Sunday, September 4, 2016

Kiradashi Triad Lock Mini AK-47 (Japanese White Steel dual grind blade swap)

As many readers know, for years one of my beat em ups has been the mini AK-47 by Cold Steel. Every now and then as I was digging for other knives or something other than a knife in one of my storage spaces I would come across this Japan Woodworker blade I bought a long time ago. Back when I snagged these blades for some custom made frame locks I was doing they were just under thirty bucks! Now they run over 50 each easy after shipping. Still a good deal really as they are 64 Rc edge hardness with the toughness of a spring steel temper for the spine. These are fine performers and I've always liked the way the stone hammered finish looked.

This surprised me when I did this swap in a EDC I've carried for years. This little gem now has a different cutting angle and while the grip is the same you can chop and do things on a surface or counter a lot easier with this now because your fingers and the handle are well up out of the way with the new Kiradashi blade design. I'm rather liking it! Its splinter picker point is no downside either!! Thanks for looking.. Video below








Thursday, January 21, 2016

2016 Mini Ti Pry Order Info

The mini ti pry is no more! I closed the shop. Thanks the rest here is for nostalgia and ideas only. There is a main thread on this with much the same information and more pictures in the Feb, 2011 post using the menu side arrows right if you are using something other than a handheld.  It runs $35 each via check or money order made out to Steve Rice
4006 Woodville Rd. Bartlesville, Ok 74006 or you can pay via pay pal to http://paypal.me/StephenRice and I ask for $40 on the first with each additional being $35 if you use that method. Please keep in mind I'm a one man show with an item that sells fairly well.  No two of these are exactly alike.

These are made of 6AL-4V titanium. Holidays slow me down. These are made to order real time in most cases. Max orders are now two per person per day please! 



The Mini Ti Pry. What is it? Perhaps "useful" describes it best. Simple, lightweight, convenient and handy.  These are 4" in length and 1/2" wide.. I have carried one of my own for a time now and mine is not wrapped. I use it for all kinds of things. My own personal ti nail if you will. 

If I sell you one or two and you liked a particular aspect about it bring that up if you want it again or you get another unique piece. 
  
At one time I used a service to cut these out for me where all were the same shape but when I went to reorder the prices had changed. To do that it just added expense really to both of us.  

I have gone back to the old way for how this started using scraps of titanium and cutting it out in strips the old fashioned way by hand. So you are truly getting a custom order done up real time made here in the USA when you order. 

I can wrap these pry bars in para cord for you, it is included and even if ordered without cord wrap I still wrap them because they ship more reliably via first class mail that way. They are easy to untie. When the post office has lost the packages in the past its been when they were really flat when I shipped them unwrapped and the post office tried to run it through as envelopes. 

Finish choices are stone washed or etched. I do not bead blast any longer. I can hand rub these out too! Once you chose one of those choices you can choose to have it anodized a color. 

These are all a pry bar on one end and a flat head screw driver on the other. At request I am offering straight bars as in flat unbent ones or bars bent on the pry end where I put the V notch.  

So, who buys these? Mostly it is the military and the target shooting fans and hunters to be honest. They can be made subdued colors or bright colors either way. They use them for ammo jam removal tools and chimney stack removal tools. They actually work well for that for anything though from 17 cal prairie dog hand loads to 22 LR on up to 50 cal or more. I know they work well for shotguns with non functioning extraction springs also.

 Also, these have been reported to make good investigative probes for working crime scenes for digging around in places one would not want to go with their fingers. Some police officers have shared pictures with me of them holding up murder weapons and undergarments and other such things during such investigative work. 

In a pinch these pry bars can open boxes, pop tape, pry staples, lift water meter lids in the yard or hot pot lids in the kitchen, pop stubborn canned food pop tops or beverages for those wanting to save a fingernail and I've got some guys that use metal detectors, some 'diggers' as they call themselves that use these also for some extraordinary finds! 

In recent years many businesses have adopted no blade or no weapon policies in the work places. For those that either can't carry a knife or just don't happen to have one on them, they like the light weight (1/2 oz) and 'sheeple' friendly acceptance these receive in public places compared to pulling out a knife. 

I hear tell they are terrible on the insides of washing machines also so if you forget to remove the one you carry consider yourself warned!

If you need to contact me personally: STRsbackyardknifeworks@gmail.com  

Reminders for ordering. What I need to know to fill your order
1- Finish choice and or anodized color? I offer stone washed or etched for flat finishes and after either of these you can color the bar if you want?  Remember, I cannot get black or red colors
2-Do you want one straight as in flat bar? Or do you want a slight bend in the end of the bar? 
3-Cord Wrap color choice?
  
STR

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Mini Ti Pry Start To Finish

 Still loving making these Mini Ti Pry Bars for the troops and officers in law enforcement, investigative work for probing where you would not want to go with your fingers sometimes, and for all kinds of shooting issues with semi auto and full auto as well as rim fire and bolt action rifle type ammo jams and chimney stacks! Thanks for coming by my blog.  See here for how to order What I need to know to get one to you fast and easy click here!

STR


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

FLASH: It's Here! STR- EK, A.K.A., "STREK" by (GEC)


















This will be the label for the canister tube the knife comes in. Some of these are being signed if I'm asked












The STR-EK was designed to bring all the same things to the table as its larger predecessor , electricians folding knives, and more.  What I wanted was a pocket-worthy folder; something very much pocket-sized and not something big and bulky that couldn’t be added to the EDC line-up.  The old 29 models of yesteryear were huge and, depending on handle material, could weigh upwards of 5 oz.  Most were famous for being nail breakers upon opening due to heavy back spring pressure and draw.  This excess stiffness, as well as large size and pocket damaging protrusions, are a drawback to an otherwise great model.   The STR-EK does away with those annoying issues.

Classic fans of the original are already referring to this as the “STREK” folder.  Its weight is no more than 2.7 oz per folder.  The handles on all are green linen micarta but offers a choice on the blade: sheep’s foot or spear point.  The original EK has a flat head screw driver small enough to fit electrical outlets as well as screws used on license plates.  Unlike the old EK, the STREK driver is equipped with a push-cut saw that can cut drywall or wood panels cleanly and precisely.  With the cut on the push it decreases the mess seen when installing outlets or cutting to fit pipe and so on; most of the mess goes inside the wall.  Simply put, push cut is much neater and also easier to control for straight cuts where appearance is a factor.  

The addition of the saw is not a drawback to use, nor does it cut your hand in use as it is primarily a sheet rock saw.  It can be used for other small sawing projects in a pinch and you’ll be glad to have it handy.  The driver/saw blade has 2 wire strippers in both choils, the half-moon shaped finger rests of the blade.  Just because it has a saw will not negate nor diminish the other features.  These choil rest areas double as both a stripper and a choil/index rest and are effectively tapered to an edge to strip wire quite well.  

  While supplies last, it is available here as well as Great Eastern Cutlery dealers as the “Titioute Electricians Knife”. 
Quite simply these are the best electricians knives ever offered to the public.  If you do any residential install work and make any kind of living with a drywall saw and a screwdriver, you owe it to yourself to get one of these.  Write it off taxes as a business expense, put it in your pocket and one day you’ll be thanking me when a project arises where this tool saves the day or saves you a lot of steps back to your toolbox to find the right tool.

I came up with this design as youngster and had physically modified several knives trying to create this with existing knives.  Even at a young age, when working as a plumber’s helper, I thought that it would be handy to have a drywall saw to carry in my pocket.  As the plumber’s helper even I had to cut drywall a few times around pipes, vents, light fixtures, etc.  poking  through  walls, floors and ceilings.  It always puzzled me, and irritated me since I was the one doing all the running, as to why a saw was not included on an electrician’s folder!  The electricians knife is my most used and abused knife pattern and the design is as much for contractors as well as electricians.  This is a darn handy little folder, extremely well made by GEC.  Only a limited number have been produced.   Please see my videos of this model in action on Youtube.

STR





Here is the link
STR GEC Production SFO