Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Look what I got for my birthday!

A couple of less useful knives.

A discussion on knives- Part I: Types of knives.

I've been thinking about what I want for my birthday for some time and I'm leaning towards asking for a large folding knife, but more on that later. After spending a lot of time looking at, reading about, teaching about and, most importantly, using knives I want to put together a tutorial for people interested in learning what makes a knife "good" and how they can choose a knife that is good for their particular needs.

Part I: Types of Knives

Knives are very diverse but in general when we think about knives we can break them into a few groups. I found some awesome infographics via BladeHQ.com describing the different types of knives. Check out the infographics and make sure to reference them if you hear or read vocabulary you aren't familiar with.

Automatic Knives 
Automatic knives are designed primarily for Military, Police and EMT duty, these knives are simple to open in an emergency. This is done by pushing a firing button or pulling a lever. Check the laws in your area before purchasing an automatic knife, as they are restricted in many areas.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ


Manual Folding Knives 
Manual knives are legal in most areas, which means they are extremely common. Often, this type of knife is also recognized as a “pocket knife.” Spring assisted knives are roughly the same as manual knives, but they have a spring inside the handle that helps deploy the blade much faster. Spring assisted knives typically have a thumb stud and/or flipper.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ


Fixed Blade Knives 
Fixed blade knives don’t fold or contract, like other types of knives. Fixed blades are perfect for nearly any use—they are carried by sportsmen, hunters, campers, and more.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ


Out The Front Knives 
Out The Front knives are similar to automatic knives in many ways; they are opened by pushing a thumb slide or pulling a lever, but with an OTF knife the blade always deploys out the front of the handle—not the side, like automatic knives. OTF knives are restricted in many areas so be certain to consult your local laws before purchasing these items.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ


Balisong (Butterfly) Knives 
Some people spend years trying to master the skill of flipping butterfly knives, A.K.A. balisong knives. It’s debatable whether it’s more fun to flip a butterfly knife or to watch someone flip— it looks really cool, and it’s practically mesmerizing.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ

The Bling Ring

Here is some more awesome photography. The flashlight attached to the gun the ArmyTek Predator Pro that my wife so selflessly gave me for Christmas. It's pretty bling-tastic. The gun probably won't be it's permanent home, since I've been finding it so useful for a ton of other stuff. It reminds me of the gun customization options on the "Army of Two" video game.

Also note the new turk's head knot I put on the stock.

 Armed and Pregnant

Off the gun

Skinning a Squirrel

So it's no big secret that I don't field dress the deer I hunt. I don't do anything with them other than throw them in the back of my truck and drive them to the processor. I dressed the deer I got last year, well, more like I watch my brother in law dress it, but it's not something I really want to do. I just want to eat it the same way I eat a cow or chicken: I want to buy nondescript lumps of meat packaged on styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic then cook them up at home without ever having shared the intimacy of having removed any of its vital organs, especially it's skin personally (Yes skin is an organ, and I certainly consider it vital.)

On that happy note I got sick of watching squirrels eat all the deer corn while hunting this morning so I did something about it. I shot the closest squirrel I could, then I tried to shoot his friend / lover / rival. I missed the second one but I shot the first one in the face. The face. In the past I've discarded my victims because I have such an aversion to getting up close and personal with mushy things like dead squirrels, and because I convinced myself that I was conducting "pest control" rather than outright hunting. But I know better than that. I know that it isn't right to kill for the sake of killing so I decided that I must dress and eat this dead, mushy, semi-faceless squirrel.

I have a nice sharp knife on me, which up to this point has never pierced skin or bone, but has only felt it's blade glide through cardboard and packing tape, and since I have no idea how to use it to skin a squirrel I spent 10 minutes watching people with country accents so thick you can't possibly know what they're saying compete to skin squirrels in 45 seconds or less. Then my family shows up to see the bloody, mushy, faceless, formerly-living squirrel lying where I left it on the front step of the house I hunt at. They were passing by because I had forgotten to take my lunch this morning. My 4 year old seemed unaffected and somewhat fascinated by it. My 2 year old looking concerned pointed at it and repeatedly said something unintelligible for a few minutes. I can only image what profound observation she was making and what lessons I should have learned from it, if only she didn't talk like a 2 year old. They left and I proceeded to work for 4 hours while some little squirrel's dead mother lie stiff (but somehow still mushy) on the front stoop. I finally caved. It took me about 30 minutes to gut and skin it to my satisfaction. It was actually pretty easy, and now that it is mostly formless meat, I feel great about it. Except for the smell of death lingering on my fingertips (despite washing them repeatedly with dish soap) I'm no worse for wear. I also proved that I'm not a horrible, soul-less killing machine.

Letter to the santas.

The hunting season so far and Chrismas.

So, I've been busy sitting in tree stands and waiting for deer to pop out so naturally I haven't had time to update the blog. So far things have been going well though, and after a few near-misses I managed to bag a couple of does the Monday before Thanksgiving.

Yum. Anyhow I'm going to strive to fill my remaining two tags in the coming weeks, and I really want some antlers, so my goal is to hold out for one of the bucks that's been running around the property.

But after my tags are filled, or the season is over (at the end of this month), I'm not entirely sure what to do next. I am interested in trying to hunt coyotes. I saw one while sitting in Statesville and even took a shot with my bow, but missed. The other thing I want to try is hog hunting. Hunting both of these animals is legal at night here in NC, so I am tempted to ask for a night-vision monocular for Christmas. Let me know if you think this is a dumb idea.