Still carrying an XL Sheepdog, just bought a 2nd one & added another set of custom scales from UC.






A brace of custom scalded Sheepdog XLs

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GrumpyBiker,

Great Eastern Cutlery H73210
Left Hand Pocket sheath by Mark Condos
Condos Custom Leather, Driftwood Texas

Victorinox Switzerland Stainless Rostfrei Officier Suisse made for Omega

Last time I sent this 18K/Stainless 1986 Omega Seamaster back to the mothership for service, I had them update the face and hands with their modern iteration

Should have left it original. At least they sent the original parts back and I can change again if I really want to

Not sure ...
Maybe one from the reserve box today

Today I have my Zero Tolerance ZT350BW

Today it's time to wear the original Izula in black oxide with Crimson G10
The scales are a darker, richer red ... like crimson. Guess LED lighting does that to a camera though.



EDIT: Blades are the same on both, but the Izula-II on left has a half inch longer handle than the original Izula. The Izula-II also comes with Micarta scales and the fit and finish of the scales is better than the optional scales (micarta and G10 in various colors) available for the original Izula. I have medium hands, so either one of these work for me but the Izula-II just feels slightly a bit more robust with the longer handle. The original Izula is just a smidge lighter and when concealed, prints a tad less with the shorter handle. This picture shows the Crimson scales color more truely.

I lost my Dad a month ago tomorrow. Been carrying his Puma Lieutenant ever since.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
I lost my Dad a month ago tomorrow. Been carrying his Puma Lieutenant ever since.

Respect and Honor. Saddened by your loss.

KA-BAR 6112CU Dog's Head Coppersmith Pinch Lockback
3" D2 Blade, Root Beer Jigged Bone
Made for KA-BAR by Canal Street Cutlery

Swingin' with this Buck SFO 501 Squire, Black Linen Micarta, S35VN steel

And now for something entirely different...

I was working on my BUG and had read a tomahawk can be a very useful tool. It addresses defense, cutting wood, use as a hammer for tent stakes, etc.

I found one on Amazon which fit my budget. The model is the "Pipe Hawk" from Cold Steel. I chose it because of the axe blade on one side and a hammer head on the other side of the head.

When it arrived the head was quite wobbly. That didn't make sense to me so I did a quick google search. What I found was literally everyone who has purchased a Cold Steel (CS) tomahawk complained about the wobbly head. CS doesn't properly fit the head to the handle and uses a set screw to keep it in place.

Hence there are tons of "improvement videos" on U-Tube to fix the problem and to improve the looks of the tomahawk as well.

The videos were my downfall because I spent way too much time working on it thereafter.

So for your approval here is what a CS tomahawk (not my exact model) looks like when it arrives and the following pic were after my improvements:







The start was to remove the set screw and throw it away. Then working the handle with a rasp and sandpaper to get rid of all the original gaps between the metal of the head and the handle. To improve the grip, I first scored rings to provide a guide for burning in the rings with my soldering iron.

Next was 3 coats of mahogany stain I already had in the house. After that dried 3 coats of varnish were applied.

For the head I removed the black paint and prepped the head for tiger stripes. Using yellow mustard and a Q-tip I applied tiger stripes to the head and let the vinegar in the mustard etch the stripes. Simple soap and water was next to clean off the head. The final step on the head was to sharpen the blade.

Tomahawks are pretty cool because the head and handle are solely melded together by a friction fit. Hence the importance of the first step.

While I won't be carrying this blade daily I sure check it out every day as I think it turned out pretty neat.

I hope you like it.

That tomahawk came out quite nice. Well done. Looks like an "essential edge".

No half stops. Blade Forums 2015 Serpentine Jack knife out for some lovin’ today. This one didn’t get a ton of love over on Blade Forums when it came out in 2015.

As forum members, we voted on all aspects of the 2015 knife. The final point of contention was the shield. Some favored a cloud shield, others suggested a shorter bomb shield. I voted for a longer bomb shield which won by the slightest of margins. However the long bomb shield option offered, turned out to be difficult for Canal Street Cutlery to obtain in sufficient numbers and in a timely manner after all, and the shield pictured was a compromise. While the final shield looks beautiful (IMO) this production difficulty turned out to be a portent of news to come from Canal Street as we anxiously awaited news of production and delivery.

I can’t remember how many knife companies submitted ideas for the 2015 knife but there were one or two others besides Canal Street Cutlery. In the drawings submitted for vote, this one looked really good and so it was that this pattern was chosen by forum voters. While the pre-production drawings looked great, Canal Street Cutlery had some difficulties realizing the flawless production of this bare headed serpentine with two blades on the same back spring.

There were some delays of a couple/few weeks as Canal Street began to focus on this knife and knives began to trickle out to forum members who’d signed up for it first. There were some reports by members that their knives had great fit and finish. Others reported that the main blade struck the back spring. The general consensuses was disappointment. Canal Streets remedy in lieu of redesign in the middle of production, was to grind the main blade in such a way that there was an actual and very noticeable curve to the supposed to be flat cutting edge of the main blade, which in turn caused further disappointment. Some forum members complained that the “special ground” edge only made the knife seem and look as though it were one that had been used and resharpened for a number of years and thus seemingly reducing the actual intended life of the knife. Furthermore, shipments of finished knives seemed to slow as well. I actually received mine a month later than expected. That doesn’t sound like much of a wait but there was excitement and anticipation of Blade Forum’s yearly release and one month felt like two.

In production news from Canal Street , it seemed that the entire commitment and responsibility for remaining production requirements would fall to Eric Albers, the head cutler at Canal Street Cutlery. Eric, a former Schrade cutler, is a fine knife maker, but with a whole bunch of forum members clamoring for their knife in the face of already delays, Eric seemed to be more of less pushed to limits of abilities to not only realize production but make the knife configuration actually work.

While this was a production knife, there are definite hand-made attributes observed on close examination. To me, this wasn’t unexpected from Canal Street Cutlery. I already had two of their pinch lock-back knives and while the handle materials are obviously different, the blade profiles are “unexpectedly” different when compared side by side. What WAS surprising to me was the apparent difficulty in producing this Serpentine Jack. Case Knives among others had produced MANY similar Serpentine Jack knives over the years and on a regular routine production schedule for decades, with similar main blades, and with no difficulties at all.

While it isn’t a favorite and I don’t carry it often, I’m happy with this knife. I think it may be the only 440C I currently have. The flat edge of the main blade is pretty flat but may have the slightest of curve to it, not readily noticeable and I’d actually have to put a straight edge against it, which I haven’t or feel a need to, to tell for sure. The wood is beautiful. There is no blade rubbing anywhere in spite of a very close tolerance fit and finish. It feels great in the hand, with no hot spots, and operates smoothly and flawlessly with no half stops. I may or may not have an issue of the main blade striking the back spring on closure. The reason I don’t know for sure is because I never snap the blades closed on this knife in “fear” of maybe the blade striking the back spring. Rather, I ALWAYS walk the blades down, much as I would for any particularly French made Laguiole knife for example, which are known to be prone to blade strikes.

Just writing about this knife makes me appreciate it more. This knife is a valued part of my collection to me, as I have a personal time, place and story behind it. Canal Street Cutlery closed shop in 2018 and while I have been in touch with Eric Albers, he still makes knives and I’ve had him do some custom and restoration work, there will sadly never EVER be another Canal Street Cutlery knife out the doors and I’m thrilled to have this one. I feel like Eric did the best he could under the circumstances and at the time. I value and appreciate his personal efforts on this, my Blade Forum’s 2015 Serpentine Jack. For no apparent reason in particular, I haven't been active on Blade Forums for years and this is the only Blade Forum knife I have.

The first picture was taken Thursday afternoon in ambient room sunlight. The others were taken tonight and under led lighting. I think the actual wood color in hand, in the real, might be somewhere in between the two, but just depends a bit on lighting.

quote:

Originally posted by GrumpyBiker:
Still carrying an XL Sheepdog, just bought a 2nd one & added another set of custom scales from UC.






A brace of custom scalded Sheepdog XLs

I am really liking those knives, the more and more I look at them. I didn't realize how big they are. How well do they hold an edge?

Otter Mercator Solingen K55 Black Cat

Non-Catalog Model, Denmark Special, from Randall Made Knives (RMK)
... no, not the country Denmark ...
Denmark's Sporting Goods, Orlando, Florida



Denmark Sporting Goods was said to have sold about 195 of these Denmark Specials from Bo Randall
RMK stopped making these knives for a period after Denmark's closed their doors for the last time, in about '88



My dogs LOVE antler chews
Never take a nap with stag on the belt, to help avoid unauthorized customization D'OH