Bob Parkinson's Web Log

Use Good Tools

2012-02-04T20:11:00.000-05:00

I see that my friend Chris O'Brien is acquiring new weapons in preparation for the coming zombie apocalypse. While it's prudent to stock up on Hornady's excellent Zombie Max ammunition, and while I still like the treadmill zombie defense idea (ring your property with treadmills powered by solar panels, zombies step up on them and get flung), I think it's important to try to have at least some fun with the collapse of civilization.

Shooting the zombies is ultimately no fun - it's too easy. Remember, you no longer go to work, because your boss and co-workers are zombies, so you really have no challenges in your life except killing zombies. And after a while you are so good at it that you are just sitting on the couch you put out on the front porch and banging away at them with whatever your way cool firearm of choice is that you were able to just take from the abandoned gun shop, because the owners of that shop are zombies like your boss.
.

When Hattori Hanzo was building his rep,
he used a tool like this one

Hattori Hanzo

Admit it: You know you want to hack the zombies up with a sword, so why not a really good one? The Dokuji Nami katana retails for around $2000.00 but it's free once the zombies are up if you just go get one. It's handmade, has the beautiful real hamon pictured below because it really is clay-tempered and water quenched. The non-blade metal bits are made of silver, the tsuba is brass. It's like a functional work of art.

A real hamon


A real camera

Better than being an AK-wielding couch potato, if you go this way you'll get some exercise, and have some fun, and enjoy using a beautifully made tool to some good purpose. Kind of like photographing the zombies with a Leica M9-P.

Steel

2012-01-26T20:57:00.002-05:00


Off she goes...

A much better tanto than it should be

We walk the dog on a two mile trail after supper. Sometimes she escapes, and she's not so good at the "come" command yet, so I used the tanto to hack off a tree limb to lure her back (she likes sticks a lot). I figured I'd have to hammer it through with my boot, but two good swipes at it and I had a decent sized stick, and then a dog again. It wrecked the edge, but it's soft steel, and razor sharp again after a turn on the outstanding Smith's sharpener that Kim gave me. It's surprising to me that relatively crappy AUS8 steel would cut so well, but I'm still learning about this stuff. It's looking like you don't have to spend $800 to get a decent blade.

Technique

2012-01-26T02:31:00.000-05:00

Making a brilliant song with two chords requires technique (and good lyrics).

Winning a katana fight with two cuts requires technique (and heart, especially if you are a blind person).