Does anyone here like carabiners?

[Gorog]

I assume that some of you would be the EDC kind, which invariably involves carabiners or some sort of fastening object, but, for whatever reason, I asked that question in the title box anyway. I don't know...what I DO know, is that I, less than a day ago, bought some Leatherman Carabiner Accessories, in other words, I bought some funky looking carabiners that I thought would, with some black paint, accompany the industrial, tank-like looks of my iPhone case. I, being a foolish person, spent 14 ridiculous dollars on two day shipping, of course, almost the sum of the four carabiners themselves, and felt, rightly so, like an impatient son of a gun after the transaction was complete.
Here's a picture of the carabiner I bought:

Yeah, so the carabiner costs around five dollars at Leatherman, but you might be able to get it for less somewhere else, I'm not sure, depending on whether anyone wants one, or two, or none at all. I just got 'em because of their functionality, and the resemblance to the Anso Knives titanium or something carabiner, which costs, around say, a hundred plus dollars. So, yeah, I think I did okay for myself in that regard .
While we are on the topic of carabiners, do you all have favorites when it comes to them, or do you only concern yourself with the concern of whether they work or do not work? Until I saw the weirdo leatherman carabiner and some other designer milled ones, I was the 'as long as it works' kind. If it were an accessory carrying carabiner, I'd go with a Grimloc, but, if it came down to real work, and I needed a serious beast, I would go for an Omega Pacific modified D half inch thick black tactical carabiner, and be set for a while longer than a lesser carabiner would last. 72Kn breaking strength is nothing to tweak your nose at.
Okay, that's all. If you know of any other weird looking carabiners, let me know. Thanks for reading, guys. Peace.
David

 

[Spectre]

I have often carried a long, braided 550-cord lanyard, with my keys on one end, and a heavy-duty steel carabiner at the other. Useful, and I happen to have done a lot of training with weighted chain...it's always nice to know you can deliver force with a couple of feet advantage over someone with a box cutter.

Looks like you've got a couple of extra little gizmos on your carabiner. I'm sure the bottle opener would come in handy for me~ back in the States, at least! I have a Gerber Shard and a Photon 2 microlight on my key-chain. I use at least one of them every day.

John

 

[Steely_Gunz]

You're talking my language, David

I am a huge fan of minimalist tools/carabiners. My most commonly carried one is a Gerber Shard. I also have the Artifact which is basically a Shard with an Xacto blade on it. I like the Shard because it is "safe" to carry through the airport or left on my keys when I go into government buildings.

As far as Carabiners go, my late father in law bought me a nice Japanese made National Geographic tool made by Kershaw before they switched production over to China. Locking non-weight bearing design with a fold out serrated knife, bottle opener notch, and a couple of stubby drivers. I don't carry it often because the screw down lock is pretty annoying. If i lock it tight, it takes forever to get it off. If i leave it loose, I can't use the tools without getting pinched by the clip. I like the LM design a little better

My absolute EDC is a real deal carabiner that found its way home with me from the Murray State University gym room back in '99. I have no idea how I got it, but it ended up rolled up in my sweatshirt. Just a simple heavily used steel carabiner used on the circuit weights. I guess it fell off one of the grips and got mixed up in my stuff. I asked the guy at the front desk if they wanted it back but he looked at it and said it was pretty worn and that they have a ton of them.

So, it has faithfully clipped my keys to my jeans for 12+ years nothing fancy, but it certainly is more robust than the aluminum ones I figure if it can support 300+ pounds, it should hold up to a heavy ring of keys

 

[Gorog]

Yeah, no weapon like the weapon you have with you, eh? I hear you about the functionality of a micro light and the Shard, they are some good stuff, so I've heard. As for Jake, man, I know you are pretty serious when it comes to EDC, (Funnily enough, I realize a lot of people here must be EDC folks, which only goes to show that I think clearly only after I say something...a rather scary thought ). Oh, by the by, how heavy IS your EDC set of keys? I ask because, if it is too heavy, supposedly, it will cause shearing action or something in terms of the key attacking the ignition, and wear it out eventually, which would be a pretty hefty bill, so I'm told. So, if you have a lot of keys and such, and want to stow them on your person without punishing the car, I would recommend one of those auxiliary key wallets, or, if you need to slim down your keyring only a little bit, then try one those key hide-ers that hide a single key in a credit card shaped piece of plastic. But, these are simply suggestions IF your ignition is showing signs of wear, my friend, I definitely don't mean to offend or tell you what to do. Just me being anxious about you possibly wearing out your ignition and not being able to use the car when you need it, that's all. Peace, everyone.
David

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Good advice, David I really DO need to trim my keys down. I look like a janitor, not a business owner I have multiple keys to my two office buildings (including keys to interior offices, service doors, and over-head doors. I have my house keys, my truck keys, my wife's car keys, the keys to my jeep, my safe keys (gun vault, lock box, and gun cabinet)...there are a lot

Good Advice

 

[Gorog]

Thanks, man. You're a business owner?!?! That is super cool! I don't mean to brag, in fact, I mean, in a way, to help my uncle out with his knife business, but my uncle is Tom Douglas, the guy who cleaned up Iron Chef a couple years ago with Morimoto, has been on Oprah, owns several restaurant chains in Seattle like Dahlia Lounge, Palace Kitchen, Etta's, and more, and is, as far as I know, a self starting entrepreneur featured in a recent book about self starters in entrepreneur businesses. He looks kind of like my dad, not much like me, but he's a great guy. Enough getting mushy, here's the meat of the matter: My uncle has a line of kitchen knives that work very well (especially if you keep them sharp, as I know you all will do, unlike my immediate family who like them just plain dull ), the steel used is unknown for now, but they cut pretty well when they are sharp. They're stainless, but they do good work. My uncle partnered with Kai and Wenger to make some of the knives, so be on the lookout for them, if you like swiss army knives. You can find them, if you are interested, primarily on Amazon for some relatively good prices, black rubberized handles with a tannish brown bolster and a 'steel' colored blade (how do you describe the color steel, 'silver'? Oh well. ) Anyway, yeah, I'm done advertising for my uncle.
So, while on the topic of knives, I am interested in this cheap little three piece set of Thai styled Fruit carving knives that are supposedly very flexible. I found them on Chef Garnish or something like that, and I am very much into the awesome results you can get with the tiny, thin birds beak knife in particular. However, I have a problem. I can't just buy fruit I'm not going to eat and waste it. Does anyone know a very workable alternative medium to fruits and vegetables to justify buying this set, or should I not bother?
Thanks everyone.
Peace.
David

 

[davidf99]

So, while on the topic of knives, I am interested in this cheap little three piece set of Thai styled Fruit carving knives that are supposedly very flexible. .... However, I have a problem. I can't just buy fruit I'm not going to eat and waste it. Does anyone know a very workable alternative medium to fruits and vegetables to justify buying this set, or should I not bother?
Thanks everyone.
Peace.
David

Hi, David:

I don't mean to be preachy about nutrition, but if you're not eating any fruits and vegetables, you have a bigger problem than what kind of knives to buy.

I'm not very good about eating fruits myself, but I try to eat lots of vegetables as part of my meals. You can get plenty of use with small knives cutting onions, garlic, raw carrots, etc. And perhaps live longer and healthier.

Not to digress, but I had a pit bull (for 14 years) who loved raw carrots as a treat. I could exercise her endlessly by holding carrots high in the air, and she would jump and jump and jump to get them. Or I could have her run circles around me chasing a carrot until finally she would get frustrated and jump on me, as if to say, "Fun's over, I want my treat." She could crunch bones in her jaws, and eat corn cobs, but raw carrots were her favorite. Have you ever tried biting down on a corn cob after finishing the corn? It gives you an appreciation for what real jaw power is.

It just occurred to me that if a still had a pit bull I might not feel quite as much need for a khukuri.

-- Dave

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Lol, well David I am a business co-owner. My family owns a small construction business that specializes in swimming pool construction. My dad and uncle are the bosses. I own just enough to get stressed about overhead, retail sales, and new build sales figures. Ah, I long for what it felt like to be an hourly check to check employee. Come what may, I would put my time in and every friday I got my meager pay

Anyway, your uncle's business sounds very cool I love to cook, and when I hang up my pool guy clothes one day, I would love to own a pub. That's kinda the idea my wife and I have for a working retirement. A little corner pub with good home cooked food, a fully stocked bar that has more than the watered down big brand beer on tap (maybe even a bit of my own home brew for those brave enough to try it), and some good music from time to time. Anyway, those knives of your uncle's sound really nice. Kai makes some great stuff, and Wenger is no slouch especially since they are owned by Victorinox now.

As for the fruit knives, I'm sure you could come up with all kinds of uses for them. If you aren't a fan of eating fruit, have you thought about making smoothies? I've been on a smoothie kick for the last year or so. I just use frozen fruit to save time (way too much going on in the mornings trying to get family fed to prep fresh fruit every time). However, prepping the fruit fresh is always best for taste and nutrition. I ENJOY cutting up fruits and veggies, I just don't have time to do it in the mornings

I have found that investing in a decent blender is crucial though. I killed three 20 dollar ones before I finally bought a $50 Ninja. Frozen fruit is hell on the cheapies.
My morning smoothie that I make for my wife and me:
1-2 bananas peeled (obviously) broken and thrown in the blender
about 1/2 cup of frozen unsweetened pineapple chunks
about 1/2 cup of frozen mango chunks
2 single serving cups of vanilla Greek yogurt (non-fat and has a lot more protein)
1-1.5 cups milk
V8 Fusion juice to taste and/or reduce thickness
A couple of scoops of hemp protein if I have any on hand (keep in mind that it is VERY good for you compared to the cholesterol filled Big Box store stuff. However, it as an acquired taste. It makes everything gritty and sort of taste like a hippie I use it simply for nutrition sake. I am not a fan of the taste in the least)

Blend on Pulse until smooth.
Makes 4 servings that should stick to your ribs until lunch time. High caloric? sure. Good for you? Better than eating a bowl of cereal and full of protein.

I'll usually make us smoothies 2-3 times a week since it's dump and dice and ready to serve when my wife gets done getting ready. Plus they are easy to drink while we watch our daughter eat.

My what twisty turny tangents Cantina threads do take

 

[Gorog]

Thanks guys. I know, my fruits and veggies are very important. I won't say I'll suddenly start om-nom-noming fruits and vegetables like they are candy, but I'll do my best to incorporate some serious smoothies and such. I appreciate the concern as well, Dave, because it is very true that I am an extremely unhealthy individual in almost every respect. Foods and drinks are the most fundamental and powerful medical treatment, as far as I am concerned, short of illegal drugs that don't really do much positive stuff for you...but anyway, it all stems from my lack of respect, lack of caring, my lack of fundamental values concerning self respect, self confidence, and self VALUE. Sometimes, when I'm REALLY apathetic, I could care less about the whole shabang of life, and then I feel worse for forgetting about all the people that need people like me, people who at least sometimes care deeply about their survival. My whole fundamental grounds of life are messed up, guys, and I don't really know how to fix them... I feel better when I am with my DVR counselor, with the Asperger's Alliance people, with people who are trying to help me, but I can't get them to see that I practically THRIVE around them, and almost DIE inside when I am not. And I know it is wrong to feel this way, but it's how I feel nonetheless. I hate to turn this into another self help thread, I really do, but it is probably what I need.
Peace, everyone.
David

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Anything you need, David, just give us a holler
I have to say, having you around and posting for the last year seems to have been what the Cantina was missing for a good long while. The old regulars can only sit around staring at each other telling the same ol' tired stories so many times before it gets a bit stale. You're a very welcome addition to our little family

And as a guy who is probably on the borderline spectrum myself, I have to say that you are doing very well. I know how crushing the anxiety can be at times. If I were any worse, I dunno if I would have ever had the courage to try my hand at posting online.

My wife is a school psychologist who works on a daily basis with students with your condition. I've told her about your posting, and she is quite impressed with the level of social interaction you exhibit here...and she's a pretty smart cookie when it comes to this stuff

In short, whatever small things we can do to help you out, please let us know. That's what the Cantina is for, my friend

 

[Gorog]

Thanks dude, that is what I needed to hear, that I belong here, despite my numerous voices-in-my-head telling me otherwise. Not to say I have MPD , that's a whole new level of difficulty, having numerous personalities to deal with. At first, strangely enough, I had NO anxiety about posting in the Cantina. But as I realized that I needed to get my head out of sewers a little and focus on what is really important, I realized that I needed to watch what I said, because posting is a whole 'nother animal from mere talking. This is an indelible recording of my opinions, good, bad, and ugly, and I have had my share, undoubtedly, of all three . But what is important, I believe, is not how you fail, but rather, how you continue after failure. Do you get up, do you grumble and sit there until you waste away, or do you do nothing, and fade...slowly, into nonexistence. I will not fade into the night like some in recorded history have. I may not be the strongest, the wisest, the fastest, the coolest, or the smartest, but I care. My 'care', in fact, is probably green, seven to nine feet tall, and speaks incoherently while snarling and throwing baddies around like so many wadded paper balls in a cubicle war! So eat that, Gorog, HA!!!
On a different note, I truly appreciate the camaraderie I get here, from the moderators of all people! I used to think mod's were suits out to get you in jail or something stupid like that, and now, I practically know for a fact that several mod's here are nice, respectable weaponmongers with a flair for the 'care', as I call it. I am SO glad I was wrong. The four mod's of the Cantina are a benign force for good, and let evil doers everywhere flee before their names alone! No really, you guys are the height of cool, pat yourselves on the back someday (or today), its a great feat to keep the Cantina's ginormous nose clean of all spammers and not so nice people it readily inhales into its digital nostrils...that sounded weird, I'll gladly stop describing the Cantina as a nose now! *Shudder*
By the way, I drew a picture of Albert Einstein for the Asperger Alliance team just a few hours, and of course, the cheeky little son of a gun was sticking his tongue out at me (how IRKSOME) the entire time I was drawing him...I bet he was quite a character back in the days when he was alive. The guy who created Mario has my syndrome, and Abraham Lincoln supposedly had it as well, just to name a few, besides Einstein himself. Pretty cool. Gives me some hope that I may yet change the world as we know it, slightly or not so slightly. I'll make another post later about some more EDC gear I found, just to make sure people know that this is still primarily an EDC thread even though we're taking a brief hiatus from it to discuss me, myself and I.
See you all later.
David

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Uncle Bill always envisioned the HI boards as a place where all walks of life could gather for good conversation. No matter you age, sex, race, creed, political belief, or if you even LIKE khukuries, anyone will always be welcome here as long as they follow the Golden Rule.

And don't sweat any posting faux pas. We have ALL had them. I will have been here TEN YEARS in May. I've stuck my foot in my mouth more times that I care to count You're absolutely right. It's not important that we fail from time to time. It's important that we respect ourselves enough to get back up and soldier on. Wisdom comes from the hard knocks of gained knowledge. What's the old saying; Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

Einstein really was a character from what I have read. He also was supposedly quite the lady's man I think one of the reasons Einstein endures is not only because he contributed so much to our understanding of physics, but that he personalized it. Here was a brilliant guy with his own shortcomings that contributed something great to the world. He not only did the math, but he earnestly left room for the divine. He was a joker. He was a lover. He brought the understanding of relativity to the masses, but he didn't crush us with numbers like so many other stuffy brilliant scientist do. The dude flat out LIVED

 

[Gorog]

I think Uncle Bill was an EPIC person, regardless of unattractive flaws that he undoubtedly possessed, though as far as I know, he reigned in his flaws with supernatural self control. Maybe I 'need' to dig deeper and discover all the nastiness that might lurk in Uncle Bill's life like those pitiable paparazzi would fester and grow in the shadows of celebrity life, but if that is what people need to do, go out of the way to villify others, then it is time to discover and prioritize what people WANT to do instead. I value people who WANT to do good for others, I value people who WANT to succeed and grow as a person, I value people who TRY, unsuccessfully of course, but TRY NONETHELESS, to take everything in moderation, to lend a helping hand when possible, not just when it suits their self growth, I value people who are greater than me, and greater than themselves. Bill Martino, I believe, was just such a person. He did not stop at merely corresponding with his Nepalese counterparts, he traveled to Nepal, he got on his knees in the dust and dirt and showed the kami's that yeah, he was a rather mediocre forger, but he COULD FORGE WITH THEM, and he could do what they did WITH THEM. He was the kind of man who broke barriers and brought people together, because people are good just the way they are, but they can be so much better if they had a reason to change, and the stimulus, the way, the means, to enact such a change. And not just one change, but a never ending cycle of change. People need to adapt, people are tricked into security by our seeming superiority, feeling calm and unconcerned with the world around them now that we have our own tiny little worldlets on this planet. The bigger picture IS STILL HERE, people, and there is little more important than learning from the past, respecting those who have died, and looking to the future, flowing with natural change, and building upon that change. The world is unsteady ground, why build a statue you KNOW will fall someday, when you can build a constantly evolving, never ending sculpture of change, when you can pile all your mistakes upon each other into a great learning experience?
I have made progress, but I am glad to say, in the spirit of my psuedo-self-adopted-deceased-mentor of mine, Uncle Bill, that I am still changing, still improving, and I still have a LONG way to go. But I am on the right track, and that is one of the many things that DO matter a world consumed by inconsequentiality.
Peace.
David

 

[Gorog]

I got the carabiners today... Why the ? Oh, its just a small little glitch...all four of them are TINY. Tiny does not ALWAYS mean less useful, but I was planning on some good strong use out these carabiners, they'd be my EDC tool, but they are just...too small for my taste. I won't waste 'em, but still, learn from my mistake, if an item is obscurely described, but you have to have it, buy ONCE, not FOUR TIMES. But, then again, I swear, it seems like no one seems to be as seduced by the urge to buy multiple copies of the same thing as me. Oh well. Live and learn, I guess. Thanks for listening, everyone!
Peace.
David

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Ah that's a bummer, man. I figured they would be small since they are supposed to be partnered with a multi-tool, but I didn't know if they would be tiny or not.

Still, the small tools we pack around and forget about can come in the most handy. Snap one of those on your keys and forget about it. It might be 2 years down the road, but perhaps you will be hiking around some hot rural town in the middle of July. You'll spy and old timey Coca Cola chest filled with glass bottled ice cold Cokes. You'll pay the grizzled old man working the counter a paltry sum of two quarters and claim your prize.

The frosted bottle in your hand feels great, but you're dying to get the crimped non-twist off cap free. You look down at the ancient chest where built in cap lifter should be. You find in its place two rusted headless sheet metal screws and a bracket as to where the lifter lived 50 years ago. You have your coke, but it might as well be on the moon. You can't get into it.

Then a thought hits you. Your keys! Something about something on your keys creeps into your brain. You reach into your pocket. There, hanging forgotten and neglected is you tiny savior. Totally silent for years and now ready to help you conquer you thirst as the sweltering humid mid day sun steams everything in a clam bake. It's a good thing you came prepared

 

[Gorog]

Wow, quite the story, dude! I don't remember if I told anyone here or not, but I was once an avid DIYer when it came to story writing. I would fill up whole composition books with my work back in the day, then THROW IT OUT :O because I did not like it all. And slowly my stories grew more complex, more powerful, compelling, fuller, deeper, stronger, and wiser. And then I stopped, and I've been trying ever since to find it, 'cause I lost it, and it is not coming back no matter how eloquently I ask it to return...oh storyteller fire that once burned in me, where art thou?
Anyway, dude, that was a more than decent little yarn you spun there. Have you ever thought of honing your storytelling to an ax like edge (forgive my pun) and chopping some big time wood with it? All that story was was a figment of your imagination (unless it actually happened in similar, or even the same, context?), yet you swung it pretty darn well, you know what I mean? I told Eric when he started shredding his guitar and sliding it...with a giant knife, of course , I said, "What do you mean, 'it's just a little something, nothing big?' You are great! I am NOT wrong! Now go out there, score a multi platinum producing label, and SHRED IT, man!", well, at least, that's something like what I said . No really, though, he put a ridiculous amount of soul into his guitar in the video he showed me, it was like watching a rock star get on stage after the fictitious rock star's wife, say, divorced the rock star, and watching the rock star sing a song in the most vulnerable, heart wrenching way possible. I almost cried while watching that video of Eric playing the guitar, it was like a sorrowful magic that just entranced me. I never felt so moved by music before, it was weird, but cool.
Okay, I'm done. Really, Jake, you're very good at storytelling, as far as I am concerned. Peace.
David

 

[Steely_Gunz]

LOL. thanks David. I dabble but I have never put a pen to a paper in a serious way. My highschool English teacher wanted me to go into journalism or something. Meh..I have no stories to tell worth telling as of yet I'll just stick to posting longwinded dribble on the forums

Maybe when my daughter gets a little older. She's kind of my muse. I might ask her to give me a few ideas about a bedtime story, and I'll mash out a 10 pager for her Oddly enough, I did write a short story about her being terrorized by a little monster scuttling across her nursery floor. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't LIKE to think of anything scaring my little girl, but the idea of WHY we fear the dark interested me.

See, my daughter is not afraid of the dark yet. She's 18 months old and will stomp into her room when it's lit by nothing more than a weak nightlight. My 30 year old wife, on the other hand, will practically sprint from the living room to our bedroom down the dark hall. She hates it. I don't like letting my feet hang over the edge of the bed. Part of that has to do with the fact that I used to have a ferret who would nip my toes at night if I left them within biting range
But I asked myself, why? Why are we as a species so scared of what we can't see? Is it something ingrained in the deepest part of our reptile brain or is it something learned? Do we all fear the dark not because we are supposed to but because something dark and terrible and repressed happens to us as a "right of passage"? Are we all visited at a young age by an agent of the night who teaches us that, yes there IS something in your closet, that you should never ever let your bare toes hang over the dark void beneath your bed. And no matter how tightly you pull the blanket over your head, there IS something watching and waiting for you come up for a breath of air

Lol, sorry to derail your thread. I got off on a tangent

I'm sure the Cantina would love to read some of your writing some time, David. We used to have a poster on here by the name of Munk. He used to write a lot of really detailed tales of his walks with his boys out and around his property. Good reading for sure.

 

[Gorog]

I have almost a thousand pages of stuff I wrote. The only problem is that I am constantly thinking something is not right about it, and I never stuck to it. I once got a story up to 200 pages, then I quitted on it, and just, stopped writing...I don't know what happened...how can you go from writing prolifically and loving it...to nothing at all, just like someone turned off the light on my writing talent? I can't write more than a sentence now, before feeling something is wrong and scrapping it.
As for your lack of self inspiration, don't worry. You don't need it. Often, inspiration comes from outside yourself. I recognize a trend in some great writers, and it is not always about getting your spark from inside, you know? So, by golly, if you have to, strap your daughter to your chest with one of those funny little chest rigs, start writing, and every time you get down and feel like you can't continue, just look down, and BAM, there she'll be, watching you, willing you to continue! I'm kidding, especially because you run the risk of hitting your chin on her still rather fragile head and vertebrae, which would not be healthy for her, no doubt...unless, of course, she hangs low enough to not be hit by a flying chin... hm... I don't know. Do you know what I am talking about though, one of those baby and toddler carrying rigs for children that have them strapped to your chest so their torso faces forward? Speaking of baby tech, there's this stroller I know of that folds down origami style into a very compact space, and it does so at the push of a button, its powered...let me check the price... Holy mackerel!!! But it is 800+ dollars!!! That's ludicrous, I don't care if it automatically feeds, washes, dries, and in general, takes care of your baby without even touching a button! It must come with an exoskeleton the baby in question wears to fight crime covertly while parents are tied up in those long neighbor discussions . Anyway, thanks for listening everyone, Jake, always a pleasure, and...PEACE OUT.
David