#i did this drawing in gimp and it seems cool so far

[01tacocat]

[ID: A drawing of a teal and light green striped undertide dragon. He has green swirl patterns on his wings and frills and a light green underbelly. End ID]

[shimmershae]

Just watched the episode and I’m going to have a lot of thoughts for you, most of them probably bordering on incoherence (LOL) so this is your last chance to nope on out of this post because I’m going to go ahead and put everything else behind a cut to save the eyes that do not want to see any  spoilers at all.  Unlike mine, that very much wanted to see but in a lot of cases?  Could not see shit, but I digress.

Shae’s stream of consciousness coming at you in 3-2-1.  

First of all, can I saw how good it is to have my show back again?  Like, no.  I don’t quite have Season 5 levels of excitement about the new/last season, but it is definitely nice to have all these characters back.  

So all these thoughts of mine.  Okay.  Bear with me because there be a whole lot of them, lol.  

My immediate impression as the episode opened was WHOA.  Such a cool shot of Daryl with one light wing, one dark wing (representing the two sides to Daryl maybe--the man of honor versus the man he was raised to be, hmm?) looking out over some dark vista of something.  Seriously.  It’s dark.  My room is also dark at the moment and still I was squinting to see.  To make out what I’m “looking” at.  I really, really hope the rest of this season isn’t this hard to make out.  

Is that a tank?  Kinda sorta a callback to Rick’s first episode?  If so, cool.  If not, well.  Us fans have always put way more thought into things.  For real.  Change my mind.  

Holy intense eye contact, Batman!  Daryl Dixon has literally never looked at anyone--not BethusConLeah--in quite the same smoldering way as he looks at Carol.  It’s next level.  I don’t know why people be fooling themselves into thinking different.  

Let’s see.  I can make out--besides Daryl, Maggie, and that face mask dude I already forgot the name of--Kelly, Magna, Jerry (who’s that with him?), and Carol.  Sorry.  My world, like Daryl’s, inevitably narrows to Carol.  She’s loking fierce and fine AF per usual.  

Was that Rosita I noticed rewinding to relive Daryl eye-fucking Carol?  

I’m guessing this is the army base they talked about in 10C.  

That Walker perking up like “I smell food--pancakes and bacon and oohhhh” has me giggling inappropriately right off the bat.  WTF.  

Look at all my fabulous ladies tiptoeing through that Walker minefield.  And Carol spotting that gun that might be useful right away.  Listen, if you don’t think her mind ain’t always ten steps ahead of everybody else’s, you’d be wrong.  

So.  Are these Walkers just so old and feeble not even the call of fresh meat attracts them?  Because just tiptoeing through their midst without the knockoff Lady Gaga meatsuits or skin masks has never really worked before that I can remember.  

I just want to see most of this season.  Is that really too much to ask?  Don’t X-Files and Game of Thrones us, Angela.  Please and thank you very fucking much.  

Okay.  Is the one drop of blood thing making anybody else have 28 Days Later vibes?  Kinda?  Sorta?  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Carry on.  

Wait a minute, though.  How they be explaining how Daryl keeeps acquiring all these new tats all the time?  Hmm?  It’s like they just quit giving a shit about continuity in these latter seasons.  

I mean.  Do Walkers sleep now?  LMAO.  What is this?  I guess they’re constantly evolving?  

There’s my baby Lydia.  Love my smol bean.  

Alright though.  I love to see the ladies of TWD kick some ass.  It’s very gratifying.  Gimps would never.  Thank you, Angela.  

Clever, resourceful, calm and collected, quick thinking Carol to the rescue!  Seriously.  Her haters must be withering away inside with absolute envy.  

Hey, ya’ll.  Remember when Carol was still mastering her sharpshooting skills at the Prison yard and shot at Rick’s feet?  Her little “sorry, sorry”?  LOL.  If Rick could only see her now.  Wait.  He already knew what so many of his stans refuse to acknowledge--Carol=ultimate survivor and true savior to the group many times over.  

Maggie’s got herself a gun, too.  Go my badass girls.  

Of course, Carol’s got everybody’s back.  Of fucking course, Daryl’s got hers even when everybody else seem frozen in some kind of awe or stupification or something.  Microcosm of the whole damn show right there.  

Carol’s like “here’s your knives, love of my life.”   

Eh.  Maybe that’s just me.  

Nah.  She’s totally thinking it, too.  

YAS!  YAS!  Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride with the top billing.  How very far my babies have come.  

Listen.  I miss all the characters we’ve lost.  Absolutely.  But I love the ones that are still with us, that have been with us for so very long so hard.  Whether I love their stories or decisions or not.  

Is that THE Alexandria sign?  That sign’s been through some shit.  

DOG!  Daryl kneeling to embrace our Grimes babies has me all up in my feels.  And how cute is Dog getting all excited and making sure he’s the first one there to welcome back, Daddy?  

Hershel is literally just as puppy dog cute as Glenn ever was.  Really some Grade A casting.  

What did Maggie call Mr. T?  Ducky?  Dougie?  Sometimes with Maggie?  I really cannot tell.  Anyway.  He’s Mr. T. for me until I find out differently, probably through rewatching with close captioning, lol.  

Maggie’s got more people.  So.  Some new redshirts to sacrifice for plot purposes.  I don’t know if I should bother learning their names or not. 

I seem to remember Meridian being mentioned in one of the episode synopses.  

Sophia’s hair tie around Carol’s neck will never fail to be an emotional throat punch.  My heart.  

“They come at night and by the time you see them, you’re already dead.”  Welp.  Guess that means we ain’t seeing shit for at least this first third of the season, lol.  Very horror-eque though.  

“You’re leaving to fight ghosts.”  Aaron, to Maggie.  So I see Aaron’s the type to get the hell outta Dodge when the Boogeyman comes calling, hahaha.  Least he was.  In the old world.  

Rosita’s pissed off expression at Gabe’s decision to volunteer for the so-called suicide mission gives me life.  

My baby Carol is tired AF of suicide missions.  You can tell.  Also?  Methinks she has something to prove to Daryl here.  Or at least feels like she does.  

Dog with his little tactical vest.  I love it.  

I guess I get why they had Carol and Rosita stay behind.  They had to more evenly split up the badassery to make things more fair and balanced, lol.  

Okay.  So Negan’s definitely earned everybody’s disdain.  But they’re being woefully short-sighted by not at least hearing the dude out.  Isn’t he at least native to the area?  

“That is God telling us to turn around.”  I’m actually on Negan’s side with this one, but Gabe answering him with “I’m pretty sure he would have run that past me first” has me howling with laughter.  Father Gabe has gone straight up savage in these last couple of seasons.  Rosita’s influence, perhaps?  

I see what Angela is doing.  Trying to make Negan the voice of reason.  In this particular case?  It’s kind of working.  I’m still ultimately on Maggie’s side with this though BECAUSE GLENN.  

Imagine showing up to work and unironically dressing like a storm trooper every day.  Excuse me while I LOL.  

Even in the ZA, there’s bullshit paperwork.  

“Pumpkin colored spacesuit.”  Good one, Ezekiel.  

LOL forever.  I love Princess.  

“Michonne.  Our Michonne shut people out of Alexandria for years.”  Timely reminder that choices aren’t always perfect.  Neither are people.  

WTF is reprocessing?  Sounds ominous.  LMAO at Eugene’s “Okay.  We gotta go.”  

What in the actual hell with all those bagged, squirming undead?  Creepy AF in that subway tunnel.  

Should I just go ahead and call that the Easter bunny?  We’ve had some version of it pop up since Season 1.  

Is it stubborn pride with Maggie or what?  Why go through with something when all signs point toward the wisdom of stopping?  You can argue that she’s acting similarly to Carol last season, but there’s a huge difference here folks.  Carol did her damndest to Lone Wolf that shit and minimize the danger to those she loved.  Maggie’s straight up enlisting those she “cares about” to carry out her mission of revenge or vengeance, what have you. Let’s see if she gets near the amount of hate for it.  Personally, I don’t blame her for her feelings one bit.  They are valid.  But her knowingly drawing the others into the game?  That’s my sticking point.  That’s how she and Carol differ, even if some people refuse to see or accept it.  Anyway.  Hopping right on off my soapbox.  

“Why don’t you get up on your little tippy toes and try?”  Omigosh, I’d dying.  When I tell you I about passed out with laughter, I do not exaggerate.  I should hate Negan forever and I do.  Really.  But I adore JDM and he frequently makes me LOL.  He’s made Negan entertaining if not completely redeemable since Angela took over and more layered so I say kudos.  

He has a point about Maggie playing dictator.  Damn you, show, for slanting the writing just that smidgen that makes Negan make sense over his victim.  I guess, though, it’s better this way.  Gives both characters more shades of gray.  

“He’s a dick but he makes sense.”  I feel like this is Angela calling us all out when we dare to harbor any lasting resentment toward Negan for what he did to Glenn.  

Speaking of--Negan.  You deserved Daryl’s punch to the mouth.  You just went a bridge too damn far.  

“Keep pushing me, Negan.  Please.”  Warning shots fired, Asshole.  You better watch yourself around the Widow Rhee.  

Have I mentioned how much I love Princess?  Her shipping the Commonwealth guards is killing me, lol.  I can’t wait ‘til she meets Carol and Daryl.  She’s going to have their number in two seconds flat.  

I like Ezekiel and Princess as a duo.  I’m not saying romantically necessarily.  I just like them in scenes together because they’re fun.  There’s sort of a protective indulgence Ezekiel seems to telegraph whenever they’re in scenes together.  Like he’s like don’t hurt this one.  I don’t know.  For all these words I’ve written, I can’t quite find the ones to adequately describe what I mean.  

The wall of the lost gives me such Battlestar Galactica feels.  What sad thoughts it inspires.  

Eugene in that Commonwealth gear.  Omigosh, lol.  So did they just sneak up and take Princess’s little Commonwealth ship’s gear when they were sneaking off on their own to have a quickie?  

Princess finding that note for Yumiko on the wall actually gave me chills.  Yeah.  I’m easy.  Just the suggestion of someone getting reunited with lost family gets me all up in my feels.  Yumiko saying “I have to stay”?  I felt that.  

Oh no.  Dog ran off!  Somebody protect my favorite fictional puppy.  Of course, Daryl goes after him.  He’s always been the sweet one.  Merle said it.  

Eh.  Negan taking Maggie’s hand at the end there would have smacked too much of Negan Sue and Maggie’s biggest plot of the season would have been prematurely dealt with so I get why they did what they did.  But c’mon.  It’s not really that big of a cliffhanger, is it?  

Okay, so Angela calls those sleeping beauty Walkers “Lurkers” and I get it.  Apparently they’re a bigger deal in the comics, but I really don’t remember seeing them all that much on the actual show.  Somebody jog my memory.  

Of fucking course, you can actually see what’s happening in the inside the episode clips.  I wish we could choose to view the episode with that lighting because some of us be blind.  And this time I mean in the more literal sense.  Not the figurative one.  

Anyway.  I’m going to stop trying to write a novel for ya’ll and move on to better things.  Like maybe a nap.  Maybe some early dinner.  I don’t know.  I’m tired AF and need a little recharge.    

Before I go, though?  Overall impression of the episode?  I liked it.  There were parts that I loved (all the ladies being badass, every second of Carol, Daryl reuniting with the Grimes babies and Dog, all things Princess, some of Negan’s one-liners about had me busting a gut, Rosita serving looks, Kelly and Lydia getting to be badass too) and parts I didn’t love (not being able to see a damn thing, Angela trying to tip the scales in Negan’s favor, not enough Carol or Aaron or Rosita, no reunion between Aunt Carol and the Grimes babies even though that picture floating around suggests it was at least shot, not being able to see a damn thing, all the Alexandria people playing follow the leader for Maggie when she’s been gone 6 years and Daryl’s right there--hell, even Father G deserves the honor over her because it’s obvious they’re not exactly on the same wavelength anymore).  

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m just glad to have our show back.    

Later, lovelies.  

[myqualitycollectioncrown]

Kizer Gemini Review

Our recent review of the Kizer Splinter generated quite a bit of interest so we’re following up with a closer look at another titanium folder from Kizer – the Kizer Gemini (Ki3471). Designed by custom knife maker Ray Laconico and based on his popular Jasmine model, this is a daily carry you’ll love to fondle, flip, and show off.

>> Check out the Kizer Gemini at AMAZON <<

People can debate the virtue of purchasing a product made overseas, spending your dollars where they won’t help local business. What can’t be debated, however, is the quality of the knives being produced out of the Chinese factory of Kizer Knives. Their machining processes are top notch, and now that they are partnering with some of the best custom knife makers in the world, those machines are pumping out some absolutely fantastic products.

The Gemini is equal parts beauty and beast, with artfully shaped titanium handles, blue anodized hardware that pops, and a gorgeous blade that flips like a dream. Kizer has reached the next level with their newest offerings, and you’ll agree when you hold the Gemini in your hand.

Kizer Gemini

Blade

Handle

Design

Value for Money

Slick!

Kizer does it again with another finely crafted gentleman’s folder that offers great value

Key Specs

Blade length: 3.125 inches

Overall length: 7.25 inches

Closed length: 4.125 inches

Weight: 3.65 ounces

Blade material: CPM-S35VN

Handle material: Titanium

Locking mechanism: Frame Lock

County of origin: China

Price range: About $170

The Blade

What a beauty. Ray designed the drop point blade of the Gemini to serve as a perfect EDC cutting tool, but he did it with an eye for aesthetics as well. The blade has an almost teardrop shape, with a slow, gentle curve in the spine that drops to the tip, and an almost symmetrical cutting side.

A full flat grind compliments this blade shape perfectly, adding to both the utility cutting power and the simple beauty that the design achieves. The only design “flourish” Ray included for the blade is a very subtle swedge on the spine towards the tip of the knife.

Unlike the Splinter, Kizer kept the logos to an absolute minimum for the Gemini, just their new tasteful brand etched at the base of the blade on the spine side, the model number on the flipper side, and the steel designation right above the handle on the blade stock before the grind. Ray Laconico’s name is also etched into the spine.

Like the Splinter, Kizer is once again using the formidable CPM-S35VN steel which continues to grow in in popularity. Outside the laboratory, S35VN is virtually identical to the massively popular S30V in almost every conceivable way. For the knifemaker, S35VN is easier to machine but both steels are essentially indistinguishable in real world usage. What you get is arguably the ultimate dollar-for-dollar balance of edge retention, toughness and corrosion resistance on the market today.

A polished stone wash treatment does wonders to hide any kind of light scratching you’ll get from using the knife for EDC tasks, and continues the trend of muted beauty Ray intended from a design standpoint.

Overall, the Kizer Gemini has one of the most understated yet beautiful blades I’ve seen from Kizer to date, and I hope they keep up the amazing work.

Handle and Ergonomics

Much like the rest of the knife, the Gemini’s handle is simplistic beauty itself. Laconico is well known for his perfectly sculpted handles, and Kizer enacted his vision with precision. The Gemini has 6AL4V titanium handle slabs that have been rounded completely to the edges and chamfered to prevent hot spots. There is a natural swell in the middle of the handle that tapers off towards the edges, so when you’re holding the knife it fills your palm properly.

The top of the handle slabs are shaped like the top of a circle, and towards the front they cut back very slightly to form a partial finger choil, which keeps your fingers safe from sliding forward during use. The choil area isn’t nearly as pronounced as many knives in this category, and I find that this gives my hand a bit more freedom and comfort when using the blade for an extended task.

After the finger choil the handle swells in the middle slightly before tapering to the butt of the handle. The back of the handle is fairly straight from the top until the middle, where again there is a slight swelling and then a drop off to the bottom.

The handle has been stonewashed to a dark gray, quite a bit darker than the blade color, which does a good job of hiding marks and fingerprints, and creating a cool color scheme with the blade.

On the locking side of the handle, the lockbar cutout is extremely precise and thin, giving it a stout look and pleasing aesthetic. This handle may look simple, and it is, but it is fantastically comfortable to hold and use, without the need for an extreme finger choil or sharp gimping to hold your hand in place.

Deployment and Lockup

There’s another new trend taking place at Kizer’s factories that is improving on some issues they’ve had in the past with detents. The detent is a small design element that holds the blade closed, usually on the lockbar. The Gemini has an excellent detent, it’s strong enough to ensure fast deployment with just about any touch on the flipper, without being so strong that your finger gets sore from using it. As you’ll see below, the lockbar, however, is less forgiving.

Even when it’s brand spanking new, a time when most knives need to break in for a while, the Gemini is smooth and strong when you press the flipper tab. I was really impressed with Kizer’s other new offering, the Splinter, and I’m equally as happy with the Gemini. I mean it’s incredibly smooth. The flipper tab is fairly small compared to other knives of this size, and it is located just above the pivot instead of parallel or below, which increases the amount of force applied to the blade and makes for a faster, stronger action.

When the blade flies out and reaches the external stop pin on the Gemini, the lockbar squeezes shut and the steel lockbar insert makes contact with the blade. Without doubt, the lockup on this knife is strong, so strong in fact that I got a sore thumb from repeatedly opening and closing the knife. With such a strong lockup you can pretty much forget about having any kind of blade play, and that’s a point in the Gemini’s favor, but the discomfort your thumb will feel when you are closing the blade might argue with that.

Features, Fit & Finish

If you were to remove all of the logos from the blade and hand this knife to a serious collector, I’m willing to wager that they’d have trouble telling you that this isn’t a custom or mid-tech. That is largely due to Kizer’s quality control, because they seem to be doing a bang-up job making sure that nothing leaves their shop without a thorough inspection. The China stamp is no longer a guarantee of poor quality.

Centering on my Gemini was dead on, the stonewash on the blade and handle was immaculate and all of the hardware and the backspacer were seamless and well done. I really can’t think of a serious problem I have with the Fit and Finish here, really impressive stuff.

In terms of features, I’ll list a few of the things that make the Gemini stand out from the crowd: beautiful custom titanium pivot and hardware that has been anodized a striking blue color, caged ceramic bearings, ceramic detent ball, adjustable stainless steel lock bar insert and over-travel stop, anodized titanium pocket clip, and a titanium partial backspacer.

The anodized titanium hardware gives an otherwise fairly plain knife an eye-popping splash of color and the pivot design draws the eye. The ceramic bearings and detent ball are the pinnacle of flipping smoothness, paired with the stainless lockbar insert to ensure sturdy security during use, and the overtravel stop keeps the lockbar from bending too far out.

The pocket clip is a lighter blue than the hardware, which creates a cool difference in blues much like the handle and blade color pattern, and it rides really well in the pocket.

Finally we have a partial titanium backspacer, and this is my new favorite way of incorporating a backspacer. It’s small enough that you can easily clean your knife of dust or dirt with a paper towel or compressed air, but it’s large enough to add some sturdiness to the knife.

Overall, Ray really packed the Gemini to the gills full of cool little features that would normally only be found on much more expensive stuff.

Field Test

The full flat grind on the Gemini is impressive. I found myself carrying this guy to the kitchen with me every day just to use it, and making excuses why I had to chop another onion or peel another potato. When I do these field tests, I ask myself to honestly assess what I think the knife is best suited for, and even though the lockup is super stout, the ergonomics are very comfortable, and the blade is sharp, I just don’t see this knife as a hard user or a “tactical” tool.

The lack of a deep finger choil and serious traction on the handle means it could get slippery if wet, so in my mind the Gemini falls squarely into the EDC and Gentleman’s knife categories. So, for testing, I limited myself to rope and paracord cuts, kitchen tasks, and of course package and cardboard cutting.

Like I mentioned earlier, this knife shines in the kitchen, and because it’s all titanium and highly stainless steel, don’t worry about getting rust spots or discoloration anywhere, and feel free to wash it however you want. The blade also cruised through paracord with ease, and did a fairly good job on 1/4″ hemp rope.

Packages and cardboard may as well be butter for the drop point Gemini, but when it came to opening mail it felt a little clunky, because the blade may only be 3.125″ long, but it’s actually quite broad for its size and therefore will excel more at slicing than it will at piercing.

Alternatives

Immediately on thinking about alternatives, my mind leapt to one of ZT’s new offerings this year, the ZT 0808. Both of these knives are titanium framelocks, both are excellent flippers with steel lockbar inserts, both have CPM-S35VN blades that excel at slicing, and both are based off of custom designer’s popular models.

The 0808 is based off of a Todd Rexford design, which is instantly recognizable when you see the hourglass shaped handle. Instead of a graceful teardrop type drop point like the Gemini, the 0808 has a modified drop point that is actually a bit better at piercing, though not up to the full flat grind Gemini in slicing. The 0808 also sports a partial titanium backspacer, though it’s bigger and more intrusive than the Gemini, and while the Gemini pops with the blue hardware and clip, the 0808 is a fairly blank canvas.

Neither of these knives have insane finger choils or crazy gimping, so they are both in that same EDC category. The Gemini pulls ahead when it comes to its ceramic bearings and detent, versus the steel bearings and detent on the 0808, and the 0808 is actually about $30 more expensive, coming in around $200 brand new.

Did I mention the Gemini is also a full ounce lighter than the 0808 as well? Both of these are great values and fantastic knives, and if for whatever reason the Gemini doesn’t do it for you, take a look at the 0808.

Wrap Up

Once again we have a homerun from the new contender, Kizer. Ray Laconico has done a fantastic job translating his custom $700+ Jasmine into a fully production knife that hits all the right notes without breaking the bank. You get the chance to own a knife with features that are typically only available above the $400 range, with fit and finish that could make most American companies hang their heads in shame.

The China stamp is no longer a guarantee of poor quality.

Oh and by the way: Kizer now has an American warranty presence! That’s right, folks, you can send in your Kizer for warranty repair or replacement to an American address, without having to worry about if or when your knife will get there and be handled. Kizer is clearly a company trying to do well in the US market and so far so good in my book. Kizer may have still some way to go in posing any serious widespread threat to established outfits like Benchmade or Spyderco but quality competition like this is great for us consumers so let the good times roll!

The Good: Excellent build quality, smooth deployment, S35VN is remarkable The Bad: Lockup is stiff to disengage, not US made (if that bothers you) Bottom Line: Another superb, clean looking gentleman’s folder that represents great value

The post Kizer Gemini Review appeared first on Buy Best Knife.

from Buy Best Knife https://ift.tt/2qvVdu7 via IFTTT