SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

Everyday Carry Hank Worth Carrying

A handkerchief also known as a “Hank” has renewed an old tradition of a man’s everyday carry option. I remember my grandfather would never be found without a hank in his pocket. A tradition passed down to my dad and at one point attempted to be passed down to me. I have numerous white hanker chiefs buried in my sock drawer. Usually, they only see the light of day on weddings or funerals where tears likely would be shed. Over the past few years, I started carrying bandannas instead of a hank for everyday use. That is until I was introduced to a real hank, now the bandannas will get lost in the drawer as well. Men, in general, are messy humans; we need hanks to manage our daily lives. Whether it be for a bloody, I mean a runny nose, or perhaps to wipe the wing sauce out of our beards or the grease off our hands. We usually need a way to clean ourselves on a regular basis and at times even the slobber of our best friend, our dogs. Recently I was introduced to handmade hanks that take everyday carry to a whole new level. Instead of a thin bandanna that gets dirty easily, these hanks are durable, double-sided and stylish. Even if the hank remains clean all day, it provides a perfect place for the end of the day pocket dump. I sometimes shy away because I don’t want to be too ‘showy-offy’ but the older I get I think, ‘You […]

Why Every Man Needs a Cave Full of Broken Men

Over the last couple of years, I like many of my male friends have sought out fellow cave dwellers. Now I am not referring to the cavemen that grunt and scratch themselves. I am talking about the men that lean on each other and sharpen each other as we struggle through life. I have attended a men’s group called That Man is You on Wednesday mornings at my church. It is a group of between 30 and 50 Catholic men that watch a 30-minute video of the week then spend about 30 minutes discussing the points of the film and anything else that may come up in discussions. Many times the topic itself gets replaced by real issues we are dealing with personally. Why Every Man Needs a Cave Full of Broken Men Click To Tweet Although that group has fed me over the past couple of years, I have longed for more. I became involved in conversations with men in a Facebook group called the Real man Cave. This is a group of guys from around the country that really press into one another. It is a safe place to discuss manly topics and also be held accountable. No topic has been off-limits as we have discussed things like finances, marriage, addictions and more. I also came across a website that also has a mobile app called ManUp God’s Way. A place where men from all over can share as well as be challenged. I use the app regularly to share with others, read […]

2015 Reader Survey Results as Provided by You

Let me just start out by saying, my readers are incredible. I am truly blown away and humbled by the responses to my annual reader survey. The survey results are in and I would like to share some of the thoughts with you. Those of you that took the time to answer know what was up for grabs, the prize package and the winner of the prize package will be announced later in this post. Before we get to all that excitement, let me share some of the awesome things you guys and gals said that will help me mold the 2016 blogging year. For time and well consideration for you, my readers I will be providing only some of the comments as well as some interesting statistics. So here we go, for the 2015 Reader Survey Results as provided by you. What is the gender of my readers? This was a close one Female 52.63% Male 47.37 How often do you visit SecondIron’s Blog? Every time I receive the email from subscription -23.08% Whenever I get around to it -10.26% Every once in a while but not regularly – 41.03% This is my first time just to join the contest -17.95% Only when a topic is of interest -7.69% What would you like to see changed in 2016 for SecondIron’s Blog? Leadership posts for a slightly younger audience. Content geared toward men. Catholic perspective on things. More personality. More faith-filled, God inspired prayers that have been answered. Something you could do without? Less super-Catholic posts […]