Microtech Troodon Tactical Knife

I searched all over the internet until I found the brand. It was a Microtech Halo Knife. Microtech is a US based knife manufacturer with an obsession for quality. Just before plunking down around $300 for a Halo I came across another model: the Troodon.

The Troodon has a slightly smaller blade, but the real difference is in the mechanism. The Halo requires a button press to extend the blade, but to retract it one must use two hands to pull back part of the handle of the knife. It's hard to explain, but the important factor is that it can't be retracted with one hand. The Troodon uses a flick switch on the side of the knife. Pressing it forward causes the blade to extend straight out, but pulling it back causes it to snap back inside with a satisfying click noise. Here's a video:

Cool, huh? I ordered the black on black Troodon and couldn't possibly be happier with it. The fit and finish are all top notch and simply holding the knife gives the impression that it's perfectly built. It was harder than I expected to move the switch, but a bit of practice makes it easy. I haven't done much with it other than open packages, but boy does it open those packages with style.

Hua Shan

It started about five years ago. On the internet I saw a picture of a really janky looking pathway that was nothing more than some two by fours bolted high into the side of a mountain. I immediately wanted to go do it. I did some searches, but came up empty handed. The name and location of the mountain was a mystery.

A couple years later I saw another picture of the mountain, and this time it had a name. Hua Shan. I looked it up, and it was in the middle of China, two hours east of Xi'an.