- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
You know it on the pics
Well, I just went full impulse buy and got myself a new blade to carry on this trip and to serve as a lifetime memento of this incredible journey. I am absolutely NOT telling the wife
I mentioned before that I had promised myself years ago that I would drop some coin on my photo rig if I ever got the opportunity to go to Africa. The thought was that I'd keep and use whatever setup I got for decades afterward and I'd always remember the reason why I had it.
So, knowing that it's not reasonable to go big on the photo setup for this trip, I thought about something that I could take that WOULD work with my space limitations and that I'd be able to keep for life. I ended up deciding it was a really, really good knife.
I asked a very knowledgeable friend about the best fixed-blade knife on the market (All the knives I own are folding simply because I tend towards those for EDC.) He told me about the Cholera Mk2 from Vulture Equipment Works in Illinois. I checked out their site and they now have an Mk3 version that looks absolutely awesome. I also saw that they have a limited edition "Flame Series," so I clicked through and just for fun I went to the "select a serial number" dropdown. What do I find? My lucky number 12 was available.
It's an absolutely insane amount to spend on a freaking knife (more than the Postal cost me, seriously) but I'm a VERY big believer in the idea that the universe sends you signs and that you need to act on them when they happen.
When I saw #12 available, the decision was made. Done and done. It's not that unlike when I found my Postal for sale on the web back in early 2002. I decided in a moment that I was going to do whatever it took to get it and make it mine.
http://www.vultureequipmentworks.com/knife-tool/cholera-mk3-flame-series
I plan on carrying this —not storing it in its pretty box — as often as possible. Just like the Postal, it will be USED. It seems absolutely fitting in my warped mind.
I made my ownership of JPFreek happen. I made the partnership with Dan Grec happen. I made the trip to Africa to ride with him happen (at someone else's cost nonetheless!) This knife is what will forever embody those accomplishments and this incredible opportunity.
I hope to eventually be able to hand this down to a grandkid with a plethora of great stores of the time I got to go ride around southern Africa with a great friend in an incredible Jeep.
I know it's going to sound utterly wasteful and insane to many, but so did the idea of flying to Anchorage to buy a non-running, right-hand drive Jeep with the intention of making it worthy of a cross-continental trip in just a week of work and then driving it 5500+ miles back home. I didn't listen to the people that told me I was nuts back then and I don't give a &$%* what anyone thinks about this.
Screw what people think. I couldn't care less. I cannot wait to hold this in my hand.
Every time I look at it from now until I die, I'll know EXACTLY what it represents.
He obviously gets and appreciates the collector thing, but he really liked hearing about my Postal being modded and wheeled.
