Gede Ruins

The heat was oppressive, the air heavy with humidity, with monkeys scampering about and exotic bird calls echoing through the lush greenery.  Wandering about the wonderful lost city deep in the African jungle, it wasn't long before my imagination was conjuring up Indiana Jones and Allan Quatermain.  Johnny Weissmuller's famous Tarzan yell wouldn't have been out of place.

Nestled into coastal jungle about an hour North of Mombasa lies the ruins of an old Swahilli village, of which there is no written record of it's existence.  Archeologist have unearthed sufficient clues to place Muslims from all over the world in the village from roughly the thirteenth century, discovering beads from Venice, coins and pots from China, iron lamps from India and scissors from Spain.  It's unclear why the town was abandoned, but there are clues that the nomadic Oromo tribe from Somalia occupied the buildings in the sixteenth century.  Since then....monkeys.   I was very impressed with the ingenious water ducts coursing through the complex, deep wells drawing up cool air and spreading it through the living areas, and the natural acoustic design of rock amplification carrying the call to prayer throughout the village.  It was well worth the rough roads and aching kidneys.

A drive out to the coast, out to Hemingway's, a nice beachside resort with plenty of photos of "Papa" and numerous deep sea trophies on the walls, for a pleasant lunch.  Deep sea fishing trips available for those with the cash.  I was never able to ascertain whether Ernest actually spent any time at the place, but I certainly appreciated the effort.  I'm a big fan.  It was a fine day.

Back in Mombasa, our lives are either spent in obscene traffic jams to and from the airport daily, our Engineers actually witnessed a guy getting shot, in retaliation for his hand pulled cart scratching a passing car, the driver in a fit of rage shooting the poor cart puller, or we fly, which is why we are all here in the first place, or we lounge about after work in the beachside resort.  It's not a difficult pace to maintain.  It's a job.  It's a life.  Not many would change it for anything.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia.  I was a tad excited about getting someplace new, even if it is just an airport terminal.  I was quite comfortable on the Ethiopian Airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with plenty of legroom, very good meals, and I actually managed to sleep for eight hours of the twelve hour flight.  We were delayed three hours getting out of Toronto, and with a three hour connection in Addis Ababa, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make Mombasa that day.  I was surprised to be met getting off the aircraft by airline staff and I was whisked across the tarmac by bus directly to my flight to Mombasa!  They were waiting for me!  Service!  So I didn't even get to see the terminal, but at least I got some great views of Ethiopia from the air. I'd gladly travel with Ethiopian Airlines again, even though one of their aircraft out of Addis Ababa was hijacked the next day.  The co-pilot waited for the captain to step out to pee, then locked the door, declared an emergency, and flew to Geneva, requesting asylum.  I don't think he really thought it through as he'll probably spend the next twenty years in prison.


The riots that had plagued Mombasa have settled, and I was happy to arrive back at our beautiful seaside resort.  I came back early to cover numerous training requirements, and I've been busy flying and sorting out currencies.  It will be awhile before the dust settles.  Yesterday was spent doing multiple IFR approaches and numerous engine failures and rejected take offs and all other sort of emergency for a cheery new hire from Austria.  We had a blast, and he's off on his check ride now.  Tomorrow I have a SAR training sortie planned with hoisting to boat decks, and that's always a very good day.  Despite being relatively busy, I have been able to grab a few laps in the pool, but I'm still Canadian pasty white.  I'll be working on that.  Yesterday the hotel had me change rooms, from a two star level room that had seen better years, to a very modern and comfortable Shangri-La with decent though sporadic internet, and a third floor balcony overlooking the sea.  I fell asleep listening to waves break on the beach with a fresh breeze off the Indian Ocean rustling through the palms, and woke to a beautiful African sunrise.  Life is tough.

My favourite knives.....

Figured I try something different, seeing as I'm home and not much going on, so here's my knife review!  Living in Canada and spending the vast majority of my time in the woods, still an old bush pilot at heart, flying Bell 47s in the high North, living in tent camps with a collapsible fishing rod by my side, with numerous outdoor survival courses under my belt, always camping, hunting, fishing.....you need a knife.  Keep in mind I get bored and change my mind often.  This is my fairly new SOG Bowie 2.0, my full time in the woods/everything knife.  It's a pretty good stainless steel, has already gutted and cleaned a few snow hares for stew, and I wish I had it in Africa on my hunting safari.  The leather handle might not be the most robust in wet climates, but I've oiled it and soaked it in wax so it should stand up.  I find a classic Bowie blade, under seven inches, serves well, and this is a nod to history; a recreation of the issue knife for the top secret Vietnam/CIA SOG (Studies and Observation Group).  If it was good enough for those cats, it's good enough for me. 

I often carry SOG's much smaller and lighter Seal Pup Elite as my survival knife overseas. 

Very lightweight and compact, it doesn't cut much into your baggage allowance, and being stainless and coated, you don't have to worry about it.  More than capable if you ever need it.  It's always in my flight bag, but I'm not overly fond of the zytel handle.  A steal pommel for breaking windows would be great.

This sexy little folder on top is a CRKT M21-02; about as practical and tough as they get in an easy to carry pocket knife, and it's ALWAYS on me, overseas and at home.  I have an M21-14SF as well, albeit too big for home carry but maybe for overseas depending on where I'm posted, how rough the area is, etc, I may take it instead.  Those three knives are all I need, but I've been through quite a few getting there......some honorable mentions......

This Nova Scotia handmade beauty from XXX knives, with the whale bone and cherry wood handle, has gutted more speckled trout caught on a fly rod in obscure deep woods streams than all my other knives combined.

This beautiful Arno Bernard "Hippo" from South Africa, with it's giraffe shin bone handle, was actually designed for gutting and cleaning elephant and cape buffalo, but I've been carrying it for Nova Scotia white tail deer.  It's a beautiful knife but kind of expensive so I'm nervous using it for rougher bushcraft, but it's extremely well built and handles everything with aplomb.  I'm thinking it's a real collector's item, and the highest quality knife I own.  I almost always carry it hunting now because I love the thing and like to see it utilized.  Using Bohler N690 steel at 60 rockwell, honed to a very fine edge, you really couldn't get any better.  I really appreciate the coolness and practicality of having a giraffe shinbone handle, and the cape buffalo sheath makes it a class act, and both are tough as nails.  The steel is first rate and incredibly sharp and hard wearing.  It is a tad on the big side for cleaning smaller game so I recently purchased a smaller Arno Bernard "Zebra" with a giraffe shin bone handle as well.  I was leaning towards getting a warthog ivory handle but this one was on clearance and saved a great deal of money, and I use it for skinning and gutting rabbits, and for trout too as I snapped the tip off that XXX above last season.....

The Boker below is one very wild knife.  I don't have to worry about the elements with it, and the 440C steel is as good as it gets, but it's more of a Terminator/Survivalist/Fighting blade and a tad over the top for my needs....I feel a little silly carrying it, but perhaps after a zombie infestation....

Some knives I don't use anymore.....

This German made Bowie from Puma is very classic, but the deer antler handle was too small for comfortable use with that big blade, so I sold it.....

These Gerber Pilot Survival knives are tough but too heavy for carrying around all the time, my Seal Pup is just as functional and far lighter, and I don't like the serrated blade....trying to keep within airline baggage weight limits with these puppies is impossible.

These RAT/ESEE knives are often totted on the knife forums as THEE survival knife, and while you'll cut your finger even looking at that razor sharp edge, the high carbon blades rust far too rapidly for me.  I had to put down a wounded Blesbuck in South Africa by thrusting one of these into it's heart, and even after wiping the blood off, the edge was badly rusted by the time we got back to camp that night.  That was the last time I carried one.  But I do have one ESEE-3 that is heavily oiled to prevent corrosion, it has a glass breaking pommel and is very compact to carry, and extremely tough, but I'd hesitate to use it much due to the quick and very annoying rusting.  The ESEE-4 is a good size but much thicker and too heavy to carry everywhere, and of course, there is the corrosion issue.  The ties I've put on the sheath allow me to carry it on my belt at my back, and you can't see it at all under a loose shirt.

I carried this very capable Cold Steel SRK (Survival Rescue Knife) for almost twenty years, nothing wrong with it, just got bored and wanted something new;

And this CQC-7 (Close Quarter Combat) from Emerson (a former SEAL) was thee standard carry for Seals and the CIA for many, many years, and was on my person for over a decade in Baku to Norway and everywhere else, only recently replaced with the CRKT above because there's more handle than blade and it makes a large lump in my pocket.....

And last but not least, if you ever need to clear trail, forget the machete, this Cold Steel Kukri, carried by Gurkha regiments since the 1800's, will do just about any heavy cutting job you could ever ask for.  I've cleared miles and miles of trails with this beast...

So there you have it.  My take on knives, from some extensive experience in the bush.  The top three are all you really need.....

I'm off to Mombasa, Kenya via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia early tomorrow morning, so I'm sure I'll have something to write about soon enough........


Update: January 2015

Admittedly, I get bored.  Here's my "new" bush knife, that's already skinned a few snow hares and will be on me in the jungles of Suriname for my next gig, the Benchmade 162 Bushcrafter, with a high ground drop-point S30V stainless steel blade with a rugged functional design and perfectly sized, albeit perhaps a tad too thick and heavy.  I had to modify the sheath slightly so the knife hung lower on the belt, and cut off the sharpener holder.  Heavier than my Seal Pup Elite, and weight is a serious issue if you're going to be carrying this in your luggage, and possibly stowed in your day pack everyday, and weighing that against actually ever having any need for the thing.....but it's so seriously cool.....

I also just received a Boker Plus Voxknives Rold for carrying around home in the woods, as the D2 steel is far more rust resistant than ESEE's 1095 steel, and the six inch blade might serve better for my survival needs than the Benchmade, but I'm not about to tap into my luggage weight further and carry it overseas.  Unfortunately the Boker Kydex sheath is terrible, very loose fitting, so I threw it in the oven at 300F for ten minutes and reshaped and trimmed it to something acceptable, and added the leather belt loop.  It's a very nice and practical knife, as sturdy as one would ever need, yet not overly thick and heavy.  Fairly lightweight for the length, and the blade is thin enough for hunting/gutting tasks.  I think it's too big to carry overseas, but I would like to have it on me if the shit hits the fan!


Update: July 2016

Everything I said above holds true, there's some capable gear listed that would suit you well and not break the bank, but I'm always in search of the perfect gear.  Certainly not cheap, I just discovered DPX gear......

I've recently purchased a DPX HEFT 4 that ticks all the boxes for your's truly; with decent corrosion resistance, the perfect size for most anything you'd ever need it for, heavy enough for prying yourself out of some sticky spot, but small and light enough to carry all the time, so the DPX knife will be my "NEW" full-time touring survival/pilot knife.  This is one serious knife.  Made the kydex sheath myself because the stock one that came with it sucks.

Work Wear Canada

I was so impressed with the build, design and quality of the HEFT 4, I got myself a DPX H.E.S.T./F 2.0 to replace my CRKT folders.  This beast is serious kick ass, with a heavy duty thick blade, glass breaker, wire strippers, bottle opener and I couldn't imagine ever needing more of a knife.  Always on me.  It is extremely robust!  I've got both with me in Gabon, Africa right now....




Note:
DPx = Dangerous Places Extreme
HEST = Hazardous Environment Survival Tool
HEFT = Hazardous Environment Field Tool

And then there's this beast! A tad heavy for touring but it's my new bush/hunting knife and who knows, I'm looking into some UN work....

DPx HEST 6 Milspec

Note:  I now get my sheaths from these dudes....  

https://www.dpxgear.com/custom-kydex-sheath-by-regalia-innovations.html

Sesto Calende

Sesto Calende, Italy.  My yearly Transport Canada check ride is coming due yet once again.  Thirty plus years as a pilot, I've done my fair share of them. The Pilot Proficiency Check is a yearly requirement enabling one to fly commercial aircraft and carry passengers, and as the Agusta Westland factory is just up the road, it makes good sense to have their training centre here.  We politely asked if we could get on a factory tour, to see where our aircraft are made, but we're told a trip to the moon would be easier.  I imagine a trip to the moon would be very difficult so we took that for a "no".  It's been raining steadily but we had one sunny day, which we made the most of, spending the morning walking around Arona just up the road, drinking cappuccinos and eating gelato.  This is not the Italy that the tourist's brochures advertise, this is Northern Italy, about an hour out of Milan, and it's more industrial, more like home, but there are quaint little scenic haunts here and there if one doesn't mind seeking them out.  The food is amazing, the wine....well, it is Italy!  Last year we drove around Lac Maggiore, up into Switzerland, grabbing lunch in Muralto, before coming around the lake and back to Sesto in time for supper, but free time and weather didn't cooperate this time around. The training with the factory instructors has been top notch, as usual, and the simulator flying, fraught with very bad weather and emergency after emergency, was challenging and fun.  We still have the actual check rides late this evening, then a very early flight back to Eastern Canada, catch my breath, then back across the pond.  I'm looking at a 13 hour direct leg from Toronto to Addis Ababa, smack dab in the middle of Ethiopia, then a short hop down to Mombasa, Kenya, where riots are in full swing.  After several Al Shabab - Al Qaeda terrorist attacks in Kenya, in retaliation for Kenyan military forces wrestling Somalia out of the hands of extreme right fundamentalists, the Kenyan authorities have stepped into a Mombasa mosque well known as an Al Shabab recruitment centre.  Shots were fired, people were killed, and the rioting has hence been steady and creating mayhem for operations.  Apparently a few people were stabbed today and numerous commercial vehicles set ablaze.  The worst of it is on the only route from our hotel to the airport.  I had to deal with similar riots when we were based in Mombasa over a year ago, so it's nothing new.  Got to love Africa!

Cool

Cannonball Adderley, Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Mulligan, Mann, Gillespie and Getz, and throw some Nina Simone in the mix, raising my spirits to new heights, carrying away my doubts, wiping away lingering uncertainty, clearing the air.  Music does the soul good.  I'm in a mood for jazz, waiting at yet another airport, Italy bound, too much on my mind and too much time to think about it, delayed for hours due to freezing rain somewhere I'm not even heading to, but where my plane is coming from.  It's quite nice here, still only a ten minute drive from my house.  It would have been nice to head back home and hang out but its not to be; it's the middle of the night and no one wants to get out of bed, so here I sit, getting cool.