CHOPRA FAMILY CHARITY RAFFLE

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*This contest has ended. If you would like to make a donation directly to the Chopra family, please contact Tuhon Bill McGrath for details.

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On May 13th I received extremely sad news from PTI’s India Director Sahil Chopra. His wife Smarika had passed away that day from Covid-19, just 20 days after giving birth to their second child. You can imagine what a devastating effect this must be having on Sahil and his family. His oldest son is just 4 years old. Sahil is serving in the Indian army and can be called away from home as the needs of the army dictate. Please pray for them.  

 

CONTEST: Everyone who purchases a PTI video from May 15th through June 15th, 2021 will be entered into a raffle to win one of the knives listed.

Each video purchased is considered one entry, with one knife allowed per winner.
(However, the Cold Steel Barong and Vulpes trainer can ship together, upon winner request).
Winners are responsible for knowing their local laws on knife ownership.

PTI MEMBERS: PTI Advanced Seminar Review videos purchased during the contest period WILL count as an entry in the contest.

After the raffle, half of the proceeds of the video sales from that period will be sent to Sahil Chopra to help with the continuing expenses of this tragic event.

I have already looked into the possibility of starting a Gofundme campaign for Sahil, but unfortunately, that organization does not operate in India.

Note: While Gofundme does not work in India, PayPal does and may be used if you wish to contribute directly to the Chopra family. I have received permission from Sahil to send his email address to those who wish to donate directly. Please PM me if you would like his email address.

PTI’s senior instructors will be holding events to try and help the family during this difficult time.

(Details on the knives in the raffle are below).

 

 

COLD STEEL MORO BARONG:
Weight: 30.1 oz.
Blade Thickness: 1/4"
Blade Length: 18"
Handle: 4 3/4" long.
Steel: 1050
Overall Length: 25”
Donated by Chad Edward from: Lower Susquehanna Modern Arnis http://wmarnis.com/schools/

VULPES TRAINING BARONG:
Handcrafted from 3/4” thick polymer stock.
22 1/2” overall length. 1 lb 3oz.
Full convex ground 17” blade with handle that is textured for enhanced grip.
Donated by Vulpes Training Tools: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VulpesTraining
 

Both Barongs won by Steve Snively of Ontario, Canada as a package due to the generous offer of the donors.

Steve's Review: The Cold Steel company in my limited opinion has always produced solid blades that can hold up to heavy use. This Moro Barong donated by Punong Guro Chad Dulin has a machete like feel to it weighing just shy of 2 lbs, but the exotic rosewood downturned handle helps offset the action of this traditional styled blade. It's overall length of 25 in. with a 18in. blade and 1/4 in. spine requires a solid grip when wielding this but it's tapered design flows smoothly in the hand. It's factory sharpened edge I'm sure can make short work of anything of the other end of your strike. The accompanying wooden rosewood scabbard pairs up very nicely with this blade, again creating that authentic look found traditionally found across the Philippines.

The Vulpes Barong Trainer donated by Chris Byron is strikingly similar to shape and size to the Cold Steel Barong obviously not having the same weight made of black polymer. It is well crafted to resemble the accurate feel and grip of a live blade but allowing for safe training practice. The 3/4 in. polymer incredible strength and sturdiness when striking training tires and handles well when co ordinating drills with a partner. I would not hesitate to encourage others to invest in the Vulpes product line. You will many years of solid training out of your purchase.

I would like to thank Tuhon Bill McGrath first for initiating the knife raffle in support of our PTI brother, Sahil Chopra, and secondly, both Mr. Chad Dulin for his kind donation of the cold steel Moro barong and Mr. Chris Byron for his donation of the Vulpes Barong Trainer.

 

 

CSSD MAGNUM BRAM BOWIE:

Won by Guillaume Williams of MO.

Guill's review: The Magnum Bram Bowie is a fine knife. Well constructed, it feels as if it can do whatever job you set it to do. The blade is razor sharp and will shave the hair off your arm easily. It feels good in the hand either forward grip or reverse grip. Bringing from your pocket with the pocket clip, the thumb hole makes it easy to open but the blade has enough mass that a flick of the wrist opens it with ease. The one feature I love most about this knife is the liner-lock on the rib instead of it on the inside of the blade. It is easier to get to and my fingers have no fear of the blade closing in on them when I close the knife from the rear. There are two options for setting your pocket clip near the pivot side of the knife on the left or the right. Now here is where I have one desire. Should I need to use this knife in self-defense, I would normally be opening it in reverse grip for a blade this size. I would like an option on the other end of the handle to facilitate drawing it in reverse grip. Luckily the size of the handle allows me just to keep it in my pocket without the clip and I can withdraw it quickly with the side down which I prefer. It does open up very easily in reverse grip which is a plus. I inted to keep this knife for many years and perhaps give it to one of my grandkids one day and I say this as someone who makes his own fixed blade knives for several years now. I highly recommend this folding knife to anyone who is looking for a well constructed durable knife.

 

 

CSSD MYSO:

CSSD MYSO:
Standard Size measures 4.25 inches closed, and 7.125 inches open, with a 2.875 inch blade. 
8cr13Mov steel (Chinese AUS-8) @ 56-58 RK
Proprietary G10 Handles
Liners: Full hard steel
Dual access super polished pivot pin
Compound puzzle lock: dove tail joint into blade
Donated by Bram Frank at CDDS Knives: https://www.cssd-sc.com/categories/

Won by PTI CT Jason Bugg of Houston, TX.

Jason's review: When Tuhon asked me write a few comments on the blade I received, I was more than happy to oblige.

When I received the Bram Frank MySo blade from Tuhon I was excited and pleasantly surprised. This folder is a high quality production folder. It has a nice black matted finish and the signature Frank Bram logo on the blade. I have a lot of live blades (like most Pekiti practitioners), but this is my first Bram blade. As I began to explore the blade I honestly had to look up a few things about it because there are familiar components, but with a slight twist. The first thing one notices when they see the blade is the distinctive Ramp design. It looked familiar to me because I resembles the wave design on several of my Emerson folders, but the clip design doesn’t accommodate a tip up carry in your pocket so the Ramp isn’t designed to deploy in that manner. What it is designed for is what Bram calls a Kinetic opening. The second interesting thing are the indexing spots that act as kinesthetic reference when reorienting the blade by touch only.

The size is a little too small for my hands, so it joined my wife’s other everyday carry items I’ve given her. Her HideAway knife, tactical flashlight and now a Bram folder. Thank you for allowing me to comment on this blade and offering the drawing to support our fellow PTI family members around the world.

 

 

HOGUE SPECIAL EDITION EX02 FLIPPER KNIFE:

HOGUE SPECIAL EDITION EX02 FLIPPER KNIFE:
This knife was designed by custom knife maker and FMA practitioner Allen Elishewitz for the PTK group in San Antonio, TX (who very kindly gave it to me during my visit there). The knife has the PTK logo etched onto the blade and the PTK shield inset into the handle.
Overall Length:7.875"
Blade Length:3.375"
Cutting Edge:3.25"
Blade Thickness:0.15"
Blade Material:154CM
Hardness:57-59 RC
Blade Style:Spear Point
Blade Grind:Flat
Finish:Black
Liner lock with flipper
Donated by PTI

Won by Dean Franco of NY

Dean's review: I recently acquired the Hogue Special Edition EXO2 Flipper Knife thru a raffle I participated in. The pictures of it presented in the raffle do not do it justice ! This knife while ornate in appearance is solidly built . The black casing with the black blade and the PTK insignias both on handle and blade make it extra special. The flipper mechanism is nice and fluid with no impingement far as deployment. The but end has a indexed point for blunt weapon use . The grip is comfortable with a nice index finger placement. The lockout mechanism is right and secure . Overall very happy with knife and would recommend to anyone.

 

COLD STEEL KOBUN:

COLD STEEL KOBUN:
Weight: 4.4oz
Blade Thickness: 3.5mm
Blade Length: 5-1/2"
Blade Steel: Japanese AUS8A Stainless
Handle Length/Material: 4-3/8" Kray-Ex™
Overall Length: 9-7/8"
Additional Features: Secure-Ex® Sheath
Donated by PTI

Won by Paul Henchir of MA.

Paul's review: It is an extremely nice knife, sharp and the weight is perfect. I started practicing as soon as it was out of the box!

 

CRKT FOLTS MINIMALIST TANTO
Blade Length 2.13" (53.98 mm)
Blade Edge Plain
Blade Steel 5Cr15MoV
Blade Thickness 0.11" (2.79 mm)
Overall Length 5.13" (130.30 mm)
Weight 1.60 oz. (45.36g)
Handle Polished Resin Infused Fiber
Sheath Material Polypropylene
Sheath Weight 0.50 oz. (14.17g)
Donated by PTI

For Pekiti-Tirsia Basic videos, visit: https://pekiti.com/collections/all/basic-videos?sort_by=price-ascending#MainContent

For PTI Member Advanced Seminar Review videos: https://pekiti.com/collections/all/advanced-videos#MainContent

In Brotherhood,
Tuhon Bill McGrath