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The Improvised Shoulder Rig
A knife can go into a sheath. A pistol can fit into a holster. The belt is ubiquitous, but mix these elements together and add a pouch or two, and you start to get into the concept of a rig. The origins of this particular use of the word probably come from the reference to a parachute and all of the nylon and metal harnessing that goes with it. A rigger is a person who is trained to pack, maintain and repair parachutes. These tasks require an understanding of fabrics, hardware, webbing, regulations, sewing, etc, thus riggers often spent a lot of time working on customizing and modifying other gear - especially when it is made of the same elements. I have a few pieces of kit that are "rigger-built" - that is custom kit made for someone in spec ops to meet their specific needs for a mission.
A great example of a rigger can be seen in the movie, Rescue Dawn. He is the guy in the beginning that modifies Dieter's boot to hold a passport and his poncho to be a sleeping system.
For the simplicity of our purposes here, let's just say a rig is your kit - personally modified to meet an operational need or preference.
Tanto Shoulder Rig
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Neck Knife Survival Rig
I bought this rig off eBay a few years ago and it was my first introduction to Michael Billman Knives. Mike is a a knife maker, but his primary specialty is creating after-market sheaths for high-end production and custom knives that really turn them into complete survival solutions.
Mora Knife Rig - note Swedish fire steel on the side
Rig with the blade out
Spine of blade is squared off to allow for better sparking with the fire steel
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WSK (Wilderness Survival Knife) or Tracker Rigs
Tracker Rig, with Swedish steel fire starter and nylon cord wrap - Custom work by Michael Billman Knives
When The Hunted came out in 2003, it exposed the movie-going world to one of the most famous knives of the custom survival knife scene. If there is such a scene. Probably is . . . maybe they all hang out and have coffee at the Blade shows.
The WSK was initially a collaborative knife with Tom Brown, the famous tracker and naturalist, and David R. Beck of Beck Knives. The knife was made by Beck originally, then licensed to Tops Knives and made briefly by Beck again. Whew! The original Becks go for quite a pretty penny on eBay, when they are available.
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