Weekend Open Thread: Invasion Interruptus Edition

H. Clay Aalders
Weekend Open Thread
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Hey There Sports Fans. It’s Friday, which means that it is Weekend Open Thread Time. The week has been crazy, Press Day for the August issue is next Wednesday, but the fam and I are headed up to Cleveland in the morning for the 4th and for my mom’s birthday. So I have been trying to get my Knife News column written ahead of time. Partial success. Two of four are turned in (new Spartan folder and Ocaso Seaton) and the material gathered and high res photos obtained for the other 2 (White River/Liong Mah collab and Vosteed Mayhem). Each knife news item usually involves 4-5 emails or calls back and forth to the individual point of contact. To make a long story short, I realize I sucked with the news feed this week. Apologies.

Like last week, we have a theme, and unlike the submersible implosion from last week, there is less squeamishness about sharing memes about it.

 

 

What is kind of funny is I had the news on on Friday night last week, and began to hear the grumblings that something was happening in Russia/Ukraine. I didn’t think too much of it as I went to bed, but when I woke up there were mercenaries marching on Moscow. By the end of the day it had all fizzled out, with nothing left but the memes…

I was worried that someone might take offense, so I was really pleased to discover the contrary…it led to a really great discussion about submarines and Hocky’s experiences aboard them.  If anyone wants my two cents…I think Hocky should have a pair of submariner’s dolphins (or replicas if that would be blasphemy) embedded in acrylic handle scales, rather than try to make the handle submarine shaped. I do think it is a cool project piece regardless of what choice is made.

I figure the best way to break things up this week is to hit all the Russia Coup memes, then the Event Calendar, Submersible memes, Giveaway Drawing, and then finish with all the non-theme memes.

In case you missed it, the Wagner founder is an ex-con who once ran a food cart. He did well for himself if you ignore the international arrest warrants and all.

The coup ended with a whimper…

 

Not even a dull thud…

That happens when Putin gets his revenge.

Changing gears, We are still in a lull with regards to knife shows. Especially this Independence day weekend. Next show isn’t until the middle of August.

The New England ABS Hammer in is still the next thing Mark has listed.

ABS New England Hammer-In

 

Be sure to keep an eye on the Knife Magazine Events Calendar to stay abreast of what is going on.

There are still a few submersible memes that are not in too poor of taste to share here.

Don’t laugh, the toy looks like the only thing that survived…

Y’all actually discussed this…

If you don’t understand this, google “Marvin Heemeyer” or “Killdozer”…

 

Heemeyer was actually a douche-canoe. I will put my libertarian credentials against anyone, but he is undeserving of his folk-hero status. He brought most of his problems on himself.

Speaking of our submarine conversation, I just discovered the old “Silent Service” tv show episodes on YouTube. I have been binge watching all of them, though the Cod episode was particularly cool since it is in Cleveland as a museum ship and I have been on it several times.

Cool series. My father in law said he used to watch it as a kid with his WWII Navy vet father.

Moving on to this week’s drawing…The large Browning Sage Creek fixed blade goes to Mark R. who is our winner.

 

Our next drawing is going to be for one of a pair of Ocaso Knives Strategy flipper. Ocaso, for those who don’t know, was founded by Ric Valdez, a former VP at Cold Steel, who, like the Demkos, left when the company was sold to GSM Outdoors. Andrew Demko, in addition to being a long time friend and work associate, is one of Ocaso’s stable of designers.

The Strategy is a Mike Wallace design. I believe that Mike also worked at Cold Steel, though I am not 100% on that fact. He now works for the Demko brothers, but they allowed him to work with Ric on this design. It is a D2 liner lock flipper, and is available in 5 styles. I will be testing and writing a full review of the Carbon Fiber, and Katie and Vince are each taking one to contribute a paragraph a piece to my review. It should be fun.

I don’t know which one Vince will pick, I haven’t seen him this week. Katie snagged the smooth black aluminum handled one. The remaining two will make up the drawing.

This will be a multi-week drawing, where you need to be drawn twice to win. The knives MSRP for is $150+. They are made in Taiwan (free China), and are nicer than I feel comfortable giving away so capriciously.  5 comments or replies are your entries, the first time you are drawn, you get a “token”, the first person to be drawn first gets their pick of the pair, and we will keep drawing in subsequent weeks until another person gets their second token and wins the other knife.

I hope that made sense. Good luck everyone.

 

Dear lord that is a monstrosity.

See Mike Run.

Analysis: True

That is the best meme of the week imho.

That explains a lot.

She isn’t wrong.

Pardon the profanity on this one, but it wouldn’t work without it…

I like grammar memes.

Sounds terrifying.

This should have been…

That one was good, this one is better…

 

Bonus points if you can name them…

Even more points if you can name their weapons.

Someone needs to teach her OpSec.

Pass.

(*rimshot)

Only 1 DnD meme this week. Mmm…musky.

Beef Wellington is a few steps away from a PopTart.

That’s harsh.

Well…duh.

Have you heard about the Orca attacks off Gibraltar? Yowza.

Indeed.

I have questions.

Seems like they missed an obvious one.

Could be a toddler too.

Holy Toledo.

Nice try Skynet.

Good advice is hard to come by.

 

My local tire store and oil change place has one.

And with that, I’m off to bed. Have a wonderful Independence Day everybody.

My feet are the only part of me I need covered.

 

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H. Clay Aalders

H. Clay Aalders is a lifelong edged tool user. He spent the past 20 years as a woodworker and fishing guide in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Tennessee. While guiding in Idaho, Clay worked part-time writing for a local newspaper, and upon moving to Tennessee began writing for the blog The Truth About Knives - spending his last 5 years there as Managing Editor. His background is in fixed-blade hunting and bushcraft knives, but has jumped into the world of vintage slipjoint collecting with both feet since coming to work at Knife Magazine. Clay’s primary role is as Digital Editor, curating and creating new content for our website and blog, as well as maintaining the Knife Magazine social media accounts (FB/IG: @theknifemag, Twitter: @knifemagazine). He is also a contributor and Associate Editor of the print magazine.

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22 Responses

  1. twenty five years ago we were thrift shopping for a tandem perambulator. the resale shop had a vhs box set of every bullwinkle episode. one of the odd things my kids grew up on. forund a dollar red skelton dvd at walgreens etc. we all know boris’ last name, but natasha’s is fatale.
    the game controller image is believable or it’s deliberately grainy. either way.
    heemeyer was not a nice man. and he destroyed some historic architecture. but i just can’t not raise a glass to his revenge, even if he brought it upon himself. very impressive, and kudos i say.
    the easterhenge image is excellent.
    the kinky pirate kept a steering wheel down his pants. “y’aaar, it’s driving me nuts.”
    i remember removing the writer’s cramp pencil as being impossible without fetching some thinner tweezers. “bzzzzt!”
    the donner picnic image is classic.
    i think i’ve mentioned this but… when there was a tv guide the one from the daily news had a legend symbol black dot. next to this were the words “denotes children’s show, they would place it next to kids programs. i though for years that there was a show called the “dentist’s childrens show” that came on before the farm report because, face it, we were up at 4am, not 6.
    i’m a wigwam,i’m a teepee. you’re two tents.
    16hrs yesterday, only 8 today, 16 tomorrow. eh, la. they lied about the job, i lied to get the job. we’re even.

    Reply

    1. CMEAT, you made me laugh this morning . . . “driving me nuts”, “. . . two tents”, which brings me to “SAK tweezers”. Previously, I expressed my view that a “SAK” without tweezers is not a complete “SAK”. Yesterday, while trimming some prickly bushes (. . . OK, get your brain out of the sex arena), I got stabbed by a few karambit-like thorns. Some got embedded in my forearms. Fortunately, I had my garden-SAK in my pocket. I tweezed out a couple; and, I used the spear-blade to “scrape”** out a few of the talon-like points. (**The scrape technique was learned by me as a kid to remove bee “stingers” . . . Thanks, Mom).

      On another note, laying the electrical conduits underground for the power to my sheds required using a trenching machine. This “trencher” cut a clean 4-inch wide path, 18-inches deep on a 125-foot run. Yes, this is about “volume” but nothing to do with submarines. So, I have a very long rectangular hole; and, I have several cubic feet of dirt to fill in the hole. Well, I shoveled, hoed and raked most of the dirt into the hole over a couple of days and the rain aided in settling the dirt. Finally, I achieved a well-defined and level strip of ground to re-seed. So, how come I moved ten 6-cubic feet (60 cubic feet) wheelbarrow loads of dirt? The only things in the trench were two 1-inch PVC conduits . . . Head scratcher. BUT, I have some rich soil piled in the garden area!

      Reply

      1. without getting into 3.14 (mmm… pi) some simple (math is hard) stuff gives us over 20cu ft. displaced by those two conduit runs. that soil had been beaten down and compacted by rain, traffic and sun for who knows how long, my point being backfill is always loamier. even if you had just filled it back in without laying pipe you’d have had leftover dirt (squirt, hodaka).
        which brings me to long boring story. my bil wanted gas line (yellow stuff) to run heat out to barn. my pal doyle (r.i.p.) gave me a coil from plumbing supply. i wore it like a stack of hula hoops and as the guzzi was down for a hundred thousand mile clutch (split frame tonti hangin from the garg rafters by ancras) i straddled the sl350 and began stipolight filtering my way to jeff park. as luck (?) would have it i took the door off of a honda accord that was thrown open in my path by a polish gal who immediately began chastising me. but there adjacent to us was a paddy wagon from which emanated the words, “you can’t do that” to the driver (technically you’re not supposed to open traffic side doors, archaic). so she got the ticky. i pushed the bike the last block and went back to meet the traffic cops who asked to see the bike. it had the plate from a gs550 on it so i told them it was a zook and the number. satisfied, they took my word. i was pretty battered and bleeding so when i got to my alley gate eileen, a cpd along with her husband ron (r.i.p.) met me with a big glass of brandy. she had to get out of the kiddie pool which she had submersed herself in fully uniformed after a shift at the friendly confines, service pistol and all. it was hot that day.

        Reply

        1. You had me at “. . . backfill is always loamier”. Kinda makes sense . . . Ah! “pi”, that “3.14” into infinity thing . . . Make mine a cherry pie in a circle shape and I will slice it into isosceles triangles.

          And, long live the Pythagorean Theorem!

          Reply

  2. I’m in the UK getting ready for 4th of July, but I suspect it will be that much if an event over here.

    Reply

  3. Memes on this “WOT” were thought-provoking. I despise Putin. Something about his beady little eyes. The “Wagner King” should challenge him to a duel. “Easter Island – Stonehenge” connection makes sense from outer space. The mighty “,” as the kinky pirate says, “Bite me arsehole!”, . . . grammar DOES MATTER. I think the four people are: (L-R) Ringo, Paul, John and George. After a Maker’s Mark, they may be Vlad Lenin, Joan of Arc, Karl Marx and Al Pacino (Serpico). Brings me to “Tannerite” . . . binary explosive. Ammonium nitrate (oxidizer) mixed with aluminum powder (fuel) = approx. one dynamite stick. Stable stuff until you smack it with an object traveling 2000 fps . . . Guns and Explosives on the 4th.
    And, “Klinger”, who just had his “89th” birthday and IS Lebanese-American from Toledo, OH. My neighborhood garage/gas pump station, “May’s”, has the “Lucas Oil” gear thing. Always fun to play with . . . “May’s” is similar to “Wally’s” on the Andy Griffith show. Gomer and Goober . . .

    Pawnshop finds: “Schrade 8OT” in excellent condition. The “8OT” was one of the first “Old Timer” slipjoints circa 1960. Finally, I got a rechargeable flashlight: ThruNite TN12 Pro. The one Li-ion battery is a 3200mAh (I liken it to an ICBM!). It has a bunch of LED levels from “Firefly” to “Turbo”. The “Turbo” mode projects at 1800 lumens (heck, I do not know what “one lumen” is . . . but, 1800 of them lights it up! I reckon a lumen is like a BTU in some respect.) I did discover that after two minutes or thereabouts in “Turbo” the LED end of the flashlight get very, very HOT!

    My work shed now has POWER!! 60-amp sub-panel, GFCI receptables inside and outside. A-Oogah!, A-Oogah! . . . Plenty of lighting interior and exterior. Nearly 400 sq.ft. to organize into my “Pops Shop”. Already have my 89-lb Peter Wright anvil set up.

    Reply

    1. Happy Independence Day to you and all the American WOTers Hocky! I will be thinking of you all and grilling some Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. The Stuart River run happens in July, always the best and freshest fish coming down from the cold northern waters. The color and taste is amazing. There is a September run, but not the same. Enjoy your Day everyone!

      Reply

    1. Nothing too big. I’ll be manning the grill. Menu to be finalized later-probably going simple-hamburgers and hotdogs. Maybe grill some corn on the cob.
      Oldest and her family will be here. Our city does a nice forewords show. We’ll take in that.
      Family, food and fireworks! It’ll be a great day!

      Reply

  5. Another great job on the memes Clay, as for another week of surreal events, no doubt you had lots to sort through. I think most of here get, and appreciate what it takes to look after the WOT and Knife News sections here!

    Happy Independence Day on the 4th to you and all the American WOTers!

    Congrats on the Browning Mark!

    As for the Hocky Sub knife; Inlaying the dolphins in an epoxy base sounds like a terrific idea, I could get them scrimmed on mammoth or ivory micarta from my bud Beauchamp, no cost for the scales or scrimshaw. Also could get them engraved on 416SS bolsters, but my engrave would charge and he is very slow???

    Lots of choices, Hocky needs to weigh in, I can make the knife out of the Sub steel if someone sources some, or RWL34. I haven’t made the epoxy scales, but lots of artists are doing incredible work and not charge much. Just need the insignia’s or replica ones like Clay mentioned.

    Reply

      1. Hey Del, I’ve been meaning to ask, how long does it typically take you to make a knife from design to finished product?

        Reply

        1. I usually have about 8 to hours in a knife, that is from design, profile to completion Steve. However like most makers we complete 10 or more of our popular models at same time finishing the blade only. Customers check the “finished blades”, choose their handle and guard material. Then we do the finishing stage. I can finish several handles and sheaths at once in a couple days, 24 hour wait for the epoxy.

          Reply

      2. Lots of thinking going on, forget who threw that first spark, Hocky is enjoying the resulting flames – Me too, Clay and everyone fanned pretty good, can see the smoke from up here in B.C. 🙂

        Reply

          1. I know, that polite aspect must have some truth to it Mark; Every year where I live we get smoke from all over, our local ones but the wind blows both ways. So California, Oregon and Washington fire smoke all blows here at some point. We just never complain, neither do those in Washington, Oregon or CA?

          2. Clay will confirm my reply, for extra bonus points! Think he guided lots around the Pacific Northwest! 🙂

  6. What a fun collection of memes this week! Love Klinger as a Disney princess! But soooo many great ones! Thanks Clay.
    I love the idea of Dolphins for a shield! I thought maybe stabilized white oak burl (the state tree of Maryland) as a handle material- but an acrylic the color of the Bancroft’s exterior could be cool. I’m assuming it was some shade of black rather than battleship grey. If so, maybe orange liners (another tip of the hat to Maryland).
    And because I remember getting up early to watch real cartoons on Saturday morning-I learned several life lessons watching Buggs et al-I genuinely appreciate Boris and Natasha, as well as Buggs. They don’t make them like that anymore. Sigh.
    My son loved TMNT. So I know the artists names, and I even recall the color mask each of the turtles wore on the tv show! There are bonus points after all!
    My son, would know the weapons!
    Leonardo blue, Raphael red, Michelangelo orange, and Donatello purple.
    And thanks for the new knife!
    Have a great weekend all..and stay out of the water!

    Reply

  7. Leonardo: katana
    Rafael: sai
    Michaelangelo: nunchucks
    Donatello: Bo staff
    Nice knives!
    This week had some epic make me laugh memes, thanks!

    Reply

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