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The Kershaw Cryo and Cryo II Are Elegant Small Pocket Knives

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Without a doubt, Kershaw makes a ton of interesting knives. Many times they bring in design talent such as Rick Hinderer. I’ve been a fan of Rick’s work for years and own a number of his designs plus I had a huge surprise one year when I happened to meet him on a flight! He was wearing a Hinderer T-shirt and I couldn’t help but tell him while we were waiting to get off the plane that those were great knives. He turned and said “I’m glad to hear that – I’m Rick Hinderer.” We chatted for a bit as we walked through the terminal and he really struck me as a down-to-earth guy.

The Kershaw Cryo 1555TI – a 2.75″ Blade

At any rate, I was surfing and saw the Kershaw Cryo. It’s not a new design by any means – It got Best Buy in 2012 by Blade Magazine. For whatever reason though, it had never caught my eye until that point. Specifically, the 2.75″ model with a Titanium Carbo-Nitride coating did. I was looking for a small light knife and it was affordable enough to simply order one in and I am glad I did.

With the Titanium Carbo Nitride finish, the knife is a nice grey-ish color and the black hardware contrasts nicely.
The clip can be moved around to suit the user.

Boy does it look nice. Right out of the box I was stuck by it being a modern day gentleman’s pocket knife. It was small, light and had a quality look to it.

The Cryo’s Specs:

  • Blade Length: 2.75″
  • Blade Material: 8Cr13MoV – a decent Chinese steel roughly the same as AUS-8. Kershaw blades make extensive use of it and do a good job of heat treating it to a hardness of 58-59 Rockwell.
  • Closed Length: 3.75″
  • Overall Length: 6.5″
  • Weight: 4.1 oz

My Take

I really like it for those cases where you want a pocket knife just in case you need to do something light duty but don’t want it really weighing down your slacks or whatever. Honestly, Amazon has it for a great price.

The Cryo II – 1556BW – a 3.25″ Blade

I actually bought these knives, it’s not like someone asked me to do a review. In this case I bought both the Cryo and Cryo II because I couldn’t decide which I would like more and they are both very affordable.

This is also a Hinderer design and is 20% larger than the original Cryo. The Black Wash finish mutes the shiny grey steel considerably without going completely black.

The Cryo II’s Specs

  • Blade Length: 3.25″
  • Blade steel: 8Cr13MoV – Kershaw makes extensive use of this mid-range stanless steel and heat treats it to 58-59 Rockwell hardness.
  • Closed Length: 4.4″
  • Overall Length: 7.75″
  • Weight: 5.5 oz.

My Take

Yeah, I like this one also. I wind up leaving knives scattered all over so I bet there will be times I am using this one also. It definitely feels beefier than the Cryo but is still very easily carried. Amazon has a good price on them.

Comparison Photos

I figured this would be a great chance to let you visually compare the Cryo and Cryo II to one another as well as my Kershaw Knockout. In the photos below, I tried to be consistent – the Knockout is at the top, followed by the Cryo II with its Blackwashed finish and the Cryo with its Titanium Carbo-Nitride finish at the bottom.

In Summary

I didn’t review the Knockout in this post as I felt it really was for a different intended type of use. The Cryos are lighter and more elegant. I’m glad I have all three and have no reservations in recommending them at their respective price points.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

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Kershaw Scores a Knockout!

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I’m pretty pragmatic when it comes to pocket knives. Looks matter but the knife must also be something I can use as a tool. For me, I am always having to cut down boxes, cut plastic, strip wires, and so forth and a knife may well get wet from rain, snow, or plumbing. Furthermore, I need something that I can readily carry in a pocket. Kershaw has made a knife I really like with their 1870OLBLK Knockout. Let me take a few minutes of your time to say why I am impressed.

Made in the USA

The first thing I noticed when the knife arrived was Kershaw’s proudly placing the USA label on the box. Many of Kershaw’s blades are made in China but the Knockout is made in the USA – Tualatin, Oregon, to be specific.

Usually, I get excited and forget to take photos right after I pull a knife from the bag. This time, I had the camera ready and took the following:

The olive drab handle and blackwashed blade really make a good looking combination. You can see the holes for the pocket clip if you wanted it positioned up front on the nose. There’s a generous thumb stud and the Speedsafe flipper lever protrudes from the bottom.
Here’s the reverse side with the clip plus use can clearly see the black colored sub-frame lock. The handle has three positions drilled and tapped so you can move the clip around. The stylized US flag is a nice touch just under the clip plus you can see “Made in the USA” on the blade through the sub-frame.

Specifications

The Knockout has some nice stats:

  • The blade is 3.25″ long
  • The blade steel is 14C28N. I appreciate blade steels and this is a pretty decent middle-of-the road steel made by Sandvik. It can take a keen edge, is corrosion resistant and holds up pretty well.
  • The blade is colored black using the DLC – Diamond Like Coating – process.
  • The handle is made from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum
  • The handle is colored an olive drab green
  • When closed, it is 4.6″ long
  • When open, it is 7.9″
  • Overall weight is 3.4 oz.

The Feel

It’s fairly thin and light. I wear XL-sized gloves and the knife fills my hand very nicely. The combination of a relatively tall blade and the weight of the handle gives it both a good heft and a balance that I like. It does not feel cheap by any means.

The flipper mechanism is solid and does a good job. The sub-frame lock does its job firmly yet is also is easy to unlock. You can’t say this for all frame locks – some can be more cumbersome to move out of the way than others. By using the sub-frame they can get the right geometry and tension to do the job yet also be easy to move out of the way to unlock the blade. This cut out, or knock out, that they did in the frame to hold the riveted in sub-frame is actually where the knife gets its name.

Look carefully at the handle and then look at your hand with the fingers bent just a tad. The handle’s curve and the bumps will conform to most hands very nicely. Your hand will index on the big finger groove they made for your index finger – no pun intended. In other words, your hand’s position will begin by putting your big first finger in that groove.

Kershaw’s Overview Video

Kershaw actually has a short overview video so you can see the blade at different angles.

Comparing the KnockOut to my Hogue X5 with a 3.5″ Wharncliffe Blade

Now, so you have a comparison, here’s the Knockout next to my Hogue X5 with a 3.5″ Wharncliffe blade, which is my most frequently carried blade now. I’ve given up saying every day carry because I seem to be rotating through a few but more often than the others, it’s the Hogue. We’ll just have to see if Knockout dethrones the X5 over time.

The Hogue X5 3.5″ Wharncliffe is striking to look at but let me tell you something really cool – the CPM154 steel is really excellent and the profile of the blade makes it excellent for scraping a surface with a relatively straight edge.

In Summary

It arrived quite sharp and I just did a few test cuts. At this point, I need to see how the Knockout holds up over time. As far as first impressions go, I really like it and will keep folks posted.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

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Larry Vickers Shows a Federov, SKS and Pre-Production AK-47

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In 2015, Larry Vickers had a great chance to visit the Central Armed Forces Museum in northern Moscow.  While there, he had a chance to visit the museum’s archives and see an original Federov rifle, an early SKS and a preproduction AK-47 that was produced in 1946.  He assembled this part of his visit along with a comparison of a German StG 44 and a Type I AK into a video.

The Federov

The Federov Avtomat was arguably the first assault rifle.  It was designed in 1913 and produced at the Kovrov Arms Factory from 1913-1925.  Roughly 3,200 of these forward thinking rifles were built.  Personally, I think the rifle was very novel for its time including the use of the

An overview of the Federov from the video.
Larry steps shows the Federov to viewers and has a lot of great close ups of this rare rifle.

The SKS

The Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonov (SKS) was designed in 1944 and went into production in 1945.  Thus, it became known as the “SKS-45” in the USSR and was widely exported.  In total, the Soviets produced about 2.7 million SKS carbines first at the Tula Arsenal (1949-1958) and also Izhevsk Arsenal (153 and 1954).  The rifle was chambered for the

Larry provides an overview of the SKS carbine
Here, he is holding an early SKS model and gives a quick overview of it.

A Preproduction AK-47

Larry had a chance to review an actual pre-production AK from about 1946 that was used in the Army’s trials of the weapon prior to official adoption in 1947.  This is what I especially wanted to see.  You see, many people assume the AK-47 was one single assault rifle when, really, it evolved over time.  They had the Type I, II, the III/AKM and so forth.

At any rate, Mikhail Kalashnikov and his design team worked on the

Larry shows the Army Trial rifle and the viewer gets to see a number of angles of the rifle.

German StG-44 vs. Type I AK-47

Larry then goes on to argue that the StG-44 greatly influenced Kalashnikov and his design team.  Folks, this is a hotly debated topic.  As a point of Russian pride, they minimize any thoughts of influence.  At this point, it’s really hard to say.  If it were me, I’d look at a previous design and get ideas from it to save time, money and reduce the risk of mistakes.

Larry has a German StG-44 on the left and a Type I AK on the right.

The Video

So with no further to do, here’s Larry’s video:

Please note that all images above are extracted from the video and are the copyright of Vickers Tactical.

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Hatsan AT-P2 QE Reviews and Videos That I found Helpful When Researching My Purchase

In the old days, kids I mean like the 1970s and 80s in my case, you went to the library and read old magazines or asked your friends about what they knew.  These days, we tap into the web and can watch videos and read reviews.  I tell you, it’s pretty amazing what you can find.  So, when I was researching what small precharged pneumatic (PCP) pistol or bullpup to buy for discrete pest control use mostly in 10-15 yards vs. my .22 Hatsan Gladius Long, I hopped on and started digging.

I quickly got my selection narrowed down to the Hatsan AT-P2 QE as I mentioned in a previous post and then bought it.  What I want to share with you are some of the third party review videos that I found very helpful during the selection process.

Here’s the best video on the AT-P2 QE specifically:

The following is a review of the base AT-P2 without the integrate Quiet Energy (QE) moderator:

Third party written reviews:

These are Hatsan’s pages:

I hope these help you out.  I am very please with my pistol so far and would recommend anyone needing a discrete powerful and accurate .22 PCP repeater.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AKBuilds, Gunsmithing, Shotguns, Uncategorized

Fitting a Csspecs Steel Magazine To A SDS Lynx 12ga Shotgun

Csspecs makes wicked steel magazines for a variety of niche weapons. They make a well respected magazine for 12 gauge Saiga shotguns. That meant it would fit my SDS Lynx 12ga also.

I placed my order on their website and within a week receive to magazines that were built like a tank. I had a problem with some of the plastic SDS 10 round magazines in terms of the follower going all the way to the top. The Csspecs follower shot up in the top so fast I think you could take off a body part 🙂 just kidding but it is very well done.

You have to love a magazine that is so heavily made it can be used as a defensive weapon all by itself 🙂  Seriously, Csspecs makes some wicked mags and they tell you right up front that you may need to do a bit of fitting and I did.

Fitting The Magazines

The magazines come with a small instruction pamphlet for fitting that makes perfect sense to anybody who’s ever had to fit AK magazines. Step one is to make sure that the magazine fits correctly from front to back. If it does not you trim a little bit off the back tab of the magazine.

In my case it set right in. You can see how the mag stops are coming right against the bottom of the receiver.  This is good!  If I did need to trim it, I would have carefully filed a bit and tested over and over until the mag stops contacted the receiver, polished the surface and applied cold blue per the details in the next step.

In my case, the magazine locking lever would not engage the mag’s tab at all. That means that little tab was too thick and needed to be filed down. This is really a situation where you want to use a fine hand file and take off a little bit at a time and test – don’t rush this. Take care to maintain the slight angle. This helps with the lock up.  Do not make it flat and try to keep it as straight across as possible.

I can’t stress enough, take your time.  The above was done with a single-cut file where one edge was ground down so I can make cuts like this with out damaging the surface.  You can sometimes buy files like I show below with one or both edges left plain.  In my case, I used my belt sander to remove the teeth on that side.

This is not a situation where you want to rush. Take a little bit off at an angle and test over and over. It probably took me about 5 minutes per magazine. You want the magazine to lock into place firmly. If it is really loose I would recommend welding some material back on and fixing it.

After the filing, I did use a fine rubber abrasive polishing but in my Dremel to smooth the surface out so the lock up process would be smoother.

After I had the fitting correct, I use the little bit of Brownells Oxpho blue liquid on Long dobbers and blued the surface followed by some oil.

That is all there was to it. I hope this helps you out. Kudos to CS specs for making some very nice magazines. These things are rock solid and I may very well pick a couple more up at some point.

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Awesome Shirts and Hoodies for AK Fans

Folks, I’ve been involved with AKs since about 2006 – not a long time but long enough to watch the AK, or Avtomát Kaláshnikova, rise from a firearms embraced kind of at the fringe by preppers and guys who realized that it was extremely reliable and fun to shoot.

Today, the AK and its many, many variants (AK-47s, AK-74s,  Veprs, Saigas, PSLs, M70ss, PAPs, SLRs, Galils, AMD-65s, etc.) are really in the mainstream.  There are tons of rifles, ammo and accessories available.

What I also think is interesting and very cool is the rise of AK clothing (T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies mainly) where you can show off your favorite firearm — or at least one of your favorites 🙂  These used to be limited-run hard to find stuff years ago.  Now, thanks to eBay, there are tons and tons of options in terms of designs, sizes and colors plus you can see how well the vendor is doing in terms of sales volume and ratings.

There are T-Shirts

I had to order one with the 7.62×39 spam can!  Note, some of the images don’t show but when you click on the link you can see the item and some of them are hilarious!

Sweatshirts and Hoodies

Needless to say, I’ve bought a few and hope you find some cool garb to express yourself as well!

P.S.  If you want to limit your risk a bit, buy from vendors with more sales (I like over 30) and positive reviews.  Anyone can get one or two great reviews from friends and family so be cautious.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

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Cool Video of The Parts Break Down and Operation of a Type 2 Milled AK

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I posted a Forgotten Weapons video a few months back  where Ian does a great overview of the Type 2 Avtomát Kaláshnikova (AK).  Џон Ивошевић shared with me this cool computer animation of the parts and operation of a Type 2.

This is incredibly detailed – if you are into AK rifles, this is worth watching:

I’m amazed and hope you find it cool as well.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

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Old Glory – I Am The Star Spangled Banner…

My parents are buried in the Battle Creek Memorial Park cemetary. During our last visit, we stopped by the veterans memorial. On a boulder by the American flag is this plaque:

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.