Police officers have changed quite a bit since then both in technique and in dress. Long gone are the full flap holsters and regular, non-breakaway dress ties!

Enjoy!

If you haven’t heard yet, I like custom handmade knives. Since the first Randall Model 12 Confederate Bowie I purchased new in 1978 for the hefty price of $200. Like many knives and guns I wish I still had, I miss this knife.

When I sold it, years later, it sold for $800. Yes, I turned a profit on it…but I still wish I had it!

With a custom blade you can get pretty much what you want, be it blade configuration, steel type, handle/hilt shape, handle/hilt material, etc. All of this, of course, comes at a price. You are not going to get a custom knife, generally, for under $250. Remember, someone is making this tool/weapon by HAND.

The two now accepted methods of making knives are:

Stock removal

&

Forging

Stock removal is basically what it implies. A piece of bar stock steel is used, the blade shape is drawn on the bar and cut out. Usually with a CNC machine or EDM but they are also done with saws. The resulting blank is then ground down with band sanders and grinding wheels to the desired shape and heat treated. Final touches are added and then sharpening.

Forging is all of the above with the exception/addition of: the smith actually makes the steel blank using molten metal like the typical blacksmith you see in the movies. A much more difficult and time consuming task.

A superlative blade can come from these processes.

However…

Modern production techniques and automated machinery can also turn out a pretty dammed good blade too.

You are most probably not going to get features you’d like to see in a blade as you would with a custom knife/sword, but you will get a decent, sharp, usable blade.

I’ve owned and carried some pretty big names in the custom blade industry over the years; Onion, Emerson, Hinderer to name just a few. As stated earlier, I love handmade blades.

I’ve also carried some of the best production knives too. Spyderco, Benchmade and Cold Steel.

But somehow, it seems most of the custom stuff wasn’t getting used. It would stay in my pocket or ended up living in the safe.

It actually took getting one of my Grail guns, a Wilson 1911 pistol, to open my eyes as to why this was so.

The Wilson pistol was something I’d wanted since the mid 80’s. The, then, epitome of the finest 1911 available. When I was able to swing it I ended up trading a high dollar sniper rifle AND cash for. But man, I was happy! Finally! After years of lusting and drooling over them I had my own! And what a tack driver! Smooth and sweet trigger pull. Everything I’d looked forward to.

But…

I was scared to carry it. It stayed in the safe.

Why?

Because… what if it were lost? What if I had to leave it in my truck because I ended up going someplace that didn’t allow firearms and the truck got jacked? What if, heaven forbid, I had to throw it in a canal?

That’s $2,500 worth of pistol gone!

I like to carry what I own. I like to use what I own. What if I had to do that with a custom knife?

An eye opening epiphany, to say the least.

I love Glock’s. I didn’t at first, die hard 1911 guy. But they work. They are accurate and they hold a lot of rounds in the magazine for the same amount of space taken up by a 1911.

Somehow over the years, I’d carry a custom knife but always ended up with a Spyderco back in my pocket. Those Spyderco’s would be used daily.

Same principle… the “What if?” Does that mean I don’t own custom knives or guns? No. But now I only get what I’m more likely to use. So I don’t have as many of the customs as I used to have but I do have more of the production blades.

The difference? About an average of +/- $200. Each!

The quality is still there, if not the custom features I like and want. I am a flexible martial artist though, I can make it work.

Hey if you want to carry an expensive knife/gun, go for it. I am not here to blame or judge you. It’s your style/way/life, enjoy it.

I will still buy custom knives and maybe the occasional gun, but I will still carry production.

Another issue is warranty.

A custom maker will almost always stand behind his product. If it fails or breaks in an acceptable way, they will almost always repair it.

But keep in mind; these folks are a one man/woman show. These blades are hand made by one man/woman. The majority of the time, this is the ONLY thing these makers do for a living. They have to make knives daily. Repairs will mostly be done when they have the time to spare from a project.

Some makers are very good with their customer service. Sadly, others are not. Many will have your damaged blade back to you within the month. Other you might have to wait months or in some cases years to get back.

Production knives on the other hand, can get quick turnarounds because they simply send you a brand new knife. They have them in stock. Chances are you will have a knife back in your hand within the same week!

Custom makers rarely have this wherewithal. They make each and every knife they have.

So if you are like me, an end user, you might want to consider what I have said.

Just food for thought.

The vid starts off slow with a long intro of 4 minutes but the rest is gold! I stick by my saying, “You can learn something from everyone.” You can. You just have to open your mind.

But today I took out the Crazy Frazee Forge Zombie Hunter XL and did some live cutting and chopping with it for both your pleasure and mine!

The video you see below was quite a bit of fun to film, if only I’d charged the battery! I was only able to film the water jug cut but that one is very nice!

As you can see I set up a 1 gallon milk jug full to the top with water. I then placed it on top of my canoe. Probably not the best place to perform with a live blade but it’s all I had. I have confidence in my own skill and control but beginners might want to try on a surface that you won’t be afraid to shred.

I performed a number 3 forehand horizontal cut on the jug, and on impact, I felt very little. It’s almost as if the jug were not there, so easily did the blade slice thru! The jug barely moved through the whole cut and stayed upright. Impressive!

Next I decided to “trim” a tropical hard wood fruit tree I have in my back yard. I have no idea what kind of tree this is. I have had three separate Cuban “guajiro’s” tell me it is definitely a Cuban fruit tree, but not one of them remembers the name!

In any case, this tree’s limbs are VERY tough. A machete takes way too long so, I usually have to take a chain saw to them no matter how thin they look.

I picked limb that would be roughly as thick as human femur. Much stronger than an ulna or radius bone of the fore arm and thicker too.

Due to the sway of the limb and the toughness the first slash went not quite all the way through…say 85%. You can see from the pic below.

So it took 1 and quarter slashes to get thru the limb. If this had been a human limb it would have been more than incapacitated, complete loss of the use of this limb. Blood loss would be severe.

The next on my list was to see how it would do on a 2×4. From a work bench project I had some 2×4 pieces left over that I saved just for this!

I stood an 8 inch tall 2×4 on top of another longer 2×4 as a base and this on top of a stone bench in the back yard.

In this case I used a number 7 overhand vertical cut or more commonly known as an axe cut.

Once again, resistance was minimal and the blade sailed thru the 2×4 and lodged in the bottom, base 2×4, almost before I knew it! In fact, it went over a ¼ inch into the base 2×4! I’m very glad I didn’t put a lot of strength into this cut as it might have actually cut into the stone bench!

As you can see from the pics above. Throughout this testing the blade edge showed no sign of rolling or chipping at all!  Not an uncommon thing to have happen even in machete’s!

Differential heat treating shows it’s best here! The black Gunkote finish just needed to be wiped off and it looks as good as new.

All in all I was even more impressed that I was in my initial posting. It’s a well made, tough and solid blade. Really more of a short sword than a knife, but it truly lives up to a being an incredible chopper!

Well yesterday the wife and I drove up to the facility. A good drive from Miami at around 215 miles, door to door, but it was a more than worthwhile the trip to get an exclusive tour of this facility!

From what I knew of the location, information gleaned mostly from the web site:

http://www.floridashootingresort.com/

the place looked pretty remarkable. I am happy to say that I was wrong.

It is awesome!

While it may be a little distant from Miami, it is centrally located in the state of Florida, with airport access through Orlando and Tampa bay, being the closest large airports. The local town Arcadia also has a small airfield.

The property itself is 2.5 square miles in size (1500 acres), providing more than enough room for shooting activities.

In fact the web site is just a hair off as to the shooting amenities. In Florida you are hard put to find a place that has a 500 yard range, only two that I know of in the southern half of the state. Only one thousand yard range by Lake Okeechobee.

Rocky Creek, at the moment, has one 500 yard range AND a THOUSAND yard range! These are TWO distinct and separate 12 position ranges! And get this…they have room for FOUR more thousand yard ranges!!

Both ranges are separated by a thick stand of Florida pines, so a course could be set up to travel from one range to the other through the undergrowth. Plans are in the works to have a video system in place to be able to check targets without having to walk (or golf cart) out to them.

The two bays of what I am calling, the Practical ranges, are bermed up and ready to go. Target stands are built or in process of being built. At 175 yards in width and 165 yards deep, this will let any instructor run pretty much any scenario he can think of. It is also set up so you can swap sides, so you don’t have the sun in your eyes either morning or afternoon! Nice touch!

A Pinzgauer All-terrain vehicle is used for transportation and logistical support to and from the ranges. How cool is that?

Now one of the major issues for any tactical type class, is and has been for me, lodging.

It’s a sad fact that most places that are set up for shooting firearms are poor places to stay, with limited amenities.

Not so at Rocky Creek Ranch! You can see that from your arrival at the main lodge! At first you wonder if you are, indeed, at a shooting range, as you can see from the pic below.

Your sense of wonder increases as you enter view the central staircase. Made totally of local Florida pine from and on the property itself, it is a thing of beauty.

As you can see from the pics below, pictures do, in fact, paint a thousand words!

Two spacious main floor bathrooms and 5 large bedrooms with private baths are almost decadent!

By the way, did I mention that the entire lodge is Wi-Fi? Well it is! A meal plan is also available, and I have to tell you, it’s world class cooking!

If you don’t mind lodging with others, there is a Bunkhouse option as well with full bath!

If you prefer to camp, this option is also available and incredibly beautiful!

The spacious camping area has its own dedicated outdoor shower facility and a covered outdoor deck with refrigerator and tables for setting up gas stoves.

The fire pit here has been engineered to show magnetic North through a “Rifle Sight” built out of the stone perimeter! Yet another cool touch!

All in all I was very impressed with this facility. Kudos go out to Chris Baden and his partner Gene Pollux for coming up with and bringing to reality a place like this in Florida!

A host of high end instructors have already set their schedule for using Rocky Creek Ranch.

Such notables as:

Chris Costa of Costa Ludus, former vaunted instructor from Magpul Industries

Travis Haley of Haley Strategic Partners, also a former vaunted instructor from Magpul Industries

Kyle Defoor, Pat McNamara and Jason Falla of Grey Group

Kay Miculek & Deb Ferns of Babes with Bullets

And these are only the first ones scheduled!

Although I don’t put myself in the same league as the above individual (yet!), I am also planning to use the facility for upcoming classes! So keep your eyes on my calendar!!

This is the Zombie Hunter, by Daniel Frazee of Crazy Frazee Forge. A mix of modern and longstanding design, a blade that can thrust as well as cut!

A 15 inch tanto point blade with a 20 inch overall length. Steel is 52100, differentially heat treated. It weighs in at 1 pound 8.6 oz. Just enough weight for the balance and to let the edge do the “talking”. I like the fact that the blade is slightly concave, as I feel that gives a better draw cut. It turns out this feature was from the heat treat. I would have preferred the false edge sharpened but that’s ok, I can more than make this blade work!

The grip is sure and with the parrot beak butt, not likely to fly out of you hand. Very Filipino looking! The front finger groove is under the main edge so you’re not likely to run you had up the blade if a thrust goes wrong or it hits something hard like a bone or belt buckle. It has minimal jimping or thumb ramp on the top of the blade. This is nice touch, as with a blade this size you are not really going to be using it for that type of leverage.

Point of balance (POB) is 2.5 inches ahead of where a guard would be, also nice. It swings very nicely, for me the balance is right. Not bad for a 15 inch blade!

I’ve actually lost a blade, swinging it, it was an old Collins machete that I’d had modified with a guard and an extra 5 inches of handle. I was chopping something  up in the back yard and due to the new gloves I was wearing at the time,  it slipped out and flew right into the canal. Never was able to find it. Don’t have that worry about that here!

The red/black G-10 scales are smooth but grippy with the contours, held to the hilt by 3/32 stainless steel Allen head bolts.  Fit and finish is excellent.

The sheath is well made. I remember the old Western Bowie sheath it is patterned from as I had one back in the 70’s. (Yes, I’m that old!)

I’ll put it thru some chopping over the weekend and add some more info and pics in the 2^nd part of this review. So far this is just my first impression, but I’m liking so far. A lot!!

In some lucky states there are shooting ranges all over the place, or at the very least, a place where one can go to get some sort of target practice in. Be it an indoor range or an outdoor range. It could be a patch of land out in the boondocks somewhere that has been used for that purpose for years.

It could be a home grown range of your own making on your own private property. In a perfect world this would be the best of all things!

Alas we do not all live in this perfect world. The rest of us have to rely on the above. And in many places the pickings are very slim.

Take for example my home town of Miami Florida. Technically speaking we only have one public range; Trail Glades Range off of the Tamiami Trail (SW 8^th Street) and Krome Avenue. It is a hundred yard range maximum. Only 32 of the positions are at the maximum of this range. The other 35 positions are handgun only.

On the left side of this main range is the Practical Range sometimes also called the Combat range. It has only 10 positions. On the right side is the Trap & Skeet ranges.

That is it for all of Miami-Dade County for publically funded ranges. As for private ranges there are only two listed in the Yellow Pages that are actually in Miami. Broward County has far more than we do here in Miami.

In the old days we just went out to The Arches, a defunct subdivision out close to Trail Glades range. There was a canal on one side and swamp to the other. Put out your targets and shoot at your own pace. Granted not everyone was safe, but there were surprisingly few accidents…in fact only one that I am aware of. This was not actually an accident. It was premeditated murder. William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt murdered 25-year-old Emelio Briel while he was target shooting at a rock pit. That rock pit was The Arches.

This pair went on to commit many crimes and were eventually shot dead by the FBI in the infamous Miami Shoot Out of 1986. The firearms used by the pair in their crimes were stolen from Mr. Briel.

This demonstrates some of the hazards of shooting in a non-sanctioned environment. Whenever I was shooting there I always was aware of my surroundings and who was shooting near me and how safe (or not) they were. If I noticed anything unsafe I would normally go mention something to them. It almost always worked. If it didn’t and they continued their unsafe behavior, I simply moved location.

I also always made sure to keep a loaded firearm on me and another close to hand at all times…just in case.

I feel that because of Florida being a peninsula and mostly at just above sea level we get the short end of the stick as to firearms training. Other states with lots of land to use folks can have nice places to shoot and train. For example Gunsite in Arizona and Thunder Ranch in both Texas and Oregon.

The reason I’m bringing this up is that I was recently made aware of a new place opening up here in Florida. Ok, it’s not Miami but still, it is a large facility set up ONLY for training groups of people with firearms. It will NOT be open to the general public unless they are taking a class there.

This place is called Rocky Creek Ranch in Myakka City, FL   http://www.floridashootingresort.com/

They have the best explanation, so from their own web page:

“This range consists of two shooting bays that support virtually every type and level of training course.

Two adjacent target lines separated by berming allow for simultaneous yet different instruction. Specialized shooting courses requiring large amounts of space for shooter movement and obstacle placement can be accommodated. 175 yards in width and 165 yards deep provides adequate room for any kind of training drill or scenario required. “

Having this type of space at your disposal can lead to some very cool training scenarios! Having two separate spaces leaves room for becoming very creative as well creating a safe shooting environment.

They also have the Slash Pine range, which is their long distance range. This is currently out to 500 yards, with a proposed increase to 1000 yards for 2012.

While not as large or specialized as the above mentioned sites or the huge U.S. Training Center (formerly Blackwater) it is still a HUGE step in the right direction for Florida. In fact one of the first instructors in the queue to hold a class there is Chris Costa, formerly of Magpul now out on his own after forming Costa Ludus. Ludus as in the gladiatorial schools of ancient Rome. I guess this make him a lanista!

I have been lucky enough to have been invited to visit and view this facility in mid- December and I very much look forward to it.

I will, of course, do a full write up of my visit along with any pictures I might take, and it will all be right here on this website.

This is the latest video from my friend and training partner Guro Tony Torre.

If you would like your own copy of this, you can get t hem at Paladin Press or email me directly.

I thought you’d like to see some kerambit in action!

Here is my friend and training partner, Guro Tony Torre, showing you his medicine ball workout.