Knifemaking

If you're wondering what the symbol is in my favicon, it's the logo I designed to put on my knives.   The centre knife in the logo represents my middle initial and is a stylized version of a Randall Fighting Siletto that I have in my collection.   I've been dabbling in knifemaking for a number of years but have never seemed to be able to go into it seriously.  Perhaps when retirement comes and there is more time to devote to it I'll give it the attention that it deserves.

My knife grinder is a KMG (Knife Makers Grinder) made by Beaumont Metal Works in Columbus Ohio.  It is quite popular in the knifemaking community, this one has a 2HP DC motor with a variable speed controller.  In the picture it has an 8 inch contact wheel but I also have a 12 inch wheel and a flat platen.   

These are a few blades in various stages of construction. 

This is the second knife from the right in the above photo.

 This is the first knife on the left in the above photo.  I modeled this after a Bob Dozier Professional Skinner and like it quite a lot.  This is my go to knife for deer hunting.

And here's the kydex sheath for it.

These are some of my earliest knives.

Astrophotography

It looked like clear skies last night so I thought I would drag out the telescope and have a look.  When it's this cold you need to let it sit outsite for a while so that the mirror temperature equalizes with the 

ambient temperature otherwise the image will be fuzzy due the thermal currents swirling around the surface.

Here's the telescope parked out in front of the house.  You can read more about it here on my website.

This thing that is mounted to the top of the telescope is the Telrad finder. Aiming the telescope is done by looking down the body of the telescope through the Telrad where you will see a series of red circles in the form of a bullseye...

...like this.  You point the telescope and place the object you want to view in the centre circle, in this case a bright object in the southern sky which just happens...

... to be Jupiter!  You can see the bands quite clearly but I assure you the view in real time is much better.  The point and shoot camera I was using can not capture the whole picture because the planet is much brighter than it's moons.  To the eye it would look more like...

...this.  This is done by making a composite of at least two pictures so that both the moons and the planet can be captured.   Lots of fun!

Michigan Fall Circle Tour

This past October I participated in a circle tour of South Western Michigan from Grand Rapids to Muskegon and back.  All five of us met and stayed at the Radisson Hotel on Anne St. in Grand Rapids on the Friday evening.  The next day we arose early and enjoyed a buffet breakfast to fuel up for the day.  Here is the route for the Saturday ride which took us to the Shoreline Inn in Muskegon.  We enjoyed a great meal at the Lake House Waterfront Grille where I indulged in a Great Lakes Burger, a burger patty between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

The next day we returned to Grand Rapids (the route) via the many bicycle paths that were converted from old railway lines which in Michigan are mostly paved.  What a fantastic ride with some great friends.   

Here is a video of the tour.

A couple of Sewing Projects

One thing I enjoy doing is making my own camping gear.  Here are a couple of projects I have recently completed.

Raw material was purchased from Rockywoods Outdoor Fabrics and a great source of information on making your own gear can be found on the diytactical forums.

This pouch measures six inches tall by ten inches wide and three inches deep and was designed primarily with the intention of putting it on the back of the Kifaru Marauder but it will also fit on the Kifaru Scout and Tailgunner.

There is a patch of Velcro on the front designed to hold various patches with the opposing Velcro sewed to the back.  The rear of the pouch has a series of webbing rows to accept molle attaching straps.









The pouch on the Marauder to the left and the Scout to the right.






Here is a holster designed to hold a can of Bear Pepper spray.  It is made from 500 Denier Cordura Nylon and inch and a half webbing.  The bungee cord holds the can in place but allows it to be drawn without loosening the cord.

The holster attaches to the pals webbing on the Kifaru Omni-belt with Molle clips.

Three Day Pack

During the hike on the Bruce Trail this summer it became obvious to me that my pack was way too heavy for a three day hike.  The full pack weighed just over sixty pounds.  I got the idea on the Kifaru forums from Sawtooth to weigh each individual piece of gear and put it into a spreadsheet (link to spreadsheet).  After doing this and removing what I felt was not absolutely necessary I was able to get the weight down to around the forty pound mark.

Here is the EMR pack from the hike last summer, all 60 pounds of it.

Here is the reduced load using the EMR pack as a whole without any external pouches which some would say that this is a better way of doing things because you are less likely to get caught up on branches on the trails.  I used a waterproof dry bag for food storage which is nice for hanging the food in bear country.  This setup came in at 44.1 pounds.

Now the same load using just the EMR frame as a hauler but with a couple of Kifaru Claymore pouches and my homemade pod.  This seemed to feel better than the EMR pack but I'm not sure how the water bladder would work in the horizontal Claymore.  The weight came in at 41.4

Lastly this is using a Maurauder Pack with a Claymore, a 2 Quart, my homemade 10 x 6 pouch, my homemamde Pod and a Spec-Ops first aid pouch.  The weight came in at 41.2 pounds.  I like this setup best because of the organization and quick access to the gear.

Now for warmer weather to give it a try.  

2011 Summer Hiking Trip on the Bruce Trail

I had to re-post this entry because the original picture links no longer worked for some reason.  Hopefully it will be just as interesting the second time around.

I invited my brother Don and his son Joshua to come along with my son Steven and I on a short hiking trip on the Bruce Trail along the Niagara Escarpment. The Bruce Trail [URL="http://brucetrail.org/"]click me [/URL]for website) is a hiking trail that was established back in the sixties and runs almost 900kms from Queenston, near Niagara Falls, to Tobermory on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. The main campground at Cypress Lake in Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario, Canada, is very popular and often books up months in advance.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I called the park office a couple weeks ago and found that there were spots available at the Stormhaven back country campsite.

After acquiring the required permits from the Park Office at Cypress Lake we drove down Emmet Lake Road to the parking lot and proceeded down the side trail that met up with the main Bruce Trail.  The side trail was wide and gently sloping downward towards Georgian Bay, an easy walk. So easy that we missed the main trail and ended up on the beach and had to backtrack.

Once on the main trail the terrain became much more challenging and included steep rocky sections that tested the will of the boys.

Occasionally we were greeted by spectacular views of Georgian Bay when the trail came to an opening high above the shoreline.  There were several crevasses along the way that were quite deep.  I had never hiked with trekking poles before but they were a Godsend, especially good for keeping your balance with the heavy pack.  As I suspected I had packed way too much gear but I guess this is the way you learn life's lessons, by trial and error.

I had a chance to use some of my Kifaru gear - an EMR pack with two Claymore pouches and a Tailgunner I.  My son was using an Eagle AIII pack and carried his clothes, his sleeping bag, Thermarest and his eating utensils.  I had the same plus the cooking gear, the tent and tarp and other gear.  We arrived at our destination, the Stormhaven back country campsite which has nine sites total, a composting toilet and a couple of bear hang stations all ready set up with a pulley system. ([URL="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/bruce/visit/visit6/visit6g.aspx"]click here[/URL] for map) We climbed down the stairs to the beach and were elated to find that our site was just set back from the beach in the trees.

Looking east down the beach to Cave Point.

Looking west down the beach to Rocky Point.

The sites consist of a wooden platform, twelve feet by twelve feet.  We proceeded to set up our tents and tarps as a storm was looming.

After cooking supper we hung our food and went for a swim.  The water was freezing but refreshing.  The water of Georgian bay is known for it's clarity so purification was easy as we just used our Steri Pens.  My son could spend hours throwing rocks into the water so we made a game of setting up some rocks by the edge and seeing who could knock them down.  Once the stars came out we retired to our platform and were
lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves hitting the shore in front of us.

After breakfast we packed our daypacks and set out.  The trail continued for another two kilometers or so with some pretty challenging sections until we reached the beach that met up with the Horselake Trail from the main campground ([URL="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/bruce/visit/visit6.aspx#cyprus"]link[/URL]).  The trail suddenly changed to a flat groomed trail with larger rocks marking the trail.  Again, when we met up with the Georgian Bay Trail the path became what appeared to be a walkway at a theme park.  This trail is used by 95% of the visitors from Cypress Lake.

A little farther up this trail and we arrived at Indian Head Cove which is a rocky beach that reminds me of something you would see in the Caribbean with the clear waters and sunbathers.

We continued up around the point to a place called The Grotto which is one of my son's favorite spots.  When he was younger he could easily spend hours jumping into the water from the ledge above.  The Grotto is a cave carved into the rock from the repeated wave action over the years.  There are two tunnels that run from the pool under the rock and out to the bay, one of which is evident from the blue light coming from the pool.  Divers frequent the area and can appear from nowhere beneath you with the telltale sign of the bubbles breaking the surface.

We climbed around another point and found a much quieter spot for swimming and diving.  As you get away from the Grotto and Indian Head Cove, the crowds subside.  We spent the rest of the day exploring and swimming before heading back to camp.

That night the sunset was spectacular and cast a golden hue onto Cave Point and the escarpment.  Supper consisted of mac and cheese with extra cheddar added for good measure.  A few new hikers arrived for the night but it was a quiet spot compared to day at the Grotto.

The following day we retraced our steps back to the parking lot and were out by noon.  The boys found carrying their packs much easier the second time around, possibly because they knew what to expect.  Before driving home we completed our day with a trip to the Tobermory Sweet Shop for a Lighthouse Sunday.

Putting up the Treestand

The weather forecast indicated a low chance for rain so I thought it would be a good oportunity to put up the treestand.  When I arrived at the farm I sighted in the crossbow and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was shooting acurately even after having the string removed over the winter.  I have it shooting on target at 30 yards and eight inches high at 20 yards.  I met up with Mike who was also putting up his stand.  Some of'the trees looked like their bark had been shaved off, possibly the ash borer?  I stayed untill I could no longer see enough to take a shot which was around 8:10 pm or twenty minutes after sunset.