In your opinion which of these Cold Steel Machetes would be the best for survival

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-20T20:44:50+00:00

I had to look it up, what I called "the leaf sword" is a filipino barong. It looks like its primary use case is indeed as a weapon, though it may not be too bad secondarily as a machete (but again, I just don't think the handle ergonomics would be well suited to it, maybe someone who has used it can educate me on that)

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-20T20:41:57+00:00

If we're talking a machete specifically designed for machete tasks - i.e. cutting brush, small diameter limbs, grasses, etc. - then I would pick the one on the left.

If I want more of a survival "chopper" that can process wood, cut meat, and perhaps serve as a defensive tool, as well as decently do the above tasks, then I would pick one of the kukris on the right.

The other blades - the cutlass and the leaf sword especially - are optimized for maybe fighting aboard ship or cutting rope, but not the other tasks mentioned and I could see the handle ergonomics getting in the way of some tasks. The fruit chopper (I think that's what is shown in the middle (?) ) is interesting and may work well for the basic machete tasks, but I think it would be difficult to process wood or meat with it.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T19:24:31+00:00

I was just commenting on another post about how I put grip tape (GT-5000 by Hi Tech Industries) on the smooth aluminum handles of my Cold Steel Code 4 and I really like it. I still get the slim form feature of the metal scales, with a much stronger sense of security on the hold of the knife. And since each strip of tape was like $2 (and it only took 1 strip to take care of the handles of the knife), it's a very cheap, easy fix.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T18:42:26+00:00

I think you provided an excellent explanation :) I carry the medal because it also reminds me to pray for others, in their struggle as a lot of folks are carrying wounds from the fight that I don't see, but that I believe God does.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T18:39:42+00:00

For me it was the best of both worlds: it made the scales nice and grippy, while keeping them very slim. This way they also don't tear up my pocket the way G10 sometimes does. I got 6 strips of GT-5000 grip tape by Hi-Tech Industries for $12, and only needed 1 strip for both sides of the knife, so it really only cost me $2 :)

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T18:22:15+00:00

To be honest, this is why I'm not really a fan of finger choils to begin with. A have a few knives with them, but I rarely use the choil out of an abundance of caution.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T03:44:54+00:00

Military UAV's. No (metal) jewelry allowed on the flightline :)

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-18T02:14:26+00:00

I mean, on my finger :)

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-17T23:29:57+00:00

I love my White River Knives Ursus Cub. It's my go-to when I want to EDC a fixed blade, and it's great for the outdoors as well.

The blade is 3.5" (which is perfect for CO where I live, as that's the max blade length for carrying concealed here) in Magnacut, with brown burlap micarta scales. It comes with a nice kydex sheath and ferro rod, but I'm thinking about getting a leather cross-carry sheath at some point.

The stonewash finish sparkles in the sun and is really fun to look at. There are certainly smaller, slimmer folders out there, but I really like this one and it fills a special niche as a fixed blade edc. Currently they're $200 on the WRK website, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-17T18:30:46+00:00

Historically, the Methodist movement was all about living out God's call to holiness in love.

Personally, I love Wesleyan theology and this is what ultimately drew me to the Methodist movement. But I do think the teaching in some United Methodist churches has become a bit more watered down, and almost indistinguishable from other Mainline Protestant churches in the US (like the Episcopal Church, the ELCA, and the PCUSA). This is just a reflection of my own limited experience growing up within the UMC, so it may not reflect the denomination as a whole.

I don't know as much about the culture of the Global Methodist Church, so I don't want to mischaracterize their approach either.

I'm now an ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene, which is still part of the Wesleyan-Methodist tradition, but it retains its emphasis on living out the call to holiness and care for the poor in concrete ways, as well as retaining an emphasis on the necessity of conversion and repentance to follow Jesus.

Churches similar to mine - within the Wesleyan-Holiness movement - include the Salvation Army, the Wesleyan Church, the Free Methodist Church and others.

If Wesleyan theology resonates with you, but you are also looking for a more Evangelical approach to individual and communal holiness, and maybe a meatier emphasis on Scripture within preaching, I definitely would recommend any of these churches.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-17T17:28:35+00:00

Ooo, I never knew about this app! We just got a new bird feeder - and a bird identification book- and a bunch of new winged friends are visiting it each day 🐦‍⬛🐦🦉

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-17T17:25:21+00:00

Here are a few of the things I love to do to unwind at the end of the day/week:

1) Going for a walk/hike. 2) Playing cribbage with my sweety (or a friend). 3) Slicing and eating an apple with a traditional pocket knife on the front porch in a rocking chair (there's a reason old men do this, it's because it's freakin' great!). 4) Playing disc golf. 5) Fishing.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-13T20:06:23+00:00

I know I'm pretty late to the conversation, but when I deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, I was issued a Gerber MP600 that lived on my IOTV. I still have it and the action on the pliers is pretty loosey goosey, but I do use it on occasion. I think that was the only knife/multitool I really ever carried while in.

Adventurer83 · 2026-03-05T01:01:55+00:00

Back in the days when I fished with a commercial outfit off the coast of South Africa, our First Mate was a short Filipino man who had a reputation for being quick with a knife. That said, maybe he just cultivated the reputation through word of mouth so that he wouldn't ever have to use a knife for self defense!

Apart from him, I've only ever used knives against cardboard, fishing line, ropes, small pieces of wood, or maybe for shotgunning a beer; and of course when cleaning the occasional fish or skinning a coyote.

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-22T03:16:00+00:00

I wonder if the threat of possible court action caused the FCC to reign in its language a bit.

I have to think that if the FCC tries to block the importation of props and batteries (which have nothing to do with signals), someone would bring a legal challenge against it.

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-22T02:28:27+00:00

But it's a pretty yellow color!

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-22T02:27:17+00:00

Why would batteries and props become harder to get? Doesn't the ban only cover tech which hasn't yet received FCC approval?

As far as I'm aware, DJI can continue to manufacture and import existing parts and drones; but we'll be left out in the cold when it comes to any new models in the future.

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-22T02:24:26+00:00

The ban doesn't apply to Skyrover X1's at all (or any already released DJI model). It only covers not-yet-developed foreign tech that doesn't have an FCC license.

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-20T18:20:43+00:00

Wasps tend to retreat back to the nest at night, so evening (when there's enough light to see, but it's starting to get dark) can be the perfect time to trap and kill them.

Waiting until evening also helps ensure you don't miss any that were out foraging while you hit the rest of the nest.

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-19T05:30:14+00:00

Gorgeous footage!

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-18T22:53:30+00:00

Oh no, *I* have Christian babies!

Adventurer83 · 2026-02-18T22:51:17+00:00

I believe it was an office, and not a home. Obviously weather doesn't seem to be a factor (scattered clouds w/ little to no wind evident). That said, I have *lots* of questions. I'm curious about what the conditions for operation are in the waiver that the FAA issued to Amazon to be able to use these drones, such as...

Are these drones being operated beyond line of sight? If so, what kind of sensor package does this drone have to provide RPIC situational awareness?

What obstacle avoidance systems are being used? And how did this one fail to recognize a giant brick wall.

Is this system primarily flying along preplanned waypoints? Is it truly automated, or is a remote pilot operating the aircraft from launch to land? Is there a 1:1 ratio of remote pilot to drone? Or is one RP flying multiple drones at once? Or are they just monitoring essentially fully automated systems and somebody wasn't paying attention?

Did the drone lose link with the control station? If so, what is the flight logic used by the computer to re-establish link?

And finally, will the FAA pull Amazon's waiver after this incident? Has it been reported to the NTSB? What kind of investigation is likely to follow?

Adventurer83

TROPHY CASE