Monday, September 16, 2013

It’s Kydex Time!

I’ve started fooling around with Kydex again.  I bought some thicker Kydex at the Blade Show and made my first knife sheath out of it.

I’ve owned an original DPX HEST designed by Robert Young Pelton for several years.  I like the knife.  It’s a nice size fixed blade knife: a three-inch carbon steel blade with a four-inch handle.  The knife has a built-in bottle opener and pry bar as well as a small compartment in the handle for survival gear, like folded twenties or fish hooks.  Hey, you survive your way and I'll survive my way.

Kydex sheath that comes with DPX HEST
DPX HEST Original sheath.  Laughing skull in ball cap is Pelton's trademark. 


The original sheath doesn't have a belt loop.  What it has is paracord you use to lash the sheath to your belt.  I was never comfortable with that.  It’s better than simply slipping it in your pocket, 
Other side of knife
Reverse side of knife and sheath.  The washer is to undo the screws in the handle.  Clever, huh?
but it always seemed like an easy way to lose the knife.  Maybe that was the Pelton’s idea.

In the fictional world of Matt Helm, Matt explains to the readers that most undercover agents don’t carry a sidearm in a holster.  Why?  Because you can ditch a gun fast enough, but it might be a little hard explaining why someone claiming to be a harmless tourist is wearing an empty holster.

Maybe the same thing applies to this knife.  Imagine you’re traveling through areas of the world where every other mile another thug claims to be the Supreme Warlord and National President-Elect-for-Life and he has no use for the papers and visas you’re carrying.  If you have to, slip the paracord loose and the knife falls away from you and it becomes easier to convince this or the next warlord you are completely harmless.  No difficult sheath to explain.

Still, I need to hang on to my knife a little longer, so I got out the Kydex and spent a few hours re-learning how to do it.  It’s not perfect, far from it.  
My first attempt in Kydex this year
I got some thicker Kydex and started to work with it.  I just got all black Chicago screws that need to be cut to length and then I'll replace the bright aluminum screws.
The belt loop fits an impossibly thick belt.  I've got to get a thinner form.  Most of my rivets, grommets and Chicago screws are too short.  I just squeaked by with what I have.  The 0.1 inch thick Kydex has a larger radius of bending as compared to my thin blue stuff, so most of my forms don’t work.  It’s also a lot stiffer, so most of the methods I use to lock a knife in a sheath don’t work as well.

I need to work on a thinner belt loop
The thick kydex bends differently and I need a thinner form to shape my belt loops.
Still, I’m happy with the results.  The set of French curves I bought last year really helps in setting out the cut and grind lines as does my band saw and the new-to-me belt sander.  I’ll continue to make sheaths.  I’ve got a sweet little South African dagger that needs a sheath so I can carry it.



Tuesday, September 3, 2013

What's a Collection?



About a year ago I wrote about box cutters.  I had bought an older box cutter from W.T. Rogers Co.  It cleaned up nice and I also had a box cutter I used in high school so I figured the two of them were worth a few hundred words. 

 
collection of box openers
Rogers box cutter, the start of my collection

While I was attempting, much in vain, to discover a little bit about the Rogers box cutter I remembered a cutter I had gotten at Lincoln Electric.  That made three.  That left me with a nagging suspicion I had a collection of box cutters.   

We’ve all read about people with the collecting bug that can’t seem to find a niche.  One day their heirs find that they had 2 of these and 7 of those and a couple of everything else, but not one complete set of anything.


So how many of anything makes a collection?


Can we assume it takes more than one?  How about two?  Two is just a pair at best so it’s got to be more than two.  Three is right at the edge of collecting, especially if there is some geographical or chronological difference among all three members of the proto-collection. 


Four.  It takes four objects with something in common to start a collection.


It’s official!  I took the plunge and bought a fourth box opener.  I’ve transitioned from being an accidental collector to purposefully collecting box openers.  


I was at a flea market and saw one in a box of stuff.  It said Jim Beam on it.  The red coloration on the sleeve was in good shape, no nicks from being carried with pocket change or being dropped, and the metal blade holder had a small touch of rust that cleaned up nicely.  (See, I’m already using jargon like sleeve and blade holder, a sure sign of collecting!)

The addition of this red box openers made my collection a real collection
Jim  Beam box opener. Now my collection is on firm ground.

Unfortunately the Beam box opener is completely sterile.  The box opener is completely void of the name of the distributor, manufacturer or any other identifying marks.  Zip! Nada! Nothing!  Clearly a covert box opener!  If it was black it would be tactical.

There may be a database out there somewhere, but I’d hazard a guess it doesn’t exist.  

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Glass City Knife Show



Toledo isn’t that far away.  I know several great restaurants and attractions so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice to skip the weekend yard work and put the chore list away and head out to the first annual Glass City Knife Show.


My only question at this time is “Will there be a second one?”


The show was great.  The empty aisles made for easy walking and the dealers were happy to talk with anyone who wasn’t a fellow vendor.



Saturday morning Glass City Knife Show
We arrived at the show at 9:30.  It opened at 9:00.


I stopped at Spartan Blades.  They make high-end fixed blades with the extreme needs of the military in mind.  I stopped to find out more about their unique CQB tool.  Here’s the inside story.


You don’t just send people to war without providing mission specific training.  One of the frequent observations in mock drills and actual urban combat is you’re going in through doors while other people are trying to come out the same door.  Following these collisions you may end up on the ground wrestling with someone who wants to kill you.  Firearms are not always useful as your buddies can’t shoot them off you and your weapon is often trapped between you and the bad guy.  You need a knife.

CQB Spartan blades
I stole this from the internet, but the actual CQB Tool and sheath is way cooler!
Special Forces were taking half a pair of scissors, grinding sharp edges and carrying them high near the midline of their vest. The large ring made for a useful no-slip grip with gloves.   

Spartan Blades recognized the need and developed their CQB Tool.  The blade is 2.8 inches of sharpened 154cm steel attached to an almost skeltonized handle with a ring.  Spartan tempers the blade to 57-58 HRC.  The Kydex sheath can be lashed to a molle vest with para cord.  

Experience taught the military high center line is the best place.  To stay in practice (you want stay sharp with life-saving skills), a trainer is available and it fits the sheath, so once you’ve gotten it in place you can just move the live blade out and the practice knife in.  Very convenient! 
 

So now you know about the knife inspired by broken scissors.


I have been looking for a neck knife for some time.  I wanted something sedate, but with a classy sheath.  I found what I was looking for at Lee Beene’s table.  Lee is from Mesa Arizona and has a wide line of interesting knives, canes and gun holsters. But I only had eyes for a polished bone handle knife in a manta ray sheath.
My neck knife from th eGlass City Knife Show
Polished horn handle (I believe) and manta ray sheath.

The 2-inch blade is a fine steel file that has been cut and sports a shallow hollow grind.  The handle is polished bone, but I think it’s actually horn.  It has a translucent gradient of color I’ve never seen in bone.   I’m a little disappointed there’s no maker mark on the knife, but you find your treasures where you find them.


You can find Lee’s website at www.leecutlery.com


Mikey Yurco had a table set up and it’s always fun to stop and talk with Mickey.  He’s a very innovative knife maker who brings his martial arts experience to his designs.  He’s not afraid to experiment and produces a wide variety of blades and sharply pointed objects.  

We had a nice discussion of knife carry modes for self-defense and the need to be able to access a knife with either hand.  It’s a difficult task to develop a high degree of dexterity in both hands.  As Mickey says “I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous.” 


I especially like the knife Mickey designed for Boker.  It’s saddled with the clumsy name of 'Boker Plus Yurco.'  A trainer is available for this knife in either aluminum or red plastic.  If you get a trainer, get the red plastic.  The red and blue colors are associated with police and military practice gear.  More on this knife at a later date.


I found out Mickey is quite a fan of para cord and has several interesting knots and applications for them.  I especially enjoyed his Dragon knot.



Blind Horse was there.  They are making quite a splash for themselves.  My wife owns their orange-handled Colt knife she uses in the kitchen.  It’s very nice.  I have been noticing their combination leather and Kydex sheaths. 
 
Wide range of knives from Blind Horse Knives
I really like the combo sheath to the far right.  It's a leather/Kydex combination with a fire starting stick.
The blade doesn’t jiggle in the sheath or make noise when you draw the knife and the blade is protected from salty, corrosive sweat.  The sheath protects you from accidental punctures from slips, falls and improper knife reholstering. You can visit their website at www.blindhorseknives.com/index.htm
 

I don’t buy a lot of custom-made knives for myself.   The prices are too steep and there always seems to be a better use of the funds.  This show was different.  Phil Booth from Ithaca Michigan makes little folding knives he calls Twerps. 

Phil Booth's Twerps at Glass City Knife Show
Phil had two Twerps and I later bought the top one.  I liked the overall look of the top one better.  If the lower one had a finishing bar in the groove I would have bought that one instead.

The 2-inch blade is a flat grind with a high grind line and a false edge made from 154 CM stainless steel.  Phil uses thrust bearings to make the blade glide open and the knife has the customary snap when opening or closing the blade.  The almost lime green handle is G10 and he incorporated a moonglow spacer.  


Moonglow?   It’s a plastic with long life phosphorescence.  You’ve got to love phosphorescence.  It’s associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions.  It just sounds so science fiction!


Even without the moonglow, I had to have one.



Will there be a second Glass City show?  I hope so, but that's one tough question.   Stanahan Hall in Toledo is beautiful.   Crystal chandeliers illuminate the area, the restrooms are neat and clean and carpeting on the floor and the suspended ceiling keeps the noise down.  But….. 


Glass City Knife Show three hours later
We left around noon, and this is what attendance looked like.  The vendors still out numbered the customers.

A table was a $135 for half day Friday, all day Saturday and most of Sunday.  Most people have to sell a lot of knives to have a profit of $135 plus room and board for two nights and three days.  Advertising was bad, actually criminal.  There wasn’t a sign out front where traffic could see it.  The hall had a message board-like sign but the knife show had to share billing with several plays and other activities.  Parking was plentiful, but in back of the building, so no one knew anything was going on.

Steam punk knife at Glass City Knife show
A  Stream Punk knife.  I think these are great.  They remind me of the days of Super Science Fiction where engineers and scientists cobbled together machines and devices and won the day and the girl.  And if she didn't work out, they'd build a new one!!!
Fliers were passed out at several gun and knife shows as advertisement.  I got one at WRCA’s knifeshow in the spring.  I’m not sure this is the best bang for the advertising buck.  The dealers needed a lot of foot traffic.  I’ve read books on selling that indicate you’ll make one sale for every ten cold calls.  In knife land, despite the fact show attendees are almost pre-certified buyers, I think the ratio is one to twenty.  And that doesn’t count the attendees who are doing walk-about sales.


I was willing to travel the three hours it took to get there, but I believe a show like this needs to be supported by local traffic.  So the question becomes how do you attract local potential buyers?  It’s a question best answered by asking, “What other attractions are available locally so people can make a day of it?”


From a customer point of view, low attendance had some value.  I've been at shows where all the selling was between vendors.  Nobody makes any money, we just trade product.  Glass City dealers were skunked and sales were few and far between.  That makes them more willing to negotiate. 

I believe an aggressive buyer could have gotten some great deals.  Of course, I also believe what goes around comes around, so I’m careful not to make an a@@hole out of myself.  I may want buy from these guys again.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Your Granddad's Sports Drink



When I think of summers past I think of fireflies in bottles with holes punched in the lid so they can breath, running through the sprinkler and watermelon.  Now that I’m an adult, I’m charmed to see fireflies.  They are becoming rare with all the lawn care.  Kid are now taken to special camps to learn water polo or synchronized swimming to protect lawns and get them out of the house.  Things change.


But I haven’t lost interest in watermelon, especially with the new sweet seedless varieties.  I do miss the watermelon seed spitting contests, but my wife would never let me do that in my backyard with company.


I picked up a special knife for cutting watermelon.  It’s a very aggressive blade and cuts a melon open with ease.  I especially like the little watermelon seeds printed on the knife blade.  You can find these at many places for less than 10 bucks.

knife and watermelon
Ice cold watermelon and a knife.  What more could I want on a hot July afternoon?

 

The blade has a semi-chisel cut.  The knife is hollow ground on both sides but the cutting edge is a chisel grind.  This does several nice things for you.  The shoulder from the hollow grind forces the thick watermelon rind away from the cutting edge, so pushing on the knife just cleaves the melon and protects the edge.  Sawing with the knife makes watermelon juice, but it sure reduces a melon to slices quickly.
I make the first cut.  The knife works like a charm.



However the chisel grind on the left side of the blade tends to push the knife to the right when you’re cutting.  It might not be the optimal blade for watermelon decorative carving.  Next time I sharpen it, I’ll start a back grind on the right side to balance the cutting edge a little better.


The photo is from the second melon we had.  The first went to club activity we ran on the first really hot day of July.  After 6 hours in the sun we were cooked.  I’m here to tell you ice cold watermelon beats any sports drink for reviving your spirits and rehydrating!


Go watermelon!