Randy | February 16, 2026
The brace of knives laid out in the photo at the top of this piece are representative of those familiar to fishermen who crewed salt bank schooners sailing out of Nova Scotia and other East Coast ports at a time when wind and muscle propelled human endeavour beyond the thin veneer. Much of value can […]
Randy | February 11, 2026
In maintaining life on the other side of the Thin Veneer, only True Tools, both the hard (technology) and the soft (skills), are carried. Which ones will depend on the environment, the job, the doer of it, alone or in company, and what interval of time and space will inform readiness for “self-rescue”, a now […]
Randy | February 1, 2026
Today we will look exclusively at the birth of my own khukuri, beginning with why I commissioned it to be made in the form that it is, and following it through the process as it was dutifully reported to me at every stage. My overall reasons that drove choosing it for integration into my garniture […]
Randy | January 24, 2026
The blade is but the tooth and claw That Nature never gave, So Man no longer hides in trees, Nor cowers in a cave. Why scrabble for what lives beneath The rocks and rotting logs? Take blade, go forth with Comrades bold, And Trusty Hunting Dogs! ~ Tooth and Claw ~ (Excerpt) If you’ve ever […]
Randy | January 2, 2026
“Normally I would have asked a policeman or a minister of the Church, but finding no one available, I thought it better to consult a man with some professional qualifications, rather than rely on the possibly confused testimony of a passer-by.” ~ In the wake of a bicycle accident due his tire pump having got […]
Randy | December 24, 2025
My Esteemed Friend Jim Keating recently made a profound utterance in the matter of prevailing flaccid, and annually recurring, expressions of what’s branded to be in the “Spirit” of the “Season”, saying in part … “… How about songs, words, images which convey strength, power, confidence and faith in this time of Yule? Why not […]
Randy | December 21, 2025
The Wild Hunt rode early this year, as its constituents bear full title to do, shredding the tops of the Hemlocks in my range throughout Friday night into Saturday afternoon, and joyously reintroducing a significant part of the local population to what “rural” living really means. The Solstice occurred at 11:03 Atlantic time today, from […]
Randy | December 6, 2025
“In this age of divided loyalties and unending crisis, some cower. Some assert themselves from the perceived safety of throngs screaming a common slogan understood differently by each throat and hearing ear. Some look to a saviour. Still others understand that if there is a saviour, in the hour of need it’s going to have […]
Randy | November 17, 2025
“Everything in Nature is about efficiency and balance, which is why life is, first and foremost, an exercise in energy management. For example, the Way of the Wild demands of each parent that their offspring be made self-sufficient as quickly and efficiently as possible. A tool need not be a physical artifact – rest assured […]
Randy | September 20, 2025
“Musashi quite wisely said, ‘Do nothing which is of no use,’ and with that in mind, I prefer a return to first principles — the safety of an enterprise MUST have no bearing on the worthiness of its pursuit. Only upon the manner of its execution. Even then, this will be governed on a sliding scale […]