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Sept. 3, 2023 - Health Ranger - Mike Adams
52:28
Third generation master knife craftsman John Roy reveals innovative new MagnaCut...
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Alright, welcome to this special interview here on Briteon.com.
I'm Mike Adams, and we have a really special thing for you today.
Joined by John Roy from Dawson Knives, and his family has been making these extraordinary knives that we're going to show you here for, well, generations.
And they're based out of Arizona, and this is the company that we've collaborated with, with my line, where I've co-designed these three knives, actually it's four, That are available now that are made out of MagnaCut, which is an extraordinary alloy and a G10 handle and a lot of amazing features.
And John Roy is here to describe what goes into these knives and how they manufacture them and some of the innovations that set these apart from ordinary knives.
So welcome, John Roy.
It's great to have you on, man.
Love what you do.
Thanks for joining me.
Thank you very much, Mike.
And I have to say, this collaboration has been really exciting because it has really pushed us to come up with something that really hasn't been seen in the knife world.
Oh, yeah.
Well, and you know about the knife world a lot.
I mean, you've been doing this for a long time, and you know about all the advanced methods.
In fact, you have a heat treatment protocol that nobody else in the industry knows about that is a special way to treat the MagnaCut steel.
Can you tell us about that heat treatment, the benefits of that?
Yeah, absolutely, Mike.
So when we work, the whole soul of a knife is in the heat treat.
So if you don't have your heat treat just right, then you're going to have a lot of issues or it's just going to be just like everyone else's knife.
So what we try and do is we get a differential heat treat out of powdered metal.
And there's a lot of people out there that have tried this process but have not quite succeeded.
So we can actually get the cutting edge to about a rock well of 61 to 62.
And then on the back end, or the spine part, we're usually getting it to a Rockwell of about 48 to 50.
So having those two properties gives you a razor sharp cutting edge, but then gives you a lot of strength and flex out of the knife.
In fact, we have some videos on some of our own blades that he treated with this proprietary process, being able to bend 70 degrees.
That's almost unheard of in the knife or the sword world.
To bend a blade 70 degrees without it shattering?
Especially with a stainless steel blade.
That's totally unheard of.
Most people don't realize that you're either in the knife world, you're sacrificing edge sharpness for flexibility or flexible strength in the steel, but With our knives,
we've found a way, using kind of Japanese techniques, and that's why everyone talks about Japanese swords, being able to get that edge strength and that edge sharpness along with a knife or sword that is very malleable and has flexibility and just won't break chip or do anything of that sort.
So this is the, we call this the mass ratio knife.
This is kind of the bushcrafting knife, and this is actually the favorite among our audience right now.
And so what you're saying is that the Rockwell hardness of the edge here is about 60 to 62.
Yeah, you've got the same one there.
Yeah.
But then along the spine, it's actually got more flexibility so that this knife, if you were to use it in a prying type of situation, which, of course, people use them that way, but you don't want it to shatter and break in your face when you're prying something with it.
But you also want it to retain that sharpness for the chopping or the cutting or the rope cutting or whatever you're doing with it, right?
Yeah.
You know, your first primary function of any knife is to be able to cut.
So that's the main function of any knife.
And so going to a rockwool of 62 and having the unique properties of MagnaCut, now a lot of people are going to say, well, that's going to be hard to resharpen.
Well, MagnaCut is very unique because we're not getting that stainless property through chromium.
So that means, and chromium is what makes things hard to resharpen.
And there's some other things, but it's the chromium carbides.
So what we're doing here is that this is actually not stainless by that standard because you need 13% to be considered stainless in chromium.
This is only 10%.
So you can still get a super razor-sharp cutting edge that's easy to hone out in the field or survival situation, but on top of that, because you don't have that much chromium, we've been able to do a differential heat treat that allows you to get a lot of flex out of it.
So that way you can get You know, just in a real-world scenario, you don't know what's going to happen in a survival situation.
You don't know what's going to come up.
I mean, during OEF operation during Freedom, we sent a bunch of knives out there.
And we had a bunch of soldiers that had to use these knives for all kinds of things.
Yeah, like just tools.
Yeah.
Yeah, but this knife wasn't really intended beyond, or we told them that it could do, but they had to use it in a pinch.
And that heat treat has saved a lot of lives.
Oh, no question about it.
And let me mention, you know, we're thrilled to work with you and your company, John Roy Dawson Knives.
These knives are available exclusively from us.
HealthRangerStore.com is where you get these.
But DawsonKnives.com is where you can find all the other knives and the swords and blades that Dawson does.
And that's how I found out about your company.
Years ago, as you know, I was searching for a really rugged survival sword.
That's how I first found you.
I'm going to go ahead and name the sword that I really love.
That was the Windstorm.
That was before you started using MagnetCut, and that was also before your expansion into all of the new automated control CNC systems that you have now.
But you've been doing this for a while, and you've had a lot of innovation in this space, right?
Yeah, we've been doing it for, as a family, this is actually our 50th year.
So on all these knives, and that's another thing that makes these really special, is that they're engraved with our 50th year anniversary.
So we've been around for three generations as a family business.
We have passed down this knowledge from generation to generation, and now my sons are taking up the trade, and they're working out in the shop, and we're teaching them along.
Oh, that's awesome.
With these blades, they're so unique because they're the future of knives.
I mean, when we got together, I really appreciated all the feedback that you gave us.
And taking it to the next level, we wanted to do something totally unique.
Something that hasn't really been done in the knife world.
You can see a lot of knives out there.
And they all look the same.
Because everybody's doing the same thing.
They're copying each other.
But this, we wanted to create a survival knife that would last a lifetime.
That's an heirloom piece, but that you can bet your life on.
So we did a lot of different features to this that you're just not going to find on other knives.
Between the knife and the sheath system, and even down the road in the future, the different accessories that will be coming with it.
Well, and I want to say even just the end here of the knife is so unique.
I mean, it's hard for people to see it on camera, but it's chiseled to a very fine width here.
This can be used as a Frankly, as a screwdriver, even, as well, but also as a prying instrument.
And then this hole that you've engraved in here, as you explained to me, you combine it with these other two holes.
Now you can affix this with paracord to a staff or a stick, and you can literally make a survival spear out of this.
But the combination of the...
Oh, and then this is also a really effective, you know, crushing edge if you were to use it in a kind of, you know, like backhand smashing to break a window to escape from being trapped in a vehicle, for example.
There are so many uses of this.
What else do you like about this?
Plus the serrations for the grip as well.
But what do you see this end being useful for?
Yeah, so that's actually really unique.
So the whole idea is that with the knife and the sheath, they should all work together.
And so there are screws on the sheath that you can use to adjust your tension on the blade, so that way you get the fit that you want in the sheath, just like you do with a gun holster or something of that sort.
But that back end is really cool because not only is it a pry bar, flathead screwdriver that works with the screws on your sheaths, But it's also a glass breaker.
We've had guys that, because we rocked well that at 62 and having that malleability, that allow you to do all kinds of different things.
And because this only has 10% chromium in it, if you were to wear away some of the finish on the back end of the knife, you could still use it as a fire striker because it's a high carbon blade.
So it's very unique, and the whole idea of this blade is to be able to survive, and especially with the mass ratio, because you have a Green River-style blade, which is excellent for hunting and skinning, but it's also good for bushcrafting work.
So if you have to build a shelter or anything of that sort, this will work out really well right here.
And then we also Cerakote it, so there's a clear Cerakote on here.
Now this is the actual finish of the blade, so that's the actual steel.
So this is more of our special type of acid dipping that we do to create this look, but that's just the steel itself.
And then we have a clear Cerakote on top of that to protect the finish, but then just adds to the stainless properties of this blade.
So you don't have to worry about rust or anything of that sort, whether you're in an extremely humid environment or not.
You know, I'm glad you mentioned that because here in Texas I've noticed that tools that are, of course, left outside, they just rust in no time.
And, you know, typical things, even like machetes or knives or, you know, like plumbing tools, wrenches and whatever.
And so for a lot of those things, because often I have to do things outside and I have to have things in an outside vehicle, like a side-by-side ranch vehicle where I have tools in a tool chest, but there's no way it can be airtight, right?
So they're going to be subjected to that.
Or I have things in a barn.
So I've been using a lot of aluminum tools for that purpose, and just for the corrosion resistance.
But what I love about your knives is that I know that I can put this in a vehicle, even in a high humidity Texas environment, and that I can leave it there for six months.
I can come back to it and I can know that it's not going to be rusted out and the edge is still going to be totally usable six months later.
And, you know, the wood's not going to be all rotted out or anything because this is a G10 handle, which is super high density.
So this is something that I know I can put where I need it, I can come back to it, and I can count on it when I need it.
That's what I love about it.
Yeah, because the whole knife is made to last forever.
So, like you said, the G10 handle.
I mean, first, it fits really good.
And even when it gets wet or even if you get sweaty or it's really cold, it's going to fit really good in the hand.
You're always going to have a sure grip.
The other thing about it is that the whole knife and everything we create, everything that we do, we do it in-house.
It's handmade and machine-made, so there's certain aspects on both ends, but all our raw material comes from this country.
We're 100% American-made, and we source almost 100% of our raw material here in this country, besides the screws on the sheath.
So, that's it.
Right.
Importantly, the steel comes...
I thought you told me before, the steel comes out of a company out of New York, right?
Right.
That is correct.
Niagara, yes.
And that's CPM, and they are specialists in special alloys, and this MagnaCut is a kind of alloy that seemingly would violate the laws of physics and chemistry.
It's almost like a magical combination that even that company almost stumbled across and found how amazing it was.
The guy who invented it invented it in his house, and he had a doctorate in metallurgy.
He just loved knives.
And because of COVID, you know, he was home a lot, so he came up with this amazing concept of making every alloy that's in the steel bond with each other so there's no free chromium carbides.
So that way there's nothing to attach for I'm glad you mentioned saltwater because a lot of people need a knife on a boat.
In a marine environment, you know, or just living in, you know, Louisiana for that matter, or Florida, you know, living close to the coast.
And you need to be able to count on something that's not going to corrode away in a couple of months.
And that's, I mean, this is the perfect knife for having on a boat.
Or, you know, even in the bayou, right?
Or just you're around water, lakes, just freshwater lakes.
If you're around water, you know, things are going to tend to corrode, but this solves that problem.
It's just, it's a knife for literally everywhere on the planet.
This knife is going to outlive you, and I used to live in Houston, so this blade is, even in an environment like that, this is the knife, and these knives, this line is the line that I've always wanted to build.
And with your guidance, we were able to come up with these designs that really fit the Real-world problems and how to survive in this world and how to take the knives to the next level.
I mean, it took a lot of R&D. There was a lot of research going in there, working with the holes, getting them so you can tie it down and make a spear.
I've got to show you that spear.
I keep promising I've got to bring it.
We made a spear.
It's awesome.
Yeah, I want to see what you've done with that.
Oh yeah, it's so cool.
I like hiking.
I like being in the backwoods.
I love hunting.
I mean, that's the other thing.
This is what I'm going to take on my elk hunt.
So right here.
So if I get one, I'm taking a picture with this.
It's just awesome.
It just feels good in the hand.
I mean, this knife, I've been wearing...
Actually...
This one, I really enjoy.
So I've been taking that backpacking, and I can put it on my Molle.
I just love the resonance.
It's just an awesome blade.
It just does all my camping chores.
I've been able to...
Build a shelter, a primitive shelter, but still build one and start fires and all kinds of things with that one knife.
The bushcrafting knife, the mass ratio, is going to be my everyday carry and my skinning knife.
I'm very excited to take it out there for that.
And then we also have the consequences.
So that one's awesome.
Let me show consequences to the audience.
So this is a rather thin covert knife.
It does not have the smash end on it here.
It doesn't have that third hole here.
And it's got a smaller diameter handle, but it's designed to be very fast, very nimble, and more covert.
And it's got its own functions.
It's a great fisherman's knife, by the way.
It's a great all-around utility knife on any ranch or farm.
Or, frankly, just for backyard usage as well.
It can accomplish some other functions, like maybe self-defense in a pinch or something, but I would rather have other blades for that.
But as an everyday utility knife that's going to work for you, this is really something.
And it's easy to carry on your body, too.
It's not bulky and it's lightweight.
What are your thoughts about this one?
You know, there's a lot of functions of that particular blade.
And I'm going to throw one out there, but there's a lot of self-defense, but I'm going to throw a practical and that people don't always talk about a lot.
So it's great for everyday carry.
And that particular knife makes a great steak knife.
I'm just telling you, taking it out, it is awesome.
Good point.
It works great.
So, yeah, great steak knife.
But for self-defense, it...
It doesn't leave an imprint, and that's really important.
And that's why it's rounded.
And that's kind of the features that you wanted in that, and you're right on.
But just carrying that, it doesn't leave an imprint.
It's very lightweight, sleek, especially when you put the sheath in a cross-draw configuration.
So it hugs the body really close, and it's just accessible.
And I also like the guard.
That guard gives you a sure...
I was going to comment on that.
This guard, I think a lot of people would consider it to be a little bit oversized for typical knives, but I like that because if you think about thrusting operations, if your finger slips past that guard and goes onto the blade, you've lost that finger.
Right?
So this guard is absolutely critical to protect your finger.
And that's why I love the size of it and the fact that you can build a hole into it for strapping the knife onto other objects like a staff or a stick.
That's right.
Staff, stick.
And you can also use it for paracord to give you a sure grip.
So it comes from around the front, works around the wrist.
That gives you even a better grip.
And the other thing about that guard, and that's really important, people don't realize you have a sure grip on some knives that don't have a guard until you hit something hard.
That's right.
Exactly.
You have no control.
You're going forward.
And if you don't have something to stop you, then you're going to be bleeding too.
So it's very important to make sure that every part of that knife serves a function.
We even put a little thumb And finger grooves up on the top.
So that way you just have more grip even with that guard.
So we always like to overbuild because you never know what the situation is.
And that particular knife is very good for concealed carry.
It's really excellent for concealed carry.
And, you know, I really like this defensive grip on it right here.
Depending on how you carry it, you can pull it out in a defensive posture.
I like to actually really press my thumb on the end of a knife like that for edge weapons combat.
Then that guard, of course, guards your pinky from sliding onto the blade.
What I like about this kind of grip is that it gives you a lot of options in hand-to-hand combat.
You can punch.
You can parry, you know, like you might parry with your forearm.
Well, I mean, and that's what I love about your designs.
These designs are real-world designs.
This is not like some fantasy piece.
This isn't some mass production piece that you're going to get from some of these other companies.
And there's a lot of that.
They're just mass production piece.
The actual knife is designed just to be mass produced.
These particular knives are made for real-world use.
There's been a lot and a lot of real-world testing with these knives before you guys put them on the market and before we all said, okay, they're ready.
And these knives are made to perform and exceed all expectations.
So it's very important just to bring up and talk about these features because this is what it's made for.
I mean, like I said, we have the steak knife, and if all is well and good, well, we can eat our steak with that knife.
But if we're walking down the street and it's not, well, we can protect our loved ones, and that's what's important.
I'm a family man, we all are, and that's number one, especially in this crazy world.
Yeah, exactly.
And with that in mind, let me mention what you've done on the G10 handles, because it's really extraordinary.
And it's hard to see on camera, but there's a special texture along here.
And I'm very curious how you accomplish this, but this texture enables you to maintain a grip even when it gets wet.
And one of the things that we always know about not only just outdoor use where it might be raining or high humidity, but in a knife fight, as we all learn if you train in edge weapons combat, in a knife fight everybody bleeds.
Everybody bleeds.
And really the question in a knife fight is like...
Which part are you going to bleed from?
And can you survive that, right?
So if you bleed from this part of your arm, you can survive that.
If you bleed from here, you cannot survive that, right?
So it's about being able to bleed, if you have to, from the right parts so that you can walk away.
Well, blood is slick.
Blood gets on your blade if you're effective in a knife fight.
And you've got to be able to hold on to that handle.
And that's where this structure comes into place and also the finger guard and then the serrations of the thumb where you're pressing down with tremendous pressure there and really tightening up on that grip.
It's not like a handgun where you have to deal with recoil.
You want to grip this thing hard, hard, harder than you would grip any handgun.
And again, I'm not trying to get too graphic, but you're going to bleed in a knife fight.
Can you still hold on to your knife?
These are actually great points.
And another thing is, when you do get cut, your body actually, depending on who you are, starts to go...
The adrenaline starts running, and your grip ability starts...
You start losing it a little bit.
True, yeah.
So you want something with a sure grip.
That grip took about 300 failures to get the right one.
So...
That was a labor of love because a grip is super important.
You don't want hot spots and it has to fit a variety of hands.
And to get everyone a sure grip.
And to be able to You perform exceptionally well, like you said, if you get blood.
Are you in a cold environment because your ability to grip is not as good?
Are you sweating?
Is it really wet?
Exactly.
Yeah, we've tested all these different things.
I'm from Arizona, so the sweating part, we know.
Yeah.
So we tested a lot of these different things, and that's all that real-world testing that we were talking about, real-world designs, and that grip is super key.
There's a lot of knives out there that might have a cool blade, but then you get those to the handles, and they're very square, and they're not really made for hands, and they're not made for anything but to produce really fast.
And the quality isn't quite there when it comes to hand retention.
And what we see with the really kind of cheap, you know, mass-produced knives out there is that, I mean, you've seen this, they'll just do the full tang and it's flat and they'll just wrap it with paracord and that's it.
And it's like, man, I would not want to bet my life on that because that paracord is not riveted into the full tang of the knife.
That paracord can slip.
It can corrode.
If you leave it out in the sun, it will get weaker and weaker.
There's a lot of things that can happen with that paracord.
I mean, $10 knife?
I'm not betting my life on that.
No way.
You know, we get a lot of stories about that.
Guys who bought the $10, $20, or even like a $100 knife.
And they've actually written us stories.
And I have to say, Mike, you have some amazing customers, amazing friends, amazing people out there.
And, you know, ever since you've just released this product, we've been getting a lot of emails and chat, talking to different people.
About knives and their experience, and how does this compare to one of those $100 knives?
And they give us their horror stories about those $20, $30, $100 knives, and how is this different?
And it's all about the craftsman.
Does the craftsman care?
What is the craftsman?
And who are the people behind that?
And so with Dawson Knives, and just like with you, Mike, and especially this collaboration, it's about giving the best, because that's what America has to offer.
That's what I grew up.
On my dad's side, we're multi-generation American, but on my mom's side, I'm first-generation American.
And, you know, this country has given us an ability to work really hard to produce something really great and to use materials that come from this country that is the best out there to give the best to our customers and to yours.
And I'm very proud of that.
And that is something that I'm handing down to my son.
And that's why we're going to be a fourth-generation business, and we believe in that very heavily.
I love that aspect, and it's just so obvious in the craftsmanship and the materials choice.
Look, I tell people right up front, this is not a low-cost knife.
It's not about the dollars.
Dollars are going to be worthless at some point anyway.
This is going to maintain value and functionality for your lifetime.
But I want to talk about the sheaths here for a second, too, because you've done something incredibly innovative that even it took me a while to get my head around this.
But these sheaths, you have carbon fiber inlaid with Kydex.
So it combines the resilience with the rigidity and strength of both of those materials together.
But then your innovative system allows you here, you can mount it horizontally, which is how this one's set up.
I don't know if people can see that.
Or you can mount it vertically here, and you can change that yourself.
And it's ambidextrous.
You can switch all these to the other sides of the sheaths.
So whether you draw right-handed, left-handed, cross-draw, vertical-draw, however you want to carry it, you can accomplish that with a screwdriver.
And you have tension control because of the spacers.
So the tensioners that people are familiar with, with pistol holsters and so on, that's used in this as well.
John, you've outdone yourself on this.
It's amazing what you've done on the sheaths.
Nice job.
Thank you.
That was one of the things that I really took a lot of feedback from different people that I had testing and just going over, over, all the way up to the last minute before this launch.
And so that just shows a lot of passion with it.
But it's important because if you can't carry your knife or it's not comfortable, guess what?
It's going to sit in your safe.
It's going to sit in a shelf.
And what good is that going to do?
So we try to make a super versatile sheet system and we're going to be releasing some videos even showing that carbon fiber kydex being bent all the way over and not breaking.
Wow.
Which is really cool.
Yeah, it's really nifty.
That's amazing.
Because I've broken a lot of Kydex pistol holsters, by the way.
I've gone through, I've shattered Kydex all the time with pistols.
It just doesn't hold up by itself without the carbon fiber that you have, you know?
Yeah, and it's a new thing that they're doing.
So this company released this.
It's not a hydrographic.
You see some with the carbon fiber.
It's a hydrographic or something like that.
You can actually feel the texture, and they got some of the properties.
And it's made in America, which is really cool.
Actually, some sheets, you'll see it inside because it's just part of the sheet, and it'll tell you it's made in the USA. Yeah.
Yeah, I had a lot of sheaths.
A lot of our sheaths before we went to the leather hybrid with the carbon fiber.
We had a pocket clip system.
And that was really cool because it was a pocket clip that goes in your pocket.
But those clips would break all the time.
They were Kydex clips.
They would always break.
So we were really searching and pushing ourselves to find something really cool and slim down the sheets.
Even though it's a double-sided, riveted sheet, I let it.
We've really reduced the imprint of that sheath a lot and made it functional so you still have a lot of tie-downs.
Plus, we have future proof this thing, so there are upgrades that will be coming down the line for these sheaths.
So the great thing is getting one of these knives with these sheaths allows you for a lot of upgrade ability down the road.
So it's a lifetime purchase that is made to last forever.
I can't wait.
And the sheaths...
No, I'm sorry.
I can't wait to see some of those accessories that we've talked about off camera.
And I love the fact that you've slimmed this down.
It's really critical for first responders who already have a lot of gear on their belts and also soldiers.
So, you know, a typical soldier, man, they're just so loaded with so much gear.
And that waste real estate is very valuable.
You have to make a lot of decisions about what to put there.
But let me just go through real quick what these are.
All of these knives are branded HRSG, which is Health Ranger Survival Gear, and it's right here on the blade.
I've got it upside down there, but this one's called the Mass Ratio, and this is the bushcrafting knife, like John said earlier.
These are all available at healthrangerstore.com.
This one's called Resonance, and this is the tactical knife with the crusher end here.
And then this one is called Consequences, and that's that kind of covert, slimmer, more stealth knife, and also a steak knife, as John Roche says.
So those are the three that we have right now.
But what people are also super excited about, John, is the fact that we have another knife coming soon that is just the monster.
Do we want to talk about that one?
I'll talk about it in this sense.
I'm sorry that it wasn't released with these guys.
It has pushed our manufacturing capabilities to limit, but it is one of the coolest.
You're never going to see a knife like this that is going to be coming out because it's a tool.
It's a tool.
Yeah, it doesn't serve the same function as those other three blades.
Each blade that we have in the Siri works with the other, and each one is a tool for a different situation.
So if you have the Escape from L.A., it's going to do a lot of features, but it's not going to be the same as consequences.
You're not going to be able to covertly carry that.
Right, and by the way, that's the name of our new knife is called Escape from L.A. So since you mentioned that, I might as well give the name out.
That's what it's called.
And it's designed, at least my intention, John, was to have a tool that can double as a knife.
It's got the same kind of cutting edge, but of course it's a longer tool.
But it's got the MagnaCut, it's got that high Rockwell hardness and the flexibility, but it is a pry tool.
So that you can pry open.
You might be trapped in a vehicle, an elevator, a building.
There might be a window latch.
There might be a door latch that you need to pry open and break through or a window you need to smash in order to get out of L.A. in this case because of a power outage or an EMP weapon has gone off and all the electronics have shut down.
Whatever the case may be, this is about getting out of an urban environment.
That's the focus of this.
And I think you've nailed it, John.
I think it's going to be the perfect tool.
Oh, yeah.
I'm so excited because we're getting ready for some testing and we'll show videos of that at a junkyard, which is really cool.
So we'll be testing cars, all kinds of different things.
And you should be also...
This knife is so cool.
I'm not going to give away a lot about it until we do it.
But we've had guys in the military during...
OEF and over there that...
And there's videos on some of our knives where they're crushing brick.
So they're crushing brick and they're working through on concrete and not damaging the knife.
So building those aspects into this particular knife really opens up for any type of urban obstacle that you're going to be running into.
And having that high Rockwell hardness and having that flexibility, being able to bend to 70 degrees, but it springs right back to true, that's very important because their blades have been 70 degrees.
You're right.
They never come back.
That's right.
Exactly.
We've all seen that.
No, but you're going to take this knife to a junkyard and film prying open doors and smashing windows and doing things with the cars.
Maybe pry open a glove box and things like that.
But I think it would be really cool.
All kinds of stuff.
Wouldn't it be great if we, I don't know if we even have the budget for something like this, but to film somebody escaping like a zombie apocalypse city and using that knife in five different ways, cutting, crushing, prying, opening, and maybe beheading a few zombies along the way would be fun too.
But getting out of the city successfully with one tool that does so many things.
Oh, that would be awesome.
That would be just so cool.
And to really showcase what this could do and just have fun with it.
That's why I love these projects, is to have fun.
And I love your ideas because it pushes us.
It pushes us past the norms and says, hey, I need this special tool.
It needs to be able to do X, Y, and Z, and all at the same time, and can you do that?
And I've had a lot of fun with that, and I think this knife is really going to showcase that.
It is so different, and with the way the design is and the way these designs are, like I said, this is the future of knives right here.
Can we confidently say that we think we're going to have that one out before Thanksgiving?
Yes.
Okay.
Absolutely.
All right, that's good.
And giving us a little bit of buffer there.
Now, I want to talk about your manufacturing for a minute because you've just moved to a new facility.
You've made huge investments in CNC equipment that, I mean, people are wondering, how do you even cut a blade like that out of a sheet of metal that's so rugged?
How do you possibly cut it?
But you have machines that do that.
Can you talk about...
Some of those machines, the manufacturing that you've set up?
Because this is all, you're doing it right there in Arizona.
This is not like some overseas thing that you're importing.
You're making them right there.
Absolutely, Mike.
And someday I would like to show a video so they can see our manufacturing process.
But just to cut that steel, it's very interesting because we heat treat first.
We get our heat treat done first, and then we do the knife work.
So we are cutting that hard.
And we have to be careful for a heat affected zone, so we cut with a water jet.
So we actually have two water jets.
And we cut out these blades on a water jet so there's no heat affected zones.
So that way it's just using garnet and water.
Very high pressured water.
I would imagine.
That's got to be super high pressure.
Man, there's got to be some sound associated with that too.
Oh man.
So if you cut underwater, you're pretty good.
If you cut above water, it is really loud.
So I think it...
I forget what they say, but it creates this air pocket.
And so it gets really, really loud.
You almost have to have hearing protection for it.
So we cut underwater, especially when it's with steel.
And yeah, it'll cut those hardened plates.
And we'll take it through that process.
And then we'll use surface grinders, CNC surface grinders.
We have some router tables.
And we also have some milling machines, some vertical mills.
And then we do it by hand.
There are certain aspects that we do by hand, certain finishing, sharpening, even some of the grinding just to get that looking just right, some of the shaping just to get that nice feel to the And then our sheath work.
A lot of parts come from our CNC shop, but there's that hand fitting and that assembly.
And then the inspections all the way through.
Quality control is key to this whole thing.
I mean, I can only imagine, because I'm into manufacturing too.
We manufacture food and supplements and so on.
And in manufacturing, you always have a certain amount of waste.
There's some stuff you just reject, didn't make it, something happened.
That's in the recycle pile, right?
But the same thing is true in knives as well.
Yeah, I mean, you have a standard.
And your name is that standard.
So if you have this standard, that means you stand by it.
That means that no matter what, if it doesn't pass or clear mustard, then it's not going to fly.
So we have 15 checkpoints that we go through.
And then the final check, we make sure that it functions exactly.
We stress test everything, so we Rockwell test everything.
We make sure that it's going to perform.
Yes, it takes a lot of time.
But at the end of the day, you're not buying this knife so someone can just throw a bunch of knives at you and say, hey, buy one of my knives.
You're buying this knife because you're relying on the craftsman to get you this knife that will last through your family for generations.
It used to be that way.
People used to get a sword made.
In, you know, medieval or during the Renaissance times and pass it down all the way through to some people even today.
I mean, we've been around for 50 years.
We have people that bought our knives in 1973 and have passed it down three generations and are still using it today.
Wow.
That's extraordinary.
And I want to mention, too, in your background there are some of the tools.
You have sanding belts and it looks like eye protection and gloves and so on.
Yeah.
Those are, I mean, that's not, it's not just a decoration set.
I mean, these are tools you use every day in your shop, right?
That's welding.
Those are my old pair of welding gloves.
And then I got my welding helmet.
I got some of the belts that we use.
You know, and, oh yeah, the taped sledgehammer.
That's awesome.
And so...
You know, there's a lot of different tools, like the little buffer wheel, you know, to clean the buffer wheels.
You know, everything has a purpose.
I've been doing it for 21 years.
You know, it's hard to see, but I've got all the scars.
You can see that.
It's kind of messed up there.
You cut yourself there.
You know, craftsmen.
That's what you're doing.
I still got them.
So I got all 10 digits, so I'm doing good.
Yeah, I feel you, John.
I almost cut off my index finger like three months ago, so I know exactly what you're talking about.
Yeah, yours healed a lot better than mine, though.
I do have to say.
Well, I mean, I know about nutrition, and I was able to...
I mean, you can barely see the scar now, but seriously, doctors would have thought I would never get the nerve function back, but...
Yeah, John, I mean...
Being that I'm into nutrition and so on, we figured out a good healing protocol and regrew the nerves and all that stuff using medicinal mushrooms, among other things.
But it's a dangerous thing doing what you're doing.
You're grinding sharp blades, high-velocity belts, and CNC machines, and the product itself is very, very sharp and very capable.
I mean, it's amazing you still have all your fingers.
You know, we've learned.
You know, we take a lot of precautions.
We have family out there.
Yes.
And so we take care of family.
We have employees that are like family to us.
And more importantly, we're Christian.
And so we want to make sure that we have a very safe environment and that everybody there is enjoying what they do.
And I think that shows in our work.
That everybody loves being here every day.
I mean, I've been doing this, like I said, for over 20 years, and every day is an exciting new adventure that I get to do with these knives to push the envelope and to come out something different and new.
I love it.
Wow.
Well, it's an honor for us to be able to work with you.
We are completely honored by this partnership, and you have really outdone yourself with these designs.
And I hope you don't mind me dropping a hint, but this is just the beginning, folks.
I mean, John, you and I, we both have crazy ideas about tools and blades and knives and functionality and survival.
And there's going to be more than just these four.
I'll just leave it there.
There's more coming.
I have to say, Mike, I love working with you.
And you have an amazing team, but I love your ideas.
I mean, you're on the same page with me.
I mean, I just love where you're coming from.
And you have a lot of experience, which is so refreshing.
So it's so wonderful to be able to put that into these knives, to take these ideas and make them a reality.
And I love it.
I mean, I'm so excited about this collaboration and partnership.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know, I am too, and I mean, it's amazing to know you and some of your family members and to have worked with your company, just frankly, just promoting your company for a couple of years now, just because of the amazing things that you do.
But to be able to collaborate with you, where, you know, I live on a ranch, and I deal with animals, and so...
Large animals like donkeys and small animals like goats and dogs and chickens.
And so I'm a hands-on person.
And I've carried, I have an everyday carry knife that I've carried for 20-plus years, plus a pistol, and actually more than one knife, obviously, and a flashlight, of course.
I mean, I could go on.
But you get the idea.
But the point is, I can take your...
And I can take it out on the ranch and I can start to integrate it in the real world things that I'm doing.
Oh, I'm slicing strings off of a bale of hay right here.
Or I'm separating some frozen food items.
I'm actually prying it apart to feed the dog some frozen bones or things like that.
Or I might have to dig something out.
Like one time my donkey got stabbed with a stick.
I don't know, she backed into a stick or something.
It was a deep wound.
I had to treat that with antibiotics for a couple of weeks.
But you never know.
I mean, this is a multi-use tool.
And when I can go out on the ranch and I can use it in every day, then I can confirm that it's functional in the way that you and I are anticipating, John.
And that's the reality.
Like you said, I have experience.
It is daily experience using this stuff.
And you're an outdoorsman as well.
We put this stuff to use every day.
There's not some academic exercise sitting here behind a desk all day talking about, oh, isn't that curve cool?
No, it's like the curve has a freaking function so that you can slice smoothly without it getting stuck on a piece of bone or something.
You know what I mean?
It's there for a reason.
Absolutely.
And that's why I like working with you, Mike.
You know, we live off the grid.
And so there's this practicality of just everyday life, you know, and like you said, dealing with animals, just dealing with your property and just being Continuing being off the grid is a responsibility.
Just growing your own food.
All this, the first tool, and we always joke, the first tool that man ever invented was a knife.
You know?
I mean, he had to cut something.
And so that has been ingrained in our DNA throughout the ages.
And that's why, you know, it's so important to make knives functional and to build it on the best materials of the age that you live in.
That way they last.
Well said.
And these materials are the most advanced revolutionary materials that could be sourced today.
And that's the thing.
Even in ancient Japan, when they would do 400 folds of this to make this sword, and those are very expensive to purchase today.
Well, frankly, MagnaCut, It's a game changer.
Yeah, you can do 400 folds, or I could find a Native American Indian that can handcraft a bow, but I have an AR-15.
You know what I'm saying?
It's a totally different type of technology.
MagnaCut doesn't compete with folding steel from two centuries ago.
It's not in the same category.
Yeah, not even close.
I mean, the technology is amazing.
In fact, we compete with space companies for the steel because of its properties.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, I'm not the big guy, but luckily we have such a good relationship because we've been buying from them for such a long time that they allow us to get this super advanced steel where, you know, you got space companies that are competing for it.
And so we're bringing that into the knife world.
And now there's a lot of other knife makers are bringing that in there.
But they don't understand the heat treat process.
It's actually very unique.
So we've been very blessed.
We've had a lot of failures, you know, learning these things.
But at the end of the day, we are very grateful that the Lord has led us to making a product that is top-notch.
Well, there you go.
And made in America.
So when people ask, like, what can we do to support America?
Well, this is just one example right here.
You know, Arizona-based company, an American family, third-generation knife makers, and using nearly all American materials except the screws, as you said.
But the steel, the G10, everything else is sourced here in the United States.
So...
There's no downside to this.
John, I just want to thank you.
It's always fun to get to talk to you, and I really enjoy collaborating with you on this.
There's a ton of excitement out there about these.
I keep having people text me, like friends, and they're like, save one for me!
I keep getting that request from everybody.
Everybody wants one.
They're afraid we're going to run out, but look, you're going to make more.
I mean, it's...
Yeah, you know, we're producing these.
We're going to be able to get, you know, with our manufacturing, we're going to be able to release them every week.
And so they'll be coming to you and you'll be able to announce what's coming in and what's going on.
And there's just a lot of cool things that are happening with these and a lot of cool announcements that will be coming down the line.
Absolutely.
And I'll add too, by the way, I was one of probably your best customers before we ever collaborated on this.
I mean, I was a repeat.
I was buying all your stuff.
You didn't even know who I was.
I was just, here's another sword from Dawson.
You know, it's awesome.
Yeah, you were getting our swords and tomahawks.
I mean, I was like literally just supplying you solely with tomahawks.
I'm telling you, man.
I was so thrilled to find out about your company years ago.
I do.
I have a whole set of Dawson knives.
And now on my desk, I've got like 12 of them here.
So, you know, it's an ever-expanding set.
But I'm going to be giving some of these away, by the way, to some first responders here in Texas.
And, of course, I know plenty of folks who can use them.
So everything is going to go to a good use one way or another.
It's either going to end up on my ranch or in the hands of people I know, some of whom are first responders.
Some of these are going to go downrange, by the way.
In the hands of actual military personnel.
And when we start to get stories back from those men, mostly, I'll share those with you.
I appreciate that.
Yeah, and I always like to hear feedback from the product, especially when guys are depending on it.
And that means a lot to me.
I come from a military family.
I was never in the military, but my dad and everyone else off the line was.
Well, you're supplying a lot of brave men and women with the tools that they need to stay alive in some dangerous times.
So I just want to thank you so much, John Roy, and remind our audience, healthrangerstore.com, and you can just search for knife there.
We only have three knives right now.
More coming, but if you search for knife on our store, you're going to find these knives, and you're going to be thrilled with these.
You show them to your friends, and they're going to be jealous.
They're going to be drooling over these knives.
I want one!
I want one!
Give me one!
So that's the reaction I get.
But thank you, John.
It's always a pleasure speaking with you.
Thank you very much, Mike, and thank you for having me on, and God bless you, brother.
God bless you as well.
And thank all of you for watching today, and thank you for your support.
You know, if you pick up these knives, you're supporting us, of course, our studio and brighttown.com, but also Dawson Knives and the jobs that they provide in Arizona, being an American company doing really innovative work that benefits a great many people.
So thank you for watching today.
Thank you for your support.
Of course, I'm Mike Adams here, brighteon.com, and a long-time survival person, prepper, trained in edge weapons combat.
Actually, I don't know if you ever knew that, but that's been part of my history of training, and so I really, really appreciate what these knives can do functionally and for self-defense as well.
So get them while you can, and John's company will keep on making them, and we'll keep them available for you as best we can.
Thanks for watching today, everybody.
God bless you all.
Take care.
Take care.
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