Show all posts by user
a place to show or discuss your experimentation with sharpening devices, or techniques
Re: Urban Camouflage - 1 year ago
I totally agree on the brown and grey colors being highly effective, especially in my own local environment. The SADF Nutria brown color is a great example of that, it would be very effective around here. This YouTube channel has a lot of very helpful videos on the effectiveness of various camo patterns, you might be familiar with the channel already:by Ryan Nafe - Prepping/Survival/Bushcraft
Re: Luong La testing video - 1 year ago
I don’t think that’s anywhere near the consistency of a machine, no. For one thing, he didn’t even start with a measured and quantified sharpness. For another, it’s still all being done by hand. And I’m not really sure what the value of cutting abrasive pads is, either. I’d think they’re just so abrasive that it would make it difficult to actually distinguish between the different steels, evby Ryan Nafe - General
Re: W2 Custom Monster Finished (For Cliff + Chopping vids) - 1 year ago
Solid work, that looks fun and interesting to use.by Ryan Nafe - General
Re: Bear & Son 114 - 1 year ago
I had one of those about a decade ago and they’re definitely fun knives to flip, but the handles will bend after a certain amount of flipping. It takes a lot, not overnight, but it will happen unless they’ve changed the handle material in the time since I had one.by Ryan Nafe - New Knives, and New to You Knives
Re: Kimber Mako - 1 year ago
Personally I’m not really interested in the tiny 9mm’s. I like .40 and .45, they do much better through barriers and kill animals quite a lot faster.by Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: Experiments With Cast Bullets - 2 years ago
I’ve been shooting and carrying the HK45 just about as much as I can, and I really love it. The G27 is undeniably easier to conceal and not as heavy, but the big .45 is just so unbelievably easy to draw, aim, and shoot. And it hits harder, which is a great bonus. I really want to take a deer with it this year but it’s as difficult as always, they rarely get inside of 40 yards in my typical huntinby Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: Experiments With Cast Bullets - 2 years ago
If so, I think you’ll like it. My vision in general and especially my ability to use iron sights took a pretty bad turn after that eye injury in 2018, but peep sights like that are a huge improvement over the standard blade/notch type sights. The focal point is now just the target, focus on the target and pull the trigger when the front bead or blade is over it. Much much simpler than focusing onby Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: Experiments With Cast Bullets - 2 years ago
A Williams sight for the .30-30?by Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: Regrinding Full Flat Blades - 2 years ago
I bet that knife cuts very well now. My Chapparal is one of the best cutters I’ve had because of the 2mm stock and FFG.by Ryan Nafe - General Sharpening
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
So I ordered another pound of Cornell and Diehl’s Night Train, and what I found is actually not Night Train. There are only a few different bulk bricks that they sell, and I’m 95% sure they mislabeled this one. It’s supposed to be Night Train, but what I got is actually their Briar Fox blend. I’m definitely disappointed in the sense that it’s not what I wanted, this stuff isn’t nearly as stroby Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: General Firearm Discussion - 2 years ago
They just got a bunch of CCI Standard here, too, for that same price of $10/100 rounds. The Norma was, if I remember correctly, $8 per 50 round box. Pricey, but it’s good target ammo and that’s all they had at the time. The scope is a Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire 3-9x40mm, that was the only rimfire-appropriate scope they had at the shop. Glass quality is apparently very high because it’s an extby Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: General Firearm Discussion - 2 years ago
It’s a 40 grain bullet at a claimed 1,100 FPS, I didn’t actually chronograph it though. They’re not plain lead and they’re using a grease-type lube instead of the wax-type that CCI uses. I got a lot of this stuff because for a month or two it was all they had at the store so I’d just buy a couple 50 round boxes every time I’d go in there. Edited for clarification, the edit is in brackets.by Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: General Firearm Discussion - 2 years ago
I managed to finally get out and put the first 100 rounds through my 10/22 Target, this rifle: The accuracy, at least with the Norma Tac-22 ammo I used, is a bit better than I was expecting. It will stack the entire 10 round magazine into a nickel-sized group without any real effort at 30 yards. I’m quite happy with it. The Norma ammo isn’t good for hunting outside of going for headshots,by Ryan Nafe - Firearms
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
The HH Bold Kentucky is now my official morning smoke. A cup of coffee and a flake of Bold Kentucky. Just can’t be beaten as a way to get going for the day. I ordered a pound of it.by Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
Night Train is still an exceptionally good tobacco when compared to the two Mac Baren offerings. Not to mention everything else I’ve compared it to over the last several months. I took a chance on it, did a bit of research and bought a pound of it before actually trying it, and it’s probably one of the best tobacco-related gambles I’ve taken. The blend and the way it’s processed is just excelby Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
Another note about the Night Train from Cornell and Diehl that’s become very apparent after smoking the Bold Kentucky and the Burley Flake is the quite prominent presence of Perique in the Night Train, or maybe the lack of it in the other two. It provides a lot of tangy raisin/fig/raspberry flavors and certain kind of peppery taste that is very enjoyable to me.by Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Spyderco knives on my watchlist - 2 years ago
cKc I’m kinda the opposite about my thoughts on G10, I like the aggressive texture. Like the Military or the Chief, I really like it being that grippy.by Ryan Nafe - General
Re: AUS-10 vs. AUS-8 - 2 years ago
Ha, like not even tungsten carbide, but just sold tungsten?by Ryan Nafe - General
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
The pipe was made by Tekin, a Turkish man who’s been making meerschaum pipes for about 25 years. I picked this one because the shape looked very easy to hold in the hand, the quarter or half bend makes it a bit more comfortable to clench between the teeth than a straight pipe, the bowl capacity is a fair amount larger than the one I had, and the chamber walls are quite a bitby Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
New Meerschaum pipe and a couple new tobacco types on the way, should be here Monday or Tuesday I think. I’ll let everyone know what I think of the pipe when it comes in and I get a few smokes through it.by Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Why I Am Not A Great Sharpener - 2 years ago
The latest Norton stone I picked up, about a year ago, is a combination of medium India and a soft Arkansas. It’s pretty interesting, I found it on Sharpening Supplies’ site. For simple steel knives like basic carbon and stainless that are low alloy like 1075, 420, etc., it works really well as a general purpose stone. The medium India is a bit too fine for major angle changes in short amountsby Ryan Nafe - General Sharpening
Re: alternate tarp material - 2 years ago
QuoteWilliam Actually if you don't care too much about the look, you can use the old technique of tying in a pebble for tie-outs... that would be strongest. Or the new technique of a cap and top from a plastic bottle. That’s what I would do, assuming I have cordage. Anything that doesn’t require cutting the plastic will be the most durable way to go with that stuff.by Ryan Nafe - Prepping/Survival/Bushcraft
Re: AUS-10 vs. AUS-8 - 2 years ago
Quoteme2 Given the choice I’d take AUS 8 but if I liked the design I wouldn’t worry about it. Agreed. I’ve always liked AUS-8A, from both Cold Steel and Al Mar (made by Moki in Japan). The Al Mar knives are a couple points harder and don’t form burs as readily as the CS knives, but in both cases they’re less likely to chip and fracture than other stainless steels I have and the knives can stillby Ryan Nafe - General
Re: Pipes and Pipe Tobacco - 2 years ago
Peterson Flake, a pure Virginia flake-cut tobacco that’s comprised primarily of bright/lemon Virginia (as opposed to the red varietals), is an absolutely top-shelf pure Virginia pipe tobacco. I really have to say, as far as comparing it to the handful of other prominent Virginia tobaccos I’ve tried, it really is better. Night Train is still my go-to everyday smoke, it hasn’t been dethroned. Bby Ryan Nafe - Tobacco
Re: Ideal Stone/Plate Set for Edge Pro - 2 years ago
First thoughts on the Atoma after grinding some VG-10 (Spyderco Street Bowie) and the 154CM on the Pro Tech: This thing is really aggressive, especially when you consider the low pressure used. I wouldn’t want to actually apex the knife with this, you’d burn up a lot of steel. It looks like it would be a good idea to get the 400 and/or 600 to do regular maintenance on an existing edge bevel, tby Ryan Nafe - General Sharpening
Re: Rockwell Testing Results - 2 years ago
Fair enough, and the shark lock looks interesting for sure. D2 can definitely be hard to grind but it’s still not quite as bad as the high vanadium steels. A basic coarse Crystolon from Norton is more than enough and would also be much faster than a diamond plate. If you wanted to, you could order the knife and a coarse Crystolon for about $20. For only $20 it’s pretty inexpensive for lowerinby Ryan Nafe - General
Re: Rockwell Testing Results - 2 years ago
They’re really solid. One of the only Cold Steel designs that actually holds true to their old business model of inexpensive but durable and useful knives. I really hate that they moved to expensive knives with high-carbide stainless.by Ryan Nafe - General
Re: Rockwell Testing Results - 2 years ago
Yeah I mean for what it’s worth, the older Cold Steel AUS-8 was typically 57 or 58, so the increase to 60 is fairly substantial. You might try a Voyager, they’re cheap but pretty decent. I have one of the older ones with AUS-8A in the XL size.by Ryan Nafe - General