Category: Review

Under review today is the very unique Septimo folder by Green Beret, Jeremy Valdez. This one is more than a little unique in design and intended purpose! My First Knife I’m not exactly sure when I was given my first knife, but it would have been when I was about five or six years old. It was a two part set containing a Bowie-type fixed blade knife and a small hatchet. I longed for this set. And when my grandmother and grandfather who raised me had enough S&H green stamps (anyone remember those?), my grandfather went to the redemption center …

  If you want a custom-quality, harsh-use knife, then the ZT0920 that is under review today, should catch your attention. It is made by Zero Tolerance. Zero Tolerance Knives Zero Tolerance (ZT) knives is a division of Kershaw Knives, and they’re made right here in Oregon in the same plant where many Kershaw products are manufactured. Every ZT knife is only made in America. They claim their knives are over-built, and I’m sure not going to argue with ZT about this. We are talking about custom-quality knives that are every bit as well-made as any custom knives I’ve seen. I …

We’re taking a look at the collaboration between custom knife maker Bill Harsey, Ruger firearms, and Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) today. And this one is a real winner. Col. Rex Applegate and Custom Knife Maker Bill Harsey I worked full-time for the late Col. Rex Applegate for three years, and he was not only my friend but my mentor as well. He taught me a lot about knife and gun fighting as well as military infantry tactics. It was more than I ever learned in the military. Applegate had his Applegate/Fairbairn double-edge fighting knife made by Oregon’s own …

If your tastes run along the lines of the great Japanese knife designers, then you’ll really enjoy the SOG Knives Kiku folder. It’s under review today. Talented American Knife Designers I know many American knife designers, and they are some pretty talented folks. I got to know quite a few of them when I was the West Coast Field Editor for Knives Illustrated magazine, for which I wrote for more years than any other writer. So I had the opportunity to speak with a lot of custom knife makers/designers over the years. However, many folks believe that when it comes …

Today, we are looking at the S&W Model 66 stainless steel 2.75-inch barrel handgun on the popular K Frame. With so many requests from SurvivalBlog readers, we are covering this, another good ol’ fashioned revolver. Early Years Carrying a Revolver Truth be told, in my early years as a police officer, private security contractor, and private investigator, I carried a revolver for the simple fact that in Illinois, at least at that time, you were required to only carry a 4-inch barrel revolver when doing private security. As a police officer in various areas of the country, I was pretty …

We’re taking a very close look at the new Remington 1911 R1 Carry handgun today. It is quite a piece of workmanship. Remington’s Track Record Over the past several years, the Remington group, or the group that owns Remington, haven’t had a very good track record with new firearms. As a matter of fact, it has been one failure after another, in my humble opinion. We had the Remington REM380, and it had a lot of problems. Then, there was the R51, and I’m not totally convinced they have worked out all the bugs in this one just yet. And …

Regular readers will know that, as a rule, I’m not a big fan of small folding knives, but the Kershaw Shuffle DIY little folder deserves a close look today. Folding Knife Quite honestly, a mid-size or larger folding knife can do more chores better than a smaller folder can, most of the time. There are times when a smaller folding knife is called for. This is especially true when it comes to detail work. I’m a real sucker for a dual-purpose folder that can handle jobs other than cutting things. That is true as long as the added tools are …

Without a doubt, Springfield Armory came late to the dance with a sub-compact .380 handgun. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t know the dance or came with a new and faster two-step dance. Under review today is the new 911 from Springfield Armory. Back When I Carried a .380 Pistol Many years ago, when I was a young private investigator back in the Windy City of Chicago, IL, I carried a Walther PPK/S .380 stainless steel pistol in a shoulder holster. It was very chic to say the least. Back then, the only ammo available was Full Metal Jack …

The Immortal folding knife by Cold Steel may well be the most wicked knife they’ve ever produced to date. We’ll take a close look at it. From the very start, Cold Steel www.coldsteel.com has been a force to be dealt with in the cutlery field. They became famous for their version of the fixed blade Tanto knife, and I longed to own one. It took quite some time for me to save up enough pennies to get one. But when I did, I was not disappointed in the least. Even today, the Cold Steel Tanto is the best of the …

Whenever Ruger comes out with a new center handgun, people take notice. The all-new Ruger Security 9, 9mm handgun might just be their best offering yet. Ruger Security 9 – A Perfect 9mm Handgun For Every Day Carry Ruger never ceases to come out with more and more, and better and better products. Under review today is the all-new Ruger Security 9– a just perfect 9mm handgun for every day carry. Many Years Ago Many years ago, when I was working as a private investigator in Chicago, IL, my wife gifted me with a Ruger Service Six revolver. It had …

The all-new and improved Ruger PC9, 9mm carbine is under review. And this may just be the hottest selling firearm on the market right now. When Ruger Originally Came Out With PC9 Some years back, Ruger www.ruger.com came out with a PC9, 9mm carbine. However, the one draw back was that it only took magazines from Ruger handguns. While not necessarily a bad thing, many shooters wanted more; they wanted a compact little carbine that would take magazines from other gun makers. Still, the original PC9 was a hot-seller, and after it was discontinued demand was crazy. Used models were …

An outstanding “end of the world” handgun is under review today, the Glock 35. This one deserves a close look. Glock Handguns Truth be told, I’m not the biggest fan of Glock handguns for a number of reasons. First off, I haven’t run across anyone who says that the Glock line of handguns actually fit their hand perfectly. Secondly, I don’t know why Glock still insists on installing plastic sights, front and rear, on their handguns. What I do love about the Glocks is that they always go “bang” if you give them just the smallest amount of care. That’s …

I love value in a true every day carry folding knife, one that will get used hard but still stand up to the rigors of what a folding knife should be, and the new Kershaw Barstow folder is worth a close look. Kershaw Knives Kershaw Knives has been around since 1974. It is right here, in my home state of Oregon, not too far from Portland but just far enough from the maddening crowds. Kershaw never ceases to amaze me with all the new and very different knife designs they come out with each year. To be sure, and to …

By request, from our own Jim Rawles, we are taking a close look at the Remington TAC-14 shotgun. Unique in Barrel Length Something a little unique about the Remington TAC-14 shotgun is the barrel length of only 14 inches. Normally, this would be considered an NFA firearm and you’d have to jump through all the red tape and hoops in order to own one. However, Remington cleverly got around this in a number of ways. First of all, there is the overall length of 26.3-inches. Secondly, the very unique Raptor Pistol Grip gives the TAC-14 the much needed few more …