Erek Sanchez

Winkler Knives: Team specific knives for Special Missions Units

Gear loadout is nearly at the top of the list when it comes to mission planning. You check the board and see when you muster, what you are assigned to and what gear you are required to bring. Even before that a lot of thought is given to what type of personal gear to include in your kit.

Knives are one of the items that are sometimes overlooked by some. Most are comfortable with the equipment that they are issued and some do function well. Most times though, items are purchased out of pocket to fill in the gaps. Now with the popularity of Tier 1 operators and their equipment, a lot of focus and interest has been placed on what makes up their kit, especially what types of knives are chosen and why.

Nowadays, there are a plethora of knives to choose from. Some are from reputable companies like Gerber, Ontario and Buck. There are of course knock-offs, rip-offs and just plain stupid-offs.

Daniel Winkler is an American award-winning custom knifemaker based in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA. Winkler is a certified Master Bladesmith with the American Bladesmith Society and has designed and built the knives and tomahawks for the 1992 motion picture: The Last of the Mohicans.

Considered by most knife aficionados to be one of the Top Ten custom bladesmiths in the U.S., Daniel Winkler has been forging custom made knives and tomahawks for over three decades.

I happened to come across his work a few years back while I was working at a F.O.B outside of Kandahar, a BLUE member was eating chow and I saw what looked like an antique bowie on his belt. I asked him about it, thinking he would tell me that it was handed down to him from generations starting from his great-great-great grandfather, or that he picked it up at an antique shop somewhere. What he did tell me is that he had Daniel Winkler make it for him. Interesting.

Of course, I asked for more info and he just took it out and let me inspect it. I immediately noticed its weight, not too heavy but it had a “meaty” feel to it. I felt this was more of a tool than a blade for show. It had a very sharp edge and my new friend said that it keeps its edge for quite a while.

I was intrigued and I wanted to know more about this guy. I viewed his website and his hand-forged knives are wonders of great craftsmanship and art, my research led me to know that his knives are sought-after pieces and to own one is fortunate.

In 2006 he started his Winkler Knives II series. These knives and tomahawks are not hand forged, but are water-cut from solid 52-100 and 5160 steel. (A few of the specialty items may be cpm3v or H 13, depending on the primary purpose).

The whole process takes up to 42 steps, including cutting, grinding, tempering, quenching in salt pots (a technique used to create an oxygen-free atmosphere), and more grinding.

I asked him how did he come up with his series. He told me that he was asked by individual guys in DEVGRU and CAG to make them a usable blade that can survive severe wear and tear, make it during the rigors of being in the field while still maintaining its cutting edge, the issued ka-bar or dive knives are not ‘cutting” it.

He then chimes in and says, “Of course! Those are massed produced and the blade geometry and heat treating is different. What I do is make sure the correct heat-treating is done after all the grinding is complete. Heat-treating prior to grinding is a common practice of mass-produced knives.”

So what makes a top quality knife? Physics, geometry and chemistry. Everything has to come together just right to reach near perfection. It cannot be too soft or hard, so technique is essential. Each knife is custom made and tirelessly worked to come up with a finished product for the individual customer. One of my favorites is his “SPIKE” model, this taken from his website:

Reports from the field often relate how knives are used for chores other than cutting in emergency situations. Glass breaking and prying seem to be recurring “non-intended use” situations, thus the development of the Winkler Knives II Spike. As a conventional knife, Spike is made of 3/16″ 52-100 steel that sharpens easily and holds its edge well. The drop point design means that the blade’s energy is centered, thus minimizing drift. Handle contours make it possible to comfortably reverse grip when utilizing the spike for its intended uses. Blade length 5 1/4″ – Overall length 10″ – Weight 5.5 oz. – 6.5 oz. depending on handle material chosen.

The demo shows him smashing in a front windshield using the spike end, pretty gnarly.

His shop is capable of producing 10-60 blades in a session, but that is dependent on the customer. Some may order a lot, a few or just one, It all depends on when you want it. He will not sacrifice quality for speed, you get what you want but be patient.

His pride is reflected in his work. Each knife and axe style is tested before it is sent out, cutting rope, smashing car windows, breaking cinder blocks, etc and they STILL maintain their function as intended. All of his blades have that S.F. mentality, K.I.S.S.

What you will not see on a DW is shiny metal with knuckle rings, swoopy Klingon looking monstrosities. Shop for tactical knives and you know what I mean. It seems that tactical knives are used for combat, I have never heard a knife being used as a primary weapon of choice.

What you will get from a DW knife is quality, anything that you will go thru sure as shit a DW knife will survive. He takes a hunk of steel and makes a workable, dependable tool that will slice meat paper thin.

I asked him if he has ever put on a uniform, he replied humbly that he didn’t have the honor of doing so. I told him that for the guys who own and are using his knives and tomahawks I don’t think that matters, he is doing a fine job for the boys these past years. He chuckled and said that is great to hear and is proud to help out any way he can…even giving a 25% discount to military members. Check it out for yourself lads.

*featured image courtesy of Devgrupics IG page – A peak inside of a DEVGRU Red Squadron operator’s loot crate before a deployment.

Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter | Quick look

Choosing a Mini knife for the mariner, outdoorsman or hunter is difficult. I am fortunate to work as a bosun on a research vessel and I deal with a multitude of different types of ropes and lines in a variety of sizes. For mariners, knives are an extremely important part of kit, small and compact preferred. Ideally, having a serrated edge on your blade is usually the norm, but I was asked to try out the Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter knife and see how it measured. All in all, not a bad piece of steel. The quality and durability are superb. It kept its edge after cutting a few nylon/cotton lines. The mini hunter comes light, only weighing 2oz. The size is, for me, about the right size, a 3-inch blade and a 3 and five-eighths Long Kray-Ex handle. The sheath is made by Secure-ex, tough and rugged. What I did especially like about is the steel that makes up the blade. 3mm VG-1 stainless cut well and keeps its edge, combined with the sheath it is easily concealable. Overall this little blade is an asset to any go bag or EDC.

Courtesy of Cold Steel

The Mini Hunter is an indispensable tool that makes a perfect addition to any hunting pack or survival kit, while being innocuous enough to wear on your hip without drawing unwanted attention.

*Photos courtesy of the author

Pistol Training Basics: Building Your Shooting Stance

Taken individually, the draw stroke, trigger position, hand position, body posture, breath control, and sight focus are easy to work on. For example, if you’re not worried about anything but focusing on the front sight of your pistol (unless you’re like me and have started working towards using just a red dot on your pistols), it’s easy to remember to do it. However, do you as a shooter remember to do this when you’re working on your finger position? How about when you’re working on breath control and body posture?

Starting out as a stationary shooter and working through all of these techniques is a great way to build up the muscle memory and habits you will need as you advance to more active shooting courses. I know of no master shooters that are perfect on all of these, either, so it’s always going to be a skill set that you are working on. Before worrying at all about accuracy and combat shooting, mastering techniques should be your first goal.

Shooting Stances – 2 Hands

This may sound silly, but shooting stance is more important than you might realize. Like a rifle, the handgun benefits from a stable platform, and it’s important to find a comfortable shooting position that affords the most stability possible.
More advanced training builds on these with more advanced positions that allow for much more extreme situations the shooter might find himself in.

The Isosceles and the Modern Combat Stance

The most classic stance of pistol shooting is the Isosceles. This position finds the shooter squared off to the target, feet shoulder width apart, legs straight, arms straight out, elbows turned outwards and slightly bent. With this position, both hands are equally responsible for guiding the weapon, and the elbows’ position allows the arms to act as shock absorbers, bringing the gun straight back into the chest rather than directing recoil upwards. This position is a classic, used by military and police shooters, and is often seen in self defense and basic pistol courses.

One of the downsides of this shooting stance is it is not very cover-friendly. However, compare this to the comments from Mr. G. Gilbert, a trained combat medic on the shooting stance:

As a medic in combat I’ve seen numerous wounds that entered through the side of the body and ALL of them were fatal. We call the side shot “the pathway to your soul”. By squaring your upper body to the threat, you have a much better chance of surviving a hit. That’s where your “natural” armor protects you the most and if you’re wearing actual body armor, your plates are there to take the hit. Our bodies natural “alarm response” is to square up toward the threat for that reason.

With this stance, also, the body is brought into proper alignment for absorbing recoil and reducing the flip of the gun. Movement is also increased by keeping the body in a neutral position. With the proper modern combat stance, the upper body does the work of managing the gun, while the lower body can be freed to respond to and maneuver. Also, this position and the fundamentals expressed by it help transition into other, less conventional positions.

Quoting another writer who put it far more succinctly than I can:

Ideally you want your legs stable and squared off as well, little bend in the knees, ect, but the idea is that the stance can be preformed regardless of your environs or position. Your upper body always faces the target. Small amount of tension in the abs with a slight lean, your shoulders hunch and you bring your neck and head down to the gun, your arms completely out, just before locking your elbows. Finally your non dominant arm should try and torque on the weapon so that you are ‘rolling’ your elbow out away from your body. This makes it so the elbows will only allow the gun the push backwards towards your body, instead of up under force. The grip is essentially what was detailed in the first article.

In total the stance is about getting as much mass of your back, shoulders, neck, arms, and hands as you can directly contributing to absorbing the reoil of either your handgun or rifle. The stance doesn’t really change between either platform. It helps with how your body reacts naturally under stress and works with those natural reactions, and, once again, has the benefit of squaring your plate to your target and causing your abdomen and neck to ‘hide’ behind your plate due to the way your are leaning.

The Weaver

The Weaver stance is, in my opinion, a more dynamic option. In this position, the body is presented with the strong leg behind the weak leg, shoulders turned at an angle to the target. Arms are again ought and locked slightly bent, elbows turned outwards. This position is very similar to what you might be used to with an M4 or shooting a rifle. In this position, because the body is at an angle, giving you a lower profile.

However, as has been pointed out by our faithful readers and fellow shooters, this actually comes as a detriment in two ways.

First, this position locks you down and reduces movement to address different targets. Second, with the right shot from the side, one bullet can pierce heart and lungs, reducing survivability. Also, as has been pointed out, this position is not as armor-friendly.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q76rZPrha20]

Working Out What Works

As I said earlier, pistol shooting is dynamic, just like a carbine. With the exception of recreational shooting for accuracy, the general use for a pistol is as a defensive/offensive tool, and as such is going to need to work well with your tactics. Stationary stances are good platforms to build on because they will help you as a shooter become comfortable with directing recoil as we move into more advanced techniques. The key to working with any stance is to find one that works well for you, and evaluating how to work it into a shooting routine. Is one more solid than another? How well do you transition your weapon, and support it shooting through a course of fire involving cover and concealment? This is where practice and working through some practical shooting courses helps out a lot.

Shooting Position – 1 Hand

One handed shooting, the old fashioned way

Very few schools cover 1-handed shooting as a primary technique, and very few people really practice it. Most training we have comes from the old military technique where the arm is extended straight out from the shoulder, body sidelong to the target, off-hand placed on the hip, and this is a fairly effective shooting stance. However, with most primary calibers, one hand just doesn’t stabilize the gun as well, and follow-through becomes more difficult. Working the 1-handed stance, however, is important as it brings into play training for situations where one hand or arm is disabled. Being able to shoot accurately and not be surprised by how the gun behaves in one-handed shooting, too, is important in order to give you every chance in a bad situation.

Practice Makes Perfect, and Considerations for Training

There are a lot of things that go into making a good pistol shooter, and there are a lot of tradeoffs that come into play. But we haven’t come to the point in the road where we have to decide between target shooting and combat shooting, or what we focus on. For now, however, remember that practice makes perfect. Fifty rounds once a month is not enough to develop your skills, so investing in quality ammunition and committing to training with your gun is key. Also remember that while it’s important to practice with the caliber and gun you carry (I dump roughly two thousand rounds a month through my carry gun, just to stay current on it), .22 caliber conversion kits and .22 caliber pistols are great in that ammo is extremely inexpensive. Likewise, Airsoft and pellet pistols are good choices as there exists replicas of just about every major firearm, and these allow for training anywhere, not just at a range or safe area.

However you choose to do it, getting involved in training that gets you outside of your comfort zone is ideal. This is like a physical fitness routine, and you have to push yourself, put yourself under strain, and be willing to do whatever it takes to improve yourself.

Stay Safe and Shoot Straight.

Photo of Army Marksmanship Unit shooter courtesy of U.S. Army.

Browning’s M1911: Facts, Myths, and Legends

In the arena of handguns, no gun enjoys as great of a mystique or quite so strong a passion as John Moses Browning’s M1911. Truly, this pistol is one of the first mass-produced handgun styles that brought the idea of field maintenance and shootability to the end user in quite this way.

Previous examples of semi-automatic pistols up to that point all were complex, difficult to service, and bulky. With the M1911, Colt and John Browning brought a big bore cartridge to an automatic pistol, and it forever changed the thinking on handguns.

A Century of Change

When the Army first adopted this sidearm, it was a true sidearm. It was intended to be a backup if your main gun went down and you had to defend yourself at fairly close ranges. For that reason, the gun never had to be that accurate or tight, but it did have to run. And in that regard, the gun performed very well, and worked as it was expected to.

After the war, with a surplus of these guns and a popularity among vets returning home, custom gunsmiths grew up around the aftermarket to begin building these guns into more accurate, tighter , match-grade pistols. By refitting parts and machining parts that were oversized, adding metal here and there to beef it up and recut the frame rails and this piece or that, the gun found a niche in bullseye shooting in a big way. There really weren’t very many options other than this platform, and for that reason, it was the main focus.

By the time the 1980s rolled around, Colt’s Manufacturing wasn’t what it used to be. The guns it turned out were not built as well as they had been 40 years prior, with poor QC, poor fitting, and poor machining techniques. It was at this time more than ever that the 1911 earned a reputation of unreliability and needing a gunsmith tuneup to be the rule rather than the exception.

This was also the time when the patent on the gun ran out.

Gunsmiths turning a tidy profit taking colt guns and rebuilding them for competition or reliability got into the business of producing guns commercially, building pistols commercially with many of the changes that shooters wanted. And, from there, the knockoffs grew and grew and grew.

It’s a Platform, Not A Brand

Fast Forward to the modern age of the 1911. Today there are over 50 manufacturers who all make some version of the 1911.

When this gun was built to military contract specs, it worked because every company making the gun used the same set of details and blueprints, but without that military contract, no manufacturer is held to a certain set of specs. They’re not originals, by the true sense of the word, but each are made to the same basic design spec. This is why a 1911 from Kimber looks the same as a 1911 from Springfield and Ed Brown and Remington and so forth.

However, the devil is in the details here. Many people who malign or even pick up and regurgitate the hate about the platform do so for this simple reason. Like any other similar-but-different item on the market, no two manufacturers agree exactly on how to make this gun. Pin placement, part dimensions, clearances, tolerances, all of these basic details change from brand to brand.

Because of these variations, parts that would otherwise drop in are forced to be made oversized and fitted, as what is too big to work in one brand is undersized in another. Ask any gunsmith about “Drop in” parts, and they’ll explain the same thing.

Setting Expectations

Another factor that works against this platform is shooter expectations. A shooter goes to the store, picks up a glock, and looks it over. It’s fairly rough in its action, it rattles on its slide, it has a fairly rough trigger, but they understand that the gun is durable and reliable and so they are impressed that it’s built for reliability.

Bad 1911 Gunsmithing and Self Installs — Bad Gunsmithing and Self Installs can go horribly, horribly wrong

That same shooter comes in to look at a 1911 after hearing all sorts of stories about this legendary pistol and picks up one of the lower-priced models, and feels the rattle, feels the grit in the trigger, and then compares it to a high-dollar 1911 with more fitting, which is tight, smooth, and pristine. Something must be wrong with that lower-priced gun, it’s fitting isn’t perfect and it’s loose!

Because of the 1911’s popularity with accuracy smiths and the reputation of the gun for being “match grade” and the associated marketing of what the 1911 should be, many people who aren’t gun people assume that a 1911 that isn’t tight, perfectly fit, with light, smooth triggers are broken somehow, or are somehow bad. When the gun doesn’t shoot tiny groups, regardless of what they do, that’s a black mark against the pistol, since they don’t differentiate the brand from the platform.

Another expectation for the platform that many new shooters fall prey to is that they can endlessly modify their gun without issue, or use just any parts or magazines. AR shooters, and even Glock shooters these days, know that not every aftermarket part and mag are made equal. Some work, some don’t, and the quality varies from company to company. So our new shooter has spent some money on aftermarket parts and pieces, and find out that their gun suddenly has an issue. Because our shooter has heard that 1911s can be unreliable, it’s an issue with the gun. It must be.

But It Takes Work, Man!

Larry Vickers, the undisputed master smith of the 1911, combat pistol instructor, and former Delta operator, has often said that if you treat your gun like you treat your lawn mower, don’t buy a 1911. There’s nothing wrong with that advice, and in fact, even as a 1911 fan, I agree to a point. Most 1911s don’t take kindly to being left in salt water or shot and forgotten about without a little love. It’s not a gun you shoot then toss in a bag and never have to touch. However, the image that it’s a gun that won’t make it even 1,000 rounds without issues, is false. The key to reliability is to first find and verify a reliable pistol. ANY maker can make a lemon, and the worst thing you can do is to pick up a gun and assume it works. It’s a machine. It is subject to errors or manufacturing defects the same as any other machine. And you as the shooter have the responsibility to first verify that this gun will run without a problem over the course of about 500 rounds. That’s just basic common sense.

Once you’ve got a gun that runs, you as a user have to make sure that you’re doing the maintenance on the gun. Checking parts that wear like springs and extractors and other such parts is par for the course. Giving the gun a little lube occasionally is also on the list. Most good 1911s will run even if you’re just doing the basics, just like an AR or any other gun. But you have to do your part.

A Serious Pistol

Springfield proved this when they built the Professional model for the FBI’s HRT, the go-to gun for not only the HRT teams but also other law enforcement agents who want this platform. To be chosen, the gun had to run for 20,000 rounds without a loss of accuracy or a failure. The Pro did that. Even the Marine Corps runs 1911s for some of its units, with great success. Even Chris Kyle, in his recent biography, talks about choosing and carrying a TRP from Springfield as his primary sidearm as a SEAL. The gun still serves a serious role for high-end shooters.

Modern iterations of the 1911 are available for every taste. Need more rounds? STI can hook you up with a 1911 pistol that takes 18+ rounds of 9mm. Need lots of .45 ACP? STI and many others have 1911s that can take 15+ rounds of it. And with the right magazines, the 1911 will match most modern polymer guns in .45 ACP at 10+1 rounds.

1911s are even starting to come from the factory set up to run with suppressors and other accessories, adding to the platform’s capabilities.

Bottom Line

Rocking 15+1 in .45 ACP, this gun brings the 1911 in to the Hi Cap world

The 1911 isn’t for everyone, and any shooter who takes seriously his job as a shooter should seriously evaluate the tools he uses to make sure they meet his needs.

The platform has its own baggage, as you might expect for anything that’s gone through a century of change and diversification, and that baggage will be too much for some who want to shoot, but aren’t interested in the nuances of the tools they shoot with.

However, don’t count out this platform as a serious worker. It has a lot of benefits to it, too, but it will require you as a shooter to put in time and effort to learn to use it right.

Vanquest Tough Built Gear: The Mini-Organizer

Vanquest Tough Built Gear: Organization pouches

The guys at Vanquest are in a very competitive backpack/Go Bag market. Let’s face it, there are many companies that offer quality products that meet the requirements of the grunt, the student, or the regular 9-5 Joe. If you are like me, I have tons of little stuff that I use frequently. I use a NAV bag that contains tools to plot courses on nautical charts, and yes I am that old school. Until I obtained the FTIM-HUSKY bag I had to use ziplock bags to store my pencils, dividers, lead, etc. Needless to say, it was not a very efficient way to stow my tools or keep track of what I had or did not have.

The FTIM-HUSKY bag solved that issue. It is compact and able to hold all of my small navigational tools. With its mole design, I can attach it to my NAV BAG or have it in a pocket for easy access. It proves versatile as well, it even functions as a mini-tool bag. For ruggedness, it makes the bar, after a few weeks the zipper edges are not flayed as to get caught while opening or closing. All in all, Vanquish has made a decent mini bag for all of your small items. If you are in need of a small organizer, then this will do well in accompanying any travel bag that you may have now.

WARNING! If you have children they will steal this pouch to cram as many toys as possible. This is not limited to toddlers, teenage girls think this is a great “make-up” travel bag for overnighters with friends.

Weird Gun Wednesday: The Stoner 63 Machine Gun

Talking with Vietnam vets is always a learning experience. They are a truly remarkable bunch of guys who accomplished a lot with very little. I am fortunate to know a SEAL who did some time during the heyday of Vietnam. Reading stories about the Brown Water Navy and SEAL/UDT Platoons in books were great but I had unanswered questions. I was always intrigued on what they did. Their exploits during liberty in the P.I. are hilarious, however what I found most interesting is what they had to work with. What was available? What worked and what didn’t? One particular piece of gear that I read about, and I believe does need mentioning is the Stoner 63. (Mike Perry has an excellent article on the subject.)

What got me curious was what they packed in their load-out. During one such conversation, the question I asked is what specifically they carried. Unlike today, assets can be called in as needed, but during the 60’s it wasn’t so easy. Long range radio communications were very unreliable most times. The River Rats (SWCC) and the Sea Wolves were used for insertion and extraction, but primarily SEAL Platoons were on their own. Recalling past missions he says that they when they geared up, they expected to be outnumbered. So in preparation, a platoon brought everything.

He reflects:

“On my first tour as point-man I chose to use the car-15. After a big firefight I found that I didn’t like changing magazines so I decided to go with the Stoner 63.

It was a little heavier, but with the short barrel and the 150 round left hand feed drum, it was a great weapon. With the adjustable gas port you were able to tune it to shoot 900/1000/1100 rpm. The thing with the Stoner 63 was you had to keep it clean. Shooting 1100 rpm you created a lot of carbon. The Stoner was the weapon that made a seven man squad so bad ass, it gave us the ability to take on a much bigger group. Our squad of seven had four Stoners, two M-60 machine guns, and our RTO carried a car-15 with a 203 grenade launcher. You put this all together and you are putting out over 6000 rpm. That will put the fear of God in you. The saying was “Peace Through Fire Superiority”.

Times have changed. Improved communications, and with more readily available assets, these old school load-outs are far few and in between. However, these old guys knew how to take care of business. We should lend an ear when we can, may learn something new.

(Featured image courtesy of tumblr.com)