Rescue Knives: new tools for saving lives

While The Hobbit Hole has had to suspend its knife donation program, I still have been buying the “odd” knife here and there for evaluation purposes. A flood of new designs in rescue knives has just hit the market, and there are now enough interesting items to evaluate, and give away.

First, we’ll look at some products by Benchmade Knives. Among their high-class products are a line of seatbelt cutters that range from the simple to the ingenious. First, the simpler models:

You wrap your finger through the hole, and rest your thumb on the ridges. The hooked area is very sharp, and allows you to slice through seat-belt type straps with ease. The Rescue Hook can be carried in a nylon sheath with belt loop, or in a hard plastic scabbard with a neck cord. Added features include a wrench for medical oxygen tanks, and a bottle opener as part of the finger ring.

A little further up in the Benchmade product line is the “big” Rescue Hook, and the ERT1.

The “big” hook allows a firmer grip, and a bit longer reach, which might be important in some situations. It comes with a Foliage Green sheath that can attach to a belt or MOLLE gear. The ERT1 is actually a folding rescue hook built more like a pocket knife, with a pocket clip on the reverse side. The black cap on the bottom is a spring-loaded glass breaker. Pushing down with the body of the knife cocks and fires a spring-loaded punch that can shatter tempered safety glass, which is found in the side and rear windows of cars.

The ERT1 also has a small LED flashlight that is aimed at the cutting hook, to help out in the dark.

The ERT1 has some very nice features for a rescue knife, but the bright yellow color is not very “tactical”, so it should be carried inside a pocket or pouch unless needed.

Next are a couple of more conventional knives, but with features needed for rescue work. At the top is the Boker rescue, and the bottom, the Victorinox “Rescue Tool”, with its bright red belt pouch.

The Boker rescue has a blunt tip, and recessed serrations for cutting seatbelts. It also has a cutter hook, although it might be a bit narrow to accept some kinds of webbing. The butt has a glass-breaker tip, and there’s a pocket clip on the reverse side. The Victorinox has a specialized seatbelt cutter blade, plus other special features.

The Victorinox features glow-in-the-dark yellow handles (again, not very tactical, but definitely handy at times), along with a glass punch. There’s a regular blade, and a special saw blade for cutting (but not breaking) laminated safety plate glass. There are also a screwdriver and an awl blade. The knife seems well-equipped to cut belts and handle many kinds of glass.

Moving on, we come to two more specialized, and larger, folding knives. The top “knife”, isn’t really a knife at all, but rather a jumbo cutting hook. It’s the Imax Tool 911. Below it is a true collector’s item, a Camillus CUDA3 Rescue. The product line was discontinued almost three years ago, but it’s still a fine rescue knife. It’s a shame it’s not made any more, although the Camillus Rescue Heat, the current Hobbit Hole standard, does a fine job, too.

The 911 is a real handful, and has a seriously large glass breaker on one end. The hooked blade is quite wide, and will not only accommodate seatbelts and harnesses, but smaller body parts, too. Caution is advised when cutting. The Camillus CUDA3 has both a serrated blade, and a well-protected hook. It has a one-handed opening mechanism, and is sturdy enough for almost any kind of rescue work.

Our final rescue knife is the CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool) MAK-1 (Multiple Access Knife). This sheath knife is a smaller version of the tried and tested Camillus BK3 TacTool. It’s primarily a very heavy pry bar with some sharp edges for cutting. The butt has a glass-breaer point, and notches for removing glass from window frames. Another notch assists in disconnecting car batteries. The knife doesn’t have a seatbelt-cutter, but there’s a cutter much like the Benchmade rescue tool in an accessory pouch. The MAK-1 is shown alongside a Camillus 904S, our standard Hobbit Hole pocket knife. As you can see, it’s not a large knife, but the blade is quite heavy, and just made for prying.

This is a very well-thought-out knife, designed by a firefighter for firefighters. That explains the non-tactical orange lanyards with reflective thread in them. That can be easily replaced with regular 550 paracord. There is also a white reflective patch on the accessory flap, but that can be removed, and stored under the flap using the generous amount of Velcro on the accessory pocket.

While the Hobbit Hole can no longer offer our usual knives to troops that request them, I’ve accumulated enough of these different rescue knives to offer them to anyone who requests one. To avoid disappointment, please supply a first and second choice in rescue blade.

Just remember, there’s only one knife of each kind, and it’s first-come-first-served. I also ask you to consider that these tools are best used by medics and rescue personnel, and refrain from requesting one if you don’t genuinely need it. Thank you.

Add comment April 2nd, 2007

This Old Helmet, Episode 1

Introduction

The PASGT (Personal Armor System Ground Troops) helmet (“Kevlar”) has been in the US military inventory since the early 1980s. It represents a significant improvement over the steel helmet, which had served since the early 1940s.

The PASGT has provided significantly improved protection against fragmentation, but was not considered to provide significant ballistic protection.

The helmet could actually prevent penetration by fragments with as much energy as a handgun round at point-blank range. But the helmet would deform over two inches in the process, usually inflicting severe or fatal blunt trauma injury to the head. This lack of blunt trauma protection also meant the helmet could not provide any protection in automotive accidents.

In the course of developing improved helmets over the last few years, the old web suspension system, little changed from the steel helmets of the 1950s, was replaced by special cushioned pads that provided superior blunt trauma protection, and improved comfort.

These pads are part of the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), now in production. At the same time, various companies have developed update kits for the current PASGT. This brings the helmet up to the same level of protection as the new ACH.

Future articles will feature some of these upgrade kits. But whether you have a new ACH, or upgraded PASGT, the key to maximum protection and comfort is in fitting the pads to the individual wearer. This takes a little bit of time, but it’s an investment in your safety and comfort.

Fitting the pads

Whether you have an upgraded PASGT helmet, or a brand-new ACH helmet, fitting of the foam pads is the key to both increased protection, and increased comfort. It is also something that should not be rushed, because you are customizing the fit for yourself alone. A new pair of boots requires breaking in. These new helmets require time to find the best pad layout. Plan to spend at least two or three hours of “quality time” with your helmet, and you’ll be paid back with greater safety and comfort.

First, if the chin/nape strap is already attached, take it off. Leave the plastic H-buckles on, just take off the cloth strap. It’s the last item that needs fitting, and only gets in the way of working with the pads.

Next, a quick word about pad thickness. For the Advanced Combat Helmet, there are two different thicknesses of pads: number 6 (thinner), and number 8 (thicker). Both provide equal protection. The only difference is to assure the best possible fit with the size of helmet you’re working with. The number 6 pad is considered “standard”, while the number 8 is used for a better fit when the helmet is too large.

Oregon Aero, manufacturer of one of the upgrade kits, also makes a thinner number 4 pad. Again, it should be used only if there are problems in fitting. The approximate thickness of the pads is:
· #4: .07 inch
· #6: .09 inch
· #8: 1.1 inch

The round pad goes into the bottom of the helmet first. Try to get it centered as well as possible. Then the two “trapezoid” pads go in the front and rear of the helmet. The narrow part should be touching the round pad.

With those three pads in place, we’re left with the four oblong or rectangular pads. Some documentation mentions the pads may be oval, but I’ve never seen any. It’s these four pads that are the key to a comfortable fit, and the overall increased safety of the helmet. Adjusting these four pads takes up most of your time, but it’s also where the biggest benefits come from.

Most illustrations show the four pads arranged horizontally around the rim of the helmet. That configuration makes for the tightest fit, but that may not always be best for you.

The secret to a good fit is that these pads can be arranged horizontally, vertically, or at an angle. They can also be placed closer to, or further away, from the rim. Different pad orientation provides different fits, and one will be right for you. This is also where most experimentation will be done. The closer the pads are to the rim of the helmet, the tighter the fit. The closer to the center, the looser the fit is.

The most important thing to remember is to have the pad either cover the mounting hardware, like the A-nuts that hold the plastic buckles, or are close enough to these protruding items that they won’t be able to contact your head in a severe impact.

Take your best guess at pad orientation, and then place the helmet on your head. There should only be a slight amount of pressure, usually around the temples, when you put it on. Slap the top of the helmet to make sure it’s fully seated. If you’re still feeling pressure, the two front rectangular pads may need to be moved a bit.

Once you have a reasonably good fit, wear the helmet for about two hours to “settle” the foam pads. This is the most important part of a comfortable fit.

You should be able to move your head around without feeling any movement of the helmet. If you look down at the floor, the helmet should not fall off. The “lighter” foam in the pads is for comfort, and will take a slight “set”. It’s the heavy-duty foam in the base of the pad that provides the real trauma protection. That, in turn, increases the helmet’s ballistic protection.

After about two hours of continuous wear, if the helmet still feels good on your head, the fitting process is almost over. Now reattach the chin/nape strap, making sure none of the straps are twisted. Adjust the straps for a good fit, and check the final results in a mirror. The helmet should not be tilted either left or right, or forward or backward. There are several FMs that show how the helmet should look when worn properly.

This is more effort at fitting than with the old suspension system, where you adjusted the inner loop of the suspension straps, and you were done. But the payoff in comfort and safety is worth the extra work. As a test, I wore a properly-fitted ACH helmet for six hours straight with no discomfort. In the “good old days”, I could never wear my steel pot for that long without coming up with some excuse for taking it off, with the hope of finding another excuse for not putting it back on.

It’s your head. Invest enough time to keep it safe and happy by fitting it properly.

Add comment November 4th, 2006

The Hobbit Hole basement, part 1

Even when you live in a Hobbit hole as comfy as the Baggins’ hole-into-the-hill at Bag End, you still have a basement where you keep your mathoms, those items that you don’t know what to do with, but are too good to throw away. Among Hobbits, mathoms are usually saved, and given away on birthdays. It’s a Hobbit tradition to give presents on birthdays, not receive them.

In the course of our troop support work, I’ve managed to acquire a few mathoms. It’s now time to give them away to any of our American troops who want them (no matter how odd the item seems to be).

The first item is an adapter that allows small diameter (under an inch) flashlights to be mounted on the accessory rails of a weapon. Flashlights in this category include the Mini Maglite, a flashlight familiar to almost all our troops.

In an earlier article, I mentioned my opinion that using ordinary flashlights on weapons is not the best of ideas. Everything might work perfectly, or the fragile lamp filament might fail on the first shot.

That being said, I still purchased three of these plastic adapters for evaluation. They do hold the flashlight securely, and lock onto the rail properly. However, an AA flashlight does not put out a lot of light. That’s just the nature of the beast.

However, if you want to experiment, these adapters are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Other AA flashlights might also work too, due to the adjusting screw on the clamp. You’ll have to supply your own flashlight, because I’m keeping the gold-anodized MiniMaglite used in the pictures.

There will be more items from the Hobbit Hole basement as I go through our mathoms, so keep looking for things that might or might not work (if it’s really junk, I’ll be throwing it away), but could be a handy gadget in helping you in the defense of America.

Add comment October 27th, 2006

EOD Robotics grappling hook

Here’s another one of those gadgets I just could not resist. The Hobbit Hole may never buy another one, but this item had just the right combination of neatness and possible practicality that it deserved a closer look.

This is a small, pocket-sized grappling hook, not intended as a safety device that can be used to snag and pull down wires, trip lines, or small objects. The three spikes store inside the body of the gadget when not in use. It’s made by EOD Robotics, Inc, and has an aluminum body with stainless steel hooks. Here it is, next to our standard Hobbit Hole knife.

With some 550 paracord threaded through the end cap, this hook is rated at 350 pounds. That’s not enough for you to scale walls with, but it’s more than enough to tear down some wire or fencing without exposing yourself to enemy fire, or to move some suspicious object from a safe distance.

The body can also be filled with sand or water if more weight is desired to achieve a greater range. And if you leave the hooks stored inside the body, you can use it get a wire or line up to some location without worrying about things getting snagged. Further uses are limited only by your imagination.

This is a quality product, and the $75 price tag reflects that quality. If you can really use one, just ask, and it’s yours. If you can’t use it, let us save it for someone who can. That way we have more money for things that everybody can use, like knives, flashlights, and assorted safety and convenience items.

1 comment September 11th, 2006

Grimloc safety carabiner

This is a little item we’ve started giving away with sheath knives. It costs 80 cents apiece, but it can become an important safety and convenience item for a Soldier or Marine. A lot of troops use mountaineering-grade carabiners and clips to hang small, light items like flashlights, keys, etc. from their IBA.

This can be a very bad idea when that piece of steel or aluminum, rated at 10 tons of strength, catches on something when you’re trying to get out of a vehicle, or through a doorway, in a hurry. The Grimloc safety carabiner eliminates this problem, and provides other benefits.

Beside the important feature of breaking under a load of less than 100 pounds, it does not have the metal-to-metal clatter of other carabiners. It won’t get hot in the sun, and it’s not a source of ricochets or secondary fragments. The thumb latch acts as a piston to clear out sand or water in the mechanism.

It’s a very handy gadget for keeping stuff close by. One Marine uses it to hang his kevlar helment onto his armor when he’s not wearing it.

We are giving away a pair with each sheath knife, because it seems logical that if you’re wearing a knife, you’re probably out there taking care of business in your IBA. If you want a couple with your Hobbit Hole folding knife, just ask. At 80 cents apiece, this is a bargain in safety and convenience. And while we’re giving them away in tan, the other colors available are black and OD green. If you absolutely must have them in one of the other colors, just ask.

These handy carabiners will be included with our Hobbit Hole sheath knives. If you want a couple along with your folding knife, just ask. And if you want a large quantity for a large number of buddies, ask for that, too. This is probably the most practical, and safe, gadget in our inventory.