"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Very nice pictures Kris! I love seeing caves and caverns. Going down in to them, however, is another story...

-Dan
 
Thanks for the pics, Kris. I've only ever visited Indian Echo caverns in Harrisburg PA, and Crystal Grottoes in Boonsboro. I plan on taking a trip next year to Luray. Always an enjoyment to see these types of pics.
 
Has anyone seen the tv show Mountain Men? I took a gamble on it at Walmart, saw the first episode last night. The show follows three men as they work in the elements. Eustace, in NC, runs a sort of living off the land school :rolleyes:; Tom is a trapper/hunter in Montana and Marty is a trapper in Alaska. Granted, Eustace and Tom appear to be working hard, but the only true mountain man type in my opinion is Marty in Alaska. Tom seems to be my favorite of the trio. Eustace seems a little monotone, and Marty seems a little nuts. Tom seems like a down to Earth guy. The camera work is not like Survivorman, these guys have a crew following them around. Entertainment, that's all it's billed as. Looks like I didn't throw any $ to the wind with this purchase.
 
Today was a fantastic day, guys. The wife and three kids and dog and I are on vacation in the Austrian Alps. We drove our humble Ford over Timmelsjoch, an AMAZING Alpine pass into Italy, eventually stopping in Bolzano for the day. Our destination was the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, home to the patron saint of small blades (sorry, Carl), Otzi. We toured the museum and got the see the man himself, in all his frozen glory, plus his knife and other tools. And I'm not talking about replicas -- the actual goods.

But the best part of the day was later. Walking around Bolzano (a wonderful place, by the way), my son (8 years old) and I spied a knife shop. He had 8 Euros burning a hole in his pocket and ended up walking out with his very first knife. It cost just 7 Euros. It's a simple, single-blade slipjoint with rounded ends, a wood handle, and a single brass bolster. Obviously at that price point, it's not on par with a GEC or even a Case. But it's a very elegant little Italian-made penknife, and it means the world to him. He couldn't be prouder ..... and neither could I. And somewhere, I reckon Otzi is smiling too.

-- Mark
 
That sounds awesome Mark. Nothing better than a day with the family.

I bet your son can't wait to put his new knife to work. Will he be bringing it to summer camp?

- Christian
 
Sounds like a great try s far, Mark. No need to apologize, I worship that patron saint myself. Otzi is the original and greatest practitioner of maximum minimalism! I hope one day to visit that mecca to see the original. The museum here in Washington D.C. has replicas of all his gear, and a mannequin dressed in his get up.

Good luck to your boy and his new first knife. That's always a special moment when a boy gets his first, as it's like a right of passage and a vote of confidence in him from his elders. :thumbup:

Carl.
 
Yep. He's earned it by carrying one of mine all week and being safe. He couldn't have been more proud, with a smile ear to ear. And i love that he paid his own money for it. We're not sure if he'll take this one to camp or borrow one of mine that I could bear to lose. The only fear is not wanting to bring something to camp that you'd really really hate to lose. A SAK with a keyring (plus carabiner and short cord so he can hang it from a belt loop down into his pocket) might be a better fit for camp.
 
Its great to hear of another young one coming into our fold. What a great way to do it too.

mnblade said:
The only fear is not wanting to bring something to camp that you'd really really hate to lose. A SAK with a keyring (plus carabiner and short cord so he can hang it from a belt loop down into his pocket) might be a better fit for camp.
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Drop me a PM, I have the perfect thing, if I may?
 
Otzi was the man! I am so jealous that you got the chance to see him in person Mark. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Some day I'd like to do the same. If I ever get over to Europe. :)

Will
 
DrPenguin said:
Otzi was the man! I am so jealous that you got the chance to see him in person Mark. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Some day I'd like to do the same. If I ever get over to Europe. :)

Will
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Yes he was!

From his discovery, I've been fascinated by him and his story, and the murder mystery of his demise. Here was a simple man, living and surviving in cold harsh conditions with what most people today would consider nothing. Some hide clothing, a half built bow and a few arrows, a 2 inch flint knife, some odds and ends. I wonder what the heck happened in his final hours, who shot him in the back, and how he got away. From the fact that his copper ax was found with him, he must have somehow got away from his ambushers, as they would have taken that ax if he had died on the scene of the attack. It would be like bush wacking someone, and leaving them there with a Tony Bose knife. One of the articles I read on Otzi said DNA teating came up wiith blood from a couple different people on his bearskin cloak, and blood on his knife. None of it his. The point of the knife had been broken off, maybe in the fight that shed all that blood. If they are right, Otzi was in one heck of a fight just before he died. They think the arrow he got in the back was shot from below and behind him.

A 5,300 year old murder mystery really gets my mind going.

Carl.
 
It sure does Carl. Heck, there are even pieces of his equipment that we aren't really sure of their purpose. He was a man who let us all know a bunch about life on the planet back then but he has his mysteries as well.

Hunters and knife knuts have a lot in common. I remember one argument a long time ago on the internet about whether this soft shell jacket or this one was the best and all the "this vs. that" tit-tat surrounding hunting conditions and water repellency and the temperature and the like. One guy laughed at it and pointed out that our ancestors would have given everything they owned for one single softshell of any make... or even a cheap $30 fleece jacket. One can only imagine the lengths they would go to acquire a pair of waterproof boots or a steel hatchet.

Will
 
One of the most interesting of Otzi's carry items was the "first aid" kit, fungi with antibiotic properties. Maybe we're not as advanced as we think...
 
JB in SC said:
One of the most interesting of Otzi's carry items was the "first aid" kit, fungi with antibiotic properties. Maybe we're not as advanced as we think...
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Yeah, it only took us another 5,250 years or so to discover penicillin made from a fungi. :D
 
DrPenguin said:
\ One can only imagine the lengths they would go to acquire a pair of waterproof boots or a steel hatchet.

Will
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Heck doc, they were probably trying to kill him just for that copper ax he was carrying. But he made it away after being shot in the back. One tough mother lover.

Or hemay have messed with the wrong somebody's daughter!:eek:

This is like the ultimate cold case, and will never be solved.

Carl.
 
Nice story Mark...and welcome to my country by the way :)
I'm also away from home on holidays, and hopefully soon I will have some picture to post :p

Fausto
:cool:
 
sturzi said:
I hope you weren't driving an automatic, those passes are way too fun to drive up and down :)
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Yep, we've got a manual transmission. But we did drive Timmelsjoch twice in our old car, an automatic Ford Mondeo. And yeah, it was a drag. But one way or the other, the scenery is spectacular!

jackknife said:
From the fact that his copper ax was found with him, he must have somehow got away from his ambushers, as they would have taken that ax if he had died on the scene of the attack. It would be like bush wacking someone, and leaving them there with a Tony Bose knife.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily so. I recently read a theory that he could have been murdered in a power-grab by some younger member of his clan/tribe/group. He had a lofty standing (evidenced by possession of such a rare tool, the copper ax), and was a very old man for those times (~45), so it'd be natural that someone younger might have wanted to take his place. However, murdering Otzi could have been against the rules of society even then, so the killer/s would not have wanted to be seen with evidence of the crime.

quattromori said:
Nice story Mark...and welcome to my country by the way :)
I'm also away from home on holidays, and hopefully soon I will have some picture to post :p
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Thanks, Fausto. We've visited Merano twice, but this was our first trip to Bolzano. It's a great place and we really want to go back -- maybe for a couple days next time, instead of just 6-7 hours.

-- Mark
 
mnblade said:
A SAK with a keyring (plus carabiner and short cord so he can hang it from a belt loop down into his pocket) might be a better fit for camp.
Click to expand...

So, we loaded son and daughter on to a bus bound for summer camp this morning. Daughter has a Gerber LST and son an old Vic Super Tinker, plus swim suits, bikes, hiking boots and backpacks. NO phones or video games or iPods! Sounds to me like two weeks of childhood bliss!

-- Mark
 
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