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Help us support our troops! [Knives for Soldiers] Update: 1,000 shipped to date and counting!
The FReeper Hobbit Hole Blog ^
Posted on 07/29/2005 7:42:45 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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 didnt 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 cant express the amount of gratitude I felt when I found out about your organization. Many of us are junior enlisted, and just cant 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 isnt 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. Weve 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 arent official enough to fundraise in any kind of big way, we arent an official charity with financial statements and tax benefits, and we dont 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.
TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Politics
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; akti; bladeforums; blades; hh; hobbithole; iraq; knife; knifeproject; knives; soldier; soldiers; supportourtroops
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To: ecurbh; 300winmag; 2Jedismom; g'nad; Ramius; osagebowman; Overtaxed; RMDupree; Sam Cree; TalonDJ; ..
So many requests! Come on folks, lets send all we can. You know winmag won't turn down a soldier till he's in the poorhouse.
PLEASE help him out!
261
posted on
09/14/2005 7:08:58 PM PDT
by
HairOfTheDog
(Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: ecurbh
Excellent comments. That last guy shoulda' just taken Narsil with him over there. Maybe not too practical, but it does make a certain statement. :-)
Maybe we should send him an axe. :-)
262
posted on
09/14/2005 7:12:27 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
To: Ramius
This soldier should receive a sword. Not very practical in a combat environment, but would be a gift that would last the rest of his life.
263
posted on
09/14/2005 7:20:12 PM PDT
by
Hunble
(is)
To: Hunble
Well... he's already *got* a sword. :-) Two even.
That's why I'm thinkin' "axe". Something in a nice double-bladed Norse shorthandled fighting axe. Maybe it's time the "insurgents" got a visit from the "berserkers". :-)
264
posted on
09/14/2005 7:34:02 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
To: Ramius
265
posted on
09/14/2005 7:34:33 PM PDT
by
ecurbh
(Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: ecurbh
Hah! Wanna see some eyes the size of dinner plates? Have some bad guys in Iraq fall over to the "tthhhwip" of an arrow. I'd pay good money to see that.
"What the..."
266
posted on
09/14/2005 7:37:42 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
To: Ramius

Actually, these are often less expensive than the survival knives that have sent. Useless in combat, but may be an outstanding way of saying thanks.
267
posted on
09/14/2005 8:07:17 PM PDT
by
Hunble
(is)
To: Hunble
Can you imagine the fear that such a thing would strike, though?
Zowie . :-)
268
posted on
09/14/2005 8:17:40 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
To: Ramius
Can you imagine the fear that such a thing would strike, though? How about one of these? I have it for "evalutation" purposes.
269
posted on
09/14/2005 11:27:16 PM PDT
by
300winmag
(FR's Hobbit Hole supports America's troops)
To: 300winmag
Yeow.
Multipurpose. Opens what is closed. Separates what is connected. Scares the bejeezus outta whoever is left.
You have my axe.
I like it. :-)
270
posted on
09/14/2005 11:45:35 PM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
271
posted on
09/15/2005 6:48:00 AM PDT
by
RMDupree
(HHD: Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: HairOfTheDog; Corin Stormhands; 2Jedismom; g'nad; JenB; Rose in RoseBear; Bear_in_RoseBear; ...
Wow, 300winmag's been busy lately... the knife tally is now up to 835! And I just forwarded yet another batch of emails to him. Let's keep the contributions coming in, folks.
If possible, I would love to take the Gerber with me on my upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. I am a AH-64 pilot with the 1-183rd avn bn in Boise Idaho. We are getting mobilized very soon. Several of the pilots in our BN have received knives from you and are very excited about it. My commander received the Gerber and I was very impressed with the knife. I realize you have a million requests. If you can't get to mine, I fully understand. I would be able to donate $20.00 to the cause if I can get a mailing address. I do not have pay pal. You guys are doing a great thing.
Please support our Hobbit Hole Pocket knives for the troops project.
272
posted on
09/19/2005 4:32:46 PM PDT
by
ecurbh
(Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: 300winmag
Hi All-
What a sweet ATC LaGana Tactical Tomahawk you've got pictured! That tool probably has even more utility than the CQC-T model. It would be fantastic if all our young men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq could be outfitted with those excellent specialized tomahawks for breaching, breaking, prying, rescue, and general combat duties.
~ Blue Jays ~
273
posted on
09/19/2005 8:24:00 PM PDT
by
Blue Jays
(Rock Hard, Ride Free)
To: Blue Jays
It would be fantastic if all our young men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq could be outfitted with those excellent specialized tomahawks for breaching, breaking, prying, rescue, and general combat duties.The tomahawk is in the federal supply system, and has its own NSN, 4210-01-518-7244. Good luck on scoring one.
This one also has a NSN, but the Hobbit Hole gives it away, just to make sure the troops get one.

The Becker BK3 from Camillus is especially popular with Infantry and Engineers. It's not much as a weapon, but does a great job as a breaching tool. We even sent one to a Soldier who said his buddy was tired of loaning out his BK3.
274
posted on
09/19/2005 9:10:07 PM PDT
by
300winmag
(FR's Hobbit Hole supports America's troops)
To: 300winmag
Hi 300winmag-
The Becker pictured would do a perfect job of opening shipping crates, prying fences, and dozens of utilitarian tasks likely encountered in the desert. The instances where knives are used as a weapon are probably very few, so the ability to do general work is the better bet. Those letters from the troops are wonderful to read...I hope as many as possible can receive knives.
~ Blue Jays ~
275
posted on
09/19/2005 9:47:35 PM PDT
by
Blue Jays
(Rock Hard, Ride Free)
To: All
A Hurricane Rita BUMP from SoFla.
276
posted on
09/20/2005 6:27:57 AM PDT
by
RMDupree
(HHD: Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: Blue Jays
Here's a crude scan of a brand new Camillus knife I
can talk about. I have professional photos of another new Camillus I
can't talk about, but that's a different matter.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of Michelle F., the federal government marketing manager at Camillus, the Hobbit Hole gets first news, and first dibs, on their product line. She's also clued us in to discontinued models, and we've gotten real steals for deals on them.
This is the new Camillus "Rescue", made in Taiwan, and based on their "Robo" assisted-opening knife. It's a great value for the price, so I'm sure the quality of this knife is up to their standards.

It has a tungsten carbide glass scorer/breaker on the butt, while the tip is flattened to form a screwdriver tip. The pocket clip can be switched to the off side, too.
It looks like a good rescue knife, and an Army aviation batallion heading for Afghanistan has already expressed interest in 40 of them.
277
posted on
09/20/2005 12:20:50 PM PDT
by
300winmag
(FR's Hobbit Hole supports America's troops)
To: HairOfTheDog; Corin Stormhands; 2Jedismom; g'nad; JenB; Rose in RoseBear; Bear_in_RoseBear; ...
Got this email in the latest batch... kinda made me fahklempt.
What you folks are doing for the troops is outstanding. I know that each soldier who received a knife will use it and appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending it. My unit is to receive their deployment orders on 22 Oct 05 to deploy to Ft Hood, TX till sometime in Mar 06. From there we will go to Afghanistan for around a year.
I am an Apache helicopter pilot. I would like to request a knife for my deployment. I dont need one of the big knifes, since I will have limited space, but would really appreciate one of the small folding knifes. I realize that you have many, many requests, so please put me in line. We in the military are familiar with lines. We wait patiently for our turn.
If I never get a knife that is OK too, that just means that you folks have done all that you can for the troops. I appreciate that too. That is what I plan on doing in Afghanistan too, all that I can. There is always the chance that that may be the last thing that I do for my country. That is OK too; there isnt a better country that I would rather do it for than the USA! Freedom didnt come free for our forefathers, and it isnt free for us either!
And this one is good too...
My Name is [redacted] and I am a Platoon segeant and our unit is deploying to Afghanistan. Our unit is a AH-64A Apache attack helicopter unit and plays a vital role in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I must say that I am impressed with your support and dedication to our troops and especially my own. I have seen some of the knives that they have received and the quality is remarkable. As a vetern of Panama, Desert Storm, Cuba, and Bosnia I have never seen someone go to the degree of support you are giving. I just recently went to your website and noticed the BK3 Tactool of which I like a lot. Again, I cannot tell you how much I am impressed with your products. I understand that you are giving these products in support of our tropps and if you find time to send one, I would be another proud and grateful soldier because of the support of people like yourself.
Please support our Hobbit Hole Pocket knives for the troops project.
278
posted on
09/23/2005 10:15:11 AM PDT
by
ecurbh
(Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: ecurbh
279
posted on
09/23/2005 10:16:26 AM PDT
by
HairOfTheDog
(Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/)
To: ecurbh
Oh, man... makes ya humble.
280
posted on
09/23/2005 10:26:09 AM PDT
by
Ramius
(Blades for war fighters: http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net)
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