New announcements and survival updates from Dawson Knives with John Roy...
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Alright, welcome to today's interview on BrightTown.com.
I'm Mike Adams, and today we have joining us John Roy from Dawson Knives.
This is the company, of course, where we co-designed the Escape from L.A. knife.
Let's see, this is actually like the very first model right here, and it's got a pry bar and a MagnaCut alloy and a G10 handle and much more.
And we have a whole line of knives with Dawson Knives.
John Roy joins us today to talk about what's coming up.
Welcome to the show, John.
Great to have you here.
It's great to have you, Mike.
People are loving your knives.
I get such incredible feedback.
Like, oh my God, I didn't know that it was going to be this quality.
I mean, like buy it once and it's good for the whole lifetime of use.
You know what I mean?
I get that feedback a lot.
Yeah, so we've been getting a lot of feedback from customers too.
And one of the things that they have been talking to us about is how a bunch of people have been taking them backpacking.
And going out and trying batoning and other survival techniques with some of the knives, especially the Escape from L.A. Yes.
And the Resonance.
So all that has been those tactical, more field survival knives.
They've been able to baton, start fires.
Even one of them made a spear, so that was pretty cool.
They sent some pictures, so we'll have to show that.
But yeah, great feedback.
The edge life has really impressed a lot of people.
We had one guy actually take out the knife, was really chopping on a bunch of wood, hit some knots, and all it did was just barely deflect the edge, just a hair.
And so he just kept beating on it and he was surprised that no chipping or anything of that sort.
Yeah, you know, the MagnaCut alloy that we use, not only is it known to be virtually corrosion-proof, but, I mean, we really only call it corrosion-resistant, but it holds an edge.
It's got a high Rockwell hardness number, but it's also somehow flexible enough to avoid shattering as well.
It's like a miracle alloy.
Yeah, you hit all the main points.
And the reason for that is the heat treat.
The proprietary heat treat and the fact that we source all our raw materials here in the United States and that we take that with our 50 years of experience and building every single knife in-house.
So our main goal...
Yeah, and so our main goal right now is to just keep improving and pushing the steel further and further and taking something like Magnica, which just came out in 2020, and putting them into the best survival knives because when it comes to your life, you want to have the best that you can possibly get, and that comes from being American-made and from a generational business that takes pride in their work.
Now, John Roy, first of all, I want people to know you're in Arizona, and we love what you're doing there.
Arizona, by the way, is about to be overrun by illegal immigrants.
Apparently they've shifted from Texas because Texas is using razor wire to protect its border.
They're moving to Arizona.
But I want to ask you about the Tomahawk situation.
Because, first of all, folks, the knives that I've co-designed with Dawson are available at healthrangerstore.com.
You can go there, just search on the word knife, and we have a new batch of the mass ratio bushcrafting knife in stock, which is this knife that you see right here.
That's back in stock.
Beautifully shaped, beautifully crafted knife, and we have three other knives.
But, John...
When people keep asking me about the Tomahawk, because it's just badass.
I mean, everything about this, the angles, the end, the handle, the grip, I mean, it's just a badass blade, and everybody wants it.
So, the Tomahawk was something that was a project and a passion of mine.
In fact, when I started setting out for the Tomahawk, I wanted to make something that...
It was totally different than anything else on the market.
And the other thing is, I just don't want to make the same thing that everybody else is making.
Sure.
I mean, we are in 2024.
Every knife out there today and for the past looks like it was made in 1970.
And that includes tomahawks.
And we really hadn't progressed.
So when we started engineering the tomahawk, I went ahead and worked with a bunch of friends of mine.
And we actually worked on the physics of the tomahawk.
That's why you see those different cuts in the blade area and even around the handle.
Not only does that allow you to hold it at the top of the blade area, but it's made for vibration.
So when you hit something really hard, a lot of the cracking or any of the stresses on the metal is coming from the vibration and from that impact.
And so it's almost like a tuning fork.
And so it actually helps work the vibration out so you don't feel it in your elbow and it gives it incredible strength.
So especially if you're breaching anything hard like doors or you're going through...
Wood, using it as a survival knife, or even against today some of the unique circumstances that you'll find out in the field.
So I really love this curve right here because it gives you extra grip.
But then what you said, you can also choke up on it actually here for precision work using the edge, and you actually have a really good grip right here if that's the way you want to use it.
It's a multi-tool in so many ways.
And the balance is absolutely amazing.
And I can tell, I mean, this thing's going to last a lifetime.
I have not actually used this one because I feel like it's almost museum worthy.
You know what I mean?
I'm just keeping it in the studio.
You know, and we even balanced it so it can be thrown.
And we had a guy who was ex-Navy SEAL, a really good guy.
He actually has a gun store out here in Phoenix.
But he was able to throw that tomahawk And there was a, you know, plywood behind it, and he was holding up a 2x4s, but it actually hit that plywood, knocked it off the 2x4s, and flipped that plywood over.
So it just shows you that Change of energy and how devastating and how tough that tomahawk is.
Yeah, well, please keep us in mind in terms of if you want to do a run of these, you know, even just a few hundred people would love to get their hands on them.
In the meantime, I see you brought some knives to show us, so go into it.
Okay, so this is actually, I've been field testing this one.
The Resonance.
This one has been just incredible.
I actually personally myself took it backpacking where we just had to survive off the land.
You know, there was a river there, so it was a lot of fun.
I took my boys there.
So using this to make firewood, to get a fire started, was just amazing.
Some of the things that I really enjoyed about it was first, the ability to get a really firm grip on it.
Because of the blade length and the grip length, it really made quick work of just splitting wood and being able to get what you needed to get that fire going.
And plus, the edge held out really well, did the basic camp chores, food prep.
We also had to set up some tarps over our hammocks just because we had a little bit of rain.
So that worked really good cutting paracord.
I actually had quite a bit of paracord.
And then I actually used it as a spear for fishing just for fun, and it worked pretty well.
Cool.
Yeah, make note of this end, the hole that is there, and the three holes for making a spear out of it.
Yeah, it worked really well.
And you can just find a stick out there.
And, you know, you just use the knife, you know, whittle your stick to what you want.
And then having some paracord is always imperative to have paracord.
And just tie it up.
And these three points gives you a very firm and stable blade on that sticks, making it a great spear.
Plus, it gives you better reach.
So, you know, just taking the knife design and really advancing it to this new space age and really enhancing your ability to survive with just one blade.
So this worked out really good.
Used it all weekend.
And, in fact, my sons wanted one.
So that's on their birthday wish list.
Nice.
Well, I think this has been certainly one of the most popular knives.
I don't know if it's the most popular.
I think probably the mass ratio is the most popular.
But this one has been very popular.
And it is an all-purpose knife because it can also serve in a self-defense or combat type of role in addition to the bushcrafting that you just mentioned.
Absolutely.
In fact, I actually have one of these on my vest.
So this works out really well.
So this is actually one of my favorite knives now.
So I have one on my vest.
I got one on my backpack.
So when I go camping or hiking, I'm taking this one with me and with my vest when I'm doing training.
It's just so easy and it's just the perfect length.
So you can do a lot with it.
It's not crazy.
It's not out of control.
It's not a machete.
It's the proper length for getting the right jobs done the right way.
Exactly.
And it can do a lot of function without having to be so big and taking up a lot of real estate.
Yeah, exactly.
And especially if you're hiking, weight is an issue.
This is hefty for its size, but it's not out of control, right?
And it's also extremely durable.
By the way, the other thing, you didn't mention this, but this end can be used as a pry tool or a wedge tool.
Exactly.
And it worked really good for that.
In fact, you can also use it for...
So this works with the sheath.
So all the screws on the sheath work with this back end.
So it's a screwdriver, it's a pry bar, and you can also use it for breaking or crushing things.
So it works really good having that hardened point on the back end.
So, yeah, when I designed this, I wanted an all-inclusive tool, not just having the knife, but all-inclusive with the sheath, so that way you can adjust your tension, you can change clips, you can also add attachments or take away attachments that are all coming for the sheath system.
Let me show that.
This is the standard sheath that comes with it, but this is an extra attachment on the front here, right there.
Yes.
There are various attachments coming.
Do you want to talk about what you have in mind for these?
Yes, so that particular one that you have right there, so these are one of the first attachments, and that one, I'm able to do paracord.
So that way, my paracord is coming with the knife, wrapping it around the attachment, so that puts it on the sheath, so I can make a spear whenever I want, or I can also make a shelter using the paracord and a tarp.
And there's also some room between the sheath and that attachment where you can put a small tarp or emergency blanket in.
So that way you can have that all with you without trying to remember, did I bring some paracord or did I bring an emergency blanket?
It's all with you when you're hiking and especially just keeping your weight level down and just having everything you need in one convenient location.
Yeah, exactly.
I think that's the ideal way to rig it and carry it.
Go ahead with your show and tell then.
I keep interrupting.
I'm sorry.
No, so this one is really cool, the consequences.
I actually carry this.
So a little bit about myself.
My family lives on the border.
So my mom is actually from Mexico, but migrated here legally.
And so she's a US citizen.
So she lives in Nogales.
Every year we go down there as a family and have Christmas together.
So all the family members and the brothers.
So when I came down there, this knife was so imperative.
Because there is a lot of now illegal traffic just coming right through Nogales, just day and night.
In fact, our house where she lives is beautiful in Rio Rico, but you can see the train tracks and they're just following that all day, all night long.
Up to Tucson.
So just to feel safe, I like carrying this wherever I go.
It's easy to conceal.
It's an excellent self-defense tool.
It's also just a really good tool for all your basic EDC knife chores.
And so I just felt very comfortable having the consequences.
It's very streamlined, doesn't have a huge imprint, and really just gave me that extra level of security and functionality of having a blade on me at all times with this length.
Now, I'm really glad to hear that, and that was kind of the philosophy when you and I were working on this knife design was, hey, we need something that has a small imprint that's easy for people to carry.
It doesn't stand out.
You know, physically, it's hard to spot, but it's very functional.
And that knife, Consequences, is available at healthrangerstore.com, you know, with all the other knives.
Again, just go there and search for knife, and you can find them all.
Now, let's talk about Escape from L.A. now.
That's been a very popular knife.
I think we sold out the first production run of Escape from L.A. Here it is.
And it's a very unusually shaped knife.
But, you know, John, you and I had a blast doing this, and especially with that feature there that we call the reverse can opener feature.
That's been a hit, actually.
And here's the first version without that feature.
Like, this is knife zero of Escape from L.A., And then we added that feature and that feature has become really popular.
What are you hearing from people?
So...
For people, they love it.
In fact, I don't even have a prototype here for you.
I don't even have one because when I was going down there, one of my brothers visited me.
He actually lives out in California and he saw that tool and he's all like, what is that?
And so I went through all the different features and showed him how it worked and gave him a little demo of tests here in the shop.
And he's all like, oh, I need one of those.
I've got to have that in my bag.
When it hits the fan, I'm going to be having that knife so I can get out of the city because he lives in San Jose.
I ended up giving him my copy, so he's got that one, but he loves it.
He loves it.
He's done already some regular camp chores with it, just getting used to feeling the knife.
A lot of people really love that knife.
One of the things with the feedback on that is how tough it is.
Yeah.
I've had so many people just say, this is not just an incredible pry bar, but it's just amazing how the edge as a chopper, that it works really well.
We've had a guy, and I don't recommend it, but we had a guy pulling out nails with it.
And so getting able to use it and pull out nails, and he's just using it as a tool for his business.
Because it's a write-off for him, but he loves it.
So when he's out constructing homes, another good friend of mine, he just loves the knife.
So it's just a convenient tool that also does very good knife functions.
Yeah, and just getting to the point of this knife, and I remember when you were here in my studio the day that you and I came up with this idea, and in fact, that was when we were just setting up the studio.
We didn't even have it all worked out yet.
But I remember us having that conversation.
I was like, We need something that can help people escape being trapped In a city or a building or a vehicle when the power grid goes down and everything stops working.
And people don't realize that you're essentially trapped in a lot of these modern buildings without electronics, without the electronic locks and without windows that don't open and all kinds of things.
Even cars can lose power.
We've seen problems with electric vehicles and so on.
How do you get out of something when you're trapped?
That's where this came from.
And I had a lot of fun working with you on this, John.
And I think we nailed it.
You know, I have to agree, Mike.
I had a lot of fun working on the project.
I have to admit, as you can see with prototype one to what it is today, from a manufacturing point of view, I had to scratch my head of how I was going to make this work.
I'm sure.
And still had the pry bar function to get out of an urban situation.
And I am so glad that Being able to work with you and having all these different functions and able to make it work with the new steels of today.
I don't think we could have done this even 10 years ago.
That's true.
And so with these new space-age steels, we have been really able to create a product like the Escape from L.A. and see not only that it functions, but actually exceeds our expectations of what we thought.
That's why we did that video, which is also on your website.
Showing just the paces of prying it out, cutting through metal, cutting barbed wire.
Yeah, it will cut barbed wire.
It's just remarkable.
And these are things that we wouldn't even be thinking about doing 10 years ago.
If you had come 10 years ago, I would have been like, Mike, I love you, but I just don't think it's going to hold up.
This is the kind of knife that you can...
If you need to wedge something open, like...
At first, you use your palm and you smash it to get the wedge started.
But from that point, you can back off and just stomp on this thing with your foot to get it strongly wedged in there.
Be safe with it, folks.
Don't do something stupid like breaking glass in your face or whatever.
But I'm talking about emergency situations.
You need to get out of something.
You're in a life-threatening situation.
You can count on this thing.
This is not going to break.
I mean...
In order to try to break it, you probably need a hydraulic press.
Actually, we tested that.
I'm sure you did.
So people don't have to do anything stupid.
Let us do the stupid things and then we'll post it out because we're always testing things like that.
We actually want to know what will it take to break it.
Yes.
There's a video coming out, Mike, which is really cool.
And I have to thank my wife because she got us into a junkyard.
So we got to take the residents and the escape from L.A. to the junkyard.
I got to test it prying open car doors, just going through metal, just trying on all different types of scenarios of working over with a car and then working over some different appliances and metal doors and how this was able to work.
I think you're going to be really impressed with the video once it comes out.
I'm so glad you did that.
Yeah, that was my wife.
She really set that up.
She had me and my brother Dennis.
We went out there and we just had a field day with it.
It's pretty cool, the whole setup.
But again, you don't want to do this at home.
We wore gloves.
We taped ourselves up so that way we didn't hurt ourselves, especially breaking glass.
We did a lot of different functions.
Yeah.
But that's going to be coming out and you're going to see.
But the strength of it, just to break it, we did literally have to put in a 20-ton press that we used to straighten blades.
And until we got the blade to about like here, it finally snapped.
Oh my gosh.
And how much pressure did that even take?
Oh, that took a lot.
I mean, it's a 20-ton press.
So we were actually at that point, I think you can watch when that video comes out, it was actually on the press frame itself starting to bend the frame of the press.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, so actually, Dennis wanted to stop, and I'm like, no, no, we've got to go a little bit.
It's either A, we're going to break the press, or we're going to break the knife.
So let's see what happens.
Oh, that's going to be the best video.
I can't wait.
All right.
Yeah, get that to me as soon as you can.
That's going to be fun.
Now, this knife, this is a prototype.
This is Escape from L.A. Tonto, which I'm not sure that we're ever actually going to produce this one because it gives up the pry bar edge.
Yeah, it was just something.
It was just an idea that we were playing with.
Well, it's cool to have the prototype, but I kind of feel like I would rather go to consequences or maybe resonance.
That's what I would prefer.
If I were in a combat situation, here it is, I'd rather go with resonance knife I would want to have these two knives available to me.
One for emergency, get out of everything.
And then this is your very functional, also self-defense combat knife.
But they're two totally different functions.
Yeah, absolutely.
And that's the thing about the four knives that you are offering there, Mike.
And then the whole idea is that every single one of these knives...
Excels at a different function.
Yeah.
In fact, you could survive with all four.
And once we get to the mass ratio, we'll talk about that one, but each one of these knives has a function.
I mean, they can all do the functions of the other okay or not too bad, but each one has a different purpose.
And that's why there's this line of four.
And when we came up with that Tonto blade, that was purely for self-defense.
Right.
But that really limits the function.
And considering we have the resonance and we have the escape from L.A., it kind of just pushed that out.
But that design would be great on like a Wakasashi or a Japanese sword.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, let's talk about what's coming up for 2024.
I hope it's okay that I kind of tease people, because we are working on something else.
And it is a functional, well, it's a machete.
But it's not like a crazy, long, thin, sort of South American machete.
It's more like a North American machete.
So tell us about where we are with that.
That machete, so we're prototyping right now on that machete.
And we're still coming up with some ideas that we may change, just like you saw with prototype one of the Escape from L.A. knife.
You know, there are going to be features that are added.
But one of the main things about this machete, it's going to be similar to, like, the McCollins machete.
So that's a very American, iconic type of World War I-II machete.
So it's going to have a lot of function to it.
It's going to be extremely good at handling the North American wilderness.
And even able to handle the urban setting of what we're having to deal with, which is this insanity that's going across America.
Is it a zombie machete?
A zombie machete.
And that's exactly what we're talking about.
When you have the zombie apocalypse come, you've got to be ready.
And so this machete will help you get out of an urban environment And be able to survive in the North American wilderness.
And it'll handle brush extremely well.
It'll be able to handle your camp chores.
It'll have ability to get through fencing.
It's going to have some of the features of the Escape from LA knife incorporated into this.
And the weight and balance is going to be impeccable.
So when you put it in your hand, it's just going to flow really well.
It's something that It's really going to push the boundaries of what we have been doing at Dawson Eyes, but it's going to be super unique in the fact that not only is the machete itself going to be an extremely useful tool, but the sheep And just putting that all together,
talking about the different attachments, and really having that come out with that machete, and then offering some of those attachments to the other knives, but making it a premiere of that machete, where you can put your fire starter, you can add your paracord, you can put a little tarp or...
Survival shelter in it.
You can put all kinds of different little functionalities of fishing hooks and all that built into the sea system as part of attachments that you can add as you go along.
See, I really look forward to this, and I can't wait to get the prototype in my hands and put it to use because on my ranch, I want to have a corrosion-resistant tool that I can literally just strap to my ranch vehicle.
And, you know, it's like a side-by-side ranch vehicle that I use to get around.
And I need to perform a lot of really common tasks with a functional blade that I don't want to have to think about, oh, I left it inside.
You know, I got to go get it.
I want to strap it onto the vehicle, which means it's going to get...
It's going to be subjected to moisture and the elements, but I need to do simple things.
I need to cut the twine on bales of hay, or I need to chop branches off a mesquite that's in the way, or I need to pry something.
Or I need to dig up to transplant a small live oak tree, for example.
And I know you might be cringing.
You're like, oh my gosh, you're going to ruin the blade by digging in the soil.
But hey, trust me, I'm going to do that.
And then I'll just have to sharpen it later.
But I need an all-purpose tool that's longer than escape and That is more rigid than the typical South American machetes, which are really designed to deal with jungle foliage, which is a very different thing than dealing with North American outdoor environments, right?
So I need something more rigid, corrosion-resistant, longer and well-balanced so that I can swing it, I can get some leverage on it, I can chop with it very effectively.
Yeah, absolutely.
And that's one of the main things.
Like you mentioned, the South American, you see the Brazilian machetes.
They're great at cutting that jungle foliage.
But when you're dealing with North America, we have a lot of oak.
I've got a lot of hardwood.
I've got a lot of this stuff that just doesn't want to cut.
And that's where this machete comes into use.
It's got the strength without being overly heavy.
And that's the whole thing about the balance.
You can still take it backpacking.
You're not going to compromise that much water weight.
You're going to be able to do everything you need to do with that tool and actually get rid of things like axes or Or if you had to skin with it, or if you had to field dress an animal, or any of those tools out there in the wilderness to start a fire, build a shelter, it can do all that.
So you're getting a lot more for your size and for your weight than if you were to carry those pieces individually.
Yeah, exactly.
I think this machete, of course, my use is around the ranch, but you mentioned a lot of people will be taking it with them, hiking or outdoor usage.
But I think also it's an outstanding tool on any kind of a rural setting.
Even if you don't have a ranch vehicle like I do, you're going to have tasks that you need to deal with.
And that tool, that machete coming up is going to be fantastic.
Now, But let's talk about the mass ratio, which is available now.
Yes.
Because now it's shorter than what the machete will be.
It's quite a bit shorter, but man, is it functional.
Go ahead.
Well, that's why I like the name, mass ratio, because you're getting a lot of mass for its size.
So it's doing a lot of function, is basically it.
You're getting so much function for this size.
In fact, this is mine.
It's hard to tell, but you can kind of see it's kind of worn and beat up.
This knife has actually been through the paces, not only for a bushcrafting knife, but it has actually skinned down about three to three and a half elk.
No kidding.
We took it hunting.
It worked amazing.
The boys really love it.
Again, this is another one.
In fact, my youngest, he's finally gotten to the age, so this was his first knife, and he just loves it.
We actually put it in this year.
Hopefully, we get drawn, but This knife is just incredible.
And for the weight and the balance of this knife is incredible with all the functions that you can do with it.
You can still make a spear out of it.
You still have the screwdriver function in it.
But you got this nice belly, which works great for camp chores, skinning, and you can baton with it on the back end right here.
So you got this nice little curve and that keeps you right on as you're splitting wood.
So for its size, weight, it's an incredible knife.
We just...
I think you just received a few of these right now.
So those are just dropped on your site.
So that's awesome.
These things sell really fast.
And I was also going to mention for all these knives and the ones that are on your site, they are the last of the 50th anniversary.
So it's hard to tell, but that's going to be on the knife.
And that's it.
We're Yeah, we're out of the 50th anniversary, so the ones that you have on the site are the last ones with that on those knives.
So those, even just let alone are collector pieces because we've already moved on and there's only so many of those out there.
Now, you know, we don't talk about this much, John, but remember how I first found your company was based on your swords, right?
I mean, I was looking for a katana, Japanese-style sword blade, and then I ended up discovering that you made all these other swords.
I'm not even going to name the one I like because it's such a hassle for you to make that one, I know.
I don't want to cause you to have to make more of them.
But your company makes swords.
Now, I mean, we don't carry swords, and that's not our intention.
But, I mean, your company is very competent in making those kinds of blades as well.
Yeah, that's a very good point.
In fact, before we made knives, we made swords.
Barry Dawson founded this company now 51 years ago.
He studied the Japanese swords, and that was his whole thing.
In fact, we are one of the top five sword makers in the United States, and Barry has held that for a long time because of the weight and the balance, the material, and the precision that we do.
Now, we have all different styles.
We have your backpack style, your basic carry, all the way up to very traditional Japanese Katanas, wakasashis with all the Japanese, minukis, guards, subas, you know, even with Japanese silk that we actually get from Japan.
So we have everywhere from top to bottom on that, and that's really one of our passions.
And we came from swords and took this idea of making something that will hold up to incredible use and abuse that you can bet your life on, and then the honor in Well, see, I'm...
I'm glad, thanks for sharing that history, but I want to ask, because I always am seeking the best quality in any kind of area.
I mean, that's how I connected with your company in the first place, as a customer.
And I was tired of buying these cheap online swords that are made in China.
It's not just that they're made in China, it's that it's also, I mean, they're mass produced with really low-grade steel.
You know what I mean?
And the rivets don't really stay together that long.
The handles kind of come apart.
And they're not corrosion resistant or anything.
I was like, come on, man.
There's got to be...
I don't want something to put on the wall.
Look at that.
It's got the shape of a Star Wars whatever or some kind of movie sword.
Lord of the Rings sword.
No.
I need something I can use that I can count on that's not going to rust and not going to break.
And that's how I ended up finding you.
I think that's awesome.
And honestly, Mike, that's why we're here and that's why we're in business.
And that's why we've been around for 50 years.
Because we care.
And we strive.
I mean, I know I drive my team crazy all the time because I'm always pushing the envelope.
And I thought I was pushing the envelope.
And then I bet you helped me even push it further to the next realm.
And so, you know, and that's the other thing.
We're a Christian company and we live by these values.
We actually have a sign out.
And it says that everything that you do, do it for the glory of God.
And I want my pieces not just to be generational, but even to a point where I am satisfied that I have done my best for my customers and for my God.
And so we do that.
Even my sons are coming into this business, and they all start from the ground up, but they are learning the passion and learning the quality and having an understanding why this company makes the knives that they do.
And that's what's critical for the survival of this nation is for businesses like yours to pass down the skills to your sons and their sons and daughters and to keep the know-how that, again, 50 years in business now, to keep the know-how passed down from one generation to the next and keep manufacturing here in America.
In fact, you've got some people walking around behind you in the background a little bit actually doing work, but people probably watching this, they can't understand how much machinery.
You have a lot of CNC machinery and different...
Can you just describe a little bit of the infrastructure that you've built there in Arizona?
Yeah, actually.
And you can see, even in this room, we're still constructing, getting panels and everything.
We've only been in this building for less than a year.
So this is a brand new building, but we're very unique because we're combining both the future of manufacturing with CNC technology with the past craftsmanship of being handmade.
So we're marrying these two schools of thought.
So that way you're getting a knife that is done to the best of our ability.
And the really cool thing about our CNC operation is that we actually work with some of the, whether homeschoolers or private schools or charter schools, and we actually bring in the youth and we show them how to do American manufacturing work.
And how we take our knives through and that way they can learn how to use the machines and they can build and create stuff.
So we're very passionate about that.
And then on the knife end, we actually do classes on Once a year or twice a year.
And we actually have people from all over the United States that come in.
I've had grandparents bring their grandsons, dads with sons, all get to take part and build a knife from scratch.
Oh, that's awesome.
And take home a finished product, and they get to know the whole aspect of the knife-making experience.
Man, I would love to do that.
That just sounds so much fun.
I mean...
To start with a sheet of alloy steel, the MagnaCut or CPM, whatever you're using, and to end up with a crafted knife, man.
Of course, if I did it, it would be like the world's ugliest knife.
It would be my first try.
I mean, the rest of your staff would probably laugh.
I think you'd be surprised, Mike.
I think you'd be surprised.
I hear that all the time, and it's so funny.
Once we get guys starting to grind a blade, and just seeing those sparks fly, and we work with them, you know, they start with some starter blades before they grind their actual blade.
But it's so funny because just seeing them work and watching them move their hands, and they're able to get this blade looking pretty good, honestly.
I mean, to their extent, they'll probably not say so, but pretty good.
And then we just touch it up a little bit here and there and take it through.
But you're able to do all the process, and I've been very surprised seeing how much, just in the American spirit, that ability to be craftsmen Resides in us.
It's just no one has ever taken the time to show us.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
And we need to bring back that craftsmanship in America.
And by the way, you gave me a lot of prototypes, especially when we were working on these.
And I got to tell you, I have given away most of those prototypes.
And I've given them away to people that have been here in my studio who are either like retired military, retired law enforcement, or active duty law enforcement, some people working on the border of Texas, have these knives, your knives.
In fact, I gave away my other copy of the Escape from L.A. That's on the border now, by the way, being used for who knows what, but I'm sure it's being put to the test.
Your knives are in the hands of a lot more people than you may know, even just from here.
I'm like, I'm handing them out.
I like people to use them.
You know, Mike, that makes me really happy because that's the whole point.
I want to make sure that the knives are getting to the people that need them, especially in this country.
I have a lot of family members that work the Arizona border.
One does recon surveillance.
His wife actually works the border.
I've got cousins all working the border.
And, you know, just seeing what's going on today and what they have to deal with, what they have to face.
It's terrifying, but I do my part.
I do my part to help them.
And I do my part To make sure that these are going to the right people.
So I really thank you, Mike, for doing that.
It means a lot.
I come from a military family too, generational military family.
I was not in the military.
I chose to make knives on that side of the family.
So we have those that were in the military, those that were in Border Patrol, law enforcement.
So I have a huge heart for them because I know what they have to go through every day.
And so I make the tools to make their lives better and to make sure that they come home safe.
And that's exactly what they're doing.
I mean, there are many active duty soldiers right now with your knives in the field, downrange.
There are many active duty law enforcement that are using your knives right now, like I said, in Texas.
That makes a difference when there's a tool they can rely on.
It's just like having a rifle that works versus one that just keeps jamming up, you know?
If your rifle works, then you're a more effective soldier.
If your knife works, you're more effective in everything that you're doing versus, you know, if it's just cheap junk or whatever and it breaks the first time you stress it, you know, you just wasted time and money, you know?
Exactly.
And we did a lot during OEF and OIF. And we got so much feedback.
We actually got letters.
So many letters.
Someday I have to show you all the letters.
Hundreds of letters.
We used to customize and personalize the knives of how these knives saved their lives.
And how they were just so grateful that they performed better than other companies that are out there.
Even some well-known companies That people, you know, put out there and trying to sell to the military.
They were just so happy.
In fact, now they're generational customers.
But, you know, I work around the clock.
I'm one of those people that don't really sleep much.
I'm always here.
In fact, there's the window to the shop.
But I have a passion and I try to pass that down, especially everyone that works here.
Not only do we Work hard, but we enjoy what we do because we know it's going to a good cause.
And that's why one reason why when we're making the knives and even sourcing our raw material, all that comes from the United States.
So all that money that we get in stays in the United States.
That's right.
Stays here.
And then we manufacture it here.
And then we send it out to the people here that need them first.
Well, I think you're a shining example of a strong U.S. manufacturer and the kind of infrastructure that we need in this country in order to be a successful nation.
I not only love your knives and the fact that we're working together I love the fact that your company exists and that we need to support companies like yours to maintain your activities, your economic activity, your knowledge base, your sharing of knowledge in America.
This is what's going to make America great again, frankly.
Companies like yours.
Amen.
And we're just one part of the puzzle.
That's why I love what you're doing, Mike, is you're putting companies like us all together so we can have a complete And that's why we are so happy to be working with you because, you know, this is a great tool, but this is only as good as the function of your body.
I mean, and you provide so much to the body that it allows people to be at their peak performance and then have the peak tools.
So when a survival situation comes or the zombie apocalypse, they have the best chance for them and their family to make it through.
That's right.
Well said.
Well, thank you, John Roy, for joining us today.
It's always a pleasure to speak with you.
I really look forward to what you're going to be sharing with us this year.
It's great.
Love working with you.
I love working with you too, Mike.
And just one little tidbit I'm going to throw out that will be coming out and it'll be very limited run is that some of these models that we see down here, including the escape from L.A., we're going to have a limited run of carbon fiber handles on them that are actually carbon fiber made here in America that we're going to have a limited run of carbon fiber handles on them that are So it's pretty cool.
Okay, well, that's something exciting to look forward to escape from L.A. with space age carbon fiber handles.
and Yes.
Okay, the drops from SpaceX, what do you mean?
That's excess carbon fiber that they sold off?
Yeah, so actually, I had a friend that works in SpaceX, and they had carbon fiber, and so they get these drops, and to them, it's just waste.
So when I visited their little, he gave me a little tour and everything, and I walked around, I said, what are you doing with all that carbon fiber?
He's like, yeah, we got to get rid of that, you know, that's what it is like.
Yeah, can I have some of that?
I mean, I'll pay you for it.
And that way, I know it's American-made, and so I'll pay you for it.
And that way, we can put it on these knives.
And so he worked out a deal within them.
And so instead of having to pay money to dispose it, we're able to get that carbon fiber.
Wow.
Okay, I can't wait.
Looking forward to that.
Okay, thanks for that little piece of breaking news there.
But I'm especially looking forward to the machete.
And I've got to say, please consider making the tomahawk, like doing a run.
I know there's a lot of curves in it.
It's complex.
But it'll be a hit.
We've got another huge run coming in March.
In fact, we're getting ready.
So March, April, so around there.
We have the steel coming in for just that.
We actually were talking about it.
It's been a while.
We're going to be putting up a run of Tomahawks.
Okay.
Oh, that's amazing.
I can't wait.
That's going to be a huge hit, man.
All right.
Well, a lot to look forward to, plus the video in the junkyard breaking out of vehicles, or maybe into vehicles.
I don't know.
Maybe both.
All right.
Good stuff.
Well, thank you, John.
Have a great day.
Thank you, Mike.
God bless you, buddy.
All right.
God bless.
Take care.
Give my best to everybody there.
All right, folks, that's John from Dawson Knives, just an amazing man, an amazing family, an amazing business.
Their website is DawsonKnives.com, by the way, and the products that we carry you can find at HealthRangerStore.com.
Just search for knife and you'll find them all, including the mass ratio bushcrafting knife that's now back in stock.
And we've got, of course, some exciting things coming up this year, as we just talked about, folks.
But it's no joke.
When you get your hands on one of these knives, you will recognize that there's nothing else.
You've never had a knife like this with this durability and this kind of care of design.
And the magna-cut steel that goes into it is just...
Unrivaled.
I mean, this is modern tech that could not have been put together like this even just a few years ago.
And you buy this once and it'll last you a lifetime.
I mean, no joke.
So it's a great investment.
I understand they're not cheap knives.
We're not trying to be.
It's the best knife, though, that you'll ever own.
So check it all out.
Thank you for your support today.
I'm Mike Adams here at Brighteon.com.
God bless you all.
Take care.
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I'll describe how the monetary system fails.
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