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ed by the people of the Philippines and ever afterconsidered their design.

This knife, of course, like all Benchmade-labeledknives, is made in the USA.

Bali-Song knives are illegal in some states andpossibly in some municipalities.

The key thing to remember if youare new to a butterfly-style knife isthat only an expert should try using adouble-edged Bali-Song; and, for allthe rest of us, single edged only. Witha single-edged Bali-Song, one canopen the knife in such a fashion thatthe edge will never cut into yourhand. A typical opening sequence fora well-designed Bali-Song is as fol-lows and begins with holding theknife in your master hand, betweenyour thumb and your first three fin-gers. The opening stud for the latchshould contact the rearmost portionof the tip of your third finger. Pop thelatch open with the tip of your thirdfinger as you drop your thumb to thelower of the two handle slabs. Snapyour hand forward as you let theupper handle slab flip loose. For asplit second, the four fingers shouldbe between the two handle sections and the thumbatop the only handle slab that you are actually hold-ing. The spine of the blade should be up. Rotate thehand slightly away from the body so the four fingersare no longer between the handle sections. As youdo this, draw the knife ever so slightly rearward, somomentum carries the second handle piece towhere it butts against the piece you are already hold-ing. If you have done this right, you’ll have a solidgrip on the knife, the spine of the blade will be up,the edge will be down and the flip lock will be dan-gling downward and possibly touching your little fin-ger. If you really want to know how to do this right,buy Jeff Imada’s books (amazon.com), The Bali-SongManual and The Advanced Bali-Song Manual.

If you buy the books or don’t, when you prac-tice this opening or any opening, carefully applythin tape over the edge so you don’t cut yourself ifyou flip the knife the wrong way. When you wantto close the knife after the opening I described,grasp the upper handle section between the thumband first finger and make a circular motion withyour hand, away from your body, as you releasethe lower handle section and roll the upper handlesection one hundred eighty degrees between yourthumb and first finger. If you do this the right way,the handle slabs will be closed with the blade

between them and you won’t have cut off any bodyparts. Bali-Songs from Benchmade are among thefinest folding knives to be had and I could not rec-ommend them more highly, this one no exception.

Not too long ago, I profiled Protective Products(body-armor.com) concealable body armor in

these pages. A “base-layer” is partic-ularly useful under body armor, ofcourse, but is practical in otherapplications as well. Recently, I’vetried two different versions of Black-hawk! (blackhawk.com) ProductsThermostatic Base-Layer and foundboth garments to be comfortableand effective. Now, you may be say-ing to yourself, “This is underwear,right?” It is underwear only in thesense that it is worn under otherclothing. The difference is that abase-layer, whether from Black-hawk! Products or whoever, is not ageneral-purpose item, but is taskspecific. The Blackhawk! ProductsThermostatic Base-Layer is specifi-cally designed to be smooth andwrinkle free underneath equipment.Get it one size below what youmight normally wear and you’ll have

what’s called a “compression fit,” wherein thetighter fit eliminates friction and provides musclesupport, essentially becoming like a second skin.

For a guy, it’s necessary to get over the initialshock of wearing something that fits that closely.Women are used to closer-fitting clothing, butmen usually are not. If you go for the compres-sion fit – which is the most practical – next timeyou watch a superhero movie, you’ll feel moreempathy for the costumed crime fighter. Oncethe novelty is passed, if you’re like me, you willfind that what you’re wearing is quite comfort-able. I experimented with two different varia-tions, the first an ordinary seeming V-neck shortsleeve T-shirt style, the other a quarter-zippermodel with long sleeves.

The Thermostatic Base-Layers are uniquely con-structed. Using 92 percent Jersey Nylon and eightpercent Spandex for the body with stretchable sidepanels of 95 percent Polyester and five percentLycra, the result is something that fits your body asif it were made to your measurements.

As I’ve said before in these pages and I’ll sayagain, this is a time to equip yourself to the bestof your financial limitations. Remember, “It paysto plan ahead.”

Visit Jerry on the web at jerryahern.com.

21enchmade Bali-Song, Blackhawk Base-Layer

Ahern with a V-neck shortsleeve Blackhawk! Productscompression fit base layer

which proved very comfort-able. The pistol is a naturalstainless finish, Pendergrass

Detonics CombatMaster.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

DP

June 10 Blue Press Section 1 4/13/10 7:39 AM Page 21

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