3 Rough Ryders From SMKW.COM – and yes – I’m already done Christmas Shopping . . .

I always try to get my Christmas shopping done by the end of September or the beginning of October – happy to say I’m finished Christmas shopping – and YOU??

These three from Smoky Mountain are not gifts per say – the sunfish is for an attempt at scrimshaw – the Christmas knife will go in the case – and the third could be construed as a gift from me to me . . .

First up a Rough Ryder White Smooth Bone Elephant Toe – RR139 – <<<CLICK HERE>>> – picked up to use an an attempt at scrimshaw . . .

Good looking knife – long match strike nail nicks – not too bad fit and finish wise – it will be an inexpensive “sacrifice” if I screw up the attempt at scrimshaw . . .

Love the Elephant Toe / Sunfish pattern – and this one is real nice for the price . . .

Bolster to scale fit is good . . .

At a retail price of $16.99 I am not going to complain about the tiny gap between the springs – at least it’s consistent down the length or the knife – the gap between the spring and the liner?? For the price point I’m happy with it – and again – it’s pretty much a sacrificial offering upon the altar of “first attempt” at scrimshaw – LOL!

Looking at using an engraving laser to etch with – load the art work up – push the button – ZAP! – engraving done – add India Ink – and done – I hope . . .

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Jingle Bells – Jingles Bells ( and for YOU – and we all know who YOU are ) – Here is the Rough Ryder 2021 Merry Christmas Trapper – RR2392 – <<<CLICK HERE>>> – and it is neat! From Smoky Mountain –

“The Rough Ryder 2021 Merry Christmas Trapper features 3.12” 440A stainless steel clip point and spey blades with match strike pulls, half stops, and reverse frosted “Merry Christmas!” and “Rough Ryder” blade etches. The handles are full color acrylic animated lenticular with nickel silver pins, nickel silver slant R bolsters, and brass liners. It’s 4.12″ closed and weighs 4oz. Rough Ryder is always built by hand and backed for life.

This knife is animated with the spirit of Christmas! To watch the show, just turn the handle slightly. On the front, Santa leaps into the chimney and his “Merry Christmas” greeting turns from white to red. On the back, the elf jumps and the lead reindeer turns his head.” – The bold emphasis is mine . . .

You don’t even have to wrap the box – a name tag and a bow – you’re good to go!

All around a real cute Christmas knife . . .

It would make a neat gift for that someone that is hard to buy for – a note to you gals out there – most guys would really get a kick out of this and it’s not really something that they would ask for OR buy for themselves . . .

Decent fit and finish . . .

Actually good fit and fish when you factor in the $14.99 price point . . .

I don’t want to say how many pictures I took trying to show the ” lenticular action ” of the scale pictures before I said it just ain’t gonna happen – no more . . .

As you move the knife the elf jumps up and down – and the lead reindeer looks back over his shoulder at the elf , , ,

And Santa jumps into the chimney – pretty heady stuff right there – I’m Telling You!! – LOL!

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And after looking at these three – saving what I think is the best for last – Rough Ryder Copper Swirl Lady Leg – <<<CLICK HERE>>> – From Smoky Mountain –

“All the knives in the Rough Ryder Copper Swirl Series feature mirror polished 440A stainless steel blades with match strike pulls. The handles are black acrylic with copper swirls, brass liners, nickel silver pins, and copper bolsters. This Rough Ryder Copper Swirl Lady Leg features a 2.125″ clip point blade. It’s 3.25″ closed and weighs 3.52oz. Rough Ryder is always built by hand and backed for life.”

The pictures of Lady Leg pattern knives interested me – and for $9.99 – I thought I would grab one – I am a fan of the pattern – they are visually appealing – and the copper swirl scales with the copper bolsters are to me visually interesting – the pics do not do it justice – a real piece of eye candy . . .

Not a very big knife . . .

Fit and finish over all is pretty good . . .

The only “rough” spot – the underside of the “shoe” – could that be done better? – possibly yes . . . Could that be done better and still bring the price in at $9.99? – I really don’t think so . . .

Besides that “shoe” spot?? – the rest of it is real good . . .

The overall fit/finish thing is good – and the visual appeal with the copper thing going on is just off the scale – Smoky Mountain has quite an assortment of “Lady Leg” knives – <<<CLICK HERE>>> – and from a variety of companies – I have a feeling there might be a few more showing up around here

What’s in YOUR pocket??

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

I would be willing to bet . . .

. . . there might be some knife reviews coming in the next week or so. Friday turned into a real knife day around the hacienda – 4 from Smoky Mountain – 2 from Amazon – and 6 from the pawn shop . . .

And there is still 2 more on the way from Kennesaw Cutlery – damn knives are like eating potato chips – do you remember the old ad – something about “bet you can’t eat just one”?

I’ll do the 3 locking folders side by side – the Uncle Henry / Old Timer / Buck – not so much as to beat one or the other up but more to emphasize the value available at different price points and different scales – the Rough Ryder Christmas knife is one of the ones from Smoky Mountain – and if you want one – GRAB ONE HERE as they generally sell out in a hurry – and the Kissing Crane Thanksgiving knife is one of the ones coming from Kennesaw Cutlery – same advice – GRAB ONE HERE as they go quick.

Got out and about while I was pawn shopping and stopped by and showed the Acta Non Verba Z400 to the “Primitive Man” and he really liked it – I have to say the more I handle it the more I like it – it is way cool. So “Primitive Man” is sitting all suited and dressed up in his office showing me the “knife” he is getting – knife my ass – think short sword – and he’s wanting to know if I want to go hog hunting with him – and I’m like sure – I have got some + p 435 grain hard cast for the 45-70 – I can whack ANYTHING on the North American Continent and and realistically almost anything on the planet – I’m Good! – Count Me In!! . . .

Remember – we are talking about the Atlatl chunking “Primitive Man” – he’s like oh no – my buddy has these dogs trained to “capture” the wild hog – then at that point you dive into the pile and stick the wild hog with your knife – I’m thinking to myself – What The Actual Fuck????? – I told him let me know and I’ll try to get the time off – somehow I’m thinking I probably won’t be able to get the time off – aw shucks . . .

Bunch of stuff coming – actually good to get back into a “normal” work days / off days pattern – at least for this week into next – the week of the 18th however is toast . . .

What’s in YOUR pocket??

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Friday Music – I’ll take 70s Music for $200 , Alex. . .

Let’s start with Mister Quizter . . .

And away we go – tripping through the 70s . . . I’ll do 3 or 4 or maybe more from each year starting with 1970 and going through 1979 – Enjoy!

( These all came from Billboard’s hot 100 for each year – some charted on 2 years depending on the release date – and yes it’s a bitch to choose . . . )

Could have done about 20 from 1970 – Oh Well on to 1971 . . .

Just could not skip this for a 1971 song . . .

And 1972 . . .

One of my “72” favorites . . .

And 1973 . . .

Bonus question – What 1980 cult classic did Ron O’Neal co-star in??

And 1974 . . .

I had this album – wore it out!

And a “Shout Out” to Little Eva . . .

And here comes 1975 . . .

1976 coming at you . . .

Hard to stop – but here comes 1977 . . .

And 1978 . . .

Starting off with the theme from a soon to be released motion picture – old inside joke – in case you’re wondering . . .

And we’re gonna pick up in 1979 right where we left off . . .

You ever wonder where that song came from?

There’s genius – then there’s GENIUS – and the you step up to Nile Rodgers’ level . . .

And back to 1979 . . .

And these folks were simply insane in concert . . .

I could go on just about forever – these came from Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 surveys – which means I pawed through 1000 songs to put this together – I had to listen to about 5 hours of music for all y’all – it’s a sacrifice I make – LOL!

One of these Fridays I’m gonna put one together of stuff that artists stuck in as filler tracks – don’t turn your noses up – there has actually been some incredible “B Side” songs over the years – when we would buy a 45 we would always play the “B Side” first – different strokes / different folks . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Acta Non Verba Z400 – Good Enough to Ride with the CZ 2075 D

I teased you folks with the video in THIS POST – Well I went ahead and ordered the Z400 – and BLADEHQ came through with it in 3 days – So all y’all get some glamour shots of it hanging out with the RAMI 2075 D – and then a detailed look at it – and it’s SWEET!

Ready? – Here We Go . . .

Warning : Gun AND knife porn ahead!! – LMAO!

Was it good for YOU? So now that we got all of that out of the way YOU can go ahead and dive through the shower now – the rest of us will wait for YOU . . .

Here’s what I picked up – all the label info for you . . .

Comes with a sticker and it’s own little package of lube – I’m NOT going there . . .

At just over nine inches deployed it’s not a small knife . . .

ANZ has done a cross hatch pattern on the G10 body – you get a real good purchase on it . . .

The sculpting really fits well in the “crook” of your fingers – and along with the texturing really works well at achieving a comfortable and controllable grip – and the deep ( and I mean DEEP! ) carry pocket clip allows the Z400 to simply disappear in your pocket . . .

At $122 bucks list – not a “cheap” date – and the little “dots” on the finger guard(s)?

Run a flashlight across them and Shazzam! – they light up! – Is that not cool or what?

From BLADEHQ . . .

” This intimidating Z400 knife model sports a black G-10 handle with a stonewashed blade that is made from Sleipner stainless steel in a dagger blade shape.

Acta Non Verba Knives envisioned the Z400 to be a dominating new deign to top off all of their other folding knives with characteristics that singles out this dagger over all your other pocket knives. This knife is dressed with a durable G-10 handle with 6061-T6 aluminum hardware and liner lock. The deep carry pocket clip is reversible, discreet, and slips this blade right in to your list of favorites for an everyday carry knife. The double guards are accented with two ANV Lumi Dots that glow after being exposed to light. The Sleipner stainless steel is stonewashed and is retracted by the aluminum liner lock concealed by the handle.Features:

  • G-10 and aluminum handle lightly textured and lightweight making use effortless.
  • Sleipner stainless steel has excellent wear resistance and edge retention.
  • ANV Lumi Dots provides a glimpse of the opening of the blade. “

Let’s get to the bottom line shall we? . . .

Stunning looks ( and of course I make it look even better – LOL ) / mechanically? ZERO ISSUES – smooth to deploy – liner lock is a positive engagement – blade centering is great / the pocket clip is a deep carry for concealment and gets a stout grip on your pocket – not going to come loose if you are digging for keys or change in your pocket / and sharp AF right out of the box . . .

The ONLY thing I would change – but it’s NOT practical – would be tritium vials instead of the “ANV Lumi Dots” – not only would that raise the price point but it would be a real challenge to engineer it – I told you it’s not practical . . .

And before some of you gag over the price point – I consider the knife a good value – I believe the quality exceeds the cost – it’s just that simple . . .

As an aside – if a product meets your expectations and you are not going hungry / or not paying the rent / or not buying something you NEED and you want it – then buy it and enjoy it – capitalism IS NOT a crime – you do not need my permission – or anyone else’s – now hold that thought for a moment – that’s depending on your relationship with significant others – my Blushing Bride and I have a straight forward money thing going on – what’s hers is hers and what’s mine is hers – see how simple that is?? When I bought my first TITAN pick up – I didn’t drive it for 2 weeks – it took that long for the swelling to go down enough to get my eyes open – the really bad part? – she didn’t talk dirty to me while she slapped the snot out of me – ROTFLMAO!!

Be sure and follow my blog for more reviews – recipes – fun stuff – marriage AND financial advice!

What’s in YOUR pocket??

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Tucker: Nothing like this has ever happened in our country

I beg to differ with you Tucker – this level of stupid HAS occurred before in this Republic – and the ” festivities ” started with this – ” When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. “

Does it strike any of you folks that it’s getting pretty fucking necessary again?? – asking for a friend . . .

Strange Days Indeed

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!