The Kiyoga.

      Continuing my tradition of making Friday posts a little more “out of the box”...

      I have been researching a number of things recently but I am unsure exactly why I had an urge to take Anthony B. Herbert’s “Military Manual of Self Defense” down off the shelf.

      The book is mainly simple line illustrations. Some sections are obviously pulled from John Styer’s “Cold Steel”. A short passage at the start of the book admits that some content was taken from “Cold Steel”, “The Complete Book of Knife Fighting” and “Black Medicine Vol. 1 & 2”. Some sections  of “Get Tough” are also reproduced. Although uncredited the razor fighting section is obviously taken from Bradley Steiner’s “Close Shaves” and includes Steiner’s ludicrous comment that the sharpened corner of a cut-throat razor can penetrate an eye deep enough to reach the brain. 
      A lot of the text is of better quality, however. Note that Herbert describes the result of many techniques as “kills”. I believe he is using the more specialized military definition of the term which means “out of the fight” rather than an actual lethality. 

      What caught my eye today is that on the back cover the listing of sections mentions “The Kiyoga ™”. Telescopic batons are rather familiar now. When Herbert wrote his book this was evidently a new idea, although similar Japanese weapons date back at least a century or two. The section on use of the Kiyoga is relatively short but comprehensive and logical, covering applications of both the closed and open weapon. The reason I am featuring the Kiyoga today is this wonderfully over the top contemporary magazine advert for the weapon. I can remember the great comedian Kenny Everett reading this out in one of his early television shows.
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Fire from Sunlight.

           Many dozens of years ago I read an extract from a survival manual. Much of the content was actually FM 21-76 repackaged with snippets of allegedly Native American bushcraft. One of the few ideas that seemed novel was to use ice or snow to make a lens to create fire by focusing sunlight. Sunlight tends to be rather diffuse when snow is on the ground, so I have no idea as to how practical this actually is.
           The reason I bring this up is that I have just come across some rather nice videos of ways to use focussed sunlight to create fires.
           In one he uses a quantity of water in kitchen wrap as a lens. Many clear plastic bags could be used instead.

           Similar is the use of a glass pot lid. Could a clear bottle of water be uses in a similar fashion? Possibly! Sadly I don’t have time to experiment today.

           An ingenious method is using the remains of a noodle pot and silver bag to create a concave mirror.

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Yugoslavian Mess Kit in More Detail.

             Recently on this blog I made a brief mention of the Yugoslavian Mess Kit. Since then I have the opportunity to examine a couple of examples so I can now provide some additional details.

             The first thing you notice about this mess kit is the pouch that it comes in. There is an old joke that an elephant is a horse designed to military specifications and there is an element of truth in such witticisms. I have a British ’58 pattern water bottle pouch that I suspect weighs more than many rucksacs I own! The pouch for the Yugoslav mess kit is therefore a pleasant surprise, being simple and made of a reasonable weight of robust canvas. It is provided with two closed loop attachment points on the back. These appear to be approximately 2” so will accommodate many types of belt you may want to use with it.
             I got to examine two examples, both of dull green but differing in shade. The mess kit slid easily out of the first one I examined but the second stubbornly refused to yield its contents at first! Mystified by this I discovered the slot moulding on the bowl was catching under the fastening for the pouch top. This just seems to be a variation in cut and once freed the problem has not reoccurred. 

             The lower, metal part of the mess kit I will call “the pot”. Construction is quite sturdy and the metal used is of a good thickness. Capacity is about 800mls. The pot lid fold upwards and holds the bowl in place when the kit is in the pouch.

             The “bowl” is rectangular in section and appears of similar size and shape to the pot. Capacity is actually about 700mls and wall thickness seems to be at least 3-4mm. The bowl fits over a lip on the top of the pan and is a good friction fit but is also secured by the pan handle. The bowl has no handle but a slot moulded on one side is designed to be hooked over the upturned end of the pot handle. In this manner both pot and bowl can be held in one hand, for example while queuing in a mess line. Like all other plastic parts of the kit it is marked “NE DRŽATI NA VATRI” (“Do not place in Fire”).

 

 

              Inside the bowl and pot is a water bottle. This is slightly unusual for a military water bottle in that it is rectangular in section to fit efficiently within the pot. Capacity is a splash over one litre. The plastic is a little softer than for the other items and has a degree of spring to it. It appears to be intelligently designed and constructed for its intended role. Fitting over the spout of the bottle is a rectangular section “beaker”. This fits over a raised lip on the top of the bottle and forms a secure friction fit. Capacity of the beaker is approximately 150mls.
             The Yugoslavian mess kit is often marketed as an “eight-piece kit”. The final three components are a Knife, Fork and Spoon set (KFS). This fits in the side of pouch in what appears to be an internal pocket but is in fact just two flat loops of cloth. It is easier to fit the kit back in the pouch if the KFS is replaced after the eating and drinking vessels.

             The KFS is somewhat different to the camping KFS I grew up with. The grip of the knife is formed into a sleeve into which the handles of the spoon and fork are inserted. An inscription inside the knife handle includes the word “ROSTFREI” which I know is German for “rust-free” aka “stainless steel”. Odd that, since two tiny specks that appear to be rust are near the inscription. A quick check with a magnet reveals the fork and spoon are not magnetic, but the knife is!

             The knife blade has both a serrated section and a straight, apparently chisel-edged, part. As I reported in a previous blog, the knife has a bottle opener cut-out. I now discover it is provided with a can-opener beak as well. The spoon is quite generously sized. Fork and spoon are both “full-sized” implements which might disappoint the “ultra-light” travellers but be welcome to those with larger hands. Warning: The serrated part of the blade is surprisingly sharp!
             One of the kit’s virtues is also the chief objection. Everything fits neatly together in one package. It is, however, very difficult to access the water bottle without first removing the bowl and pot from the pouch, removing the bottle from within them removing the beaker. Admittedly it may be possible with some pouches to push the pot handle back far enough to remove the bowl while keeping the pot in the pouch, but this is fiddly and not something I would like to try when it is on a belt and I am on the move. Don’t use this as your primary water bottle. Use it to complement a system such as one with a drinking tube you can drink from while walking.
            The Yugoslavian mess kit on its own would not be my first choice for camping/ bushcraft needs. It does, however provide you with some very nice components to build a kit around at a very reasonable price. Many military water bottles or camping KFS kits on sale cost more than the entire Yugoslavian kit. In fact, many belt pouches on their own cost more!

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Emergency Kit for Action Heroes.

            As is the custom on Friday, today’s blog will be a little more diverse and light-hearted than usual. Regular readers will be familiar with my tendency to conduct “thought experiments”, often inspired by books or television that I am viewing. (Well, I like to think they are “thought experiments”. My girlfriend just considers them another of my eccentricities.) 

 

            The following occurred to me while watching an episode of “Supernatural” but it applies to many other examples of the action or horror genre. The scenario is the protagonists end up having to explore somewhere at short notice. Would it not be useful if they had beforehand assembled a small kit that contained useful items they might need?  In effect, a modern day “possibles bag”? We will assume that this kit is intended to fit is a small bag such as a messenger bag, but it could just as readily be distributed in an equipment vest or in a daysac. It would be the sort of thing you can quickly grab from the car before you go to rescue this week’s female guest star. What might the contents be?

• Flashlight. Nearly everywhere in these movies seems to be dark and often underground so a flashlight would certainly be useful. Larger, more robust models can be used as clubs. Your flashlight will flicker and lose power when danger is near.
• Pistol. Danger is usually implied so better to have one and not use it that be without one and need it. A compact high-capacity .45 with several loaded spare magazines would be desirable. If we are in an episode of Supernatural silver or other specialist ammunition will be needed!
• Knife. A good, robust fixed-blade knife. My choice would be a kukri for its versatility and considerable chopping ability. A MOD survival knife is also a good choice. The shorter bladed varieties of machete or the British Army Golok are other possibilities, although might be a bit long to fit in some of the suggested bags.

• Prybar. A small crowbar has various uses and can perform many of the jobs that a knife is not recommended for. As well opening doors and breaking locks it can also be used as a digging implement, a piton or a weapon. Cold iron is of course potent against certain supernatural creatures and a good lump of it works well on most natural creatures!
• Cordage. People always seem to be falling into holes or quicksand so a rope to throw to them will be handy. A hank of paracord bundled hojo-jitsu style. A hank of string or braided fishing is useful for more mundane uses, as communication cord or setting a tripwire to topple a sentry. A roll of duct tape serves to silence and bind captives. A handful of cable ties have a number of potential uses too.
• Shell dressings, plasters. If there are guns about it is only prudent to pack a few battle dressings. A handful of smaller plasters for the inevitable cuts and scrapes. Major characters always seem to get these on their foreheads!
• Fire. One or two disposable butane lighters to light fuses and torches. Of course, in action movies Zippo lighters are disposable! Characters light them and throw them away, particularly if there is a big volume of gasoline.
• Compass. Having a spare compass is never a bad thing and they are rather useful for orientating your treasure map.
• Water bottle. Heroes are often immune to many physical needs, sometimes setting off on arduous journeys with neither a packhorse nor pack. A small bottle of water is useful, however. You can use it to wash wounds or pour it on the floor to find the hidden trapdoor!

            This is just a bit of whimsy, of course, but the resulting list is not a bag nucleus to base an emergency kit around. I would certainly add foil emergency blanket to such a kit. Use a planning system such as Uncle-Phil’s List to judge what other components could be added depending on available capacity and situation.
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