Help us support our troops! [Knives for Soldiers] Update: 1,000 shipped to date and counting!

As some of you know, The group of friends here at Free Republic known as the Hobbit Hole thread, have been contributing to a small project to buy pocketknives and other needed tools for our deployed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It started out as care and comfort packages, and grew into pocketknives because we learned that while sweets and snacks were good, there were very practical tools, such as a good pocket knife, that our troops didn’t have unless they purchased them themselves. Handy items that would actually help them do their job.

Since we started we have shipped 700 knives as well as other tools, flashlights, EMT shears, seat belt cutters, and other gadgets to our troops overseas. Please visit our newly updated project blog to read about the rest of the project! The Hobbit Hole project blog

One of our pocketknives, in Iraq

Our project leader, 300winmag, has spent thousands of his own money to meet demand just hoping enough donations would be made to keep him out of the poorhouse. My husband ecurbh and I have sent at least $100 per month, and others in the group have sent more or less, depending on what they can afford. But still demand has outpaced the funds coming in. Requests for these knives continue to pour in at the rate of dozens per week:

July 27, 2005
I recently found out about your organization. It makes me feel really good to know there are people out there who care about us and the equipment we carry. I can’t express the amount of gratitude I felt when I found out about your organization. Many of us are junior enlisted, and just can’t afford a quality knife (which tends to be essential in our environment). I am an infantryman fulfilling a combat medic/shooter role because of civilian paramedic training. I was hoping I could get a few knives for the guys in my team if it isn’t too much of a burden. Check out my blog to see what we have been doing here, we are doing a good job of training the Iraqi soldiers if I may toot my own horn! - Chad in Baghdad

Much of the feedback we get are letters from deployed troops who have seen our knives, and went to our site to see about how to also receive one. (More emails from troops)

We have all donated as much as we can and will continue to regularly, but we have reached a limit on how much we alone can do. We’ve decided to both scale back on the more expensive knives we had tested sending, but also decided to ramp up the project and ask for money from outside the group... To ask fellow FReepers, and all our friends and family if you would consider sending a donation to our cause.

We aren’t official enough to fundraise in any kind of big way, we aren’t an official charity with financial statements and tax benefits, and we don’t want to be. We just want to help out just a little, the men and women that are sacrificing overseas for all of us. If you are reading this post, and agree with our mission, we hope you will help us . There is a donation link at the Hobbit Hole site linked above. We guarantee that every dollar you send will be spent on knives.

- HairOfTheDog, ecurbh, and 300winmag, for The Hobbit Hole.

Some requests from the weekend...

I am told that you folks are doing something amazing, giving us mobilizing troops a knife - that is incredible! This is an amazing gesture of your support, thank you.
Quit a few of my fellow soldiers have received knives from your organization, and I was wondering if I might be considered for one. If so, I really like the Gerber aircrew, if not, the Camillus BK2 would come in very handy. Thank you so much for the consideration and especially for the GRAND support of our units and nation.
I talked to a couple of friends of mine in the unit and they told me about your web site. I am really happy to see that there are still people out there who care about our troops. I was wondering if you had any knives left, would it be possible if I received one? Thank you for your support and your time.
Please send a free knife to my only son, Nick in Iraq. Thanks, he is my heart and soul.
Hello people at the hobbit hole,

I am a medic stationed with a battletion thats getting ready to head to Afganistan. Over my time in service, 14 years, I have found that the proper equiptment is key to success. While trama scheers are wonderful, they simply are not as quick and effortless as it could be.

I don't really need anything fancy or expensive, a sheath knife, pretty, but what I could really use is something that both allows me to quickly expose a wound as well as cut bandages or cargostraps. I don't know if it is possable but it would be very useful to get a Camillus seatbelt cutter. I can only say for certain that it would go to good use and remain in the medics tool chest for my unit.
I'm a section sergent for a phase team for Apache helicopters. I have 5 solders on my crew. As a motivation tool I was hoping that you could help me. My crew works some very long hours (12-16) getting these acft back up. I under stand that you might be able to help me out with some knives. I would like to use them as a safety awards. We just got back from Bosnia for a 10 month tour on a peace keeping mission. Now I just found out that I'm going to Afghanistan for a 18 month tour. I'm just trying to show the guys that they are doing a great job. I hope that you can help me out with this problem. If you send me a American Flag I well put it in a Apache helicopter under the pilots seat and tell you some of the missions it went on! Thank you for you're time.
I am a Sergeant and crew chief in the 1-183rd Aviation (Apache Attack Helicopter Battalion) who will deploying to Afghanistan in October. Could you consider me as a recipient for your knife give-away?

I have a lovely wife, and three wonderful children that I will leave behind.

Thank you for what you do.

Frodo Please support our Hobbit Hole Pocket knives for the troops project.

They're making me use up my excess vaction time, but being on a help desk that is losing experienced people, they don't want me away too long. So I took today off, and spent the whole day on Hobbit Hole knife business.

Picked up a bunch of knives from engraving. Snagged a good deal ($15 off apiece) on a dozen Gerber LMF IIs. Ordered another 100 shipping boxes at 72 cents each (and I thought the first 100 would last forever).

I'm taking a break at 10:30PM to post here. I've got a dozen knives to pack, including two going to the daughters of a freeper, one a Marine JAG, the other heading to Marine flight school. Eleven of them are going overseas, so I also have to fill out the quintuplicate customs form (blech).

Another check arrived today, thank you, and I plan to spend a good deal of time tomorrow at the post office, hoping that the clerk doesn't get too nit-picky.

One of my more productive vacation days.

I finally quit for the night, after almost getting two knives with special engraving mixed up, with each Soldier getting the other's knife. That's why we're not doing any more custom engraving (once I get three more Gerbers that I promised would be engraved with callsigns).

The first picture shows some of the knives ready to mail, and also some of the 192 Gerber diamond hones that go with the knives. These sharpeners retail for $8 each, but a dealer was discontinuing them at $2. So I bought them all for our project. Just another little item that goes into the overall gift.

And one Soldier from the Army aviation unit heading for Afghanistan sent me his own challenge coin that he earned during his tour in Bosnia. Along with it is the SOF challenge coin, and two from some engineering units. As Indiana Jones says, "they belong in a museum", but I'll hang on to them until the Hobbit Hole's mathom house is built.

Now that our web server is back online, time to get caught up on the emails.

i was told about your program of free knives. thinking that it was a joke i have checked out your website and was amazed by all the qaulity knives i saw. i was wondering if there was a way to get a camillus bk2. we go throgh alot of knives here simply because they are poor qaulity. thank you
We are getting ready to deploy to the Middle East and I was wanting to get a knife. A buddy of mine then told me about the knife that he got from you guys and I couldn't believe the quality of the blade. When he told me he got it for free I thought he was lying, but he told me it was true. If this is true I would like to find out how to get one just for some piece of mind while we are in country. I look forward to hearing back from you and appreciate what you are doing for our American Soldiers.
My name is [redacted] and I am a soldier with the 1-163 INF here in Northern Iraq. I was told by a fellow soldier that you are providing deployed soldier like myself with a knife. I would be honored to recieve one from you. I am a team leader in the Task Forces Sniper section, and I have broken my previous 2 knives I paid alot of money for. I have 9 other members in my section, and I do they need to send you an email from each of them, or will mine be sufficient enough for the group? Please let me know how to go about this. Thank you again for your support of the soldiers here in Iraq. You are certainly making our lives easier with what you are providing.
I am a US Army combat engineer currently serving in Iraq in support of OIF III. I understand that you have been providing soldiers with good quality knives and I would be interested in some more information. Thank You.
Hi The Hobbit Hole, I think it is awesome what you are doing for us here oversees. My name is [redacted]. I am with TF 1-163 in C Co Eng. My job is S2 and I am thouroughly enjoying this deployment.. I wish to go home soon yet I am glad that was able to serve my country.

Thank you very much for your continued support and love of your country.

Frodo Please support our Hobbit Hole Pocket knives for the troops project.

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