Marbles Tramontina Machete 18 inch

The Marbles Machete is a quality piece of gear for your outdoor adventures into the thickest brush. It is made in El Salvador by Imacasa from carbon steel and comes with an orange protective coating on the blade, which not also prevents corrosion but should make finding it easier when you lay it down.

Also, this is one of the very few machetes that comes ”out of the box” (actually, there is no box that it comes in) with a fully sharpened and polished edge that shaves your arm hair ! This is unusual since a rough and only semi-sharpened edge is what you normally get for reasons of a low retail price on most machetes.

Another plus, at least for some people out there, is that the grip on the Marbles is longer and thicker than on many others. In the photos, it is compared to my 13.5 inch bladed Tramontina, which is always a bit tight for my hands. So if you happen to have big hands or prefer working with gloves on, you might like this aspect a lot !

 The Marbles blade is relatively thin and fexible, as befits a working machete that you can swing all day long without undue fatigue. Sadly, you cannot evaluate a chopping tool in a store or via the internet. It is always a matter of trial and error and personal preferences after a few hours of heavy use.

Opinel No. 10 – my favorite of the breed !

Considering what they cost, every Opinel folder is a bargain. The Model 10, however, is my personal favorite of them all. The blade is almost 4 inches of carbon steel (stainless steel blades can also be had) with an overall length of 9 inches. Even huge hands should find it roomy enough. Naturally with these knives, there is no “choil” to waste blade potential for carving or heavy cutting.

As you see in the pictures, I like to modify my Opinels a little, carving or grinding down the butt end of the handle with a Dremel tool, adding deep circular grooves around the grip and a little filework on the spine. The Virobloc system keeps Opinels safely open (or closed, if you want) for all thinkable cutting tasks. The full flat scandi grind works like a straight razor in most materials. Also, these knives are extremely lightweight.

Opinels do not, of course, open with one hand and they do not look like they can be used for the War On Terror, but if simplicity is your idea of perfection, you should own (at least) one!

Kershaw Echo 1070 C hunting knife

The Kershaw Echo is a made-in-china knife designed for hunters by Ken Onion. OAL length is 22 cm, a blade length of 97 mm with a thickness of almost 4 mm. Weight is 150 grams, a Mora Clipper compares at only 80 grams. This is a stout piece of equipment despite it´s small size and the tip of the 8CR13MOV stainless steel blade remains quite thick to the very end. I cannot imagine a task that would break this baby! The handle scales are very ergonomic, the recurve blade shape is perfectly suited for hunting or skinning tasks, while in general outdoor applications it is probably not so ideal. The sheath is simple, but robust. Four rivets hold the belt loop in place, the knife itself is held in place only by friction.

Casio MRW 200 “Beater” Watch

If you are on the market for an inexpensive watch with “tactical” or diving styling, I can recommend the Casio MRW 200 series.

Do not expect too much lume quality from it and the turning bezel is only press fitted, but works. It is a decent size at around 40 mm without the crown. The strap is very comfortable and fits even larger wrists.

The military numbered dial version that I have reminds me quite a bit of the Breitling Colt.  Maybe I will get the MRW200H-1B2, too. There are four variations of the watch face available at the time this is written.

Cold Steel Mini Tanto Vintage Boot Dagger

I love good-looking and/or classic knives, but I am not a collector in the true sense. I do not buy knives based on specific models, their variations or manufacturers. I buy only those that I really like or love. They have to fit my hand and their design has to make sense to me. However, lately, a Cold Steel Mini Tanto came along for a nice price on an internet forum and I had to have it.

4.25 inches of AUS8 blade steel with a total weight of 123 grs. What´s more to like ? This is a great boot knife and belongs under the garter strap of the next Bond girl. 

Cold Steel has discontinued the model and the first ones were made with a brass handguard that did not look like a tsuba.

Senator Windsor fountain pen

Recently, I got another piston filler from ebay that is probably rarely seen outside of Germany. The Senator “Windsor”. Judging the quality, I would rate it clearly below the “Regent”. It is a very smooth writer, puts down a finer line than a medium Pelikan M200 and is about the size of the Pilot 78G. Mine came unused with packaging and manual and so far, I dipped it only in ink to check the general writing characteristics.

Swiss Caran d´Ache 848 ballpoint pen

I like the classics of modern design. A giant step above the Bic Cristal, the 849 has been in production since 1969, over 15 millions have been made in Switzerland. It is exactly 5 inches in length with a one-piece hexagonal aluminum barrel coated with an elegant lacquer finish, outfitted with a super silent clicky mechanism. The smooth writing Caran “Goliath” refill lasts forever and the pen will work with a Parker Jotter refill, too. Anyone who appreciates fine every day gear, should like the 849 a lot. Many, however, find it to be a bit too shirt and too slick. Try one before you buy.

Condor Hudson Bay

I just received this massive, traditional wilderness knife yesterday. This is the new version with the “hammer-forge” finish that looks quite credible. The carbon steel blade is flat ground with a convex edge that slices paper right out of the box. The wood handle scales and pins are very nicely fitted, the people at Condor in El Salvador seem to take great care considering the retail price. This knife is a steal if you need a simple brute of a blade. Weight is a tolerable 444grs without the nicely made sturdy leather sheath.

Gerber Survival Knife vintage ad

Caught this one in a 1981 issue of the “American Handgunner”. The small Guardian must have been new by then and apparently they made reference to the many copies of the Mk II and Command Models. The latter are not fully double edged and were meant to give more utility to the design. A futile attempt imho without making changes to the grip section, so maybe the markets outlawing double-edged knives were the reason for these “semi-daggers”.

Cold Steel Voyager 2011

A few weeks ago, I received my “large” size CS Voyager (29TLC) from the latest series of 2011. We are talking the 10cm / 4 inch version with a blade thickness of slightly more than 3mm AUS8, made in Taiwan. The latest Voyagers look quite a bit more “bad” than the earlier ones from years gone by.

I cannot say anything bad about this knife itself so far, however. Rock solid Tri-Ad locking, smooth opening, light in weight, easy to resharpen and not so expensive that you could not stand a loss. The handles are lined with aluminum, the sandblasted blade has a nice bowie curve to it, the pocket clips come in ambidextrous versions.

This knife is a good combination of utility and fighting design aspects combined into a single piece of equipment. The 29TLC Voyager is a good bit beyond what some people consider “EDC” in size, but the ultra-reliable lock that comes with the knife might be worth the extra size. Also, the grip design will afford you some 5 inches of reach beyond your bare hands in a defensive situation. You can always easily choke up on the grip for utility work.

The knife retails below 50 US-dollars on the street. A bargain compared to some other offerings which cannot give you the Tri-Ad safety. There is a somewhat menacing look to it, simply due to it´s size, so you might consider backing this knife up with a keychain folder for social purposes.

Even though this a one-hand-opening knife with ambidextrous studs, the closed blade offers more than enough exposed “meat” to get it open by simply gripping the spine. For some operators, especially those wearing gloves while using their knives, this is an important aspect.