Hey Y'all. It has been a while since I last posted on here, but TOPS knives just released the knife design I have been working on for the past year or so called the Tahoma Field Knife.
Check it out on their website HERE. Right now it is at an introductory price of 176$, a considerable chunk out of the MSRP of 220$.
We spared nothing to make this knife dependable, durable, and above all else EFFECTIVE in the field. The Black River Wash coating integrates clear Cerakote, which is the best coating for knives and firearms around. Period. The BRW also shows the tamper line which makes every blade unique.
I'd like to thank everyone who follows InnerBark Outdoors, TOPS Knives, and my Family for putting up with me camping so much. Take care, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The BLM decided overnight, without any public input, that it should BAN all binary exploding targets, due to forest fires in the Rocky Mountain Region on public lands.
The ban is in effect for 1 year as of a few days ago (winter included!), and therefore shooters can only go on private property.
But what kind of targets are safe for you to use, without risk of burning down the house your grandpa built? I can only recommend Tannerite® brand targets.
I'm not paid to say this, nor am I a spokesperson for the company. Sure, I have worked with them to produce videos, but only because I believe in the product, and like the people behind it. It is the only explosive target I shoot, and in my patch of dry desert, the only one I trust.
I made this video, because I wanted to answer any questions, and trump any doubts.
So I don't mean to beat this to death, but I've been learning how to do AutoCAD for the last few days, and aside from the swearing, and itching my head, I finally made a scaled model of the field knife which I am calling the Tahoma Field Knife (Tahoma being the native name for Mt. Rainier).
The reason why I did this is to be able to easily (or more easily) bring my design to the water jetting company or laser cutting company to have prototypes cut out with a high degree of precision so that it will be the closest it can be to the final product. Check it out! I feel like the geek I was back in the high school biotech academy.
I was also able to really fine tune angles and shapes that would have taken me a lot of trial and error without it. This process has been a really eye opening experience, and I tip my hat to the guys who do this for a living making airplanes, guns, pretty much everything. Anywho, it is getting late, so I'll sign off, and will have a testing video of my first prototype up soon (maybe even tomorrow).
I'm no stranger to knives, and I have made a dozen or so in the past, but this is my first knife designed for my outdoor adventures. You could call it a survival knife, much as you could call a precision rifle a sniper rifle, but to me it all comes down to whoever wields it.
My criteria when designing this knife was it needed to be light enough to carry for many miles. Ounces are pounds, pounds are pain. Some knives out there are much too heavy to use for an hour straight while building a shelter, over the course of a week or more you can forget about it.
It also needed to be profiled to be a decent chopper and slicer. You can't get the best of both worlds, but 3/16th" is the best compromise. I also chose 1095, because it holds one hell of an edge, and isn't so expensive that people can't afford it.
I wanted a backup blade in case the main edge got dulled up after use, and it also helps with piercing material or flesh straight on, so you can precisely sever a spinal cord of an animal without worrying about the blade traveling left or right.
I wanted a wire break for reasons of getting through fences, scavenging wire, ect. It also helps get pots and other things out of a fire as well.
I positioned the thumb ramp forward of most designs out there because for me personally that's where it is comfortable, and it puts more meat at the choil, and with the hole, both serve a good anchoring point for lashing to a spear.
The handle is curved, and slightly thicker at the spine of the handle. If you try to make a circle with your finger and thumb, you will notice a taper at your first knuckle. This taper in the handle is to promote good edge alignment for efficient chopping.
The knife will also have 2 fire spindles for leftys and righties, as well as aid in reversing a grip on the knife.
The butt end of the knife is a pry bar type device for times where you need to wedge something open. I like this shape because it also helps me screw in tripod plates haha.
I plan on doing a video on this knife soon after I complete the handle and sheath. So far it has gone really well, although aesthetically it could be better (but doing what I can with what I got!) I'll post pictures once it is near complete.
To start off the year, I attended SHOT show 2013, to see what was new in the industry, meet people that have helped make my youtube channel happen, and get my name out there as a videographer. What a trip! I'll first tart off by saying that I am not in my element when I'm in a city, not to mention a crazy place like Las Vegas.
My first day started Monday, where I woke up at 3am, and landed in Las Vegas at 9. I forgot my business cards at home like a rookie, but thanks to google, I was able to search for a printer to do mine last minute. Luckily, I had all my files in my computer, and with my Clear Wire SPOT device, I was able to communicate and send files to the printers, who had them done within the hour. They were delivered to me at the end of the day, since I was going the local transportation route.
I didn't get a chance to do the Media Day thing, but from what I hear and have seen from others who covered the event, it was cold, windy, and aside from all the guns it was miserable.
I settled into my room, and my girlfriend was very thoughtful, and surprised me with a pizza delivery. Mind you, she wasn't able to make it this year, and had ordered the pizza from West Virginia. I was stuffed and couldn't eat another bite. Unfortunately, the room had no fridge, so I fashioned a cooler using the ice bucket, and an MRE bag from my previous meal. It must have worked, because I didn't get sick the next day after eating it for breakfast.
The first day at shot was intense to say the least. I won't go into high detail, but I'll say that I didn't pace myself, and filmed 11 videos, which I then edited and posted later that night. The next few days I would do a lot more meeting great people and companies than filming, although I still managed to get quite a bit up. The icing on the cake was filming with the Gunny for kniferights.org on the last day. He is one down to earth guy, although you wouldn't know it from watching him on Full Metal Jacket.
All in all, I'd say I can't wait to go next year. I don't mind going on a shoestring budget, although it wouldn't hurt to get 3 meals a day. I hope ya'll enjoy all the videos and coverage of the event. Click HERE to see the playlist of the videos I made during my stay in Las Vegas.
First off I'd like to say that I do not paint my firearms to be cool. I paint them out of necessity for concealment for hunting. Since I recreate in both woodland and desert environments, I have both patterns on two different firearms. These are screenshots from a video, if you prefer to watch that.
This is the end result on the mossberg 500 shotgun with a field barrel on it. The magazine tube isn't fully painted, as it wont be visible once the slide is moved forward.
I'm using the Krylon camouflage series of paint. On this project I used Tan and Brown. It's ultra flat, and sticks well. It only costs a dollar or so more per can than the regular Krylon stuff, but one can will last you through a few projects.
You will need some adhesion promoter. It will further enhance your sticking characteristics of the spray paint.
You will need this sort of mesh material for your snakeskin pattern. This is from a camouflage net that I used for my ghillie suit hood. It doesn't matter what color you get though, as long as the hole size is good.
Some masking tape is good for your recoil pad, and some modeling clay or a couple rubber erasers will keep paint off your sight posts/bead.
Start by spraying your entire firearm with adhesion promoter. Allow to completely dry. When it's dry it will be a matte finish.
Next spray on some base color, in my case it is Tan. For best coverage, and to avoid drops and sags, do two THIN coats of tan. You will be surprised how smooth it will look once it is dry.
For this step I decided to use a sawhorse, and a clamp on the stock to keep my shotgun upright for this. Lay the mesh over the firearm, covering all that you wish to have painted.
Spray in quick diagonal swoops to avoid running/dripping paint, and to keep the lines from being too contrasty. Lightly paint the outer edges of the pattern to give a faded look.
That's the business right there, but there are a few finishing touches that you might want to make...
If the lines are too contrasty for your taste, you can lightly spray the top color over the pattern, without the mesh. This will lightly fill in the lines. You can add more depth by filling in one area more than another.
That's pretty much how it is done. If using something like a Cerakote, then you need to layer these colors BEFORE you put it into the oven. Otherwise for regular spray paint, allow 24 hours to dry in order to have a hard durable finish. If you try out this technique, feel free to share the image with us on Facebook! Take care out there- Andy
