Middle Earth Ranger Forum

... Hubby put together a raucous party tonight,and I needed to step outside to clear my head. "Stepping outside" morphed into tromping deep into the acreage in half kit with no light but the stars. Fun! You. hear. everything. Awesome, but occasionally worrisome when you hear something moving through the treeline.

Normally I'd tell myself "just your imagination" but I've seen both coyote and bobcat in daylight, so... discretion.

Anyhow, things to remember / fix:

A. It's amazing how the light ash of my arrows and white skin of my hands stood out in the starlight. Drawn steel even more, of course. As an aside, it's amazing how much more comforting a blade is than a bow when you can't see half so far as you can shoot. Experience is really starting to bring me around to Ursus' views on blade vs. bow, at least in my woods.

B. Kit issues: my longknife has a symettrical sword-style hilt but a single edge. I looked down to find myself holding it backwards one time: I need to think about how - and if -I want to do something about that (something with the handle wrapping perhaps?) Also, my cloak's too long. I can't back up without risking stepping on the hem in tall grass.

Anyhow, fun time out and gorgeous starlight. I've got to remember to do this more often.

Oooh good idea for immersive skill testing! Unfortunately the quarry next door to me has incredibly intrusive light pollution. Keep an eye out for the Orionids once Menelvagor rises! ; )

Sounds awesome, all I have on my doorstep is town.

Maybe if you tied a piece of leather chord around your knife hilt with the knot on the side of the blade, you would be able to tell the difference in the dark?

Try putting a drop of clear nail polish on the grip edge side where your index finger goes. The drop will be near invisible but you'll be able to feel it in the dark. If the drop is too subtle, try a trimmed down pin. You be able to see and feel the head.

The ancient art of blundering about in the dark!
It does get easier with practice. I used to do a fair bit of that.
Re: your knife handle, I've noticed that some Japanese polearms have handles that are sort of tear-drop shaped in cross-section. Something like that would do the trick.
If you think having a sword blade handy in the dark when you can seek to shoot, then you'd love a spear! Just point it at the unsavory noise, and instantly you feel safe.

Funny, I thought I replied to this.

I borrowed my first cloak and kept tripping on it. I have a light wool one for warmer weather, and it's ankle to mid-calf in length. I have a heavy wool one for winter, and it's about knee length, to keep from dragging in the snow.

Arrow shafts and bare blades are, yes, rather bright in the starlight, but I consider that a reasonable trade-off to being able to find said arrows during the day. I've had one set of dyed shafts...they 'ran out' rather quickly.

Turn your handle back and forth in your hand repeatedly...I think you're bound to notice some minor differences/irregularities. My Bristol's grip is notably asymmetrical, and is always gripped on the same side. Give it a little time, and you'll know your blade is backwards blindfolded.

I wasn't kidding when I said Middle-earth feels much more real in the dark! It's a grand adventure every time, when the same hike by day would be an uneventful jaunt.

Derp..re aligning things, as it happens the answer was right in front of me all along. I just needed to pay more attention to the stitching on the grip leather:



Practice practice I guess.

Things only look lived-if they are! Pick it up every day!

Good luck putting it back down, though...

>chastened face<


onward!

Greg wrote:Things only look lived-if they are! Pick it up every day!

Good luck putting it back down, though...

Who are you kidding, if I had that blade it would be going to bed with me.