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And all I can see is someone who isn't willing to proof his product and then throws out slander to prove his point. I am not here to sell anyone one here anything. I'm here to offer advice to my fellow warriors, including not falling for scams. I didn't at any time attack your product personally until you started the rude personal attacks. The only thing I asked was for you to use your own product then post it. Now suddenly I'm a lier. Clearly you know nothing about combat if you think our fighting men aren't currently carrying machetes, knives, or tomahawks. I have nothing to prove here. You do. You are the snake oil salesmen here and I'm a potential client saying prove it and suddenly you attack. Lol
 
Awwwww.... Phoenix, I didn't know you cared. :D

I will say something about the psycho bitch style, men tend to get a little flustered when a woman doesn't back down with their initial blustering, so when the woman steps up and is all 'bring it jackass' she has the upper hand because we aren't supposed to do that. If she's quick enough and isn't afraid to carry on through, those few seconds gained may be what puts things in her favor.
Very well said! I agree most men do not expect a woman to confront them, and they sure as hell aren't prepared for it. I personally like women who voice their opinion. I think times are changing in this area, and most men better get ready for more confrontation.
 
I've seen women and children kill more then soldiers at times. One of our security groups got ambushed by an 8 year old with a grenade and a chopped down AK in Feb 2009, we lost 5 great men that day. We just have a hard time seeing them as a danger and yes, it is a definite advantage. Most need to be prepared to handle both unfortunately.
 
AS far as put up or shut up: I am a business owner, I have put up my facebook page with address and phone number to my business. I guarentee my work 100%. I'd say that is enough "putting up". All you have offered is negative comments about my products and outrageous claims of life or death hand to hand combat with knives, machetes and tomahawks. What is more believable, my ability as a welder, or you serving in a military group that carries knives, machetes and tomahawks? Your credability is very poor.

Wow, not really sure where to start with this. First let me mention that I have been a welder for many years and a welding and fabricating engineer for the last five. I have also served in the Army as SF and there are many times that we used weapons that were not firearms when silence was a major issue. So please don't get snotty about what he said about using machetes, knives, and tomahawks. they are tools that are used in the military for a multitude of uses. And I can say, personally, that claims of using non projectile weapons are far from 'outrageous'.

As for your ability for welding he wasn't questioning it. He really was asking a question. Many of the implements that are on the market today that are similar to what you have usually have someone who does a test such as Ronin is talking about. Mainly to show how durable that it is, and the versatility. Personally I have a titanium utility bar and have seen the tests to show that they very resilient. For people who are prepping and may have to use what they purchase it is a major factor. There are MANY sites online selling items that they say are ready to use, but are just cheap products that break, warp, or in some other way damage after a few uses. I guess this would be the best way of explaining this: Your a welder and I assume that you have taken welding tests in the past. You know just as well as I do that depending on how the prospective employer tests the welds, it can be anywhere from visual, NDT (dye penetrant), or DT (bend test) to check the integrity of the weld and how it will work under stress. Doing what Ronin was suggesting is just another type of test to show the quality of the product.

Oh, and as far as knowing anyone who is a blacksmith, your talking to one. By no means a master or even a journeyman, more an advanced apprentice. All of us on this site have a wide range of skills and abilities and you never know what someone has a skill in.
 
I posted a picture of my product and roninsensei responds with the folllowing comment without asking a question, doing any research on me or my company or my product. Exactly where have you seen welded weapons break? This is an outrageous claim and cannot be taken seriously. The M-1 Abrams tank is built less than 20 miles from my home, by welders. You should call the tank plant in Lima, Oh and let them know that welded weapons break too often to be taken seriously. After you call the tank plant, call the shipyards in Toledo also, let those welders know whats up. Then call Jeep in Toledo and let them know that welding the frames together is a bad idea. Maybe the Reese Hitch Company would like to know that thier product will fail if roninsensei gets his super human hands on it.

"Personally I've seen welded weapons fail to often to be serious about them. I've seen them break at the weld points too often to trust my life with them. Do a video using them in extreme tests for strength and we'll see. Outside of that I wouldn't waste my money. Life time warranties are useless if I'm dead due to product failure. But at the same time it shows you stand behind your work. But I do like where your going with this!!! I hope your weapons pan out cause they look like fun. Please do destruction test then post."

roninsensei unmasked:
 
Phoenix prepping: To certify in Stick, mig and tig: I have passed x-ray testing, bend test and as a welder at Henry Filters in Bowling Green Ohio, every weld I did had to pass a dye check since my welds were to contain thousands, maybe millions of gallons of fluid. I am not going to beat my product against a tree or rock to prove a point. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
 
Also. All of my products are 3/4" sched 40 a-36 structural steel pipe, with mild steel spikes welded to them. $25-$35 bucks. Obviously cheap, but effective none the less. As I have mentioned, in a life or death situation, use a real weapon, like a gun. Swords and maces no matter what the quality are not realistic protection against some one with a gun.
 
Phoenix prepping: To certify in Stick, mig and tig: I have passed x-ray testing, bend test and as a welder at Henry Filters in Bowling Green Ohio, every weld I did had to pass a dye check since my welds were to contain thousands, maybe millions of gallons of fluid. I am not going to beat my product against a tree or rock to prove a point. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not disagreeing with you. Most anything that has a weld fail is typically the result of welds that someone did in their backyard by slinging stuff together who didn't have a clue as to how to really weld. Anything that is properly welded will hold up to it's rated tensile strength. It's actually more common for the metal around the weld to get fubar before the weld itself. And I had the same experience you have with the dye check. I worked with Dixie Tank in Florida and we did industrial sized water tanks and hydrogen tanks and EVERY bloody think was DP and THEN x-rayed. That doesn't produce a welder who is crap at all.

Also. All of my products are 3/4" sched 40 a-36 structural steel pipe, with mild steel spikes welded to them. $25-$35 bucks. Obviously cheap, but effective none the less. As I have mentioned, in a life or death situation, use a real weapon, like a gun. Swords and maces no matter what the quality are not realistic protection against some one with a gun.

Again, I kind of see your point, no knife or sword would be great against a gun. Thats why when we tell people they are stupid we say, 'Boy, your so dumb you would bring a knife to a gunfight.' But think about what most of us are talking about. SHTF and ammo will run out. And there will be those that won't have ammo but will need some way to protect themselves.

Reminds me of something I heard once. I don't remember who said it, but it was during the Vietnam War. A chopper has come back to base and had arrows sticking out of it. One guy (an Lt. I think) said,'Wow, they are using bows and arrows, how can we lose against that?' And his commanding officer looked at him and said,'Son, we are fighting against people who are willing to fight us with bows and arrows, how do you think we can win?'

Firearms are NOT the be all end all. ANYTHING can be made into a weapon if the person holding it has the determination and imagination to make it one. You say that swords and maces are not realistic protection against firearms. I WILL disagree there because I had a buddy of mine gutted and killed with a sword before he knew the guy was there, even though he was caryying a firearm, and had body armor on. Firearms are no match for stealth and ingenuity. If anything they make the person carrying them have a false sense of security, especially in enclosed spaces...
 
You understand where I am coming from at least. I never claimed that my weapons are the "best", or that they are better than anything for that matter. They are simply Spikes welded (skillfully with dual shield flux core wire) to pieces of pipe. I will say that they are better than a baseball bat, or a plain steel pipe. If you are talking life or death, i would expect for a person to spend a bit more than $35 on thier life. If I were trying to charge $100 - $200 dollars for my stuff, i would be more apt to prove thier worth by making videos. I took high quality pictures, zoom in, inspect the welds visually, please. Also, view my face book page and check out some other projects I have done, which I have invited everyone to do. www.facebook.com/FunTimeEngineeringLLC I am trying to get an effective product out there that any Joe can afford. There are lots of people who cannot afford, or do not want to afford super high quality melee weapons, but having a steel pipe with spikes welded to it is cheap and easy and more effective than nothing at all. If you have a samurai sword, why buy my product? You also make a good point on the gun thing...If a person can creepy crawl behind someone with a gun and stab them...they could probably use any spear, sharpened stick, kitchen knife or one of my weapons to take the guy out silently. If SHTF, there are lots of people that will be armed with only a stick, a bat or a kitchen knife...what would be wrong with a pipe with spikes? Its better than any standard household item. I'm not selling snake oil, or BS. I never claimed to be a ninja. I am selling spiked pipes with rubberized grips for cheap. I guarentee the welds won't break, but I cannot guarentee that it won;t bend with extreme abuse, its mild steel, not 2507 stainless. It seems rediculous to me to have to destroy something to prove its worht $35.
 
Please understand that what I said was not about your product. Its about the 1000s of hand to hand products that are welded and fail. When I made my statement about welded weapons it was made from experience, and a tank is not the same as a mace. If you think My statement was directed at your product then I apologize but that wasn't my intent. I was making a statement based on experience (not with your product) about hand to hand weapons that are welded together. I would love for yours to be the exception because if you read back you'll see that I expressed a desire for them to be good.
Like Phoenix I have lost brothers (not just friends) in combat to simple things like a machete. To discount its lethal potential means you haven't ever seen one used in action. Everything on this site we will test to make sure that it works proper or we will say don't do it. I plan on becoming a costumer of yours soon. I will post a review. If it holds up I will tell the world about your product and please believe me when I say it will be fair, I hope that it holds up, I will probably try to break it. Even if it does break I will recommend it if it goes beyond normal use. You seem to have a lot of pride in your product hence your quick to defend, It will more than likely show in the test and I promise I will tell everyone about the Quality and care you take and the pride that clearly goes into your work after the review if that's what i find.
Personally I've seen welded weapons fail to often to be serious about them. I've seen them break at the weld points too often to trust my life with them. Do a video using them in extreme tests for strength and we'll see. Outside of that I wouldn't waste my money. Life time warranties are useless if I'm dead due to product failure. But at the same time it shows you stand behind your work. But I do like where your going with this!!! I hope your weapons pan out cause they look like fun. Please do destruction test then post.
As you can see here I was not talking about you, I was talking about welded weapons and my personal experience with such. And the picture you posted was not of tanks and guns but hand to hand weapons. Also I offered words of encouragement and I stated in the end that I hope they pan out because they look like fun. That was a real statement of hope not sarcasm. I still do hope.
P.s. text doesn't convey tone. I'm not trying to be jerky. I'm more quizzical. I sincerely wish to know. They do look like fun.
I still mean this. But soon I'll answer the questions myself.
I have no real dog in this fight except that my Brother and Sister preppers are safe and the products do what they are built for.
 
Apologies for my reactions that may have been offensive or defensive. I certainly do not want to make enemies with anyone, it's bad for business. I am a damn good welder that had an idea. If you reveiw my facebook page you will see some of the things I have built and repaired. Articulating TV arm and trailer for example. FTE will build anything that people want, its a custom fab shop with 3d Cad service available. I even built a sculpture for an interior designer in NM. I would also encourage some ideas on different styles of weapons, they are cheap and easy to build. I'm not trying to get rich or rip anyone off, I am just trying to make a living. I raise chickens. I can my own food and grow my own produce. I am a firearms advocate and owner. I am also a journeyman machinist and was a journeyman Fuels Specialist (Air Force). Most of my friends were Marines. One in particualr was recently commissioned and was a DI @ Paris Island. FTE also sponsors proffesional(belator) MMA fighter Antonio Castillo Jr. "The Mexican Muscle". I am on the same team as you guys.
 
Ronin: My offer still stands. If you make a video of the weapon test, FTE will replace your weapon no charge. I assume you will test it until it is more or less ruined. I am very confident that ruining it will be a challenge! I wouldn't know how to ruin it besides putting it into a press and crushing it or by using a sledge hammer on it. I am not a martial artist, I just know how to build strong stuff. Your test may be quite different than mine and being experienced in martial arts, you know how to test it and your opinion will be more respected.
 
The point here is very clear. 21 ft rule is good to know, scary actually. point well taken. For arguements sake : The aggressor in all of these is a knife weilder and the defender has the gun. Would it make a difference if the defender had any other weapon, a knife, or club? I don't think it would make a difference. The aggressor would still close the distance if the defender has to react to the aggressor. To me, the moral of the story is: never assume an assailant will not attack, have weapon drawn already. These were all more or less suprise attacks. In the case of a suprise, like the second video, there isn;t much you could do at all unless you assume EVERYONE could attack you without warning. Although the first video was crazy! with several officers there, with what looked like semi-auto rifles approached a guy with a knife without weapons at the ready, that was stupid of them! They had a warning and ignored it. If the aggressor has a gun and the defender has a knife, i believe the outcome would be quite different.
 
Very possibly if their weapons were drawn but most of the time people don't believe its gonna happen. Imagine the damage done with a longer weapon like your halberd. Plus in our drills a safe distance is more like 30 feet. Weapon length changes the distance needed to close. Hence the longer it is the more time and distance you need to react and draw. Better to have the gun in hand. But the other point is that unless its a head shot he can keep coming. You may get a couple in him but he may get a couple in you as well. lol
 
All of this has made me think pretty hard about how I would react to a potential threat. I always keep one under the hammer on my pistol (which the mythbusters didn't) even so, if the pistol isn't drawn, the time it takes to draw and fire at center mass is roughly equal to the time it takes for the agressor to close the gap. And as you said, and I witnessed in the first video, 1-3 shots may not be enough to stop a guy, especially a big guy. my only consolation is this: 1)Most people aren;t skilled, or crazy enough to attack with knife. 2) about 80% of rabbits that I jump while hunting, I get. (shotgun, modifed choke, 10-20 yrds, #6 game loads). but rabbits aren;lt trying to kill me and they are unarmed and they are easier to kill than a man. LOL Excellent post, great learning experience for me. I am going to share these videos wtih others.
 

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