Two Small Items from SHOT: Silky Saws and QuickClot

Down in the lower level of the SHOT Show where the sun never shines and fart clouds hang heavy in the gloom, lurks the really interesting stuff—the good ideas from small manufacturers whose stocks have not yet split. This year there are two products from the nether regions that I would like to bring to your attention.

First is Silky Saws. What in the name of all that is holy is a Silky Saw? Glad you asked. Silky is a Japanese saw maker that has been around for nearly a century and makes an extensive line of terrific saws with two that are of special interest to hunters. But first a note: I’m a great believer in saws because they’ll do anything an axe will do except split wood and pound stuff, except quietly, and you won’t take off your foot.

The first is the Pocketboy (pictured here), a compact folder that comes with a 6 ¾-inch blade and its own belt case. It has a good handle, very strong hinge, and is an absolutely ferocious cutter that can handle either meat or bone. The hinge, which is bright chromed, may give you pause since we are conditioned to be camo-crazed, but I don’t care a lick about that. The price is $38.

Katanaboy is something truly different. The katana is the long sword of the samurai, and Katanaboy is a folding saw with a blade that is just under 20 inches long, a 26-inch rubberized handle, and a cutting capability that will pretty much match a chainsaw but without the noise, smell, weight, gas, and the chance that you’ll lop off part of your person. Stick one in your pickup, or on your snowmobile, or on your packhorse and smile. It costs $193. Silkysaws.com.

In my time on the fens and fields, I’ve seen two really bad cuts, both caused by knives, both involving fingers, and both very difficult to stop. With this in mind, I was very interested a few years ago at SHOT when a doctor showed me a product called Quickclot, an impregnated gauze pad that stops bleeding right away, no matter how bad it is. The problem was that it was not sold to the public, but now it is.

Quickclot is sold by an outfit called Adventure Medical Kits which, as the name implies, assembles kits in every conceivable size, shape, and form, but which also sells Quickclot. The pads, which are reasonably priced, come in packages of varying sizes, and and you can look them up at adventuremedicalkits.com.