4 July 04

Good advice:

"Carrying loose change in the same pocket in which you carry your folding knife can wind up jamming the blade, so that it can't be easily opened. I had a dime wedge between the blade and the handle on my Cold Steel Voyager. It required 2 1/2 hands and several frustrating moments to get the knife opened. Fortunately, the incident didn't take place at a critical moment."

Lesson: Another good reason to carry your folder in your waistband instead of a front pocket!

/John

4 July 04

From a friend at Cor-Bon with regard to penetration of soft body armor:

"We exhaustively tested our 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, 357MG, 357SIG, and 400CB. I used JHP, PowerBall, and the new DPX. 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP were fired from rifles, as well as handguns. The rest were fired from handguns only. I used Second Chance Super Featherlight, level IIA vests (circa 1995) at the test medium.

Nothing passed through the vests. The closest was 9mm DPX, shot from a sixteen-inch-barrel carbine. It went through all but two layers of Kevlar, but was still captured within the vest itself. 357SIG/PB went most of the way through the first layer."

Comment: All IIA vests will stop the vast majority of handgun bullets. However, when impact velocities exceed 1,600 f/s, design specifications will be stretched to the limit. Bullet design, frontal area, angle of impact, and other factors influence penetration also, but all vests have a velocity limit. For example, IIA vests are routinely penetrated 223 and 308 rifle rounds, even M1 Carbine.

It is no secret that I like Cor-Bon ammunition and personally carry it regularly in all my handguns, regarding it as superior in terminal performance to other brands. The issue of vest penetration is, of course, a great concern to those who wear vests regularly. My advice is to personally test your brand of vest with whatever ammunition you wish. That way, you will be able to settle the question for yourself (to the degree that it can be settled.)

/John