seth
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Post by seth on Feb 29, 2016 18:28:44 GMT
I have to agree with Vincent that the world's of some of the most interesting stories would be the most terrifying places to live (i.e. A Game of Thrones). So I tried to pick universes where there is a lot of adventure, some conflict, some danger, but where good triumphs over evil as a rule.
Movie: Star Wars TV: Star Trek TNG Book: Chronicles of Narnia or Middle Earth Comic: Tricky. My favorites growing up were Conan titles, x-men, and batman. Conan is a possibility--the age of high adventure--a cool setting to read about but anyone who's name isn't Conan or Red Sonja dies pretty quickly. The super hero worlds are bad choices because heroes and villans never die (permanently). Instead homicidal maniacs like the Joker continually escape to wreak havoc on the poor non-hero inhabitants of the world. If you are a super hero, life is good, but otherwise you are just a victim. So my choice would be: Archie--not the most adventurous choice but now for the important decision: Betty or Veronica?
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seth
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Post by seth on Feb 15, 2016 16:58:23 GMT
"Personally I would use a spear over a handgun for close range personal defense. I have that little faith in them." Lets just hope the intruder feels the same way. I'd rather have a spear against a drug-fueled berserker who feels no pain and wants to tear my face off. I'd rather have a pistol against a rational, skittish thief. Too bad we don't get to plan those things. Edit: the solution just came to me. Mosin with a bayonet. Or a boar spear with the wings so the berserker cannot simply run up the shaft and attack you.
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seth
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Post by seth on Feb 15, 2016 16:56:04 GMT
Ask a dozen gun people "what kind of gun?" and you will get three dozen different answers. Heh.
My .02:
For something to be used only at home: a pump action 20 gauge with buckshot. Others have already posted the advantages of a shotgun. My wife really enjoys shooting hers. Recoil is less than a 12 gauge, and she can shoot clay pigeons all day long. Since you have daughter, you may want to get a skinny closet safe to lock it up).
If you need something more compact, then a revolver in Ruger SP101, Ruger GP101, Smith and Wesson 686, or Smith and Wesson Model 66 (my favorite). You may want to consider a handgun if you have children, and want to keep it in a nightstand safe. Or you may want to take it in the mountains camping. The handgun is more convenient for traveling (assuming the laws where you live allow it). My recommendations shoot both the lighter .38 special which is a good defensive round (just be sure to buy actual defensive ammunition) or the .357 magnum which is a great defensive round.
Semi-autos are also a good choice. I mention them last because in my personal experience, my wife and other women who want to learn basic shooting skills with a handgun for defensive purposes prefer the revolver over a semi-auto. Semi-autos aren't harder to learn to shoot than revolvers, but they are a bit more complex being magazine fed, some have external safeties, and you need to learn how to disassemble them for cleaning. 9 mm is a great caliber. Check out the Smith & Wesson M&P 9 or Glock 19 (gen 4). Both have interchangeable backstraps to adjust the grip to your hand. There is no substitute for holding them (and shooting them if possible) to determine which you like best. Both would be good choices, and they are as easy to operate as a semi-auto can be.
If you want something to use for home defense and concealed carry, then that is whole different discussion.
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seth
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Post by seth on Feb 15, 2016 16:22:21 GMT
Cool pictures. Thanks for posting. If you ever get a chance to visit Cody, Wyoming, be sure to check out the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It has an outstanding firearms museum too. They have a fair amount of military sabers as well in the pull-out racks seen on the video at the bottom of this page: centerofthewest.org/explore/firearms/centerofthewest.org/
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seth
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Post by seth on Feb 5, 2016 22:36:03 GMT
It looks like it will be a beauty.
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seth
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Post by seth on Feb 5, 2016 20:49:14 GMT
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seth
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SNOW
Jan 25, 2016 18:19:30 GMT
Post by seth on Jan 25, 2016 18:19:30 GMT
Much snow..many shoveling This made me think of Conan's dad quenching the sword in the snowbank.
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 22, 2016 16:35:46 GMT
Hi Greg,
I have seen the Stiklestad show up as the deal of the day twice I think in the past year or so for 50% off so if you have your heart set on it but aren't in a hurry, you may want to check the deal of the day every Friday for awhile. I have handled a Stiklestad and my critiques of it are the suede grip (can be redone) and I found the protrusions on the pommel to bite my hand quite a bit even with a handshake grip.
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 22, 2016 16:21:21 GMT
Sonny put a Templar pommel on a Kriegschwert for me and it turned out great. The Suontaka project caught my eye too. I really like all of the new VA viking swords.
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 13, 2016 23:36:41 GMT
Thank you for sharing the process. You look nothing like your avatar--I am a little disappointed. But then again, I don't look anything like my avatar either.
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 13, 2016 23:32:31 GMT
Looks awesome!
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 13, 2016 23:29:33 GMT
Cool projects Gunnar.
For outdoor winter activities, cross-country skiing is great.
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seth
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Post by seth on Jan 13, 2016 23:17:16 GMT
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seth
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Post by seth on Dec 10, 2015 18:56:26 GMT
Very cool. Thank you for posting.
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seth
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Post by seth on Dec 10, 2015 18:50:09 GMT
When I was in junior high, my uncle, who collected knives, gave me a Smokey Mountain Knife Works catalog. I was very impressed with all they had to offer as I have always had a big interest in weapons. Although I really wanted a sword, my budget allowed me to order the WWI trench knife. Luckily, I was able to convince my mom to let me use her credit card. She was very worried about giving the number to stranger in TN though her 12 year son buying a brass knuckle hilted knife did not seem to bother her. Anyway, that one order put me on many mailing lists, including Museum Replicas Limited. When I received my first MRL catalog I was floored. I had long pined after "real" medieval weapons and here in my hands was a place one could actually buy them. I saved that catalog for years, and when I started making some more money I bought my first MRL weapon: the English Warhammer. I have owned this for many years and always liked it. I never did any test hitting with it, which was a good thing come to find out. However, as I became more educated on weaponry and wood working in general, I came to realize the great weakness of this hammer was its handle. Although it is claimed to have a hardwood shaft, it didn't seem very sturdy to me. In fact, I have never been impressed with "hardwoods" that come from anywhere in Asia whether it be on axe handles or furniture (with the notable exception of Japan: they make some serious gardening implements and the current handle of my rifleman's hawk was purchased in a hardware store there and has held up to years of throwing). The thing that worried me most about the handle were the large knots visible in it. This summer, I decided to test my hammer. I took it off the wall and went out to my splitting stump. With safety glasses in place, I gave it a whack at quarter strength and this happened: The knots are visible on both sides of the handle and that is right where it broke. So I decided a new handle was in order. I generally prefer hickory handles on axes and such, but I had the perfect piece of oak. I had trimmed down an oak board earlier which left me with a 28" x 1.5" x .75" piece of oak with nice grain and no knots. The hammer required a rectangular cross-section handle so this was perfect. I removed the head, langets, and butt cap from the old handle. I first shaped the butt of the new handle. The butt cap was hollow in a rounded fashion. Rather than match the new handle exactly to the hollow space, I fit it snug to the sides, and filled the rest with epoxy. I drilled a hole through the handle and used a 1/4" piece of brass rod to secure the butt cap further. I then began to shape the top of the handle to accommodate the head and langets. I used chisels and sandpaper to do a little at a time until the head fit extremely snug. Still, I managed to take a little too much off one side. However, it took a lot of effort to get it on. The old head was a bit wobbly, but this one seemed solid. The angle that the head meets the handle was also not 90 degrees--I got it as close as I could, and I drilled through the handle again and secured the head with 1/4" brass rod. I also tossed the screws that were used to secure the langets and decided to use brass rod. I then found the langets were not exactly symmetrical so drilling through the handle was slightly at an angle. However, I got the brass rod through ok in the end. This was my first attempt at peening anything, and I did it cold. It was tricky peening this because the rod potruded on both sides and when I hit one side, the rod would tend to jump out the other side rather than mushroom. So the peening job on the brass is a little ugly but seems serviceable. I didn't try to salvage the leather grip. It had been glued on and didn't do much for the grip anyway. The rectangular profile of the original handle was still too angular with the leather and dug into the hand. For the new handle, I used a draw knife to cut down the corners and make the area of the handle where I grip it an oval cross section. This was a huge improvement on grip comfort and my hand can still feel the alignment of the hammer head. I added a leather wrist lanyard as well. Here is the end result: I also tested it on ol' stumpy. A dozen full power whacks with the hammer and dozen more with the spike and nothing came loose. The spike actually bent a bit, but the oak and brass held firm. I would have preferred that the langets be symmetrical which would have alleviated the necessity of drilling at an angle. With a do over, I would try to fit the head more exactly, but it is far better than the original. I am tempted to purchase some other MRL warhammers and see what kind of handles I can put on them.
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seth
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Post by seth on Nov 24, 2015 17:33:45 GMT
True story. So the new MRL catalog arrived yesterday, and I was reading it with my 5 year old son. We turned to the "300" Spartan page: He pointed to the Spartan's exposed midriff and asked "Daddy what protects him here?" "I don't know. Heavily applied airbrushing?"
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seth
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Post by seth on Oct 23, 2015 15:32:45 GMT
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