Anders’ Rifle With Our Dark US Plum First Generation Molot Grip.
He tells me that he really likes the UBR stock. I’m going to have to try one some time.
Tharin’s Rifle – KVar US Plum Furniture and Our Dark US Plum Polish AKM/Tantal Grip
Tharin’s Sweet rifle – it has K-Var US Plum Furniture and Our Dark US Plum Polish AKM/Tantal Grip.
Our Dark US Plum color is the one that comes closest to the K-Var color by the way.
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Use An Air Riveter to Get Barrel Pins Out Fast
One of the things that used to drive me nuts with AK builds was driving out barrel pins and then I got a tip from Gunplumber – a variable trigger air hammer or air riveter makes it way easier. Many cheap import air hammers have an air valve behind the trigger that is either on or off and not much in between. Some guys call the variable valve triggers “tickle triggers” – why? I have no idea. At any rate, every air riveter, which looks like an air hammer, that I have seen has a tickle trigger to allow the user more control when setting rivets.
I use the pointed conical air chisel to start the rivet and that is the hard part. Once you get it moving, then use a big hammer and the largest punch you can fit in the hole to drive the rivet the rest of the way out. Note, I only do this when demilling. I use a barrel pin jig to install barrel pins because you have so much more control.
The following photo is of an ATS brand Pro Series 3X riveter. The bigger the number, the more poweful the riveter. I also have a big 4X equivalent Ingersol Rand that I use on large rivets or work needing a powerful tool. The 3X has a nice combination of power and weight and it almost always works on barrel pins and certainly on small trigger guard AK rivets.
You can find rivet guns from many suppliers – even Harbor Freight. I’d recommend you get a 3X for most work and a 4X if you want even more options.
The following is the riveter shown above:
When the conical chisel gets beat up, I grind the tip down and when it is really fried, I just pull out another. I would recommend going with a good brand name. For example, Ingersoll Rand, Chicago Pneumatic, etc.
The big 4x equivalent air hammer I use is the IR 117K standard duty model and it hits hard:
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How To Rehydrate Khukuri Wood Handles
I am routinely asked how to rehydrate khukuri wood handles that have dried out over time. This is a service we provide when tuning khukuris and have learned a few tricks along the way that we can share. We approach rehydration or moisturizing by using a 50/50 mix of quality boiled linseed oil (BLO) and turpentine, which we purchase by the gallon from our local Ace Hardware store and sometimes Lowes. The turpentine helps thin the BLO and avoids it becoming unduly tacky.
The procedure is pretty simple so let me outline it. I see handles that often need some tinder loving care such as this Keshar Lal Villager Utility Knife (KLVUK) khukuri handle:
My first step is to do any wood repairs such as gluing cracks, filling holes and sanding. It is very common to find a poor fit between the end cap and the wood for example and I will true it up all the way around either with sanding strips or a sanding mop such as what is shown here:
A mop is good for fast touch ups but not for leveling surfaces or otherwise intentionally shaping the wood. I buy big shop rolls of 1″ wide sand paper in 80, 120, 220 and 320 grits so I can select the grit I need.
The next step is to soak the handle in the turpentine and BLO mixture. I shoot for it being about 90-100 degrees and soak the wood for at least four hours.
I then rub the handle down with a blue shop towel to remove the liquid and let it air dry for about a day. The results are striking. The below photo shows three KLVUKs that arrived with basically the same color of wood that I picked for this story for that very reason. The bottom handle is untouched. The middle handle is after sanding and the top handle is after following the above process. This helps you see the results.
Here is one of our completed KLVUKs:
I hope this helps you do some care on your blades as well.
Jake’s Arsenal SGL 21-94 with our black Molot grip
From “Jake’s Gun Reviews”: Rifle is an Arsenal, Inc., SGL 21-94 with a Bulgarian sling, our black grip, Ultimak M1-B gas tube, AimPoint Micro H1, and a SureFire 6PX Pro. in a VLTOR SMQ-OCG offset mount.
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My Every Day Carry Knife – the Kershaw Compound (Back in 2014)
A few guys asked for details about my every day carry (EDC) knife. It’s a basic Kershaw Compound but what makes it special is that my youngest daughter bought it for me as a birthday gift when we visited Smoky Mountain Knife Works a few years ago. It is trades off size and weight such that it fits great in my pocket. It uses their SpeedSafe assisted opening mechanism, which is fast, reliable and does not open in your pocket. I had a Gerber FAST years ago that I eventually gave away because the stupid thing would open in my pocket all the time. Kershaw’s design is simple and has never opened accidentally on me.
At any rate rate, the blade is 3.5″ long and I opted for a plain edge so it would be easy to maintain – I sharpen it both on my Spyderco SharpMaker and my Work Sharp Ken Onion sharpening system. I can’t even guess how many boxes I have opened, plastic containers I have cut open, etc. Despite being used an absolute ton, look how it has held up:
I figure the pretty good edge retention, strength and corrosion resistance can be attributed to the 8CR13MOV alloy they used. With the heavy use I touch the blade’s edge up maybe weekly or every other week – it’s more “as needed” than scheduled depending on how much I have used it and how it feels while cutting.
The handle is in great shape and the liner lock is just fine as well. It’s overall length when closed is 4-5/8″
In general, Kershaw is my favorite folding knife maker and am also a fan of their high-end Zero Tolerance folders (the parent company, KAI, owns both groups). You get a great blade at a great price from either brand – Kershaw or ZT, and I definitely like my Compound – not to mention my little girl bought it for me!
If you are interested in getting one, the bad news is that they have been discontinued but they are still available from a number of sellers on Amazon:
[amazonjs asin=”B004SGXARW” locale=”US” title=”Kershaw Compound Folding Lock Back Knife”]
Post Edit: This was back in 2014. I really liked the Compound but use a ZT 350 now as it has much better edge retention but I did have to explain the change to my daughter 🙂 I’ll write about the ZT 350 at some point.
Christopher’s M70B1 With Our Dark Russian Plum Traditional Handguard Set
Christopher’s M70B1 looks very slick! It has our traditional style polymer handguard in our Dark Russian Plum color. These handguards are ready for extreme duty as they are cast from the thick wood versions of the handguards and thus are very strong.
By the way, Christopher’s business is on Facebook as “Koufos Emergency Resource”
Jef’s M92 PAP – Dark OD Handguards and Quick Takedown Pin
Jef’s Zastava M92 PAP with our dark olive drab handguards and a quick release pin to remove the receiver’s dust cover.
