SSI Maleficus. Photo courtesy SSI website.

I’m a gun guy. Like most “gun guys”, I tend to focus mostly on guns, with mild amusement found in other forms of self-defense tools. Most “other than guns” items I have come across barely get me to raise an eyebrow, let alone warrant spreading the word among my friends, let alone spreading the word via the internet. However, a few months ago, I came across a custom knife maker who was enough different than others that not only did it catch my eye, intrigue my curiosity, and help lighten my wallet; but it has also proven to be quite functional in my layered protection program. At last count, I had somewhere around  30-40 high end folding knives, another 10-15 fixed blade field knives, and at least 5-10 small fixed blades for concealed carry. Of those, no less than 5 are full custom knives by some of the bigger names in knife making today. Still, none were really so unique as to urge me to spread the word about them. Continue reading →