Titanium ENTRY TOOL for Maciej

   I have just finished another titanium project for Maciej. Titanium tool made according to his guidelines for a pure fun of having ;). It is hard to say what kind of tool it is but I it makes me think of 'pocket size' entry tools so I will call it this way. It is the thickest titanium ever milled on CNC - over 5mm. I have bead blasted the surface, then heat anodized it for a brown color and use a little bit of stonewashing technique to get that old, rusty look.

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Survival Kits Project (Part 3) My first pouch for a survival tin

My first pouch for a survival tin. Made with 2.5mm thick veg tanned leather. I have used a swing bag clasp from Tandy as a fastener. I've read that it is the best solution for such a pouch and actually it works better than I expected. Very practical in use. Pouch was dyed with Fiebing's Pro Oil Dye, and is finished with SNO Seal. There is enough room for a tin and for example 83mm Victorinox SAK or a small flashlight.

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New PROTOTYPES

Hi! I have been working on those desings for almost a year and finally I started to make prototypes. As usual, I am making them in cooperation with my brother on our CNC milling machine. My idea was to design a couple of knives which will be my regular models. I decided to design two size of friction folders, and two necks: three finger with scales and skeletonized one. For the friction folders, I have used the concept of knives that I made in the past: WAR Squirrel and small Squirrel. I don't have a prototype for a small squirrel yet but I hape to make it soon. As those are just prototypes, I have used black G10 for the scales - it will be different in finished models. A prototype of the two finger neck knife (I have to think of a name for it) is made only with G10 but it is just to check how it fits the hand.

I think of this neck as a some kind of Pocket Survival Knife. It is a hidden tang construction so it is very light but steel durable as it will be 2.5-3mm steel.

Two finger neck. For sure I will make a titanium version of this knife with carbidized edge. It fits to Altoids tin, which was one of my priorities during designing. Another priority was a paracord wrap option.

WAR Squirrel is back! I've got many requests to make more of this folder. There was only one piece of it in the whole world but soon there will be more ;).  I have changed the original design a little bit and now it will look even more like a folding cleaver.

Leather belts 1

Today, instead of knives, I will show you my leather custom belts. I made my first belt about 3 years ago as a gift for my friend. Since that time I have been making a couple of belts every year, usually for a friends, family or for myself. Like for my other works, I am trying to use the best materials available: premium leather, usually with Fiebing's dyes and finishes, Gum Tragacanth for the edges. I really like to make them so for sure I will show you some more.

First belt I made for myself. It helps my pants not to fell down for almost 3 years everyday:)

4mm thick veg tanned bridle butt leather, linseed oil, heavy duty roll buckle

4mm thick veg tanned bridle butt leather, Fiebing's Dark Brown Professional Oil, Fiebing's Tan Kote

Women's belt, 2.5mm thick veg tanned leather, Fiebing's Black Professional Oil, Fiebing's Tan Kote

Women's belt, 2.5mm thick veg tanned leather, Kenda Farben Red Toledo Super, Fiebing's Tan Kote

NOT AVAILABLE

Tactical Fish Bottle Openers

In the end of 2014 I got a special request for a set of my Tactical Fish Bootle Openers. The prototype for this model was shown here. I made a couple of changes to my prototype design, and made each fish different. All of them are made of Ti-6Al-4V titanium. I have used almost all the surface finishes I know for titanium to make them: polishing, beadblasting, stonewashing, heat and voltage anodizing. My personal favourite is the skeleton fish, so next one will be also made raw-boned.

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And an opener that is not a fish. It looks more like a dog;) The prototype became a gift for my friend - Jax, so that is how I will call it - JAX. The titanium is bead blasted, heat anodized and stonewashed to give it a 'rusty' look, which I really like.

NOT AVAILABLE

Victorinox Swiss Army Knife scales 3

Another sets of my SAK scales made in December last year. First one is made of orange G10 with my new toxic pattern. I think will look even cooler on a two color materials. Can't wait to check it.

Second set was made with jade and black G10 with izolines pattern. It is a remake of the scales I made a couple of years ago. Unfortunately just before sending them to a customer, I damaged the scales and I had to throw it away... It happens sometimes...

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Survival Kits Project (Part 2) Tins comparison

Finally there is a second episode of my 'making a survival kit' which I started here. Today it will be about one of the most important parts of every set - tin or other container wher all the stuff is stored.

I didn't found any comparison of standard size survival tins in the Internet so I had to make my own reserch to choose the tins for my projects. I have focused on the most popular, easy tu buy types.

1. ORIGINAL ALTOIDS TIN. The first one I bought was of course a legendary Altoids tin. It has two hings and the dimensions are perfect for use as a personal, EDC survival tin. It is also small enough to be carry on a sheath of a large knife.  It is a very good, practical tin and a great comparison to other products in size and quality. The biggest disadvantage of the Altoids according to me is that it is not flat and the whole tin is printed. I personally don't like that but I am pretty sure, that there will be many who likes that original Altoids look. Also Altoids mints are pretty tasty ;) It is corrosion resistant but not waterproff, so a ranger band around the tin is a good idea.

2. SILVER TIN. Second one was a copy of altoids tin, which I have bought in an electronic store. All the surfaces are galvanized and shiny so I will call that tin - a silver one. Dimensions of the tin are identical to the original Altoids. The only difference between them is that the silver tin have no embossings and there are no paintings at all. It is simple, useful and beautiful ;) It also the cheapest and easiest tin to buy.

3. GOLDEN TIN. Dimensiuons of next tin (I will call it golden one) are slightly different. This tin has no hings, so the cover and the base are two separate parts. All the tins in the comparison are corrosion resistant but this one is also waterproof. It has a seal located on the inside of the cover and it works pretty well. With a rubber band around the tin it should be completely waterproof. The tin like this is used in a very popular BCB survival kits. I don't know why, but I have found this model only in 'golden' color.

4. MINI SILVER ALTOIDS TIN. The last type of tin I have is a mini silver altoids tin. I also bought it in the electronic shop. It is made similiar to the silver one, by the same producer,  but is just smaller. There are also two hings, but what I don't like is, that the cover is not flat, so it would not fit in some of my projects. What I like - it is slim enought to be attached to a medium size or even small knife sheath.

 

For other 'maniacs' like me I attached a dimension drawings of all the tins. Dimensions are in mm. I believe that it can be very useful for people trying to create their own survival tin set or other projects containing Altoids tins.
 
Of course there are tins in many different sizes, but currently  I will concentrate on tins with size simillar to the original Altoids that suits almost all of my projects. In the near future I will show you my first custom leather pouch for survival tin, and after that some of my project of custom knives small enough to be carry in the tin. Stay tuned!