"Aggression" Primal/Tactical Rig for U.S. Army Sniper

[Stormcrow]

I was recently approached by an Army sniper stationed in Afghanistan to build him a knife that would work equally well at clearing brush and gathering vegetation for building "hides" and for use as a weapon in up-close-and-personal encounters if need be.  He said he already carried garden trimmers and a folding saw, but as he put it, "they're pretty lame and useless as weapons".   :D

 

The knife on my website that had caught his eye was the latest addition to the Aggression brethren.

 

 

I had traced the blade of it prior to wrapping the handle, so I had a pattern to start with.  I made a few suggested changes to make it more practical, which I made in blue Sharpie, to which he agreed.  We also both agreed that retina-searing orange would be a poor choice for a sniper, and settled on a more subdued wrap for his.   :)

 

 

 I made a posterboard pattern of the altered design, and after a couple of false starts, got the blade forged.  It took several cycles of cutting away excess metal, cleanup grinding, and re-forging to get the desired profile, weight, and balance.

 

 

After normalization and an overnight vinegar soak to eat off the scale, it was time for stock removal and heat treatment.

 

 

The wrap on this knife is a bit different from what I've done before.  Usually, I use an underlay of paracord with its core intact to build up the bulk around the tang, with a stripped-core paracord overlay.  This time, I laid a foundation of a slab of leather on either side of the tang, the edges heavily beveled to keep from getting square corners on the handle, then wrapped a black stripped-core underlay and tan stripped-core overlay on top, capped off with an intact-core three-strand Turk's head knot.  The whole wrap was then impregnated with marine epoxy, making a solid handle in place on the tang.  The leather foundation helped make one of the most comfortable handle wraps I've done, and I'm very pleased with the outcome.

 

 

After establishing the edges, the whole knife was dipped in solution to give it a black oxide finish and the final sharpening done.  The epoxied wrap was impervious to the solution.  I had tested out dipping a wrapped handle in before trying it on his, of course.   :)

 

As beautiful as the ostrich-hide-inlaid leather sheath was that Luke Swenson made for the previous Aggression is, the sniper and I decided that Kydex was the way to go for his.  

 

 

This was the most complex Kydex sheath I've built to date because I wanted to give him a lot of carry options.  He wanted to be able to wear it attached to his pack or from his belt, and for it to have an extra retention strap, something I haven't done on a sheath before.  We also both like the concept of using the sheath as a platform for a survival kit, so that factored in as well.

 

Here's the full rig:

 

 

 

The two sets of MOLLE locks are for attachment on a pack, the straps can be used for such or for the attachment of MOLLE pouches to the outside to carry a survival kit, and the paracord is the same as used on the handle wrap, arranged where a piece is quickly accessible, but won't accidentally come loose from the sheath even if the end comes untucked.

 

Here's the "prosthetic" piece I built to attach the retention strap.

 

 

I wanted a quick way for the sheath to go from pack carry to belt carry, so rigged up a couple of quick-detach belt holders that slip under the MOLLE locks.  The first was the webbing one, which is more flexible.

 

 

I decided that he might want it more rigid on his belt, so I built a second one out of Kydex with a TekLok.

 

 

Both belt carry setups are height-adjustable and can be swapped out in under a minute.  Never seen another setup like that.  Doesn't mean no one else has done it, just that I haven't seen it.   :)

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how he ends up setting up the rig for carry.  I sent along what remained of the tan paracord, as well as 10 feet of the strap and some extra buckles and sliders.  He can play around with all kinds of different carry options.

 

And a couple of shots of the blade in hand to get a feel for scale.  I don't think I took final dimensions before shipping it out (though I can measure the tracing I did of it), but it's about a 12" blade with the top edge fuller sharpened for about 1/3 of the length.

 

 

 

And finally, a video with most of what I just said, but a bit more:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tu3P3WRAnE

 

He's pretty happy with it so far.  Said he has to look at it every twenty minutes, which is what a maker likes to hear.   :)

[Chinobi]

Bad. Adze. Period. :-D

Stop making me want a machete!

[njanvilman]

What a great piece!  And the custom sheath just adds to everything.

[ThomasPowers]

Good write-up too; you should submit that to one of the appropriate magazines! (for real!)

[Gergely]

Ohh, man! I like this one so much... You just made real my visions about "The KNIFE"! And that tactical sheat... There are no words...

 

Congrats on your work!

 

Greetings

 

Gergely 

[Clayton M.]

I love the knife. The sheath looks great and the paracord wrap gives the knife a sophisticated look yet tough look. I like it!

[rthibeau]

#1: I fully concur with Thomas...publish it.

#2:  I want one just like it.

#3:  excellent work and good to hear he likes it. If'n I were a sniper tho', methinks I'd opt for a few extra magazines for the M1911, just sayin'

#4:  Make another one for me???

:)

[gearhartironwerks]

Looks like a bruiser. Glad I'm not on the receiving end. Can't even imagine what its like to be in the zone and Have to use that blade.

John

[Stormcrow]

 Thank y'all!

This was a special project for me, and I'm pleased with the outcome. I hope it serves him well in whatever capacity he uses it in.

Forgot to mention this is 5160. Not surprising, coming from me, though I'm transitioning to 80CrV2.

 

Chinobi - You know you want one.  :)  It'll be a while 'fore I catch up with my current load of orders and open my books again anyway.

 

Thomas - Not sure how I'd go about seeing about submitting an article about my own work.  I've had a couple of magazine articles, but the authors approached me about them.

 

Rthibeau - Only new work I'm taking on right now is from active duty military, law enforcement, and first responders.  I have some folks who have been waiting too dang long for their orders to make it to the forge.  :)

 

Tends to give away your position when you're clearing out a sniper hide with your .45.  

 

John - Most blade usage on a modern battlefield is more mundane stuff.  Chances are slim that the blade will ever be used for fighting.  But there are still definitely cases where it comes down to pulling sharp steel, and they're ugly circumstances that neither side is happy about being in.  In those cases, it's good to have a capable blade.  I hope I'm never in such a situation myself.  :)

 

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

The ugly truth it that in builtup areas (buildings and the urban inviroment) its dang near inposible to aim and fire at les than 21' (7m) before they are on you, and the newest crop of M16 veriants are even worse than the older ones for close combat. A knife isnt my first choice up close but it certainly beats a gun at spiting distance. Do love my Mosberg for those "oh ----!" Moments. Of corse been a few years sence I have been in those streats.
Good knives and axes still have a place on the modern battlefeild.
As to your blade, exelent work, I hope it serves its new master well

[ThomasPowers]

It's a loosely held secret that most magazines are dying for content; often the "editor" may write several articles under pseudonyms to fill it. So find a mag you think you'd fit and see if they have a small bit on "submissions"; follow their guidelines and submit! It can make a big difference over the long term if you "name" is out there in the general public; even if the article is not "paid" for. (take a look at how much a 2 or 3 page ad would cost in the same magazine...)

[windancer]

I love the planning and collaberation with your soldier about this very personal purpose-built weapon. And you did a fine job of melding all the rquirements into a finished piece that will definately make his day to day easier and could get used to save his or another's life.
Bravo!!!!!
What blackening solution did you use?

[Stormcrow]

Thomas - The one that probably would have been most appropriate is no longer published. :(

 

Windancer - It's from Caswell.  http://www.caswellplating.com/metal-finishing-solutions/black-oxide-kits.html

[Du7ch]

Slightly old post but I must say, as a US Army Infantryman, that knife would have been a god send in my tours in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Keep up the good work. I hope to get to your level someday!

[eriktlupus]

Very nice work and write-up.