Flash of the Blade

I received a gift the other day, something I've been looking for and hadn't been able to find. It was a bayonet for my Turkish Mauser, courtesy of poster "Vaarok" from the Gunblogger Conspiracy Channel on IRC (Go! Look! I'm a "conspirator"! Yay me!). I had idly mentioned that I was looking for a bayo for the Mauser, and Vaarok offered that he had an extra one that might work. Before I knew it, a bayonet was on its way.

Now, it's hard to ship a bayonet. They're pointy, and heavy, and don't sit all that well in a plain cardboard box. So, needless to say, I get a frantic call from Mrs. G.

"Uh, Jay?"

"Yes dear?"

"Did you piss somebody off lately?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Is there a Police Officer there?"

"No, you just got a pipe bomb in the mail."

It had been sealed inside a length of PVC tubing, a brilliant solution to the issue of shipping, as the bayonet arrived in perfect shape. I'm just glad no one overreacted to the shape of the package and wound up calling the bomb squad to explode my shiny new pointy toy... Naturally, the very first thing I did when I got home was free the bayonet from its "pipe bomb", run up into the armory, liberate the Mauser, and affix bayonet...

And as an aside, thank you so much for your incredible generosity, Vaarok. This bayonet is perfect!!!

---

Naturally, this calls for a picture. I had intended to take a picture with another new knife - a joint GOAL/NES Buck knife, except that it hasn't arrived yet (wah!). So I decided to take a shot of the new bayonet with some of my favorite pocket knives.

Cutting Edge

Mauser bayonet and sheath in center; Gerber Paraframe and Kershaw "Ken Onion" Leek on the right; Victorinox "Pioneer" Swiss Army knife and Shrade "Old Timer" lockblade on the left.

The Gerber's my everyday knife. This is an inexpensive folding knife that I could, if need be, leave in a trash bucket or TSA drone's dish and not be out a lot of money. It's a sturdy knife, could hold an edge a little better, but hey, and it was under $20 from Amazon. Can't argue with that. The Kershaw's my "I need a sharp blade I can open with one hand" knife. That small blade is extremely sharp, as numerous cuts will attest. It makes a lousy pry bar, though. One of the big reasons I don't buy expensive knives is that I tend to, well, abuse my pocketknives...

The Shrade and the Victorinox are old favorites. The Old Timer was an impulse buy before my first camping trip, the so-called "Greatest Camping Trip in the History of Western Civilization". I was getting gear at Sears, I believe, and came across this knife on the clearance rack, something silly like $10. I couldn't resist. It was the perfect camping knife, and it even came with its own leather sheath. Well, that $10 knife has been one of the most reliable camping partners imaginable, cutting marshmellow roasting sticks by the dozen, stripping bark for fire-starting, and generally providing a sharp, durable cutting implement that's always on my belt when I need it. This is as good of a value as the Gerber...

The Swiss Army knife, well, that belonged to my grandfather. It was one of the last presents I gave him before he passed away, a small pocketknife to replace the one he'd recently lost. My grandfather was a tough guy to buy presents for; he tended to use things until they literally fell apart and could no longer be stitched, taped, or welded back together - living through the Depression will do that to a person. When Grampy ever said that he could use a new knife, I knew the perfect one for the job. It's compact, has all the tools you need, and has a textured handle for sure gripping. I knew the gift was a hit when he opened up the box, nodded, and put it into his pocket without a word.

And when he passed away, it was the one thing that I looked for in his effects.

---

So there's a few of my favorite edged items. What are your favorite knives?

That is all.