Brian Jones
Moderator
- Joined
- Jan 17, 1999
- Messages
- 7,560
Got my VTAC from Andy the other day. Superb. Balance, fit and finish (a beautifully forged head, with my very own natural forge patterns to always identify it as my own). Andy, you just keep getting better and better at making hawks. Our Rogers Rangers Spikes, as many of you know, saved our butts on an extended surival trip in the most remote regions of Idaho a couple years ago when we hit seriously crappy conditions in June (snow snow snow, wet wet wet, hypothermic conditions), and the hawks made it easy for us to split wood to get to the dry core, build shelters, and help us conserve much needed energy in those conditions. Andy had posted a pic of me back then in the snow to give you an idea of what we were living with. The hawks sailed through the abuse and came out in perfect condition.
Now, the new VTAC is screaming for me to use it again in some similar conditions, so now I have to go somewhere nasty and give it a whirl. Yeehaw!
It was a bit of an ordeal getting this hawk into my hands. Andy had shipped it no problem, and it was dropped of by UPS at the downstairs neighbor's house. There's a 16-year-old kid living there with his mom (no dad). The hawk, according to UPS, had been left at the back door but the kid and his Mom said they never saw the package. My girlfriend (smart girl), looked in the trash out behind the garage and found the opened package sans tomahawk, so before I even got home, she showed the package to the mom (she was in denial -- "My son does not lie"). My girlfriend told her that she had a few hours when the kid got home to get to the bottom of things, or the police would dust the package for fingerprints and the kid would be fingerprinted, too. About 5 minutes later they knocked on the door and the kid handed over the tomahawk apologizing profusely. He claims he saw the package and opened it without looking at the label, then saw the label, got scared he'd be in trouble, so he hid it under his bed and threw the package in the garbage. I have a strong feeling that he is a good kid with the problems that go with coming from a broken home, and am going to try to reach out to him and help set him on the right course, because I think there is hope for him.
Anyway, the hawk is in perfect condition, and in my hands.
Andy, thank you! This is a gorgeous piece of work. A I said, it's so beautiful that if it I was a woman I'd marry it. I'll put it through some initial paces soon and report on usage.
Andy and I have been friends now for several years, and he has never once wavered in his integrity, and his generosity, not just to me, but to everyone around him -- not just in business, but in his life in general. Andy literally "walks his talk," and he does so easily because it is very naturally who the man is...a man of character. He is one of the finest human beings I have ever had the pleasure of calling a friend, and I can tell everyone reading this: you will never go wrong by putting your trust in him. I have done so many times, and he has always gone above and beyond to do the right thing -- in fact he blows me away as an example to try to follow.
Andy, God Bless you and your family, brother. Looking forward to getting out to Washington to see you again soon.
"THUNK!"
All the best, and thanks again,
~Brian.
Now, the new VTAC is screaming for me to use it again in some similar conditions, so now I have to go somewhere nasty and give it a whirl. Yeehaw!
It was a bit of an ordeal getting this hawk into my hands. Andy had shipped it no problem, and it was dropped of by UPS at the downstairs neighbor's house. There's a 16-year-old kid living there with his mom (no dad). The hawk, according to UPS, had been left at the back door but the kid and his Mom said they never saw the package. My girlfriend (smart girl), looked in the trash out behind the garage and found the opened package sans tomahawk, so before I even got home, she showed the package to the mom (she was in denial -- "My son does not lie"). My girlfriend told her that she had a few hours when the kid got home to get to the bottom of things, or the police would dust the package for fingerprints and the kid would be fingerprinted, too. About 5 minutes later they knocked on the door and the kid handed over the tomahawk apologizing profusely. He claims he saw the package and opened it without looking at the label, then saw the label, got scared he'd be in trouble, so he hid it under his bed and threw the package in the garbage. I have a strong feeling that he is a good kid with the problems that go with coming from a broken home, and am going to try to reach out to him and help set him on the right course, because I think there is hope for him.
Anyway, the hawk is in perfect condition, and in my hands.
Andy, thank you! This is a gorgeous piece of work. A I said, it's so beautiful that if it I was a woman I'd marry it. I'll put it through some initial paces soon and report on usage.
Andy and I have been friends now for several years, and he has never once wavered in his integrity, and his generosity, not just to me, but to everyone around him -- not just in business, but in his life in general. Andy literally "walks his talk," and he does so easily because it is very naturally who the man is...a man of character. He is one of the finest human beings I have ever had the pleasure of calling a friend, and I can tell everyone reading this: you will never go wrong by putting your trust in him. I have done so many times, and he has always gone above and beyond to do the right thing -- in fact he blows me away as an example to try to follow.
Andy, God Bless you and your family, brother. Looking forward to getting out to Washington to see you again soon.
"THUNK!"
All the best, and thanks again,
~Brian.
