The two things in creative writing that make my eyes glaze over is sloppy research on hardware and Mary Sue super soldiers. I can't do anything about the black-ops themes, but I can steer you in the right direction on knives. Now, I'd love to show you some pictures of the knife, but I did that once and the mods mistook the picture I posted as "spam." I'll tell you what it is, and why it would make a realistic knife for your story. If you go to the coffee bar in your area, peruse the latest issue of American Handgunner. Due to the logo, it sometimes just looks like 'Handgunner.' I have long been a fan of ESEE knives. For a soldier, a cop, or a merc they are darned near the perfect edge. This company is an offshoot of a former business that really did make equipment for super soldiers, and now offers the knives to us folks. While their Number 3 is the big seller in my area, the article states that the Number 5 is the one most chosen by professionals. It's made from rather mundane no-chromium carbon steel called 1095. The idea for pros is that it bends but won't break, stays relatively sharp with use and can be re-sharpened on a wet rock from a river. These knives do get insanely sharp. You won't have to create bragging rights for their products. I did just get an ESEE Candiru, and it's made from the same 1095 alloy. It got sharper than a straight razor on the first polish. Picture below. If your story needs a knife, use a good one.
deja vu for the third time...i get that in the two previous ones you were talking that writers should do more research on stuff they put in their stories and i agree with you, but this is pure advertising, might as well tell us were to get it and for how much
No, it isn't. I don't sell to you. And even if my license included the area where members lived, I surely wouldn't sell a knife like this to a nameless, faceless person on the internet. The little Candiru is mine, and not for sale. You can get an ESEE anywhere. It would be like me telling you about a new Colt or a Smith or a Chevy. Again, for some reason writers think super soldiers use tools of titanium, made in scret factories and requiring black-ops training. In truth, soldiers use KAI-Kershaw folders, Ka-Bars and ESEE knives. In the case of ESEE's alloy 1095, it is a carbon steel one notch above a railroad track. Look at it this way. One of our members here could be a doctor. If a member needed some medical jargon, and the doctor answered, would you accuse him of advertising?
No when its said that way, but if a doctor kept making new threads and talks about procedures and shows medical tools pictures i would start to think maybe he is trying to sell me something or think his just showing off, cause if he does want to teach others why not just write blogs and people who want that info can easily find it. Its quite different to help someone when they ask for it than keep showing off what they have Dont get me wrong i value your input to this forum as a weapon expert but i just fail to see why the need to make a new thread everytime, why not use just one and call it weapon tips? On another subject i work for a company that organizes exhibitions and next month we will host a Military one with companies all around the world exhibiting, and cant wait to see all the "toys" they will bring
Yikes, I'm not providing any service, nor do I sell Handgunner magazine. In truth, I service only police, soldiers and EMTs. My kitchen work is for well-heeled six-figure chefs. I do some pro bono work for what we refer to here as "subsistance hunters." While I hold a state's resellers license, I work only in a 20 mile radius of my home inside one county. And I'll probably fully retire in one to two years. I choose to do work for one client in another state because I admire his work. I will sharpen a local soldier's knife if he/she is about to be deployed. My beef is not sales, it's the unrealistic stuff I read in stories. When I see an item that might improve your stories, I tell you about it. An ESEE knife costs a soldier somewhere between 50 and 80 bucks--the folder in my pocket costs 340 bucks. If I threw a 1095 knife on the table most authors would guess it was a cheap camping knife. However, if you google the company you'll find these knives on real soldiers, in some very dangerous jobs. Imagine that, a real prop for a story. Anybody else?
Does it count as sloppy research on hardware if I simply equip my protagonists with a "knife" or an "assault rifle"? I never go into much detail when describing a particular piece of equipment. There are more annoying mistakes IMO, like infinite amounts of ammo to slaughter billions of zombies (often without changing magazines, no jamming or overheating guns etc.).
Been doing some research on swords for a blacksmith a might add to my story, and been looking how to compare different swords and how well would they be used against each other. Read couple of articles of how they were made and how much that art is lost to us and got to say made me sad, as those blacksmiths put lots of work to make a good sword and all they had was their eye to judge the temperature but knew what they were doing...anyway would folded steel be much better against a steel sword if for ex. same size and shape I know each sword is made for particular fighting style or against other weapon or if fought against one person or a group, so there is no perfect sword each was made for its own job. So a person using an iron sword wont do well against steel as iron could easily bend or break. But i'm guessing folded steel is probably very tough but the size and shape would be the key of how well it does
