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.

Got a few more requests today. Here's a sampling...

Hello! My name is [redacted] with Charlie Company of the 116th Combat Engineers, serving here in Iraq about an hour of so south of Kirkuk. I recently lost my "Tactool" while working in a canal and am missing it greatly! I was surfing the internet, trying to locate another when I came across your site. This is some great work you are doing!!! I'd greatly appreciate it if you could send one over here, it's a great help and a great little tool. Anything I can do for you on this end, just let me know. Thanks!
My Name is [redacted] and I am currently stationed in Iraq. I was wondering how I would beable to recieve one of those knives that you are so gernerously giving away to soldiers that need them, because I am one of those who needs one. I am always asking to borrow a fellow soldiers knife to open boxes I recieve from home as well as cutting some rope and other things I may need it for.

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

An email exchange with a member of an Army aviation unit, who apparently had his expectations set too low:

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Thanks for the nice note, Mike. I guess I'll have to be more plain-spoken in our web site.

I work on every knife that goes out. I refuse to send a pocket knife that I would not be proud to carry in my pocket, and will do everything you expect a pocket knife to do.

No sheath knife is chosen, or goes out unless I could depend on it for my life. Period.

You guys deserve nothing less.

Rick

Michael wrote:

> Rick- > > I recieved your knife today and wanted to drop a quick line. I honestly expected something that was cheaply built, but fun to have. Not this knife. It's totally utilitarian, just the way it should be. Nothing on it to break or fail if it gets abused, and it's heavy enough to get through a damn car door. The butt end is absolutly perfect. You could easily knock someone on thier *$$ with it. Thanks much for the tool and for all that you guys are doing for the good guys.

> Mike

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