Mora 2/0 Carving & Camping

This knife belongs to the classic series of Mora knives. At first, I wanted to buy the Mora Classic #1 with 3 3/4" blade but I thought I already had several knives with the same length of blade. This is my very first wood handled Mora. By the way, a gift to myself.


Mora 2/0 with the all too familiar plastic sheath.


6 1/2" overall length, 3" blade, 5/8" wide. Very sharp out of the box.


It feels good in my hands. I could tell it would be suitable for small and intricate task.

I don't have large hands so the 3 1/2" handle is not a problem.


I am very satisfied with the knife. Definitely, a good buy from amosoutdoors.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Christmas Gift

One of the gifts I received this Christmas is a LED flashlight. It is not just an ordinary flashlight but one made for the military by a company called Novatac, now it is available to civilians.


Novatac 120M military ops.


1 inch by 3.3 inches. 3.1 ounces including battery.


Powered by (1) CR123 Battery. 3 Pre-set brightness levels (120, 42, 10 lumens)


Disorienting Strobe. Run Times: 120L/30 min, 10L/14 hr, 0.3L/240 hr.

The specs sheets says "Go from map-reading to illuminating potential threats with the press of a button. Momentary maximum mode allows you to produce a quick burst of blinding light, or disorienting strobe, that can momentarily confuse an attacker. Just 3.3 in. long and weighing only 3oz., it has a weatherproof body machined from aerospace grade aluminum. Virtually indestructible, the NovaTac 120M will perform at peak levels in all situations"

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Starting 'Em Young

When I was in grade school, I fashioned knives out of popcycle sticks. I made wooden folders, automatic knives using rubber bands to pop open the blade. Sometimes, I pounded nail and wires to make miniature knives too, with sheaths made out of pieces of bamboo tied together with jute twine.

So I was delighted when I learned that my friend's son, Luis Gabriel Toledo is into making knives too, and decided to feature his craft in my blog. Here are some of Luigi's works.


Miniature English broad sword and Japanese katana.


Knives made out of wood nails - railroad nails next.


3" blade with handle and sheath made out of twisty.


Looks like Arabian inspired blade.


Tanto tipped blade with tribal influence.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

I Miss My Country

I have been in the US for quite a while. What supposed to be a short visit to my newly born grandson turned into a baby sitting stint for more than 2 years. Oh well, that's what grandparents are for isn't it. But I really miss my country, especially when I saw Gerry D. Ruiz's photos . The photos below are from his website.


A village along the seashore. The Philippines is an archipelago comprising of 7,107 islands.




Ricefield. As with other neighboring Asian countries, rice is Philippine's staple food. Being a tropical country with wet and dry season made it suitable for rice farming.


The nipa hut also known as bahay kubo, is an indigenous house used in rural areas. The native house is constructed out of bamboo tied together, with a thatched roof using nipa or anahaw leaves.


A small river. Often the source of water supply in remote areas where artesian wells or piped in water are not available.


As a youngster, I used to drink water from a stream like this - no need for filtering or boiling.


And of course, I miss fish balls. Fishball is an edible, ball-shaped patty made of pulverized fish, deep fried and sold by mendicant street vendors. The balls are served skewered, offered with a choice of three kinds of dipping sauces.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Another Flint & Steel Kit

When I was having a problem with the Black Bear Haversack Trading Post flint & steel kit, I ordered another one from eBay. This time I chose the Hudson Bay Flint & Steel kit from Primal Connection.


Just like the Bear Haversack kit, this one also contains a jute twine, char cloth, flint and steel.


The steel has more striking area than the Black Bear steel.


The flint is about the same as that of the Black Bear kit.

The similarities end there. The Hudson Bay steel throws more sparks than the Black Bear steel. The steel almost never miss to produce sparks when stroked against the flint. Definitely an excellent flint & steel kit. Highly recommended. By the way, its almost 5 times more expensive though.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Flint & Steel

I have been wanting to assemble a fire making kit that includes a flint and steel. Although I always carry a Bic lighter and a firesteel with me, I thought it would be cool to have a flint and steel in my fire making kit. As always I searched online and I found a flint and steel kit sold by Black Bear Haversack Trading Post for $6.99 + $2.76 S/H.


The kit contains a jute twine, char cloth, flint and steel.


The steel measures 3" by 1 1/4".


The flint is 2 1/2" by 1 1/4"

I tested the flint and steel several times but it failed to produce spark good enough to create an ember on the char cloth. In fact, I didn't get any spark at all on several occasions. I don't know why, maybe its the steel not having sufficient carbon content, the flint is too soft or both. Well serves me right, what you get for what you pay.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Small Tiger Knapp

The first expensive custom made neck knife (for me it's expensive) I bought from BHK. A gift to myself from my first salary working at Walmart. It cost me $40.00 + $8.00 shipping charges.




It's a little bit smaller than I expected. Size 5 3/4" OAL, cutting edge 2 1/2"


This is a hand made knife from 01 steel, hollow grind.


Kydex sheath with slide tension lock. The knife looks different compared with the picture below from their website.


This is how the knife looks in their website. I'm not so happy with what I got.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.