Today personal safety is never guaranteed. Whether walking alone at night, navigating a parking garage, or living in an unpredictable neighborhood, being able to protect yourself can mean the difference between vulnerability and survival. Hidden weapons, those  small, discreet tools designed for self-defense, have become increasingly popular for people who want security without drawing...

For film fans, the appearance of the main villains in Peter Jackson’s film version of The Lord of the Rings are unforgettable. This is not mainly due to their excellent character design and makeup, but also the unique weaponry they carried. The swords carried by the Uruk-hai in the films stand out immediately. They look crude, heavy, and aggressive, very different from other Lord of the...

Locksport is one of those hobbies that looks mysterious from the outside but turns out to be very approachable once you understand what it is really about. At its core, locksport focuses on opening locks without damaging them. The goal is not to break anything or bypass security through force, but to learn how locks work internally and how small mechanical parts interact. For people who love...

Daggers, broadly speaking, constitute a broad class of bladed tools that are primarily intended as weapons, for defensive applications. Unlike many other bladed tools, the utility of a dagger is therefore limited, and determined largely by the profile and size of the blade. That being the case, you can tell a lot about a dagger, and how it is intended to be carried and used, from this alone....

The term “machete knife” might be a little cumbersome, but that notwithstanding these are incredibly versatile tools, especially for bushcraft or survival. Here’s why, despite the imposing size, you should have one around the campsite the next time you’re out there. Trailblazing This is the original use of a machete knife; clearing and maintaining trails. The...

Whether your collection has a push button automatic knife or you carry one on the daily for its convenience (and the fact that you can easily deploy it with one hand) one thing is sure: you need to know how to take care of it. Folding knives are more complex than fixed blades and require a little more care and attention. Keeping the knife clean will ensure it continues to open and close...

World War I was a time of strife and struggle, and though it was not the first conflict to introduce the world to the way of trench warfare, it has no doubt cemented itself in the popular imagination as the conflict most closely associated with that battlefield condition. Notably, trench warfare spawns desperation, as the tight confines of trenches, and their crenellated nature, made range...

The learning curve associated with a crossbow may be much shorter than that of a compound bow, and it certainly takes much less time to become proficient with one than it does with a recurve or a longbow. All the same, that thing isn’t going to be much use to you if the bolts don’t go where the sights indicate (or the optic, for that matter). Fortunately, sighting one in is...

Let’s just be honest. The popularity of bayonets, and their utility as battlefield implements, has been on the downtrend over the last 100 years. While they were still popular (and heavily utilized) in the First World War, improvements in range weapons, battlefield tactics, and general technology have severely limited the ability of soldiers to use bayonets in combat. Be that as it may,...

Personal safety is less about fearing the unknown and more about mastering your environment with confidence and preparation. For many women, self defense weapons offer an additional layer of security, especially in unpredictable situations. The key is choosing tools that are practical, legal, and comfortable to use. Not every option fits every lifestyle, and that’s perfectly fine. Read on...