Fel's Corner

Katanas, Wakizashi's.. and Knives

2009-09-02T11:52:00.017+02:00

A fair number of folks I've come across in their late teens and early to mid 20's seem to boast at having a "knife / katana / sword / dagger" collection, consisting of perhaps 3 pieces at most; even so, they tend to brag on and on without considering how insignificant such a feeble gathering of bladed weapons is.

Let's get started with some of my favorite knives, fanned out in order of classification. Starting left and moving clockwise from 09h00, we have a rubber-grip short-blade knife by Richardson Sheffield (measuring 7" / 18cm hilt to tip, 3" / 7.5cm blade), followed by a downward curved paring knife by Wilkinson Swords (7.1" / 18.2cm hilt to tip, 3.1" / 7.8cm blade), which afterwards highlights a peculiar, non-serrated, stainless steel steak knife without a stamp (8.6" / 21.5cm total length, 4.5" / 12cm blade).

Moving on to the wooden handled knives, we start off with a stainless steel Raptor Lock-Back knife (7.5" / 19cm hilt to tip, 2.8" / 7cm blade), an unstamped stainless steel small game skinning knife (8.1" / 21cm hilt to tip, 5" / 12.5cm blade), and finally my current pride and joy, a hefty unstamped stainless steel hunting knife with 3 ivory bolts (10.1" / 26cm hilt to tip, 5.8" / 15cm blade).

And what about more exotic bladed weapons? Take a gander to the right, at the exquisite design of this Chinese-styled Dragon dagger. Measuring 12" / 30cm from tip to hilt, and 7.2" / 18cm blade length, I can proudly say that the varnished wooden handle and elaborately decorated sheath are the pinnacle of highlighting such an elegant oriental weapon.

The two wakizashi's immediately below are unfortunately no longer in my possession, as they have found their homes amidst the private collections of close two close acquaintances of mine.

As you can see, they were fairly decent in their own rights; the one on the left was more particularly my favorite, being of a far steadier blade and construction than the one on the right.

I wonder who said that Katanas could only be made of metal? Oh, they can be made of anything, really, but then they usually acquire another name.

Above, is my black Wooden Katana, or more correctly termed, Bokken - 38" of sturdy, wooden weapon for training / self-defense purposes. It doesn't have a hilt guard, but still has a very graceful allure when being wielded, not too distant from its steel relatives.

Below: A ruined, low quality katana

Not everything called a "Katana" lives up to that name, as I found out with a bitter smile. Above, the remains of my imported 5-fold processed steel sword after it barely made a cut in a hardwood sapling; the variety of which I have successfully hewed down with other katanas / swords. I primarily attribute it to poor manufacturing, as I constistently utilize the horizontal-to-diagonal upwards cut to flow with the grain of my cuts; it has proven very effective time and again.

As with most weapon care, there are also basic requirements for cleaning katana's, swords, knives, tanto's, daggers, etc. - this can also be quite time consuming.

There are 4 primary steps in ensuring quality care: oiling / greasing, waxing, sharpening and blade integrity testing.

It really is quite straightforward, and the only points I can stress heavily are sharpening to flow along the grain (never against it) and being gentle when testing for damage / blade integrity; excessive tapping can worsen the blade's condition.

In closing, my current pride of my collection, a short, black, 38" single-handed Katana with an exceptional gleam on the blade, emphasizing its tensile strength, sharpness and experience of the manufacturer.

My other primarily featured katanas have sadly found their way into collector's hands in the past 2 years at the prospect of what seemed to be fair offers at the time. I do have a sad spot of regret in parting with them, especially a particular red and white "snow" blade.

To say the least, "so we learn".

Air Rifles / Pistols.. and a Shotgun

2009-07-18T00:03:00.002+02:00

Some of you might raise an eyebrow at this, but keep in mind that like any "normal" sport / hobby, such as archery practice, air rifle shooting has it's own unique appeal.

My air rifle is a generic B2 550fps Air Rifle with padded black stock and pretty much anything else you'd expect to find with something you bought at a hobby shop; that is to say, it's just the bare bones!

In time, however, I've upgraded my prospective treasure by kitting it out with performance-improving lubricating oil, specialized 4.5mm / .177 pellets, a 4x20 scope (which was misaligned, so I removed it again...) and a Deluxe Gamo Camouflage rifle bag.

In the odd 2,000 shots I've gotten out of my air rifle, it's served me well, but there is only one thing more daunting than owning an air rifle: Cleaning it.

It's been nearly 3 years since I bought my B2 and in the two years, I took really good care of it by frequently cleaning and oiling it, checking all the components, tightening loose fittings and firing it at least 10 times afterwards to "freshen it up".

This is where reality rears it's nasty head and a working situation with long hours creeps in to steal what free "hobby time" you have. For the past 7 months, I've left it lying in it's rifle bag, hitherto untouched; it has accumulated minor rust along the trigger, barrel and front sights.

It's been frustrating me that I still haven't found myself with the time to clean it up yet, though I can only rack my brains on how to arrange my free time - a job that requires you to work at pretty much any given time is just not versatile enough to make room for personal life.

To say the least, my Sig Sauer SP2022 is less likely to suffer the fate of my B2, since I'll definitely have time to clean it, particularly since it'd only consume a meager 5 minutes to do so. Having sold off my Glock 17 a while back, I won't be including it in this article. If I should take to increasing my firearms collection, I'll consider revisiting this subject. For now, on with the show.

My Sig SP2022 is only 9 months old and has a blistering muzzle velocity and muzzle energy which still punches through standard window glass at 220ft and even though projectile distance coverage doesn't appear significant, I still wouldn't risk being haughty towards this pistol!

I just have to check the magazine, chamber and safety; probably not much to be done than a quick overall check; and then a few testing rounds!

And finally, last, but not least, I have certainly left my shotgun neglected.

The photo to the right is my actual shotgun; a modified generic G.60 with tapered barrel and rear sights. Its been about 4 months since I last touched it and give or take the 15 minutes I'd need to clean it up fully...

Well, let's just say that I'm hardly not looking forward to the grease.

Next Blog: Katanas, Wakizashi's.. and Knives

Solution: Facebook Graffiti Application Error

2009-07-10T18:35:00.001+02:00

If you've tried using the Graffiti App recently and found that it doesn't work, but instead shows either the layout box, empty, or as I get, everything says label label label and when you click, nothing happens, read on!

If you're using Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher (or Safari internet browser), make sure your Shockwave Flash Player is updated here: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

Restart your browser after downloading and installing the latest version, if you didn't already have it. After that, sign into Facebook and read below for the shortest quickfix ever:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2439131959&topic=11819

Now the Graffiti App works!

Hooray!

Earth is saved!!

Going Nowhere Quickly

2009-06-09T02:26:00.001+02:00

And what does one do when they arrive? Go somewhere else! :P

Yes, it's that time again in my life where I can sense impending doom, I mean, change! For the 4 months I've been a barman, it's done little to improve my finances, but in contrast, the vast level of social skills I've acquired is invaluable.

I've been hearing from so many people that my intellect is wasted behind a bar, and I could only agree - if I were intending on staying! ;p

Mark my words, and mark them well, when I stop being a barman, my life will be more than well! ^__^

Until I reach Nowhere, I'll keep going, because life is a never-ending journey. Once I get to Nowhere, I'll be on the road again, heading Somewhere. :D?

Also, I'm enjoying the most splendid cup of coffee I've had in ages; with chocolate chip cookies on the side. :)

Forum...?

2009-05-23T13:36:00.001+02:00

I've been working very hard on this along with Blake, though he didn't really do that much.. :C

http://www.gamingcc.tk

It's a largely varied gaming community forum and yeah... I don't know, it's just there for the heck of it. :P I wonder if it'll actually go anywhere...

2009-05-07T01:09:00.001+02:00

quite epic rly.