Folders

My Every Day Carry Knife – the Kershaw Compound (Back in 2014)

Kershaw Compound Folding Lock Back Knife

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:

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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.

Customer Photos, Furniture

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.

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By the way, Christopher’s business is on Facebook as “Koufos Emergency Resource”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer Photos

Very Cool M92 SBR with an Olive Drab First Generation Molot grip from us

 

 

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That sure is a sweet M92 SBR.  It is using one of our First Generation Molot grips on it.  Looks like a cool color combination.

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Blades and Edged Weapons Including Khukuris

Great Simple Knife Sharpener the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker

 

Guys, one of the sharpeners I use a lot for touch up of smaller blades (not the khukuris) is the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.  The unit is as simple as can be – the brass rods are to protect your hand and then it comes with two pairs of stones – fine and medium basically.  You put the stones in the angle of your choice and the hold your knife straight vertically as you run the blade down the stone.  The unit works really well for maintaining pocket knives and blades that are ballpark 5-8″ – much longer and it just really gets tedious.

Now I don’t use the medium grit brown colored traingles much.  I use the fine and the optional Ultra-Fine triangles for most of my maintenance.  The Ultra-Fine stones (ceramic really) can put a hair popping razor edge on blades.  One thing to bear in mind if you you want the ultra fine stones is that Spyderco sells them by the stone – why?  I have no idea and think it is confusing – you really need two.

I keep this on my desk (at home 🙂 and do touch ups when I am on the phone, need to take a break, etc. and pretty much use it every day:

[amazonjs asin=”B000Q9C4AE” locale=”US” title=”Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF”]

Here are the Ultra-Fine stones – remember that you need to buy two:

[amazonjs asin=”B0019JTNDQ” locale=”US” title=”Spyderco Ultra Fine Triangle Stone”]

 

In case you are interested, here are instructional videos from Spyderco:

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Blades and Edged Weapons Including Khukuris

Moisturizing Leather Sheaths

I get asked how to moisturize leather sheaths regularly.  Up until now, my go to solution was either Mink Oil or Neatsfoot oil that I would rub in by hand.  The idea is that the heat and pressure of your hand helps the oils to get worked into the leather.  This has worked fine for me for years.  I was recently recommended to try “Lexol Leather Conditioner” and have been doing so for about a month.

The following photos if of a khukuri sheath that was very dry.  I applied the Lexol, still rubbed it in my hand, and then buffed off the residue.  It seems to have done a very good job.  I have done a number of items now including work boots and the Lexol seems to work.  I have been rubbing in two passes – not just one.

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In case you are interested, I’ve had very good luck with the following products:

[amazonjs asin=”B000637TNM” locale=”US” title=”Lexol 1013 Leather Conditioner 33.8 oz. (1 Liter)”]

[amazonjs asin=”B000FJP4NO” locale=”US” title=”Fiebings Pure Neatsfoot Oil 16 oz”]

[amazonjs asin=”B000HJBKU8″ locale=”US” title=”Fiebing MOIL00P006Z Mink Oil Paste”]

I grew up working on boots, gloves and saddles.  If something was dirty, I would use saddle soap but more often focused on conditioning.  It’s amazing what a little care can do to old leather.

One tip – I like the paste mink oil and use a hair dryer to help melt the paste into the leather of boots.  It does a great job sealing them up but it definitely darkens the leather but boy are they supple and waterproof afterwards.

 

When Strength and Quality Matter Most

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