McAfee's Knob and DIY Tarp Project

I had been planning an overnight camp trip for a couple of weeks and was finally able to make it happen this weekend.  My goal was to try out a new homemade plastic tarp, sharpen up some bushcrafting skills and techniques; and most importantly, spend some time with one of my boys. The outing took place near McAfee's Knob which is located near Roanoke, Virginia.  The hike is about 8 miles round-trip but worth the effort once you get to the Knob; revealing one of the finest views in Virginia.

Having seen this DIY tarp on a YouTube video a few months ago, I was convinced that this was a project that had the potential of being very cost effective and easy to pack.  Completing the project was really quite simple and can be completed in less than two hours.  The material list in putting this project together is inexpensive and includes the following items:

1. Husky 9 X 12 Plastic Drop Cloth (2mil) from Home Depot ($2.98)
2. Duct Tape-40yards from Home Depot ($4.89)

So, there you have it...  for under $8, I was able to make  a reasonably lightweight and reliable homemade tarp that provides for more than adequate shelter.  The whole project took about 1.5 hours to complete. The most time consuming
portion was in reinforcing the plactic with the duct tape; this included both sides of the edge, the center line and the diagonals.  By adding the diagonal reinforcement, it seemed logical that this would reduce the stress of the plastic when putting on a load when staking and tying down.  In addition I decided to use duct-tape straps instead of grommets on the tie ends.   The hexagonal shape provides excellent coverage and the whole tarp weighs about 22 ounces.  The entire tarp rolls up to approximately 5.25" X 7". With the cost of sil-nylon tarps and the like, this really is a remarkable and cost effective alternative that won't let you down.  While the durability is yet to be determined, I can't think of a reason why this tarp wouldn't find a place in my pack on every overnight outing going forward. By the way, this was the first overnight with a hammock  Besides not having to sleep on the ground, there are definitely some pluses in selecting this type of sleep system.  I need to spend additional nights trying to optimize this method, so it may be awhile before I post my thoughts.  On the other hand, the DIY tarp and hammock combo complimented each other very well.  ~Keep it Sharp.

Enzo Trapper Knife Review

Back in March of this year I purchased an Enzo Trapper Knife kit from Curtis at Omaha Knife.  This was a straight forward knife kit that turned out exceptionally well.  The knife purchased was in O1 steel with Curly Birch handles.  While I never got around to posting pictures of the completed project, the Blue Ridge Survival Blog header has had a picture of this very knife.   I’ve been so impressed by this knife, I ordered and received my second Enzo Trapper earlier this week. 

Specifications:

Blade:  Full tang O1 tool steel with Scandinavian Grind– The Trapper is also available at Omaha Knife in D2 (both Scandi and Flat Grind), and 12c27 Stainless.  I have no doubt that D2 and 12c27 are excellent steels, especially since the Enzo brand represents high quality.  I purchased the O1 because I find it works well for me; I like the carbon steel and in terms of quality, ease of sharpening and edge retention the O1 steel has performed flawlessly.  From the factory this blade arrives hair popping sharp.  This type of grind lends itself especially well to bushcrafting tasks and is one of the simplest edges to sharpen.

The Trapper in Curly Birch was the first
acquisition.

Overall Length:  8 1/4” from tip to heel.  Blade length is 3 3/4".  Blade thickness is 1/8”.

Handle Material/Scales:  Burgundy Linen Micarta

Sheath:  The leather sheath is excellent and of very high quality.  The leather used to form the sheath is thick and comes with a dangler.  

Putting it all together...

As I said, this is a straight forward kit.  The kit was packed very well from Omaha Knife with the contents having the blade, handle material, corby brass bolts and a leather sheath.  The customer service from Omaha Knife is excellent.  I ordered the knife on Sunday and received it Wednesday.  I consider that very fast since the order could not get processed until Monday morning at the earliest. 

The scales that I 
ordered came pre-formed and pre-drilled, so the handle material is simply epoxied to the handle end of the blade, bolted and clamped.  The epoxy that I used is T-88 Structural Epoxy and it has a cure time of about 24 hours.    The next day after the epoxy cured, a Dremel tool was used to remove as much of the excess length from the brass bolts as possible.  I then used a small file to finish the brass pins flush with the handle.  The Dremel was also used to remove the excess handle material so that it's flush with the tang; I then followed up with 400 grit sandpaper on the handle material to smooth everything and round sharp corners.  Boiled Linseed Oil was then put on the handle and allowed to dry overnight.  Even with the Micarta handles, the Boiled Linseed Oil worked well.  Since this knife has the Micarta handle, I intend for this to be my primary workhorse.  I know all of this seems over simplified, but it really is a very straight forward knife kit.  I’ve been very pleased by the overall results and it’s satisfying to have built such a high quality knife.  This is a great weekend project that won’t take all weekend, so I highly recommend it.   ~Keep it Sharp.

DIY Knife Review - Woodcraft Knife Kit Assembly

So I’ve wanted to make a knife for some time and was looking for an easy kit that wasn’t going to require a huge investment in new tools. As it happened, I was at the local Woodcraft store and found a knife kit that seemed easy enough. The cost of the kit was $20.99.

Here’s the product detail from the Woodcraft.com site:

These knife kits are constructed from 1/8" 440C Stainless Steel with a hollow ground and highly polished blade section. Just shape, mount and finish your custom handles for a one of a kind, high quality knife kit. Kits include blade, aluminum scale pins and instructions. Made in China.

•  440C Stainless steel blade 
•  Custom fitted sheath 
•  3 aluminum pins 
•  3" 3/4 inch blade 
•  8 3/8" overall 

Since the kit did not include the handle material, while in the store, I picked up a pair of Rosewood Bolivian knife scales which measured in at 3/8” x .5” x 5” each. The scales come packaged together at a cost of $4.99. Total cost for the material to make the knife was $25.99 plus tax. After getting home, I used the knife blank to trace the outline of the handle. Using two sided tape, I put both scales together and made my preliminary cuts with a reciprocating saw. I know that this was not an ideal tool but this was what I had available to me and my plan was to not buy any new equipment. Once I cut the scales to the general shape, I drilled the required holes and then epoxied and pinned the scales to the knife. Here is when things got very tough… Trying to remove so much handle material to be flush with the tang was a nightmare… even using 60 grit sandpaper.

Regretfully, I went out and bought a dremel; however, this made life easy and in no time I had the scales flush to the handle. The dremel was also handy in removing the extra length on the pins. Once this was accomplished, I proceeded to shape the handle to my desired width. After getting the grip to my liking, the last step before sharpening the blade was to soak the handle in boiled linseed oil overnight. Sharpening the blade was a challenge due to the factory edge being uneven. However, after about an hour on my Japanese water stone (1000/6000 grit) I was able to re-profile the blade to have a convex edge. Finishing the edge with a leather strop gave the blade a super sharp edge. I had my doubts with this Chinese steel, but, overall the edge retention on this 440C steel seems acceptable. After spending 2 hours, making feather sticks, cutting and whittling wood and cutting up vegetables—camp related chores—the blade was still sharp enough to slice through paper.  I was quite pleased.

The leather sheath was formed simply by wetting the leather, sticking the knife in the sheath and then forming with my fingers. Now after the leather has dried there is very good rention of the knife when sheathed. To finish off the sheath I lathered it with shoe grease and then buffed it by hand. The knife comes with a mirror like shine, but, you can see that I added etching to the knife blade. This was an interesting process that I will go into at another time. Overall, not bad for less than $26 and about two days investment. Now I have another full tang knife that is functional, looks attractive and one that I would not hesitate to carry. I highly recommend this project to anyone. ~Keep it Sharp.