I could have built a better one. Gas however is fast and clean. I bought a $200 forge on Ebay and never looked back. The next one will have a round shape though, and be covered with refractory cement instead of KAOWool. A round forge body creates vortexes resulting in a more even temperature and probably gas saving. With a hard refractory coating, you will never breathe dangerous ceramic fibers.. Coal is another good option, also dirty, but better in my opinion than charcoal. See my gas forge here.

Steels: Many beginners will try to find some scrap steel at the junkyard. You might get lucky finding what you want, but you might not. Spending hours hammering steel to find out that it won’t harden is no fun. I just ordered six 3/16 x 1” x 60” bars of 1080 from Admiral Steel for about $90 (with shipping)! That is enough to make from 30 to 40 large knives. Less than $3 per knife. Mystery steel is like mystery meat, you really don’t know what’s in it and most of the time, it doesn’t turn out to be that good. 1075-1080 is probably the best steel to start with. It is a simple steel, easy to heat treat and forge. You can temper it in a kitchen oven at 450F. Tool steels and other higher carbon steels require better temperature control and higher tempering temperatures, around 550-600F. It isn’t worth my time fishing for scrap in a junkyard. I would probably often have to discard half-finished blades, so the savings are really not significant enough. Buy good steel, pick one kind, learn it well, you’ll get consistent results allowing you to refine your process. More on steel selection.

Heat Treatment Anneal every time you stop working for the day. Normalize three times before hardening. Use a magnet to determine when the steel has turned to austenite and is non-magnetic. Go slightly higher, and let the blade soak for ten minutes at that temperature. If you forge or heat-treat too hot, your steel will decarbonize. Quench in warm oil (140 to 160F). Cold oil will actually not cool your blade as fast. Avoid motor oil, it’s too thick. Thin oil, such as ATF or thin mineral oil is better. Don’t move the blade sideways while it cools, but front and back. If you want to create a hamon by differential clay hardening, cover the back of the blade with a refractory like Satanite (1/8” thick layer). Temper immediately after hardening, three times one hour at 450F. If you use a different steel than 1060-1075-1080, find out what the numbers are, don’t just guess..

Anvil: I bought a cast iron anvil at Harbor Freight. It is way too soft! Here is when a trip to the junkyard might save you money. A 100Lbs hardened steel anvil will cost you $400 to $600. Find any piece of steel with a flat surface, as heavy as you can carry. Secure it to a solid base, so that you can forge standing up. Thanks to my friend Phil and his father at Seaboard Steel, I was able get a heavy piece of steel which originally was a jaw that grabs giant steel plates. It must be heat-treated because it is very hard. We welded it to an I-beam and a half-inch steel base.

Click on the image to enlarge..

Hammer and tongs: Almost any hammer will do (you might want to put a nice smooth finish on it’s face), but you need tongs to grab your blades. I started with a pair of wise-grips, but they are too short and awkward to use. Having a piece of red-hot steel fly out when you hit it is pretty scary. Don’t ask me how I know.. (well, I still have one scar on my ankle..) Start by forging tongues. It is easier than forging a blade, and you will need them anyway.

Click on the image to enlarge..

Not the best looking ones, but they work just fine..

Safety: Wear heavy leather gloves and clear eye protection (clear to see steel color). I have a welding jacket with leather sleeves that’s perfect for forging. Make sure nothing close to the forge can catch on fire. That includes your propane hose in particular! Wear a respirator when grinding or changing your ceramic fiber forge insulation. Don’t forget, you’re building knives, they can get really sharp! Blades can fly off your hands while grinding, specially when using buffing wheels. You must be conscious of safety all the time. You don’t want to end-up in the hospital or dead because of a hobby!

Information: It is easier to start with some help. Browse the following forums online:

• BladeForums.com
• Bladesmith’s Forum Board
• KnifeForums.com
• SBG Sword Forum

Document you progress. You might discover that a blade you forged displays great characteristics after some use, and not remember how you made it..

I highly recommend Wayne Godard’s $50 Knife Shop book:

Wayne Goddard’s $50 Knife Shop, RevisedAnd Tim Lively’s DVD:

Knifemaking Unplugged

I will add to this article once in a while as I discover new tips or pitfalls to avoid. Anyone with more experience than myself, that’s almost anybody able to forge a decent knife at this time, please add any advise for beginners you may have in the comments section below. Many thanks to the members of bladeforums.com for their feedback on this article!

UPS finally dropped my much anticipated Kaze Ko-Katana outside of my house last night (they didn’t bother to knock on the door, as usual). You might want to read the introduction to this full review here.. I am not a sword afficcionado, but I do know quite a bit about knives. This is my first katana, and I will try to provide an objective and complete review, though I have no other sword to compare it to. The closest would be my Cold Steel Master Tanto; apples and oranges..

Initial Impressions:

The sword came in a nice wooden box, cheaply made, but nevertheless attractive and practical. A lined sword bag is included, also much appreciated for the price.

Click on the image to enlarge..

My first impression upon picking up the Kaze was that of a solid chunk of steel, well built and fitted. There is no “rattling” of any kind, nothing moves. The blade feels heavy, though I am sure not as much as a full size katana, which I have never handled. The short blade makes it comfortable to hold. For a beginner like me, it is important to track your blade in space as you move it around. Friends, pets and significant others will appreciate that.. Better have nobody around actually, that is much safer. Two things jump at you while looking at the blade: The natural hamon looks great. It is subtle, but obviously authentic in it’s beauty. The kissaki (tip) however is awful. More on that later. The sword feels very agile.

Specifications:

The blade is short, 20.5 inches. Mine has a brown cotton ito wrap, which is very tight. As I understand, it is also available in black. One menuki (handle ornament) is located on the left near the tsuba (guard), the other one on the right near the kashira (pommel). They feel good under your fingertips and improve your grip. The mekugi (pins) are set at an angle, which I guess is to clear the ito wrap so that the tsuka can be removed without unwrapping the handle. One is bamboo, the other one appears to be brass. I don’t see how the blade could possibly come loose with this setup. The saya (scabbard) is lacquered glossy black, and attractive from the outside. There is no reinforcement at the mouth, so I expect it to crack soon or later. Except for a slight difference in blade length, the specifications are pretty much what Mark Mowrey has in his excellent review.

The Blade:

The blade is made of 9260 spring steel with a differentially hardened edge by the traditional clay method. As mentioned before, the hamon looks great. I would not want a fake hamon except for a back-yard beater, and even then.. Fake is just that, fake. One might argue that a blade forged in China is fake, but I disagree. Chop your finger off, and see if fake blood comes out.. The polish is decent, certainly sufficient for a $200 sword. The kissaki however is the hair in an otherwise delicious soup.. I can see file scratches on the tip, as clear as day. It looks like someone was doing a great job on the blade, then ran out of time and thought “the hell with it, it’s done.” I would have been glad to pay $40 more for a decent job. Lucky me, I own a Dremel! I can imagine people raising their eyebrows there, but remember, this is a cheap sword. I couldn’t get it any worst than it already was anyway. I went to work with a buffing wheel and polishing paste. The look improved slightly, but not as much as I hoped. I just didn’t want to waste any time on it, as I was eager to fill some plastic bottles.. Sharpness at first was disappointing. The edge was sharp mind you, but did not shave hair like my Master Tanto. It did cut paper well, but not every time. I worked on it for a few minutes with a fine stone, then took it to my leather belt. Finally, I managed to clear-up a bold patch on my arm. With the proper tools and a little time, this blade could be frighteningly sharp. Time to head for the backyard!

Though I tagged the following video as a “cutting test,” it was my first ever cutting session. My lack of technique is obvious, but I managed a couple decent cuts. 2” palm frowns offered no resistance at all. My friend Erin brought his stainless steel wall-hanger fantasy sword for a try. We made sure the area was clear in case it came apart. No such concern with the Kaze.

Oh, and by the way, the dog is fine!

This 15 minutes impromptu cutting session was long enough to allow tiny rust spots to appear. Wipe your blade regularly while practicing, and oil it when you are finished.

Click on the image to enlarge..

My second cutting session was very educational. I went to cut palm frowns in the backyard. Sometimes the blade would go right through with no resistance at all, and sometimes I would feel a vibration through the tsuka. Re-enacting my movements slowly showed me that I was rotating my wrist, getting the wrong angle at the time of contact. As much as 15 to 20 degrees off! No wonder the frowns would just break sometimes. After correcting my grip, I could barely feel the cuts. This tameshigiri business isn’t easy. With my new confidence, I moved the the bamboo we have in the back.. It proved harder to cut, but with the right angle and swing, chop! 3/4” (nothing thicker in the yard), that’s enough for me, I’ll need much more practice before trying anything harder.

Verdict:

Historical accuracy: 3/5 – I don’t know! I am sure it detracts quite a bit from an original though.
Fit and Finish: 3/5 – If it wasn’t for the kissaki, I would have given it a 4.
Handling: 4/5 – It feels great in my hands. The short blade is quite fast.
Structural Integrity: 5/5 – I don’t see how I could possibly break it in normal use.
Value: 5/5 – Unbeatable price for a hand-forged sword with a real hamon.
Overall: 4/5

Pros: Cheap. Very strong. Beautiful hamon. Tight fittings.
Cons: Rough kissaki. Not as sharp as I thought (easy to fix).

Conclusion: A very good sword for the price. I tend to look at safety first when buying a practical weapon. The Kaze Ko-Katana does not worry me a tiny bit in that department. I do not think you can find a better deal for a hand-forged, differentially hardened blade. If Cheness spent a little bit more time on the tip, they could sell this sword for at least $50 more, if not $100. I am not worried about bending it on a bad cut either. It would take quite a mistake to bend it permanently. If the kissaki had been as well polished as the blade, I would have bought a Tenchi for cutting. As it is, the Kaze will be my backyard cutter. If I damage it, I can always buy another! I would recommend it to anyone, especially as a first time sword purchase. Even if you are not into cutting, it can make a nice display piece (polish the tip!) or an excellent home self-defense weapon.

After weeks of consideration and research on the web, I finally decided to buy a katana. Not a cheap wall-hanger, but a practical sword, forged by hand and differentially hardened. I am very familiar with knives, even started to forge my own. Swords however are mostly unknown to me. Why would a grown man buy a sword you may ask, well, I have a few reasons, and they have nothing to do with the “cool” factor. Swords are not toys, but deadly weapons. I place them in the same category as handguns and rifles. I came to believe that they are one of the best home defense weapons available. My interest in knives came from the staggering number of designs found for such a simple, primary tool. Metallurgy, the forging and hardening processes have always fascinated me. I have barely scratched the surface of that art, but I can certainly appreciate the skills it takes to forge a blade longer than a few inches, then harden and temper it properly. My life-long interest and practice of the martial arts also influenced my decision. I have long ago found out that most Asian disciplines only work in their context. Russian Systema however works in any circumstances and can make use of any weapon. Give me a frying pan and I’ll be immediately efficient with it using Systema principles. A sword, though presenting some challenges, shouldn’t be too much trouble. Of course, I will use a dull one or bokken for practice. Other sword designs were interesting, but the Japanese katana in my opinion is the best sword. It is light, razor sharp, and simple in design. Nobody wears armor these days, so a heavier sword would make little sense. The way these swords are made is also fascinating. Even if you have no interest in swords, you can’t but admire the dedication and skills of Japanese sword-smiths in their pursuit of perfection. I never get tired of watching the following documentary from National Geographic:

I can’t pay three highly skilled artisans for three months to forge me a blade, so I have to accept some technological shortcuts. Modern steels like 9260 Silicon Alloy Carbon Spring Steel are even better than traditional tamahagane. It’s not traditional of course, but much cheaper. The folding process becomes superfluous, since the carbon content of modern steel is constant throughout the material. I would love a folded blade, but the cheapest ones, forged in China, start at around $1000. More than I am willing to spend for a first purchase. A San-Mai construction like my Cold Steel Master Tanto would be desirable too, but simply too expensive. There is one feature I really want however, and that is a differentially, clay-hardened blade. This process of covering the back of the blade with thick clay before quenching in water produces a very hard edge and a soft back (watch video above). This way, a sword will bend but not break, while still holding a razor-sharp edge. It also produces a visible line of hardness called the hamon. Most replicas have a fake one, acid-etched on the blade. I can’t accept “fake” anything, so my choice becomes fairly limited for an affordable real sword. Thanks to companies like CAS Hanwei and Cheness Inc., real forged blades from China are available, starting at around $160 for something that won’t come apart in your hands and take a lot of abuse before breaking. Shell-out $200 to $300 and you get a serious tool. My choice is the Kaze Ko-Katana. With a 21-inch blade, this katana is about seven inches shorter than a regular sword. These swords are also called chisa katanas, and are easier to use in tight places. Here is another review of the Kaze (watch the cutting test video). I got a 10% discount and ordered mine for less than $200, with free shipping.

Proceed to the full review…

An often overlooked home self defense option is the sword. They work as well today as they did centuries ago, as we can read about in this recent news article. A Baltimore student killed an intruder with a Samurai sword. At short to medium range, a good sword is deadlier than any gun. It never jams, and never runs out of ammo. Modern reproductions of Japanese katanas made in China have come a long way and are now available for a couple hundred dollars. So, is a sword the self defense weapon of choice?

Well, it depends.. As with any weapon, are you willing to spend the time to learn to handle it safely and practice on a regular basis? “It’s just a sword” you might say, but a 28-inch razor sharp blade can ruin your day very fast; just look at this:

Picture from the excellent site:
Swords Buyers Guide

And this is what happens when you mess with a cheap stainless steel wall-hanger:

Avoid stainless steel like the plague. Be very suspicious of movie related products or cheap “Ninja” katanas. A sword, even a bad one, is very dangerous. The difference about a bad one is that is is as dangerous to you or people around you as it would be to an intruder. It only has to touch you to cause gruesome injuries. Sword makers offer non-sharpened models called iaitos, used in the discipline of Iaido, which is the art of drawing. They are a good investment and insurance policy for your early training..

As far as Japanese sword arts, you might want to look into Iaido, Kenjutsu, Kendo or Shinkendo. My opinion is that your best bet is an art that actually teaches to cut targets (Tameshigiri). I would personally look into Shinkendo or Toyama-Ryu, which are modern swordsmanship systems. You don’t have to become an expert, but learning a few basic techniques, cuts and safety are a minimum.

Are you willing to spend $200 or $300 for a decent blade made of carbon steel, forged and mounted properly? These figures are actually cheap compared to real Japanese swords starting at around $6,000. CAS Hanwei and Cheness Inc. are the major manufacturers of decent quality reproductions. Hanwei also offers medieval swords worth a look, if you prefer the Highlander type of hardware! Cold Steel also has a good collection of practical swords (I like their Chinese War Sword). See below how Cheness forges a blade:

Though not made in Japan (Nihonto or modern Shinken), the Chinese reproductions are real swords made by hand using somewhat similar techniques. For most people, they are the only accessible models, with a price range of about $150 to $3,000. For home defense, a $300 spring steel model would do just fine. I like the cheness Ko-Katanas, which are a shortened version for tight spaces, like a house. You’ll never (hopefully) carry your sword outside your house, so you don’t need a long one. A wakisashi would do fine as well (one-handed). Watch below as Paul Southren from Swords Buyers Guide tests a Cheness katana. Very impressive.

Carbon steel rusts.. You will have to clean and oil your sword at least every other month. It isn’t a high price to pay to keep your weapon ready and in good shape. Aside from that, a good sword will never let you down. If you practice swordsmanship, you also have an excuse for owning one and grabbing “the closest thing that could be used as a weapon” when it comes to explain to a judge why you cut a robber in half instead of calling 911 and waiting for the cops while getting beaten-up or killed.. And yes, the above mentioned swords will cut someone in half if you practice long enough to get a perfect cut. More often than not however, just showing the sword tends to convince intruders to turn around and start running.

I may have a preference for Japanese swords just because of their light weight, but any good quality medieval or antiquity reproductions would do fine, from European blades to sabers, scimitars, Chinese swords, there is something out there for everyone. With anti-gun laws looming on our horizon, a sword might be a good choice. It sure beats a jammed gun any day. You never have to buy ammo, so practicing might involve just a bit of your time and sweat, maybe a membership fee and a few tatami mats.. If you do decide to get one, be responsible, get professional advise, and learn about self-defense laws. Be safe