When nature calls, you must go. That sums up my life in six short words. I grew up living on a lake, far from the mountains, and not near enough to forests that had yet to be spoiled by man, yet something was never quite right. I always felt like I was searching for a place to belong. I did the 9 to 5, I owned my own business and had done well for myself early on, yet I had never found happiness. Always searching. Then I began to travel, I toured the cities in lands from where my ancestors had come from, and yet, something in me craved for more, desired something real. It wasn’t until I encountered the unspoiled forests and mountains of Colorado and Wyoming for me to feel a deep connection and a power, and belonging like nowhere else prior.
While out in the wilderness I found peace, I found respite from the anxieties of modern life and the chaos of the human city. I found truth in the wild and I’ve never looked back since. The dream is to live in and surrounded by the wild wood, but until that happens, I spend a lot of time in the forest and beneath the stars, because it’s where I feel at home. Although I’ve never had that fear that breeds in modern society, where fear of the unknown transforms the natural world into a scary and threatening place, I still respect her enough to always come prepared.
True wilderness, where you can no longer hear another human and no planes or cars, can be a place of deep connection and relaxation if viewed as such, but it can also be viewed as a scary, mysterious place, where you’re all alone and if something were to happen, you’re on your own. While that can be true, depending where you are and how far out you go, it’s always important to respect the balance in between, meaning that you must learn to appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature while preparing for her worst. I never go too far in without covering a few bases first, such as leaving my location with loved ones or a local ranger, as well as being prepared for the current and prospective weather changes, and I never venture in without a survival blade, water, and a few other pieces of survival gear.
I recently had the opportunity to team up with Winkler Knives to test out their beastly survival blade, known as the WK Striker. When you’re looking into finding the right kind of survival blade, you want something built strong, that won’t break or rust, or fail you at the worst possible time. When you’re struggling in the wilderness, and stranded or lost, the one thing that can do the most to help you survive is just something you can’t make yourself. Sure, you might be able to find a somewhat sharp piece of rock that might be able to cut animal flesh, but odds are against you in most parts of the world. With a good blade, you are giving yourself a chance, even in the worst situation, because with a proper survival knife, you can not only fashion a fire or a structure to protect you, you can also hunt and also defend yourself.
True wilderness, where you can no longer hear another human and no planes or cars, can be a place of deep connection and relaxation if viewed as such, but it can also be viewed as a scary, mysterious place, where you’re all alone and if something were to happen, you’re on your own. While that can be true, depending where you are and how far out you go, it’s always important to respect the balance in between, meaning that you must learn to appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature while preparing for her worst. I never go too far in without covering a few bases first, such as leaving my location with loved ones or a local ranger, as well as being prepared for the current and prospective weather changes, and I never venture in without a survival blade, water, and a few other pieces of survival gear.
I recently had the opportunity to team up with Winkler Knives to test out their beastly survival blade, known as the WK Striker. When you’re looking into finding the right kind of survival blade, you want something built strong, that won’t break or rust, or fail you at the worst possible time. When you’re struggling in the wilderness, and stranded or lost, the one thing that can do the most to help you survive is just something you can’t make yourself. Sure, you might be able to find a somewhat sharp piece of rock that might be able to cut animal flesh, but odds are against you in most parts of the world. With a good blade, you are giving yourself a chance, even in the worst situation, because with a proper survival knife, you can not only fashion a fire or a structure to protect you, you can also hunt and also defend yourself.
After working with the WK Striker, I’ve fell in love with this blade, because it’s built as solid and strong as any knife I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Winkler Knives focuses on creating limited runs of diverse high performance edged tools, and they take great pride in creating something that will last, and that will outlast even you, and that workmanship comes through with the merest sight of the Striker. The Striker is a blade that was made custom by request from the Australian SAS Group, who needed a knife that had solid hammering capabilities. The WK Striker starts at an awesome 3/8th of an inch thick and has a full taper from the hammer to the point, and was designed with a skeletonized tang that helps to reduce weight while enhancing balance, all without negatively erecting the strength of the blade or its hammering performance.
The WK Striker is a versatile and powerful blade that is strong enough to withstand blunt hits at the end of the handle, while retaining a very sharp edge for longer than most other survival blades I’ve worked with. The blade steel is 80CrV2 in a black oxide matte finish, and measures a length of 5 1/4” with a thickness of 3/8”, which should tell you a lot about how thick this bad boy is. This is the kind of knife that will stay with you forever, and can aid in helping you to weather whatever storm the natural world can throw at you.
If you would like to learn more about Winkler Knives, click here.
The WK Striker is a versatile and powerful blade that is strong enough to withstand blunt hits at the end of the handle, while retaining a very sharp edge for longer than most other survival blades I’ve worked with. The blade steel is 80CrV2 in a black oxide matte finish, and measures a length of 5 1/4” with a thickness of 3/8”, which should tell you a lot about how thick this bad boy is. This is the kind of knife that will stay with you forever, and can aid in helping you to weather whatever storm the natural world can throw at you.
If you would like to learn more about Winkler Knives, click here.
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