PMCI November 2021

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pmcimagazine.com BLADES: SPARTAN having the bulk of a full-sized Kukri. (The design is also great for cracking open coconuts poolside when not working in the field.) The 3/16” wide spine held up very well to batoning the blade through firewood when needed as well. Its overall size made lashing it to my pack a better method of carry than hanging on my belt to get snagged by branches and vines. The Kydex locking sheath featured straps with plenty of length to weave into the Molle loops of my pack to hold the knife securely onboard. Despite the constant the wet climate of the Florida forests and swamps, the black powder coating helped the blade resist moisture and rust very well despite not being regularly cleaned after hard use. The listed weight of .668 lbs may not sound like a lot but when you hold the Machai in your hand, you don’t think about it being just a knife, it feels like a Craftsman brand tool ready to be put to hard use. Retailing with an MSRP US$199, this is a solid combination of price and quality in a proven design that won’t let you down when your survival is on the line. (Editor’s Note: For those who are fans of the Spartan Blades / Ronin Tactics Shinto knife, consider the Machai a slightly less sexy version for almost half the cost. If you have wanted a Shinto without the price tag, this may be your best option!) Damysus – Named for the fastest of all giants in Greek mythology. Of the three blades in the Professional series, the Damysus best reflects its Ka-Bar combat knife heritage. The hefty Drop Point 5.5” Flat Ground blade with its thick .1875” spine and 10.75” overall length is a perfect fit for a battle belt or “Go” bag. Like the Machai, the listed weight of .56 lbs. doesn’t seem like much on paper but when you are using the Damysus to cut deep into a slab of meat or attempt to quarter a 750 lb. elk in the field, the balance, handling, and weight will smoothly slice effortlessly. Due to the lack of tapered swedge of top of the 34 blade, the drop point offers a much stronger tip than most knives in this size. I have used the Damysus on several campsite settings and outdoor cooking set ups to process tinder and firewood. This blade held up much better than lesser knives tested in which the same situation cost the tip of many of them. The flat ground blade makes for a solid camp knife or multi-use utility knife. The blade profile strikes me as a heavy-duty version of one of my favorite William Harsey designs, the Difensa, a flagship knife from the Spartan Blades Elite Grade line. In my opinion, the Difensa is one of the best examples of weight, balance, durability, and fast handling in a fixed blade knife that I have ever encountered. With the Difensa retailing for $425, I consider being able to purchase a rugged, hard use version of this knife in the form of the Damysus for literally half the price with an MSRP of US$195 is one of the best values in the knife industry. Like the Machai, the PALS / Molle compatible Kydex sheath that ships with the Damysus offers the same mounting options with or without the straps for gear or belt carry. Originally, I carried this with the standard straps attaching the sheath to my outer gun belt from Ronin Tactics. After taking a few instructor courses in St. Augustine, FL, I did not like how low the knife rode on the belt, so I removed the mounting plate containing the straps and replaced it with a G-Code high ride Molle attachment. This set the knife’s grip at the same level as my pistol to establish a master grip on either with the same draw stroke and effort. Overall, the multiuse size and profile of this knife is what many have been wanting for to fit their budget. When I was a SWAT sniper with a supervisor pay grade, I could not have afforded a Difensa, but even as a slick sleeve rookie, I would have scrapped up enough extra cash from working football game details to have been able to carry a Damysus from Spartan Blades. For fans of the classic Ka-Bar combat knife, THIS IS, in many ways, the modern production fighting knife of the millennia to fit many operators’ and civilians’ post COVID apocalypse budgets.
Alala – Named for a Greek battle-cry or war cry Why end the list with the smallest of the three knives you may ask? Because this is truly a case of saving the best for last in the fact that I spend every day with this blade. As a writer, hunter, field tester, instructor, businessman, husband, and father of 2, my typical day is far from being typical. I may be dropping the kids off as school, dropping off challenge coin and custom patch orders off at the post office, hitting the swamp to test survival equipment or jumping onto the range for private lessons on any random Monday through Friday. Weekends are spent teaching classrooms full of students from new shooters to NRA and USCCA instructor workshops. I legitimately work seven days a week and so does my Alala from Spartan Blades. With a simple phone call or change in weather, my day may change 180 degrees from the game plan and send me in a totally different direction. I need reliable equipment that can blend into polite society and not stand out. The Alala does jus this while still giving me a fast handling, razor sharp blade that I can carry on my belt with my shirt untucked and pulled over it for quick access opposite of my concealed firearm if needed. Retailing with a MSRP US$159, the Alala offers a high quality, razor sharp 3.75” blade with an overall knife length of 7.88”. The thick 0.1875” spine allows for hard use throughout most any daily chores. Like its larger series mate, the Alala features a Flat Ground Drop Point blade that can pierce, slash, and cut deeply for its size. The 0.294 lb. weight of the Alala feels like I am holding an expensive 10mm wrench in my hands when using it due to the familiar contours of the grip and crosshatched checkering of each knife in the Professional (Silver) series. I primarily carry the Alala on my left side outside my waistband on my belt opposite of my concealed carry pistol on my right for several reasons The first is the ability to access easily with my nondominated hand in case I ever must fight for my carry gun. This concern is unfortunately from the experience in law enforcement of having to fight someone off trying to unholster my duty weapon while attempting to take them into custody. Proper placement of a quickly deployable knife on the opposite side has been proven to make short work of potentially lethal encounters. Secondly, I like the balance of having the knife’s weight counter that of the carry gun on the opposite hip. Often, my weak hand is used to make cuts while my strong hand holds the item being cut in place. I have used this blade from cutting tags off clothing to cleaning squirrels and white tail deer. (Yes, I do clean the blade after meat processing) Formerly, my belt carry option was a SOG Pillar until the Alala simply outperformed it in all aspects from construction, application, cutting ability and edge retention. The Kydex sheath does not offer any mounting straps, only one designed for a secondary retention should you feel the highly effective sheath lock isn’t enough. Several of my colleagues have chosen to conceal carry these blades inside the waistband using a multipurpose UltiClip which clamps down in a vise-like fashion into your clothing. I personally decided to just mount the sheath to a Blade-Tech quick release belt mount for easy on / off application. Thus far, through daily carry, pushing through thick vegetation moving through the woods hunting and out field-testing gear, the sheath and mount have held up with. I freely admit, I am not the type of person that cleans my gear regularly after every outing but the Black Powder Coat that comes on each of the blades in this series has held up very well from scratches, rust and discoloration. FINAL THOUGHTS Over the past six years, I have gotten to know the founders of Spartan Blades both through professional opportunities as well as personal avenues with Curtis’ history working with my cousin, <strong>PMCI</strong> Magazine’s own Shawn Swanson. I can honestly say, these guys are what America is all about. Mark and Curtis love their country and have sacrificed the bulk of their adult lives to its service doing things most folks will never have the courage or guts to do. To this day, these men proudly pursue living the American dream of business owners providing top quality products they themselves would count on with their lives. In my opinion, the Spartan Blades Professional (Silver) series does nothing short of delivering on what the company and its founders stand for. Not everyone can afford a US$450 Canadian Specials Forces combat knife, nor do they probably have need for one. However, this new series of professional quality blades at a more budget friendly price does offer just as many benefits to the average working man and woman. Moving into 2022, Spartan Blades has already announced three more blades to be added to the series with more collaborations coming from the icon himself, Bill Harsey! So, if you’re looking for top quality and mission ready products, make www.SpartanBladesUSA.com your next stop. Train Hard and Continue the Fight my friends. BLADES: SPARTAN
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PMCI November 2021

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