Polaris Lock Rakes

I will admit, I have been looking forward to these ever since I heard about them several months back. Last night a review copy of the Polaris lock rake kit arrived. Here are some initial impressions:

The Polaris is the baby of Chris Dangerfield of UKBumpkeys. It is available from UKBumpkeys or their North American outlet, LockPickWorld.com. Polaris went on sale a couple of days ago and apparently are selling fast! Currently available at an introductory price with a 5,000 word ebook on raking techniques.

I was expecting the usual sort of pouch that lock picks come in. Instead the envelope contained a rather elegant-looking black wallet. As I opened the flap it was obvious that it had magnetic fastening.

Once opened, you are confronted by a suede interior and neat row of polished rakes, each in its own pocket. A flap to cover the points is thoughtfully provided, which is a nice attention to detail. On the far left an eleventh pocket holds a pair of turning tools, one TOK and one BOK.

Each rake is nicely polished and proudly marked “DANGERFIELD - POLARIS”. Each rake is also numbered, which is a feature I approve of. It can be useful to know you have already tried “no.4” or that “no.3” worked best on a similar lock in the past.

Polaris gives you ten rakes, and a very nice selection they are too!

Regular readers will know that I have wanted to try a double hump Bogota. Rake no.1 is a double-hump Bogota! No.2 is the more common but very useful three-hump and no.3 is a four-hump. These all made quick work of most of my test locks.

Recently I have worked on several locks that seem to respond best to a technique that is intermediate between single pin picking (SPP) and raking. I use a rake but need to concentrate on a particular group of pins. The two-hump proved useful on these locks, having a bit more room to move about. On the other hand, the three-hump seemed a fraction faster on locks susceptible to conventional scrubbing and rocking.

Rake no.4 looked very similar to the four-hump Bogota but the peaks are more rounded. This is a Cycloid rake. It resembles a Bogota but with slightly lower and more rounded peaks. No.5 is more symmetrical and you might think of it as a form of snake, worm or serpentine rake. It is actually a four-hump Sinusoid. These are both useful for locks where the Bogotas are too tall.

No.6 and 7 are five wave Cycloid and Sinusoid and appear to have a slightly lower wave-height, making them useful in locks that 4 and 5 are too high for.

So far, a nice, intelligent selection of rakes that nicely complement each other.

No.8 is a bit of a change of style since it is a ripple or jag, also known as an “L” or “city” rake. I think of this one as a “classic city”. I have at least two other kits with rakes of exactly the same profile. When I first started lock picking I was not particularly keen on jags. I did not then appreciate that they were not for techniques such as zipping or scrubbing. The correct way to use a jag is rocking. The no.8 is a fraction taller than some of the other city rakes I have. This is easily addressed with a little filing, but I doubt this is significant since jags tend to only be useful in taller, straighter keyways. When a jag does work, however, it tends to work very fast indeed! No.8 is no exception!

No.8 is the only straight-backed rake in the set, making it useful if you want to count the pins in a lock. Interestingly, I was able to use the straight back to rock open a mushroom-pinned practice lock.

You may have noticed that most lock pick sets seem to share the same assortment of picks? I have never seen another kit with rakes like no.9 and 10.  When I first saw them I thought of them as double-sided jags. Chris Dangerfield likens them to jiggler keys.
 

 

Like more conventional jags these can quickly open some locks by rocking. I have also had successes using them for gentle scrubbing. No.9 and 10 are fairly wide in places but I have opened some narrower, twisty locks by using the curves of the rake to probe around. Novel, but useful designs. Note that most of the rakes in this kit can be treated as double-sided. If they do not work one way up they may work inverted. Always worth trying.

I like the turning tools in this kit. Raking can be difficult with a TOK tool when used in the top of the keyway so try using it at the bottom. This suits some lock ways better than the other tool. When I first opened the wallet I was a little disappointed there was not more room for additional turning tools. Part of the reason for this is the turning tool pocket is on the wallet flap, so space is a little limited. You can probably fit a few more BOK tools in the pocket, and it would be useful to have a selection of different widths and thicknesses. Perhaps Dangerfield will release an add-on set?

I like the magnet feature of the wallet. It adds a certain “majesty” to opening it. It may have practical applications too. Turning tools and rakes can be “stuck” to either of the outer panels, useful when you need a hand free but cannot return the tool to its pocket. Will the wallet stick to a metal panel such as a locker door? It sticks to my fridge!

The kit comes with a 5,000 word ebook on raking techniques. I don’t know if that is a permanent component or just for the introductory offer. Since my set is a review sample I did not get the ebook. Knowing Chris’ experience and enthusiasm for raking I expect it to be well worth a read.

In conclusion, this is a really, really nice rake set. Classy to look at but also with a really useful selection of rakes. It has all of the rakes you might wish for and also some effective novel designs. It is, as advertised, just a rake set. If you want to learn SPP you will need some hooks and half-diamonds. A Serenity and a Polaris kit would be an awesome combination!

I would say, “add these to your Christmas list”, but I understand these are moving fast so the introductory offer may not last that long!

If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
The Books

Camouflage Headgear: Textilage.

Recently I have been working on a number of camouflage-related projects. There is a bit of an inherent problem with this. Good camouflage is difficult to photograph. Decades ago I was told: “If you want to know about camouflage, read a photography book about how to take good photographs then break the rules they give you!” You will understand this better in a moment.

Today’s project was an attempt to experiment with some ideas about headgear. If your helmet still looks like a helmet when its cover is fitted, it is not camouflage! Why are helmet nets designed to be flush with the helmet rim, I wondered. Good camouflage guides tell you to break up the regular shape of the rim. If the net hung down irregularly it would provide better camouflage. It might also keep some insects away and have other benefits. Done right, it would be easier to construct too.

My first problem is that I did not have a helmet. I decided to camouflage a boonie hat instead. I would construct the net in such a way that it could easily be transferred to a helmet or other headgear. I selected a hat with “chocolate chip” desert camouflage. I wanted whatever was beneath the net to be light for some negative space effect. There is also good contrast between the major elements of this pattern.

My second problem was trying to locate a suitable net within my very limited budget. I eventually hit on the idea of using a cheap string vest. I would have preferred a sand-yellow, beige or coyote-brown example but could only find khaki-drab. I suppose if you are making several you could dye some white vests. The holes are probably a bit small for some natural foliage, ¾ of an inch or 20mm being preferable.

Cut a piece of the vest in an irregular, roughly rectangular shape big enough to hang past the rim of your headgear.  It should be short at the front but can be longer at the sides and back. Attachment is simple. The boonie hat already has a looped headband. Pass strings or tapes through these, through the net and tie with reef knots. For a helmet utilize the foliage bands of the issue helmet cover, or cut slots in the cover.

You now have a hat or helmet with a net draped over it. It is not camouflaged yet! One purpose of the net is to hold natural foliage, selected from what commonly grows in your area of operations. Light stuff is simply threaded through the net. Heavier stuff may need more support. This is often achieved by placing a rubber band around the helmet, beneath the net. This can be cut from a bicycle inner tube, surgical glove, elastic or similar materials.

Natural materials are supplemented by bits of cloth. For want of any better term we will call this “textilage”, since it is typically made from textiles and adds texture. Most of the materials used for this example were from a bag of off-cuts sold for the purpose. Be nice if more companies started doing this. Most of these bits are PU-nylon or condura in MTP camouflage. Some more variety and desert patterns would have been welcome, especially if the intention is to camouflage for sandy and urban environments. Other materials used include pieces of cut-up sandbag, medical gauze dyed with acrylic paint or tea, bits of cotton sock (also dyed) and jute string. Simply thread through the net and tie with an overhand knot. Shorter lengths that tend to stick up are used on the top of the hat, longer lengths that droop on the rest. Not that individual textilage bits do not need to be camouflaged. Anything in a suitable neutral or natural shade can be used.

You will end up with something that looks nothing like a hat or helmet, and that is what we are aiming for. Try your hat on and do some fine-tuning. You do not want anything within your visual arc that is obstructive or distracting. Pay attention to the peripheral areas of your vision.

OK, so what did my hat end up like? I only have one head available to model the hat, and it is not very photogenic. My attempt at a selfie was not really that successful, but it does show the distinctive brim shape of the hat is well disrupted.

A top view of the hat. The flash has revealed the pattern of the hat much more than it appears to the naked eye. I could have brought a cheaper, monochrome hat. The effect may be different if you have a lighter-coloured net or larger mesh.

Side view of the hat, very effectively hiding a chrome Phantasm ball.

Front view, no flash. Note how materials at the front hang past the brim less but still disrupt. If your helmet has an NVG mounting the net will hide it but can be raised so that it can be used.

If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
The Books

The Seven Low Blows.

This blog has had less posts on self-defence than I originally envisioned. One of the reasons for this is that “Attack, Avoid, Survive” and “Crash Combat” cover the subject comprehensively.

I was discussing “Miller’s law” recently. This is the idea that the average number of related “data chunks” a person can recall is seven, plus or minus two. It seems prudent to keep this in mind when creating lists of ideas or concepts to memorize.

In keeping with this vein, I present the “Seven Low Blows”

1.    The kick to the groin. We all know that a kick to the front of the pelvis can be decisive, regardless of your gender. Your attacker knows this too and landing the blow may not be as easy as some self-defence manuals make out. The classic groin kick is probably the front snap kick. Drawing the kicking foot back or stepping forward with the other foot will telegraph your intentions and is to be avoided. My personal inclination would be to use a front thrust kick. This is a kick I can perform with speed and accuracy. Hammer the front of the pelvis rather than kick his gonads up out his ears. A roundhouse kick might connect, and may be useful if the foe has his hip turned in to protect his groin. I would be cautious about using a roundhouse in this way and you may be better off attacking another target such as the near leg.

2.  Coccyx aka “tailbone”. This can be a very decisive target, resulting in serious injuries that will be slow to heal. The primary kick to hit this is a horizontal roundhouse. Kick slightly higher and you can hit the kidneys or the vertebrae where they join the pelvis. Don’t try to kick higher than this

3.  Front of the knee. Another devastating attack than can cause life changing levels of injury. None of the attacks described in today’s blog are for playing or sparring! Primary attack is the side thrust kick. It is easy to put a lot of weight and force behind this kick so it can also be directed against the thighbone. A useful variant of the side-kick is the “Moro” or oblique kick. See my books for details.

4.  Side and back of the knee. These can also be attacked with a side-kick. Alternately, use an oblique roundhouse/ snap kick against these areas. The side of the thigh, just above the knee can be attacked with the same techniques.

5.   Shin, calf and foot. The region below the knee can be attacked with a nearly vertical side-kick. This is a kick that works well with footwear. Scrape the side of your boot sole down the front of the shin and finish by stomping down on the top of the foot. A useful technique for escaping from grabs or holds. May be applied to the calf muscles at the sides and back of the leg.

6.  Knee strike. Blows with the knee can be delivered in situations where other kicks cannot. Often your foe will be holding onto you or you onto them when you use your knee. The groin is an obvious target but do not forget that the side of the thigh and the coccyx can be struck too. If a foe is bent forwards knee them in the nose, forehead, temple, hinge of the jaw, ribs or kidneys.

7.   Half-moon step. This is a stepping technique described under “Sanchin” in “Attack, Avoid, Survive”. It utilizes balance and movements you will have honed learning the crescent kicks. This step uses a semi-circular movement to move past an opponent or slip your leg behind their lead leg. This can set up a push or strike to trip or unbalance them. The arc of the foot movement may be inward or outward. One of the first practical applications for Sanchin that I learnt was to slip past an advancing opponent and then stamp backward at their calf. The motion itself can be used as a low strike. Aim it at the ankle-bone or the Achilles tendon, but be aware these may be protected by the footwear. You may also use this movement to step on or pin the foe’s foot.

If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
The Books

Toggle Ropes.

According to Home Guard Instruction Manual No.51, Part III a toggle rope is six feet long and made from hemp of one and a half inches' circumference. Spliced to one end is a wooden toggle, six inches long and one inch in diameter. At the other end is a spliced eye, described as “four inches”. Since the eye must fit over a toggle I suspect this dimension is the internal width. I will note here that most toggle ropes that appear in photographs appear much thicker than a circumference of one and a half inches would suggest. See here for more on how to construct a toggle rope.

The toggle rope is more an item for a soldier than for an individual such as a hiker or survivalist. A single toggle rope is useful, but its real strength is that it can be combined with the other toggle ropes carried in a unit. I will save descriptions of some of the ways a toggle rope could be used for a future post. Just to whet your appetite, here is a bridge made from toggle ropes.

For a modern version of a toggle rope a number of questions need to be addressed.

The first question is “how long it should be?” A storey of a building is about nine or ten feet high, so a three metre rope may be more useful in such an environment.

“How thick?” is another question. The rope needs to be thick enough that a soldier can climb it, but not so bulky it becomes a serious encumbrance. Is it practical to carry the rope with an overhand knot tied every half metre or so? If so, this may allow for an overall thinner and lighter rope. B-720 suggests: “If your mission requires long ropes, consider the use of 1" [climber's] nylon tubing instead. It is lighter, more compact, and just as strong.”

Rather than a toggle it may be more useful to have a large loop at one end and a smaller loop with a carabineer at the other. The larger loop should be wide enough for a booted foot to be placed in it. Two ropes can be joined by using the carabineer as a toggle in a sling toggle knot or toggled bight and eye.  

Should the toggle rope actually be a rope? Would one inch webbing work as well while being more compact. This line of thought suggests at least one man in the squad should carry an etrier rather than a toggle rope.

If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
The Books