Alright, I will start this review by saying I am fucking pissed! I’m not an expert on bladed weapons but I know enough to use them effectively and familiar with the types of steel, sharpening methods, and effective offense usage of one to be considered proficient with them. That being said, I fucking hate kydex.

Yea, I know this review isn’t about kydex its about the Cold Steel Tai Pan. Well before I did my review of this knife I decided to get a better sheath than the one supplied by its manufacturer. The problem was the manufacturer of this blade put the knife in some funky sheath that served absolutely no purpose. If this was a hunting knife then there wouldn’t even be a problem but the issue is that a dagger by its very nature is designed as an offensive weapon. You should never even have to worry about sharpening your dagger because its only designed for offensive situations and unless your constantly getting into knife fights the need will seldom if ever arrive. Therefore I needed a sheath that would give me great retention capabilities but also allow for a quick draw. I settled upon a nice kydex sheath from Survival Sheaths with a Tek-Lok.

As soon as my new sheath arrived I ramed my knife in it like a dick in a moise vagina. Big fucking mistake, perhaps there was some sand in there or perhaps the sheath was too damn tight (which is usually a good thing in a vagina) but it royalle scratched up my fucking knife!

Keep in mind I haven’t even used this knife yet and here it is all scratched the fuck up! I was lived. The tightness of the sheath made it virtually impossible to thouroughly clean and the kydex was formed so tight it would scratch a knife anyways. The retention of it wasn’t close to what I needed. Instead of a clean “snap” and “pull” it was more of a long drawn out slow pull with just enough force that as the knife began to clear the sheath you could easily whip it out with enough violence that it would come flying out of your hand. Not exactly what I wanted…

As for the knife itself, its great! I know some people don’t like Cold Steel products and their promoter is a little “over the top” this is a great knife. For what it is designed for you can’t find a better production knife on the market. Some people don’t like anything from Cold Steel just because its Cold Steel, to those folks I say this, “Grow up!”. The knife handles fast in the hand and despite its size feels lightweight. It came from the factory razor sharp and is of overbuilt sturdy construction.

You could buy a more expensive custom dagger or even waste your money on a shiny tactical pick, but why bother? I would pay up $400 for a knife of this quality.

Alright, so my original follows may have noticed I haven’t done a weapons review in an extremely long time. Well guess what motherfuckers there are a few conflicts going on in different parts of the globe and I’ve been busy. Hopefully by December I will be back stateside enjoying the companionship of my fellow countrymen but until that time y’all can fucking deal with it!

You know today I had a thought cross my mind, what is the combat mindset? What allows people to be effective in any environment, among any group of indigenous peoples. I was brain storming a bit today and noticed some character traits that did and did not work.

Independent thinker. You hear this a lot in the special operations community and business thinkers. CEOs of major companies such as Google and Microsoft state it but no one can even begin to identify some character traits that make a independent thinker. For one, I think someones background has a lot to do with it. When I refer to one’s background I mean what culture they come from. Are their parents immigrants? Do they have any unique attributes like the ability to speak a foreign language? Did they learn that foreign language at home? Was the person social and outgoing or a solitary and withdrawn? These attributes greatly determine the capabilities of one’s own individuality. In my line of work I have run across many people that couldn’t get past ethnic and racial differences in others and this precluded them from being effective members of a team in a foreign country. Their inability or in some cases flat our refusal to blend in and “do as the locals do” were big indicators of how effective this person would be in a real mission. Unfortunately many Americans come every foreign situations with a, “I’m an American and we are and always have been superior” attitude and it serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever. They’re will always be a few race-traitors in a indigenous group that will follow them but the hearts and mind of the entire populace think that they and their “mascot” local is a huge fucking joke.

Violence: Most people don’t understand violence or know how to use it. We live in society where its against the law to discipline your kids. Many confuse anger and rage for violence. Violence, unlike anger and rage, can be controlled and channeled with great efficiency. Think of violence like the action of a semi-automatic weapon. A small amount of pressure initiates a chain reaction that explodes violently yet controllable in a matter of milliseconds. In a flash, it is all over and the violence is done. The problem with most people is that they are only capable of executing any degree of violence by getting angry and now everyone knows their violence is coming. They use it sparingly and prefer to “scare” or intimidate others than resort to actual and definitive violence. When faced with the prospect of using it they usually hesitate and question if what they are doing is really necessary. Violent decisions must be made in split-seconds and some people just aren’t cut out for that line of work. In the same way not everyone cab be a NBA star not everyone can be an individual capable of effectively utilizing violence. In short, your either born a pipe-hitter or your not.

You know, in my experiences thus far I can honestly say that not every group of peoples have a country worth even fighting for. Hell, most of them don’t have anything worth fighting for. In talking with foreign nationals that are drafted into service to fight for their country and men that don’t even realize the importance or gravity of the training exercises they partake in I feel both sad and joy at the same time. Because I am not one of them, and they will never know what it is to be like me. They are elated at the day when their service is over and they can begin with real life and my only true fear is that I won’t be able to partake in this line of work together. Perhaps it is because I believe my country is worth fighting and dying for. We have the best food that is extremely high in protein, women that are voluptuous if not a bit temperamental (you take the good with the bad with Western women), and the most freedom compared to any nation on earth. We live in a society where reasons do not necessarily equate rules, and while someones personal choices may be unreasonable we are very adverse to making a rule for it. We are not socialist, we are not Europeans, we aren’t Africans and we aren’t asians. We are Americans, through and through and perhaps the only people who can even begin to understand us are those peoples from the Americas while the rest of world wonders just what the great colonialist experiment gave birth to. Some say that a people reflect their terrain and in the case of America this is most certainly true. Our geographic location reflects deserts, mountains, jungles, swamps, beaches, and the plains. Are people are just as diverse and while there are those who call themselves patriots and attempt to pit us against each other we have all been in this together since the beginning. Assimilation was our strength and diversity was our strength. We, the Americans assimilated not based upon race or creed but on thoughts and ideologies, that is what differentiated us from the old world, the decrepit world, the worlds of Europe and asia that we single handily brought back from the brink of annihilation in both world wars and the cold war.

But, I know, in the back of the mind and in my heart of hearts that perhaps the real reason I fight, and that all I am interested in fighting is perhaps it suits me? Perhaps some men are just built for this, I believe Ernest Hemingway said it best in an expose in Esquire magazine entitled “On the Blue Water,” with the following words,

Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter.

But even though, I couldn’t see myself picking up the sword for any country but one that championed the ideals of freedom and liberty.

This post was brought up by a discussion question how “man children”, women and other assorted untermensch manage to afford vacations while attending institutions of higher learning. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1067392

I have never understood the concept of a vacation. Leaving one’s place of residence and work in order to relax while using someone else’s money. Vacations are truly a concept of post-industrial nations, nations that have such an excess in wealth that they can even begin to consider the concept of not working for a prolonged period of time in order to engage in narcissistic and self-indulgent behavior.

It is truly a sad state of mankind when most of the world’s residence lives from hand to mouth yet a select few have such an abundance of resources they can choose to simply forgo work for a period of time in order to relax. The mere fact that one can forgo work for a period of time is hallmark to how easy their life must be and one would therefore call into question there need to relax even further by not working at all. I have never taken a vacation in my entire life. I may have relaxed for a few days, a few being not more than four but this was only after my first marriage at the constant nagging of my then wife. I didn’t particularly like the concept and saw it as extremely wasteful and narcissistic. Other people that consider themselves modern believe that they have “earned” the right to a vacation or that they “deserve” it. Such thinking makes me want to vomit. The only thing man has earned in this life is death and taxation, anything else is merely auxiliary to your overall life experience yet some people strongly believe that they are entitled to vacations, unlimited lines of credit, cars, houses, education, etcetera. It is this thinking which is why first world nations repeatedly fail and is surpassed by second world nations within a few generations. Just as Rome gave way to indulgence and decadence before being invaded by the Visigoths so too has my nation fallen into much of the same trappings that plagued our forefathers.

I read a book many years ago written by Miyamoto Musashi entitled The Book of Five Rings. The book had a profound effect on my life and changed I fundamentally thought about the world and myself. In it, the author exhorts a Spartan lifestyle which focuses in on duality. By this I mean that the author advocated that if one is to partake in activities outside of his training then it should serve two purposes. For example, instead of taking a vacation to Hawaii solely to take a vacation and just relax one should perhaps take a carbine, sniper course, a scuba class or earn a private pilot license. All of the aforementioned require the same amount of travel and new experiences as a vacation but also imparts knowledge and a skill set to the participant. Taking a vacation to an exotic location solely for taking a vacation is a decrepit practice for one’s personal physical and mental health. Most women fail to understand this and all too common so do many men. It is not surprising that a woman would never understand a lifestyle built upon building up yourself, those around you and the physical world in which you life for theirs is one of consumerism. However far too often many young men have spent too much of their youth in coeducational environment that only serves to corrupt their minds and physical bodies as they spend far too much time in indulgence behavior and pleasure seeking to truly develop themselves as a man. As such, these men are unfit to fight our nation’s wars, lead our nation’s trade and commerce, and run their own families. It is no wonder, with a generation of mentally intersex peoples that have gender identity issues that the divorce rate is so alarmingly high and birth rate so alarmingly low. It seems that in today’s society everyone tries to emulate the lifestyles of the merchant and noble classes despite being financially unable to do so. These people, having failed in their primary mission in life (IE to emulate the rich and “enjoy” life) end up being buried in massive debt before they reach their thirties birthday and are now unable to enjoy their life as they thought they could have by simply “living in the moment”. I have no mercy for these people as they chose the path of ignorance and self-fulfillment over dignity, honor and respect.

These people continue to toil in vain and after years of work they have succeeded in paying of most of their debt but have little to no real assets to their money. They liquid assets have been depleted by a extravagant lifestyle of consumerism and their hard assets are a hodpog of cheap electronics and designer clothes made by slave labor overseas. What do they have to show for their many years of work and suffering, where they a slave? No, a slave has no opportunity to save and all his shares go to his master but a fool has always had that opportunity but chose to neglect it. He has played all spring and winter and neglected to save any sustenance for the harsh winters. Unlike the squirrel who is busy gathering and storing his nuts for the winter, they chose to enjoy the spring breeze and live in the moment. After all why should life be about work all the time, why can’t one just simply relax? And therein lies the problem for the squirrel does in fact relax but not in the spring.

The squirrel got everything  while the “getting was good” and relaxed in the winter surviving of the hard work and diligence that he had done in the spring. So to0 must man gather what he can in the spring of his youth in order to relax and enjoy his remaining days in the winter? For to be young the hungry in the spring is bearable but to be old, cold and hungry in the winter is simply inhumane. How many of the baby boomer generations ask its own children for money? Did they not think this day would come when they were listening to records, going on vacations and enjoying their youth? Do they now think it is their children’s responsibility? Do they think it is appropriate to rob their spring and winter from their own children? The problems of today’s generation didn’t start with them but with their parent’s lack of foresight, fortitude, and decency.

This shit is fucking classic! Never laughed so hard in my damn life.

http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/japanese-vs-chinese-women-comparison.html

Japanese women vs. Chinese women: A little mean, but makes some good points! The list could also easily be called Japanese women vs Korean also.

1.Japanese women often teach their children to bravely fight the forces of evil, and even if they lose, it is still infinitely glorious, the highest honor.

Chinese women often teach their children that when they encounter the forces of evil they must be good at hiding/running away/avoiding. They say that God will punish them [the forces of evil].

2.Japanese women believe Japan is the world’s greatest country.

Chinese women usually believe that the moon may be rounder abroad ["the grass is greener"].

3.Japanese women usually believe marrying foreigners is a kind of disgrace.

Chinese women usually feel that marrying foreigners is a kind of infinite glory.

4.Japanese women are normally lady-like, but dirty in bed.

Many Chinese women are lady-like in bed, but dirty out of bed.

5.Most Japanese women abide by the rules of a woman, supporting her husband, raising her children, dutifully.

China is the world’s number one country for one-night stands and extramarital affairs.

6.Japanese women are almost all very filial, seeing their mother-in-law as their own mother.

Most Chinese women are all too eager for their mother-in-law to quickly die.

7.Japanese wives treat their husbands with encouragement and concern. Returning home late at night exhausted at the end of a day, the wife will say “you’ve had a tough day.”

Chinese wives treat their husbands with complaints and scolding. Returning home late at night exhausted at the end of a day, the wife will roar “where the hell did you go this time?”

8.Most young Japanese girls will find a man who is around their age to marry, and make a life with him together.

Young Chinese girls always find a wealthy “old” man, and don’t mind even being his Nth mistress/wife.

9.Japanese mothers teach their daughters to look after their husbands, and diligently be filial to her parents-in-law.

Chinese mothers teach their daughters that they must keep firm control of all the man’s assets.

10.Japanese women can tolerate men without money [poor men], but definitely cannot tolerate cowardly and weak men.

Chinese women can tolerate cowardly and weak men, but definitely cannot tolerate men without money.

11.Japanese women see manly men as the most charming men.

Chinese women see manly men as male chauvinists.

12.Most Japanese women are very lenient towards men’s infidelity.

Most Chinese women are very lenient towards their own infidelity.

13.Japanese women almost never say bad things about Japanese men in public or in the media.

Chinese women always loudly curse and mock Chinese men on various media.

14.The first words of Japanese women on their wedding night is: “If I do not look after/service you well tonight, please be forgiving.”

The first words of Chinese women on their wedding night is: “Hurry and see how much money was received today.”