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The Nightwatch 5.0 – Vagnino/Laconico Mid-Tech Collaboration Knife

By on August 24, 2012 in Knives, Survival

I have owned and used several knives from Ray Laconico over the years. Ray has recently begun to collaborate with talented ABS Master Smith Mike Vagnino. One of the first fruits of this collaboration is the mid-tech Nightwatch 5.0.

The Nightwatch 5.0 features a 5″ blade ground from 3/16″ thick D2 steel. It has a symmetrical full tang handle with a full integral guard. The clip point blade features a 3/4 length false edge. Other features like hollow tubing handle rivets, micarta handle slabs, and generous lanyard hole round out this versatile design.

If you are interested in more information, you can visit Ray and Mike’s forum on BladeForums.com.

Why We Train: Don’t Forget the Wife

By on August 24, 2012 in Why We Train

During my deployment to Iraq, one of my close friends in the unit was enjoying a call home to his wife. It happened to be late at night her time, and while they were speaking a man started trying to force his way into the apartment, where she was alone. My buddy told her to retrieve her firearm (that he had instructed her how to use) and then call 911 immediately. He hung up and then had to sit, pray and wait while being thousands of miles away and totally unable to help.

After an agonizing delay, he learned that the police had arrived and forcibly subdued the drunken creep before he was able to enter the apartment. He damaged their door, but the deadbolt held and that kept his wife from having to make a deadly force decision while already under the stress that comes with having a husband deployed to a combat zone. While we discussed the incident later, I clearly remember how glad he was that he had armed and trained his wife to protect herself.

When it comes time to hit the range, the wife is often times left at home. This is understandable because she often isn’t nearly as interested in recreational shooting/training and also has many duties that occupy her time in the home. However, don’t neglect to prepare her for a deadly force situation. The best answer is to invest in professional training for her as well, but if this isn’t possible look for ways to include her in your range trips and work on dry fire/scenarios at home.

Martha Lewis displayed the presence of mind to arm herself, arm her children, call 911, and successfully use her firearm to defend her family. Image source: WVTM-TV

This Alabama woman was home alone with her daughters when she was forced to shoot a late night home invader. Amazingly, she had the presence of mind to call 911, arm herself, direct her daughters to arm themselves, and still confront and stop the intruder before he caused any harm to the family. Obviously, she gets it: “There‘s so much talk about banning guns and gun control but they’re for protection,” she said. “There’s no way that I could have fought him off.”

Damage Industries Muzzle Brake

By on August 24, 2012 in Guns

Damage Industries is offering a new muzzle brake. The new brake features a simple design that is machined from 4140 steel and black phosphate finished. It is available in 1/2×28 and 5/8×24 thread patterns.

The real news is the price. We don’t usually talk about price here on JTT, preferring to let you decide what something is worth. However, in this case the price is a defining feature. This brake costs only $17.95 and it is on sale for an introductory price of $14.95.

I have no data on the performance of this brake but I suspect that many people will be willing to give it a try based on the price alone. Check out DamageUSA.com for more details.

Review: Shellback Tactical Shoulder Pad Set

By on August 23, 2012 in Tactical Gear

The Shellback Tactical Banshee Plate Carrier is now widely known as a tremendous value in the plate carrier market. When I reviewed it, I was blown away by the combination of quality, features, and functionality that it offers for the relatively low price. Shortly after I purchased my Banshee PC, Shellback Tactical introduced a set of shoulder pads that were made for the Banshee (and other plate carriers that Shellback Tactical offers) that promised to make an already comfortable PC, even more comfortable. I had to try them so I purchased a set while they were on sale.

The shoulder pads have a wrap-around design that makes them very easy to install and remove. They offer quite a bit of padding – enough that you will likely have to adjust the shoulder straps to get the plates to ride at the same height as they did without the shoulder pads. The inside of wrap around portion of the pads is lined with rubber no-slip material which does a good job of locking them in place.

Each pad has 3 elastic loops that can be used for routing cables or hydration tubes. The loops are generously sized enough that you can pass the mouthpiece of a hydration tube through them fairly easily. If you don’t want or need the elastic loops, they can be trimmed off easily.

These pads are very comfortable. They provide quite a bit of additional padding in both thickness and length. The design is such that the padded piece is much longer than the wrap-around portion. This allows the shoulder pad to bridge the gap between the pads on the Banshee’s build in shoulder pads.

I really haven’t noticed any difference in the mobility of the plate carrier with the pads installed. I also haven’t noticed any change at all in how the rifle is shouldered with the additional padding. The extremely compact design of the Banshee (which is part of what makes it great) is basically not changed in any noticeable or functional way by these shoulder pads except for the additional comfort.

Given the versatility of the simple wrap-around design, these shoulder pads will fit many other plate carriers from other manufacturers. They are not limited to use with just Shellback Tactical’s plate carriers.

Overall, I am very pleased with the extra measure of comfort that these pads provide. They are versatile enough to work with many carriers but seem to be very clearly designed to work well with the Banshee.

Check out the Shoulder Pads at ShellbackTactical.com.

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