Cold Steel is well known for making high quality cutting tools at a reasonable price. Their K-7 Kitchen knives might be the best bargain for the money that they’ve ever made.

For years, I have spent $100-$200 on kitchen knives that claim to offer superior cutting power. I was almost always disappointed after spending so much money on only one knife. When Cold Steel re-released their K-7 kitchen knife with a suggested retail value of $36.99, I had to see if they were truly offering a diamond in the rough.

What I like about the knife:

1. You don’t need to worry about sharpening your K-7 knife very much at all. Cold Steel uses VG-1 stainless steel in the blade, which is well known for staying sharp even after repeated use.

2. Your blade is far less likely to separate from the handle or break. The Cold Steel K-7 Kitchen knife is made with a full tang. This means that the blade steel goes all the way to the end of the handle.

3. It gives you all of the cutting power of a high priced Chef’s knife, at about half the price. The 7-inch blade is the perfect length for cutting lots of food at once.

4. You can make super thin slices with the razor sharp blade. At 1.5mm thick, the K-7 is ideal for preparing vegetables, fruits or meats.

5. The checkered kraton handle gives you an amazing grip. Even if your handle gets wet or slimy, you will probably not have any problem with dropping the knife or having it slip out of your hand.

What I didn’t like:

The only thing that I can think of is that the blade could be a little bit thicker. While it does offer wonderful cutting power, the super thin edge leaves it somewhat vulnerable to cracking or chipping if used on frozen foods.

Overall:

For the money, the Cold Steel K-7 Kitchen knife is the best that I’ve ever had.

You’ll be glad to have this affordable cutting machine in your kitchen.

The survival expert Bear Grylls has recently starred in an amazing series of TV survival programs which are full of both survival and success tips. He introduced this episode as follows:

“I am Bear Grylls. I have survived some of the world’s toughest environments. Now, I’m in Alaska, one of the world’s last great wildernesses and one mistake here can be fatal. My mission – to show you the skills you need to survive here.”

Alaska’s landscape is made up of endless coastline, deep forest and huge glaciers. Seventeen of the highest mountains in the USA are in Alaska.

Mountaineers, skiers and hikers visit every year to enjoy the wilderness but with the thrills comes danger. Over 20 people die every year.

Bear was placed by helicopter on top of a mountain in the role of a lost skier. All he had was a knife, a water bottle, skis, a flint, an intrepid camera crew and a woolly hat! He would have to find his own way back to safety.

He described what happened next:

“I am 9000 feet up and there is nothing but snow and rock for miles and miles. My best chance of survival is to head downwards.

“The biggest threat to skiers is avalanche. They kill around forty people every year in North America. One wrong turn and the whole mountain side could come crashing down on you. You need to know how to avoid them.

“The key with avalanches is to read the snow and you can use the ski pole in front of you just to test the snow to see whether it is compacted or whether it is in layers.

“What you want is when you push it in, it is nice and consistent but if you push it down and it like suddenly drops a little bit, it’s a sign it’s in layers and that’s the dangerous stuff.

“Avalanches are often triggered by inexperienced skiers and snow boarders who come to enjoy the forty feet of virgin snow which can often fall here.”

In early 2006 a snow boarder from Anchorage triggered a 200ft wide avalanche on a slope just like the one Bear was on. His body was eventually recovered three months later. He had fallen 1600 feet.

“Where there is a risk of avalanche, always carry a beacon. They transmit a signal which a rescue service can follow.

“I’ve descended at least 5000 feet now and at last I’m leaving the high snow faces behind There is so much rock that it is becoming impossible to ski any further. All these skis are going to do is slow me down. I’m better off without them.”

Bear dumped the skis but kept one of the poles.

“Below me is a glacier, literally a river of ice, and like a river this glacier flows downhill. If I can get to it, it should lead me out of the mountains.

“To get to the glacier I need to follow this ridge and it’s not easy and the temperature is dropping fast. Temperatures here in Alaska can reach as low as minus 60 degrees and frostbite is always a danger in the mountains.

“The bits to watch out for are your extremities – your hands, your feet and your face. The signs you are getting frostbite is that your skin goes this waxy red colour and eventually black. Frostbite is a really horrible and painful thing.

“This ridge has led me to a north facing slope. This gets less sunlight so it is still covered in snow. The weather is not looking so good. Getting caught out in bad weather can be fatal.

“I need to get down fast but the slope below me is nearly 300 feet. I am going to use a technique called ‘glissade’.”

To perform the glissade, you dig in your ice axe to control the speed of your descent. If you don’t dig in the axe enough you will go too fast. If you dig it in too deep, it can get ripped out of your hand.

Bear used half a ski stick as he had no axe and descended at about 50 miles per hour clinging desperately to the stick. He continued his account:

“I’ve reached a glacier. There are over 100 thousand of these in Alaska. They form the largest fresh water reservoir on earth but they are full of crevasses often covered by layers of snow. You need to be roped to a partner to cross them safely.

“My luck is in. There is solid ground running alongside the glacier. But at the bottom of the glacier there is a forty foot waterfall.

“There is an ice tunnel into the glacier which could lead me out. Check the ice is solid before you go in. There could be over 200 feet of ice above me and it could crash down at any moment. Only go through such a tunnel as a last resort. The further you go in the harder it is to go back.”

I’m not sure what the camera crew had to say about this little adventure!

Then, Bear saw daylight ahead. It showed his way out:

“I have never been so relieved. Finally, I am off the glacier!”

He took his ski boots off but kept the inner shoes on. He drank some water which looked dirty but the brown colour was glacial silt or pulverised rock. Bear commented: “This water should be good to drink.”

He continued to move downwards: “Now I am off the mountain, I need to keep heading down to find food and shelter.”

He was dive bombed by seagulls who were protecting their eggs which are packed with protein, vitamins and minerals but he was out of luck and only found stones which looked like eggs. However, he was far from discouraged:

“The landscape is beginning to open up and I can see the tree line ahead and I am almost in the forest. I can see a thick forest and deep gorge and there might be a river at the bottom of that. Most Alaskan villages are along rivers.”

He was now in bear country.

Brown bears can grow up to nine feet tall, weigh up to 1100 pounds and can tear a man apart. When rangers found the remains of a hiker’s body, who was recently killed, there were two empty shells on the ground but the bullets had not been enough to stop the bear.

Big groups rarely get attacked because they make lots of noise. Hunters are more likely to be attacked because they are sneaking round quietly on their own.

Bears are at their most dangerous when they are surprised so make a lot of noise by shouting things. Bear started to shout: “YO BEAR! YO BEAR!”

But he felt uncomfortable however much noise he made!

He found some berry seeds in bear crap. The good news – there are edible berries around. The bad news – there are bears around!

I was once chased by a mountain bear cub in Tehran. I ran much faster than usual (I was eight at the time) and escaped. I would not have liked to race an adult bear.

Bear climbed down a huge 200 foot waterfall: “Let your legs take the pressure. They are much stronger than your arms.”

It is crucial to take your time in such situations – you can only make one mistake.

He next found some Eskimo potato which is full of starch and carbohydrates and is said to be the most valuable food source in Alaska.

He built a bed with branches to keep his body above the cold ground and then found some alder saplings to build a half dome shelter. To waterproof, you add layers of spruce from the bottom upwards.

He lit a fire which would put off the bears. In this part of Alaska, the black bears are more dangerous than the grizzlies.

Grizzlies are territorial so if you meet them be submissive and back off. However, if you meet a black bear it will probably be after you. They kill less humans than Grizzlies but, in 90% of their attacks, they stalk humans.

If you are cornered by a black bear you will have to fight for your life. Most locals carry a gun but, if you are without a gun, grab a stick and jab it in the bear’s eyes.

In the night, Bear heard something moving around. It might have been a moose or a bear:

“I hope, whatever it is, it will leave this ‘bear’ alone!”

He awoke at 5 a.m. exhausted on his second day in Alaska:

“I’m a bit cheesed off but that’s OK. When you’ve been wet all night, it’s OK to be a bit cheesed off.”

He followed a stream to a river and then down to the sea coast where most people would be. But he could still go 500 miles in each direction and find no one:

“My best chance of rescue is to be spotted by one of the many small fishing boats that fish this area.”

He saw some bald eagles who were after salmon. The river is packed with king and pink salmon. Bear did not have a fishing line but, undeterred he made a fishing spear. He always looks for an alternative instead of giving up.

Bear spooked the salmon into about six inches of water by shouting and hitting the water with his spear. He, eventually, speared a large salmon and tucked in immediately:

“They are packed full of protein and you can eat the scales as well as they are small. I’ve always liked sushi!

“I may be out of the forest but I am still surrounded by bears who come down here to fish.”

He now looked for shelter. Caves are ready made shelters but they are often occupied by wild life including bears. He found a shallow cave with high walls where nothing could sneak up on him from behind.

He next found mussels. Shell fish should always be cooked properly first. He surrounded the mussels with two layers of seaweed which would steam cook them in ten minutes. I am suprised that Bear did

not suggest eating the seaweed as well:

“When you collect the mussels tap them. If they don’t close, they are already dead so leave them.”

He created a signal fire with white smoke to contrast with the dark trees behind him but he did not see any boats so he had to keep moving.

Suddenly Bear spotted some wooden buildings but they were deserted. Alaska has a history of boom and bust.

He saw some glaciers which are often tourist hotspots. He would have a better chance of contacting other humans there but it would be a long walk.

Bear decided to use an old boat which he found near the buildings. He used a spade as a paddle. One of the core lessons of survival is to be open to every opportunity. It is the same with success.

An old boat in a sea full of ice is a risk but it was his best option. He slowly worked his way round the coastline. As he continued, he came across a bay full of sea ice. As he went into the bay the ice thickened and ice blocks were all around him.

He moved in among little icebergs. These can suddenly overturn as the water melts the ice underneath. Freezing water was beginning to seep into the boat. He quickly packed his heavier clothes into his back pack to avoid being weighed down.

His boat sank and he was in the icy water. The danger was that he might suck up a huge gulp of water and air but he made it to dry land.

Once on shore, he removed the rest of his clothes quickly. You survive longer naked than you do in wet clothes. He did push ups to get the blood flowing.

His jacket had stayed dry in his back pack. This would help. He stayed put for a while and then moved on but:

“Just when I’ve given up hope, I hear the distant sound of an engine.”

He waved his arms and back pack in the air:

“They’ve seen me! I’m on my way home! Alaska is a place where you can truly come close to nature and that for me is its real magic.”

What success lessons can be learned?

You need to know how to avoid the disasters of life whether they are to do with avalanches, personal relationships, finance, health or life itself. Learn the skills and knowledge you need or employ an expert.

Don’t hang about. Moving fast on any project will keep your enthusiasm alive. It will keep you warm enough to survive a mountain descent.

Get rid of whatever slows you down whether they are ski’s or heavy boots or bad habits.

Don’t wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel, stride down there and light the ***** thing yourself! (Quote from Sara Henderson)

Go slow and take your time when facing dangerous obstacles where each step matters – sign any contracts with care!

It’s OK to feel depressed at times. If you spend the night soaking wet it is OK to feel ‘cheesed off’ but at least appreciate being able to sleep most nights in a warm, dry bed!

Seize any opportunity that comes your way.

Learn which foods and drinks are most valuable.

If you go down into the woods today, don’t surprise the teddy bears or you will become their picnic!

The M4 by Columbia River Knives and Tools is a massively impressive knife with plenty of understated elegance.

Lets start with the handle: black G10 on the bottom which flows into classy bead blasted stainless steel bolsters. It has steel liners, which ridge up on the back and are jimped for great thumb control. The M4 has a liner lock with CRKT’s Auto Lawks secondary lock system.

This creates a virtual fixed blade, in that without disengaging the secondary lock, the primary liner lock CANNOT close. An ideal blade for those tough cutting tasks that you don’t normally want to put a knife through, like notching wood or batoning through logs to make firewood. This knife can handle it.

The blade is of the tried and true drop point design with a bead blasted, high hollow grind that is slightly convexed. The blade is thumb stud deployable, and can come with the Assisted Opening feature, which requires you to manually start deployment, and a spring engages which finishes the motion until the blade double locks securely. Of course, with all speed assisted knives, this can easily be removed by unscrewing the torsion bar.

The pocket clip is non adjustable in the tip down carry method, so that the blade cannot be engaged when removed from the pocket. This is a versatile knife that can be used at home, at a construction site, in the great outdoors, or at your next social gathering in the pocket of your tux. How will you use yours?

Many times when you cook a recipe for the first time you do not seem to get it right. It had the same organic ingredients, the quantity was measured and the grinding was perfect, yet the colour does not seem right and so does the taste. This usually happens when the expectations go high. As a parent it is an overwhelming emotion to see that your child crosses the milestones. To see the child develop his motor skills is amazing.

Children are like a putty and they take the shape of the mould. Many of our childhood dreams must have faded away with other responsibilities of time. Let us take this opportunity in parenting to nourish our child and acknowledge his/her talent. One responsibility as a parent is to expose you child to the wonders of nature. Take them to see the mountains, to the beach or show them a desert. Indirectly their natural talent is getting the vibes and this is influencing their brain to orient towards an inherent talent which every human being is born with.

Give them crayons, safe colours, brushes and let them begin by scribbling. Take them in the courtyard and paint a tree for them. Let them do the colouring (green leaves and brown bark). Watch for enterprising techniques and encourage their creativity. If you truly think that your child is artistic, enroll him in a full fledged painting class which can be later scaled to sculpture classes, canvas paintings and other forms of paint works. Your duty here is to acknowledge the talent, understand the interest level of the child and provide for a scenario that encourage the art work.

Pottery is exciting for children. Creativity in making the pot, painting the same can become an indigenous activity in gifting others during birthdays and anniversaries. Children love to receive and give gifts and it is an exciting idea to present them with a pottery kit. They sure will promise you with an exciting gift for the next family occasion. Gardening hobbies and cooking are interesting to the entire family inculcating joy in team work. Music is divine, key board classes and guitar are good habits which can be a life time evolving process.

It is highly difficult to recognize talent, do not goad a child to climb the stage and participate in a fancy dress competition or sing/dance at a talent contest. Do not pass you own ambitions on to your progeny as each individual is special. It is good to regard genetics and if you are good at dramatics and theater and you see the signs of exponential talent in your child, then bring them forward.

Failure for a child is crumbling his confidence. Before you decide on the hobby class, speak to your child if she is interested. Make time to wait by, outside the class and consult the teacher for reports. Set time aside for playing, TV watching and let the child, ‘be’. Juggling is an experts job and see that the child is not pressurized from one hobby class to regular school with no time left to enjoy the innocence of childhood.

A timeless classic directed and co-written by John Houston from another great stage play by Tennessee Williams. Anthony Veiller was Houston’s co-writer. An unqualified 10 out of 10 despite the fact that it won no Oscars except for the “Best Costume Design, Black-and-White” for Dorothy Jeakins. Good for Jeakins. But the absence of Oscars for this film in the “Best Acting,” “Best Writing” and “Best Directing” categories is nothing short of a joke for the rest of us movie fans.

I’m aware that it is not polite to watch movies for “messages.” (”Use the Western Union instead!” as the old joke goes.)

But I still think this one has a very clear “core concept” which is expressed by Deborah Kerr (playing Hannah Jelkes, a sensitive painter travelling the world with her poet grandfather and earning whatever she can by doing quick live sketches) towards the end of the Second Act:

“Acceptance of life is surely the first requisite of living it.”

The volatile trio of Richard Burton (Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon), Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner (Maxine Faulk) weave fiber by fiber this very humane and touching story of the fall and redemption of an Episcopalian pastor, of his desperate struggle to save his soul and find some solace other than alcohol.

By peeling off one layer of a man’s soul after another, Tennessee Williams and John Houston treat us to the agony of Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon, a man caught in between the strict demands of his vocation as a man of God and the temptations of his flesh and mind as just an average creation of the same power. His unexpected deliverance is provided by Hannah Jelkes and Maxine Faulk whom he tries to control like all the others but fails — for his own good.

The movie starts off with the motif of “captivity” at all levels. Parishioners are imprisoned by their blindness and rigidity. Rev. Shannon imprisoned by his own volcanic desires and disillusionment with his parish. And a wild iguana is forced to live a captive life, tethered to a wooden deck by the tight rope around its neck.

When that “night of the iguana” is over, they are all freed from their leashes and fears and limitations, including the iguana. That’s the kind of life-altering night Tennessee Williams has brought to life for us. It is still jolting and liberating 42 years after the movie was released.

The story, at a “realistic” level (one of the two levels of existence brought up in the film), is not complicated at all. It is at the other and “fantastic” level that its time-release magic slowly unfolds like an intoxicating rose.

Rev. Shannon loses his job after accusing his parishioners with insincerity and shallowness and chasing them out of his church.

A few years later we see him as a tour guide down in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, taking a group of elderly ladies on a sightseeing tour, to show them the “wonders of God” as explained by a “man of God.” However, he certainly is not fond of the open advances of one of the tour participants, the 17 year old Charlotte Goodall. That’s after all how he got into trouble back home when another young amorous parishioner visited him at his church office. Although the Reverend first suggested they pray together by kneeling down, it soon led to other things that ended his church career.

The Reverend Shannon does whatever her can to keep Charlotte at an arms distance but she is the spoiled daughter of a very successful and rich man and she won’t take no for an answer. As she pushes herself on the alcoholic Shannon, her secret admirer and tour leader Judith Fellowes (played like a hot knife through butter by Grayson Hall) throws a jealous fit and makes life sheer misery for the vulnerable Shannon.

Shannon is still trying to put his life together although he is firmly on the bottle, His internal circuitry is just too damaged to bear the high voltage of Fellowes’s cruel attacks — she threatens to have him arrested for “seducing a minor” as soon as they return to the USA. Unable to face the reality of her own attraction to the “pretty dove” Charlotte, Fellowes promises to destroy Shannon’s second career and livelihood and looks like she is capable of carrying out her threat.

To make sure no such career-altering development takes place, Shannon hijacks the whole group to a mountain top vacation resort run by his old flame Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner) who is a diamond in the rough, a vivacious woman with a coarse exterior but a lonely interior landscape. By stealing the distributor cap of the bus, he makes sure they won’t be able to turn back but stay there with him for a while until perhaps Fellowes’s ire is diminished to a more manageable level.

Shortly after, the group is joined by a travelling sketch artist Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) and her wheelchair-bound poet grandfather. They provide the gentle but solid ballast to balance the mercurial outbursts of Rev. Shannon and the equally explosive Faulk.

The decisive scene arrives in the Second Act when Rev. Shannon is hog-tied to a hammock to help him overcome his alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Playing his redeeming angel, Hannah helps Shannon exorcise his devils by giving him an unforgettable lesson about love.

The scene starts with Rev. Shannon, very sure of the superiority of his own life exploits and experiences and still struggling to free himself from his hammock-jail, asks Hannah if she had ever in her life had any kind of love affair.

“Two,” she admits, to Shannon’s surprise, and proceeds to recount the story of her two experiences both of which do not even remotely resemble what the earthy Shannon would normally define as a “love affair.”

In her first “love experience” Hannah was only sixteen. When a young man pressed his knee against hers in a Nantucket movie theater she screamed aloud and had the young man arrested. Later, she regretted and took her complaint back and said that since it was a Greta Garbo movie she was just “excited” and that’s why she overreacted and created such a scene.

Her second “love affair,” which took place only 4 years earlier, is even more curious an episode. An Aussie underwear salesman whose sketch she drew at a Hong Kong hotel, asked her to join him for a ride in a sampan. She accepted the offer because he was such a gentle man and he tipped her very well for the sketch. In the boat the Aussie salesman got “more agitated” and asked her if she would do him a favor. He said he would turn his back to her if she would hand him her articles of clothing, which Hannah did.

At this point Shannon asks her what the salesman did with her clothing. Hannah says she has no idea because she also turned her back to him. And that was that. The end of the story.

Rev. Shannon is flabbergasted one more time, And here follows their unforgettable exchange:

Rev. Shannon: “And that experience, you call it a…”

Hannah: “Love experience. Yes I do Mr. Shannon.”

Rev. Shannon: “That sad little dirty little episode, you call a …”

Hannah: “Sad, it certainly was for the poor little man but why you call it dirty?”

Rev. Shannon: “You mean you weren’t disgusted by it?”

Hannah: “Nothing human disgusts me Mr. Shannon unless is is unkind or violent. And I told you how gentle he was. Apologetic. Shy. Really, very, well… delicate about it.”

Then she cuts him loose, telling him that by listening to her story he is now “exorcised” from all the agitation in his heart. Why? Because now he is in a frame of mind where he is not just reacting to life but also accepting it. And she delivers yet another unforgettable line: “Acceptance of life is surely the first requisite of living it.”

Another development — Hannah’s grandfather dies after composing his best poem ever on the “night of the iguana.”

The next day, the group of traveling ladies leave Shannon with Faulk who offers him the management of the resort and the restaurant since she is so sick and tired of running the whole show on her own. For the first time she is enjoying the freedom of letting go of her control on her own affairs and livelihood and sharing it all with someone she loves. Besides, the presence of a man will help her business by making it attractive for female tourists, she figures.

Hannah is made the same offer but she prefers to move as the independent spirit that she is. She has liberated Shannon from his own devastating bonds, and her work is done. She moves on like the summer wind, with her drawing pad under her arm. We are pretty sure “the elements” will take care of her.

The last scene shows Shannon and Faulk resolving to start a new life together at the resort, hopefully a new life propelled with self-understanding, graced by tolerance, and illuminated with truth, a life of liberation where even the iguanas live free.

A must see for all movie lovers. It should be an indispensable item on every cinema fan’s “school curriculum.”

————————————————————————————————

Who hasn’t read the account of the September 11th New York and Washington DC terrorist attack, where terrorists were thought to have used “box cutters” in order to get by airport security and launch their mission. Instead, it turns out that the likely weapon used emerged from the new field of tactical knives.

No longer relegated to camping and fishing expeditions, short and long blade serrated edged tactical knives are turning up in many urban scenes “when a gun is not an appropriate means of self defense”.

Fear of mugging and assault from an already well armed populace, ordinary city dwellers from all walks of life are turning in droves to the latest high tech survival knife designs. Compact and easily concealed, ergonomically shaped, offering a simple one-hand flick to instantly reveal a potentially lethal blade, the new breed of pocket knives deliver lethal potentials to whomever ends up on the wrong side of the handle.

When Does A Tactical Knife Become An Outlawed Weapon Like Switchblades? Like knife designs, supporting laws are complex and define restrictions yet offer opportunities for designers to enter “loophole” areas. A ¾ ounce tactical knife requires the tiniest of “manual” movement in order to release its 1 ½ inch perforated blade. A switchblade, even while opening slower than the legal unregulated tactical knives, is narrowly defined in earlier 1950’s law as a weapon requiring a trigger-button design element. Push the button and the blade springs to open positions, hence the name switchblade.

Design And Use Origins – Tactical Pocket Knives. No mistaking that the origins of 21st century pocket tactical knives lies in the combat armaments design tradition. Key attributes? Light weight, ease of concealment, blade length with optional serrated edge or perforated finish in order to convey maximum damage.

One Hand Operation. While law enforcement officials view any knife as a crime-in-waiting, people hiking, swimming, boating, making temporary in-field repairs to gear all appreciate ease-of-use. One hand operation for opening and closing allows quick-fix jobs to be completed safely. And, yes, self defense may require that once-in-a-lifetime response need where you’re being attacked and you can only use one hand to locate and then engage your tactical knife against some bad guy.

Tactical Pocket Knives – Weight And Length. Ergonomic handle plus blade typically measure 4 inches or less while weighing in at around 6 ounces or less. Blades are offered in steel, light weight titanium, straight edge or serrated edge. There are even plastic assisted opening knives that are easy to conceal, yet offer cutting performance equal to the job of cutting meat or even light wood.

Brands And Prices. Most of the major brands produce designs in the tactical pocket knife segment, producing annual sales of over $1 billion. Entry knives in this segment can cost $20 whereas some brands are priced at $140 or more. Major manufacturers and their online or bricks-and-mortar distributors include Leatherman, Case, Cold Steel, Buck, Benchmade, Masters Of Defense and others.

Legal Issues – Virtually Unregulated. State and city laws remain uneven, so the expanding market for tactical pocket knives will continue to be de facto unregulated. Individual cities like Atlanta have a 2 inch blade legal limit, but that hasn’t prevented “legally permitted” tactical knives to become the weapon-of-choices in well publicized homicide investigations.

Until either broad based umbrella Federal laws come into effect, tactical pocket knives will have virtually open running room to design and sell all sorts of knock-off miniaturized combat knives parading as in-the-pocket tool and self defense “aids”.

Oregano is the anglicized form of the Italian word origano, which is also a derivation from the Greek origanon “mountain” + the verb ganousthai: “delight in”. Also known as wild marjoram and adding more confusion to the mix is the close relationship between marjoram (Origanum majorana) and oregano, which naturally means they also look very much alike.

Italian oregano is a cross between marjoram and the Greek form. Marjoram is a close relative but has a gentler, sweeter flavour. It’s widely used in Liguria to flavour savoury pies, pasta sauces and seafood dishes. Floral wreaths of this sweeter herb were very commonly worn by couples at both Greek and Roman marriages, and were taken to symbolize the joyfulness of the wedding and the happiness of the couple.

Oregano, commonly called “the pizza herb,” is one of the most widely-used herbs worldwide, so it is hard to imagine anyone not having tried it. Together with basil, it contributes much to the distinctive character of many Italian dishes. It is the perfect secret herb for all your Italian recipes.

Fresh or dried leaves flavour tomato sauce, vinegar, butter, omelettes, quiche, bread, marinated vegetables, beef, poultry, game, onions, and courgettes. It also combines nicely with pickled olives, capers, and lovage leaves. The leaves are used fresh from the plant or dried but they are more flavourful when dried

Refrigerate the fresh leaves in a plastic bag up to 3 days. Choose bright-green, fresh-looking bunches with no sign of wilting or yellowing. Crush dried oregano lightly in your hands before adding to dishes to activate its essential oils, and for the best taste add it near the end of cooking.

Herb

The o. herb is light green in colour with a strong, aromatic odour and pleasantly bitter taste. This hardly little plant is a perennial herb, growing to 20-80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1-4 cm long. In the Philippines, it (Coleus aromaticus) is not commonly used for cooking but is rather considered as a primarily medicinal plant, useful for relieving children’s coughs

Growing

Growing oregano plants must be spaced at least thirty cm or twelve inches apart from each other for optimal growth. Plant seeds in warm soil in late spring or in pots or seed trays under glass in mid-spring. Oregano grows very slowly and the soil must be weeded on a regular basis to ensure maximum growth of the crop during the growing season. The ideal way to grow in containers is to keep the growing plant well pruned and pinched (pinching off the growing tips of the leaves) at all times during the growing process, so as to have a rounded and bushy shape which is manageable at all times. A growing pot should be about ten to twelve inches or twenty five to thirty cm wide and the ideal soil mixture must have some coarse sand with the clay.

When cultivating using seeds, you must make sure that the seeds are initially sown in the pot out of doors early during the spring season or germinated seedlings can be settled into growing containers immediately following the last frost of the year. To maintain a continuous supply of fresh leaves, the flowers must be pinched off as and when they develop.

The subspecies “Origanum vulgare” is an important culinary herb. It is these leaves that are used in cooking. Unlike most Italian herbs, oregano works with hot and spicy food, which is popular in southern Italy.

Oil

Oil of oregano is the premier natural antiseptic and it has recently been found to have extremely effective properties against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Carvacrol

Carvacrol is a powerful antimicrobial (antibiotic) and is the active ingredient of Oregano Oil. Carvacrol has been identified as the chief constituent behind this oil’s extraordinary properties and is thought to work synergistically with the other components found in Wild Mediterranean O. Oil

It took a good while to get here, swimming in the ocean as a way to work out. I’d gotten fed up with crunching every other day. Just can’t get myself to do a run, or a hike. And I’d been missing the ocean so. Figuring that I could have a short visit and get a quick work out, I went for a short swim.

Before I knew it, I was going three times a week for over a month. Making it a strong swim with no resting. And I could see, I could truly see new lines, new shadows on my body that I hadn’t seen in so long. Then I decided. Ocean swimming was going to be my new way to work out. Two to three times a week, I’d swim for 20-30 minutes (of course, I timed it). And we’ll see.

Soon after the first month, I watched Jaws on television one night. And then, right after in the same night, I watched “Shark Attack” on Animal Planet. Oh, baby. That was it. Scared me crazy all over again. But I’ve got to make my swim. I can’t stop now. So what do I do? Uh-huh. Take out my very sharp dive knife and strap it to my right calf.

Now I’m standing on the shore once more, warming up for the swim. My dive knife is on my leg and I really don’t feel much better. Come on. I know that I stand little chance against a shark. Shoot. The barest chance is more like it. Man, am I scared. I’m swimming for over 10 minutes straight out to the ocean and then again coming back. Just me. But I’ve got to do it. I can’t just stop. Fear, well, in this case, just pisses me off! So I tie my hair back, take a few steps into the ocean and dive under. There’s sweat to be had here in this blue water.

This beautiful U-shaped bay in the smallest southern village of a very small tropical island just on top of the equator-whew!-well, it’s my very large swimming pool. On this rare occasion, the water is clear and blue. Visibility is about 30 feet. A very clear day today. Hasn’t rained at all. Much drier days, these days (global warming anyone?). No recent influx of sedimentation and all kinds of muck and debris brought down from the scorched mountains and deposited into the ocean. The reefs and coastal marine life enjoy a few days of “clean air”. It’s painful to know that all it takes is one good rain to make this vibrant blue water dull and dirty looking again. And as much as I don’t want that, the land needs more rain.

I’ve just come up on the halfway mark. Keeping the pace steady. Flip underwater and kick the wall that is the ocean and head back towards the shore. Make sure to keep a little push in my stride. I’m thinking, if a shark actually attacks me, I don’t want to just go down. Oh, no. I’m not gonna let a shark take me away from my life, from my family. If I’m going down, baby, you’re coming with me. Alas, the absolute requirement of my very sharp dive knife.

I stop swimming for a moment, fake an attack on me, hammering it into my head that I’ve got to remember to grab that knife no matter what. Pound his snout. Head butt if I have to. Jam my fingers in both his eyes. Ram my hands through its gills. Oh, yeah. It won’t be easy. I’m all too aware that lone swimmers in the ocean have successfully survived a shark encounter. If it comes to that, so shall I.

Now I’m halfway home from halfway. The last few minutes of the home stretch. Made it again. I’ll tell you, I’ve jumped off a boat into the clearest blue water way, way, way out in the ocean. Hundreds of feet deep on a bright sunny day with not a thing in sight, above or below the water. There’s nothing like it and few things come close. And no matter how scared I get-and I get scared quite often-fear doesn’t stand a chance. I won’t allow it. There’s just too much beauty in the natural world. Too much to experience for that. So fantastically dynamic. I am so thankful that I know it.

Bring up a subject around the campfire, like the best caliber for a deer rifle, prettiest girl, toughest NFL team, most reliable four-wheel drive pickup or the best all-around survival knife and you will get opinions!

But the survival knife topic begs to be explored. Of all the tools needed to ensure your survival in an emergency urban or wilderness situation, a good knife would have to be ranked number one. Then the debate begins!

First, you have to know what you need. Your survival knife must be lightweight, easy to carry, do the job for which it is intended and be adaptable to the situation. Probably most importantly, it needs to be tough, durable and easy to sharpen.

Over the years, my preference in such survival knives has changed.

On my 1980 Mississippi River canoe trip, a Buck folder rode on my hip from the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to Venice, Louisiana. The folder, with two, 3-1/2 inch blades, worked well for cleaning fish, sharpening wiener sticks, whittling kindling for the fire and spreading peanut butter. The knife went on backpacking trips on the John Muir Trail, through Yellowstone National Park, and on many canoe trips.

But, any folding knife’s weak spot is the hinge. When that breaks, you end up with two pieces. So, as well as the Buck had performed, it was retired two decades ago when I moved to Idaho. I was hunting elk and deer in the mountains, and needed a sturdy hunting knife, in addition to a survival tool.

Now, after several decades of on-the-job testing, I have narrowed my survival knife choices down to three:

Swiss Army Knife Classic: I was given a Classic in 1994. Immediately, I went from wondering what good the dinky little knife could be, to wondering how I ever got along without it!

Measuring 2-1/4 inches long, and weighing one ounce, the Classic contains all the classic Swiss Army tools, including a small blade for cutting, a pair of mini scissors, a nail file with a screwdriver tip, a toothpick, tweezers, and a key ring.

The Classic is a favorite with the lightweight backpacking crowd. I ran into a through hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, near Elk Lake, Oregon, and the only knife she’d carried since Mexico was a Classic. She claimed it was all she needed.

The Classic goes everywhere with me, including hunting camps, but it is definately not the only knife I carry. Along with a bigger sheath knife, the two knives can handle everything. Of the tools in the Classic, you’ll find yourself using the tweezers and scissors the most. In fact, you’ll find the Classic is worth carrying just for the superb tweezers!

Fixed blade Mora: The current rage among survival schools seems to be the four-inch, fixed-blade Scandinavian Mora style knives. I love the design. It looks like a paring knife with a sheath, and works well for peeling potatoes, cutting rope, and other camp chores. The Mora style is a superb choice for cleaning fish, upland and small game, and it rides in my hunting vest when I’m after birds.

I ordered six different models several years ago to test the steel for firemaking potential and their use with the Boy Scouts. My favorite Mora ended up being a J. Martinni knife made in Finland. The knife weighs 2.5 ounces, and the sheath, wrapped with about six feet of bright duct tape, adds another 2.5 ounces. The forged blade holds an edge and is easily sharpened. It’s another of those knives I wouldn’t want to get along without.

Cold Steel SRK: I bought my SRK in 1991 to use as an all-around general hunting knife. The blade is 3/16″ thick and 6″ long; the Kraton handle is 4-3/4 inches long; overall length is 10-3/4 inches. My SRK, without sheath, weighs eight ounces, and 10.5 with sheath wrapped in duct tape.

The SRK comes with a black blade so the first thing I did was remove the paint. I intended to use the SRK for meat cutting and hunting, so the painted blade seemed weird and Rambo-like. Besides, I hunt with several former military types, and they would have laughed a “tactical” or survival knife out of camp!

For what I need, the SRK is perfect. The knife has field dressed about 50 deer and been used on several elk. In one instance, I field dressed and quartered three deer without the knife needing to be sharpened. In hunting camp, it is my most-borrowed knife.

The knife still gets a lot of hard use, since most of camping I do these days is with Boy Scout troops. The SRK is pounded with a wooden baton to split kindling, and that allows us to leave the hatchets and axes at home. It has also whittled countless weiner sticks, and been part of many carving projects around the campfire.

I have way too many knives, of all sorts, sizes and descriptions and 20 years ago I never needed to buy another. So here’s my take: the best survival knife is the one you have when it’s needed. Don’t worry about the current fad, or how pretty or cool a knife may look. The knife you have along is the only survival knife you have! Make sure it’s a good one!