A little spruce-up

HTML codes
I know next to nothing about HTML programming.
When I set up the Malaysia Knife Forums a couple of years ago, I took a crash course on building a header for the Forums. 
This was to give it an identity of its own.
Later, Eric Wong, my buddy had helped out in designing a logo for the Malaysia Knife Forums.
When I did the Foldies Forum, it was bare.
I tweaked a bit with the HTML codes, which turned out to be a disaster.

Internet resources
I found a website that gave hands-on tutorial on HTML codes for forums.
This allowed me to experiment with different fonts and aligning the header by using the given codes. 
Well, basicall, it was 'cut and paste' thing and through tweaking here and there, I managed to get the words up.

Fonts and graphics
I had no issue building the font to its desired size.
But, the graphics has proven to be a challenge. A lot of pop art on the internet are copyrighted and I found the image of a bicycle for this purpose.
Although it was not a folding bike, its a start...

The header, still in its crude stage, but its as good as it gets...

A long way to go...
I am no artist and I think we have a long way to go in terms of getting things right. 
When the foldies forums was set up, we had a handful of people, mainly friends who had lend their support. 
I did asked around about doing the header, but no response. I guess people expect to get paid, well, that won't work - especially when Malaysian Foldies is a free forum.
Hopefully, there are talented people out there who can contribute to spruce up the looks of the forums. 
And since we've migrated from the Google Groups, things are looking really good! 

Strider MSS

Tiger-striped knives
My first brush with Strider Knives was back in 2000.
I was at the New York Custom Knife Show (NYCKS) which was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan, NYC.
There was this table with some tiger-striped knives, mostly tanto-tipped blades, namely - the BT and BT-SS.
At that time, I had no tiger-striped finish and parachute cord-wrapped knives.


2001 Strider MF-S
I grew fond of small-sized utility knives.
One that caught my attention was the Strider MF-S which was offered as a pair with a Surefire M-2 Millennium Combat light.
The pair was sold at USD$400.
Even in the early days, a hollow-ground Strider MF-S would command a price of USD$200 a pop.
Today, if you can get hold of one, its a collector's item.
I picked up my MF-S double cord-wrapped knife from Matt Donohue of Matt D Tactical in 2003.
It was one of my earliest Strider knife.

A review I wrote on the MF-S 

Bigger and better
Years has passed and I have always been dreaming of a slightly longer version of the MF-S.
Parachute cord handles are not suitable especially when you deal with the hot and humid climate here in Malaysia.
The answer, is a G-10 thermoplastic scale.
Now, a few people had their MF-S customised with a G-10 slab and the people who did it were very good at doing so.
Last month, while browsing through Plazacutlery.com's new items link, I saw the MSS. A longer version of the MF-S.
I wasted no time in contacting Dan Delavan, the store's owner who told me that he had a few of the knives in stock.
The moment I knew I had a fighting chance in scoring one, I made the call.
Dan was generous enough to ship the knife together with a Strider Rogue Warrior Tee-shirt to Malaysia.
This was my second Strider knife I bought from Plaza and its been a good working relationship.


Customs and permit
It took more than a week for the knife to arrive in Malaysia from the US.
The moment it hit our shores, I received a love letter from the PMK KLIA in Sepang.
It stated that I need to apply for a permit.
Having owned one, I went to the PMK and arranged to have it processed.
The Poslaju people earned RM18 from me for the paperwork while the Customs released the knife without no questions asked.
A letter from the Bukit Aman licensing department says it all.
I walked away with my new knife without flinching.

The MSS in its sheath with the MF-S beside it..

Robustly-built: Strider's utility knives - the MSS and MF-S

A good impression
Having lugged some of Mick Strider's knives in the jungle, I don't have any doubts on the built quality of his knives.
They are built like a tank and can take the abuse.
The MSS is no different.
I love the length, its G-10 handles and the Eagle Industries sheath which allows you to rig it for a low ride on your belt.
Best of all, is the sharpness. It shaves and can maintain an edge.
Once dulled, its easy to bring back its edge with a proper knife sharpener.
To me, all my prayers were answered on the MSS.
Its longer than the MF-S, which makes it really formidable in the jungle.
The G-10 grips felt really good on the hand and best of all, the blade length is really suitable to carry out some really hard cutting chores in the jungle.


Seeing is believing
Its hard to judge this piece by looking at the photo alone.
You've got to handle it to dig what I have to say.
So, if you have the chance, give the MSS a try!

Congratulations Shawal!

King of the track
I received a phone-call from Johnny Ng of My Bicycle shop.
He was elated with Shawal Shafee's win on the Folding Bike category race at the SIC Kencana Bike Day.
Shawal beat at least 20 cyclists to clinch the title in the category which he is also defending.

Congratulations: Shawal (right) after the race

Fastest man on a foldie: Shawal Shafee

 Sponsored cyslist
I was told by Ng that Shawal is a sponsored cyclist.
He rode a Dahon Dash P18 during the race and had proven to be a formidable cyclist.
"He did very well and left many of the cyclists behind during the race," said Ng.

Fastest foldie on the track
With the win, there's no doubt that Shawal will continue with his streak in similar events. 
I will be writing a feature about him in BaikBike soon.