Day 365

I'm entering the last day of my fifty-second year.

That's not why I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, however -- I'm blaming the chicken wings.

In any case, my fifty-third year begins mid-afternoon tomorrow.

"Another day older and deeper in debt."

The former is inevitable. I'm glad to say that the latter is not.

Truth is, I'm enjoying an embarrassment of riches these days. The KintlaLake family is keeping pace with its challenges, I'm occupied with satisfying consulting work, and this blog is humming right along.

Yesterday I did some quick math on my PSK experiment. I'm not yet ready to write about it, but I've got the cost of the contents under $30. The kit accounts for most of the essentials: knife, fire, water, navigation, signaling, light, cordage and minor first aid.

Snare wire and a fishing kit may or may not get added before I'm through, but I think I'm pretty much done. Now it's simply a matter of putting it all together.

I have a KSF Fire Kit to write about, plus two more knives -- a hen's-teeth Victorinox Safari (Solo) Adventurer and a Bark River Knife & Tool Bravo-2. My first impression of the 108mm Solo is that it's a superb one-bladed pocketknife, plenty stout but too long for my PSK. The Big Barkie, on the other hand, is a whole different animal.

When I pulled the Bravo-2 from its shipping box, I was struck by its weight (just shy of one pound) and its size (over a foot long overall). But the moment that I wrapped my hand around the contoured Micarta slabs and presented the seven-inch blade, it immediately felt like a smaller knife -- much smaller.

As a fellow sharps guy observed to me yesterday, "Once you have the Bravo-2 in your hand, it just disappears."

Mike Stewart and his BRK&T crew pulled off quite a feat with this brute. Big as it is, it's very fast and "light in the hand." It'll never be mistaken for a chopper (and that's not a bad thing).

The Bravo-2's sheath is typical Sharpshooter fare -- which is to say that it's absolutely gorgeous. And I've already discovered that its eyelets mate perfectly to my BHK Small Work Horse's JRE sheath, should I ever want to carry the smaller knife piggyback.

Enough teasing. July's gonna be a good month.

Earlier posts
Sharps: Heartland blades
Sharps: Heartland leather

Links
BRK&T @ KnifeForums
KnivesShipFree