A quality multi-use pocket knife could be an indispensable item of one’s business or leisure travel kit, especially if one needs to use mass transit in some USA urban environments nowadays. Crime and cultural decay are no joke.
Multi-use Pocket Knife
TooBuff4Thisss posted a reel on Facebook by Civilian Tactical on YouTube regarding a James-Bond-esque multi-use Pocket Knife Gun (for big pockets). I guess this concept has been around for a few hundred years, at least since the 16th Century. But, my point is not the history of the implement!
A Knife You May Bring to a Gun Fight
There’s that saying, “never bring a knife to a gun fight.” It also relates to the iconic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) where Indiana Jones shoots a swordsman.
However, this is one knife in which you may bring to a gun fight. Although I’m not certain, Civilian Tactical might be discussing the MG-22 Revolver Knife in that reel (a .22 LR caliber, the same caliber as my Ruger 10/22 Carbine rifle; at $1,500, it is much more expensive, though).
Ohio-based Meligun, LLC
Given Meligun, LLC is located about 75 miles from me, over in North Ridgeville, Ohio (a southwest Cleveland suburb), I thought I’d write a blurb to recognize it.
So, in short, Meligun is a brand specializing in innovative knife-gun hybrids, specifically featuring precision-engineered revolvers concealed within knife handles. It produces these handcrafted weapons defensive implements in the USA, targeting tactical professionals, collectors, and survivalists.
Below is the source video clip, for convenience, if you didn’t visit the Facebook or YouTube links provided previously.
Nevertheless, the reel, for me, was essentially a reminder that these things still exist, and could be something to consider adding to your travel kit or person when in urban or other shady areas, since people really need to defend themselves, which is a good development, actually. We have a 2nd Amendment for a reason, and believe it or not, it should not be infringed. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
This said, sometimes one’s vibe and threat awareness go a long way in deescalating potential dangerous circumstances so one doesn’t have to pull out one’s knife (and stealth gun), or what have you.
East Side Oakland Adventures
Back in the day, I remember using mass transit to go from my place in San Francisco to my gal pal’s place in Oakland (she lived in a nice neighborhood, next to a bad
neighborhood).
I’d ride BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). My exit was the Fruitvale Station in Oakland. The young gang-bangers and thugs would always gaze at me, seemingly assessing my candidacy as a target to steal my wallet and $1,000 Specialized bicycle (it ultimately got stolen in a safer, “gentrified” neighborhood in SF, when I wasn’t present).
The thugs surprisingly never engaged with me despite my being a so-called easy target (at least to untrained eyes).1
Vibes Matter
I’ve been told I might have given off a vibe in my younger days (most certainly not as an OG — but who knows?) consisting of a variant of (1) Bill Burr, (2) Dirty Harry, and (3) the infamous Tyler Durdens of Fight Club.2
Remember Tyler Durden?
I watched the movie (1999) and read the book (1996), “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk.
Here’s some interesting dialogue from the beginning of chapter 19, from mechanic—and soon-to-be organic soap maker—Tyler Durden:
‘I see the strongest and the smartest men who have ever lived,’ he says, his face outlined against the stars in the driver’s window, ‘and these men are pumping gas and waiting tables.’
I’ll skip the radical parts, but this rings true, more generally:
If we could put these men in training camps and finish training them.
All a gun does is focus an explosion in one direction.
You have a class of young strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something.3 Advertising has these people chasing cars and clothes they don’t need. Generations have been working in jobs they hate, just so they can buy what they don’t really need.
We don’t have a great war in our generation, or a great depression, but we do, we have a great war of the spirit. We have a great revolution against the culture.4 The great depression is our lives. We have a spiritual depression.
We have to show these men and women freedom by enslaving them, and show them courage by frightening them.
Napoleon bragged that he could train men to sacrifice their lives for a scrap of ribbon.
Culture and Alienation: Palahniuk & Dostoevsky
Interestingly, the interview that I linked to between Strand Magazine and Palahniuk had this as the first question posed to the author:
Andrew F. Gulli: This might be a stretch, but when reading Fight Club I was struck by themes which I felt didn’t progress as far as they could in Dostoevsky’s Notes From Underground. Mainly, the person who is alienated from society yet has a pathological urge to find meaning in life—which is very contradictory.
This is notable, as both books delve into culture, psychology, and alienation. However, the authors provide different answers to the similar problems that they identified. My opinion is Dostoevsky dealt quite well (and that’s an understatement to some learned men) with the themes presented, albeit in a novella, Notes From the Underground (1864). I think, though, he expanded on solutions in his major novels, including the one I’m currently reading.
So, it’s fair to try to encapsulate a couple of similarities and divergences of these two books in a simple Venn Diagram:
To summarize the Venn Diagram, both books begin with a similar problem: a person who feels disconnected from the world around him. But the authors develop their responses in opposite directions. Dostoevsky’s Underground Man turns inward, becoming trapped by self-analysis (analysis paralysis, in a way), while Palahniuk’s Tyler Durden turns outward, seeking liberation through destruction and rejection of social norms.
I have to say, though, Dostoevsky starts that novella off with a brilliant hook (I’ll also explore this relative to how he started the novel I’m currently reading in a future post):
I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man… I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased… No, I refuse to consult a doctor from spite. That you probably will not understand. My liver is bad, well – let it get worse!
But then again, so does Palahniuk:
Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyler’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die. For a long time though, Tyler and I were best friends. People are always asking, did I know about Tyler Durden.
Dog Packs
Actually, there might be truth to this. The vibe I might have given off, or exuded, at times.
When I was a dog whisperer for a while, one learned, or realized, that the pack of dogs somehow could sense a person’s “energy” and level of confidence. In other words, a person’s vibe.
Some of the dogs would test me — jumping at me when my gaze was turned. I’d calmly correct those, usually only one time would be necessary for them to know that that behavior wasn’t acceptable to me.
There were two female dogs that were generally shy with humans, and downright fearful of human males. Both of those dogs became close to me, although it was a slow process. Both of them would continually look at me from across the way. Then, over time, they’d get closer and closer. Finally, they would often times come to greet me and solicit a little petting. But, they were introverts, and would go settle with their dog pals after a few moments.
Two German Shepherds, which were the calm and dominant dogs (“alpha,” I guess) of the entire pack of various breeds (from big Rottweilers and muscular Pit-bulls to Labradors, little Beagles, and everything in between), took a liking to me. They’d greet meet and then watch me on-and-off during my time at the facility. If some of the other dogs began to get “amped-up,” whereby playing would begin to turn into rough play, and just before “fighting,” they’d get up and slowly come over to me and either begin circling me, or sitting on each side of me. The other dogs nearby would de-escalate their play before I even had to intervene.
I miss those German Shepherds and many of those dogs.5
Domesticated Pit Bull vs. Wild Coyote
Do you want to see how a big, bad Pit Bull had an epiphany after a brief stare-down with a smaller, wild Coyote?
Here is a clip of a wild coyote jumping the fence at a local park in California to find (maybe surprisingly) a big Pit Bull running aggressively to confront it.
Watch how the Pit Bull’s body language transitions from aggressive to “still confident,” and then to “O Lord, I’m messing with the wrong dog.”
Even though the coyote is smaller, it always displayed a confident demeanor. Once the coyote won the stare-down contest, it began to make direct attacks against the much bigger dog by darting in, biting at its ankles and hind quarters, then retreating.
I’m not sure whether the coyote intended to engage with the dog as a way to preemptively defend its territory or nearby den (especially if it had young pups). That video was from mid-May, which is in the middle of pup-rearing season for coyotes. Also, the territories of coyotes expand a wide area, not just the brush and wilderness. So, if it considers a big dog a potential threat to its den, pups, or territory, then it might attack like it did in the video clip.
Another possibility is the coyote was simply traveling a typical route back to its den, jumped the fence to cross the park and enter into the brush, but the dog unexpectedly confronted it. In that scenario, it would have been defending itself while actually positioning itself for a safe retreat and escape.
My opinion is slightly weighted towards the latter. Or, a combination of the three scenarios (it was on its way to its den, the park is part of its territory, and it has pups at its den).
Normally, coyotes will not prey on bigger dogs. Also, the coyote wasn’t trying to kill the dog.
End result: the coyote exuded confidence while being the physically weaker of the two animals (but mentally stronger). So, maybe Sun Tzu’s famous maxim applies here, at least with respect to the coyote:
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
Anyway, the comments to that video are golden:
- The pit lost in those first 10 seconds when he flinched and showed fear.
- That stare down was brutal. Pit Bull went from King of the Hill to Little Red Riding Hood in about 12 seconds.
- The difference between an animal that has to feed itself vs an animal that has a food bowl.
- That dog is getting roasted at the next poker game.
- [The owner] only stepped in when he realized his Pit Bull wasn’t as tough as he thought it was.
- This reminds me of gym bros that workout to look tough, until someone that’s really tough shows up lol
- Where’s a chihuahua [or stray cat] when you need one?
- Pitbull was like…”That ain’t the neighbors dog”
- That fence hop was smooth af.
- The fact the coyote jumped the fence tells me he wanted ALL the smoke.
- Pitbull scared. Owner scared. A cat woulda slapped all three of them.
- Pit Bull lost the stare-down contest. Wild is always more savage than domesticated.
Closing Words
In summary, this multi-use pocket knife, the Meligun MG-22 (Made in the USA!), could be an indispensable item for one’s travel kit — especially if said travels require an excursion in or through East Cleveland (a separate city from Cleveland), East Side Oakland, South Side Chicago (Chiraq), and such.
Having innate confidence and being aware of one’s environment is important. It also won’t hurt to channel your inner coyote. And, for an external confidence booster, consider carrying a multi-use pocket knife, like that MG-22 Meligun, or an even better defensive implement.
Lastly, don’t forget, “never bring just a knife to a gun fight,” as Indiana Jones demonstrated.
Footnotes
- I should mention, I was generally the only white dude at that East Side Oakland exit. ↩︎
- The plural, “Durdens,” is correct. I won’t expand upon this, lest I spoil the plot for any of my dear readers! ↩︎
- Claire Cain Miller at The New York Times also wrote about the systemic challenges males face in our society in a May 2025 article titled, “It’s Not Just a Feeling: Data Shows Boys and Young Men Are Falling Behind.” ↩︎
- The culture is corrupt, and morally bankrupt; our Constitution has be trampled upon, particularly by the Supreme Court, Congress, and most (really all) states over many generations. ↩︎
- Astonishingly to me, the dog owned by the designated dog trainer (for clients) was one of the worst behaving dogs. It wasn’t aggressive; it just wouldn’t listen to basic commands, even from his owner. I had little confidence (or respect, actually) for that particular dog owner and trainer. ↩︎
