JAB

  Hey, go for it.  Cancer deserves no respect (not the people who have it but cancer, itself) so I laugh at it every chance I get.    And, actually, not only will breathing the air (at least in some places) indirectly kill you by causing cancer but breathing can eventually kill you directly rather than indirectly.  Oxygen is used by your body to break things down.  Think about it - the breaking down of food, nutrients and so on is - at least in some of its elements - basically a controlled, flame-free 'fire' in your guts.  It is my understanding that as time goes on your body, itself, begins to oxidize and sort of burn itself up for lack of a better term (which is part of what causes aging and, eventually, dying of 'old age'.)  So, yeah, breathing kills you slowly (as opposed to the rather abrupt result if you stop.)

[sarcasm] And in other news, studies have indicated links between being alive and dying.  According to one researcher, an exhaustive study of living people indicated that living people have a 100% chance of dying at some point in the future (margin of error for this study is +/- 5%). [/sarcasm]   As y'all probably know by now, I recently had stage 3 colon cancer.  I figure that if I live long enough then cancer will probably, eventually come back to get me.  Now, I could spend whatever time I have between now and then living on stems, twigs and grass and then still die and be lying in my coffin like this (metaphorically) :  :angry: or I can continue to eat my good, smoky barbecue (one of my favorite things in the world), occasional serving of bacon and so on and be lying in my coffin like this (also metaphorically) : :D .  Don't get me wrong - I like eating vegetables.  They go great as side dishes with meat!

  Yeah, even with the few holsters and sheaths I make from time to time my hands cramp for a few days afterward just from the hand sewing, etc.  I imagine that doing that kind of lacing would be a real pain in the..uh...fingers.

  Hadn't thought of that. Only problem there would be that, unless I am mistaken, trailer hitch balls have an integrated bolt that allows it to be secured through a hole in the hitch, itself.  That means you'd have to have a shaft thick enough that you could drill it and insert the bolt into the shaft.  That was why I liked the idea of the large lug nut - the shaft, itself, could be made to just screw up into the lug nut.    Along those lines, though, I have bought some pretty cool looking, antique metal door knobs (no keyhole) at flea markets and the like with the idea of using those for handles.  The bolt that fits them is thin enough that drilling the shaft to accommodate it shouldn't be a problem.  I will get around to using some of those door knobs one of these days and I think that, if I can execute it well, the combo will make a really nice walking stick.

Man, I was hoping they were going to announce some huge improvement to Critical Defense ammo - to the point that it might be a completely different animal - or maybe that they had created easily and reliably reloadable .22 LR and .22 WMR ammo that could be reloaded safely and inexpensively.  Now THAT would change everything.  Bullets that maintain polymer tip integrity at ranges that are four times that of the longest range I to which I have access?  Meh.     I heard that and my first thought was, "Is that like an answer to a question no one asked?"

Neat looking handle with the leather, etc. Next time, instead of a rake handle, look at Home Depot for one of those 'industrial' type push broom handles. My local HD has them in two thicknesses. I got the thicker one to make (yet another) walking staff out of (got the idea from a video on youtube by preparedmind101) and it is pretty beefy. They also sell wooden dowels that are even thicker than those. Imagine a good, strong, thick wooden shaft with a 'knob' style handle rather than a crosspiece handle. Make the knob handle by taking one of those sort of decorative (as in closed/domed at the top) lug nuts intended for use on a semi, threading the top of the shaft to screw into it and epoxying it into place. You could go a little more 'stealth' by covering the lug nut and the section of shaft just below it in leather. I have also wondered about using a couple of pieces of the thicker walled PVC pipe - maybe in 3/4 inch or even 1 inch - and filling the pipe with some kind of lightweight resin, epoxy or something like that. PVC pipe will apparently get soft and allow you to shape it much like kydex if you heat it (although you have to be careful as PVC pipe reportedly gives off fumes that are somewhat toxic when heated so you'd want to do it outdoors and wear a mask.) I'm thinking that a simple crook or even something a little more decorative could be created for the handle by slightly heating, bending (or shaping) the PVC before filling with the resin, epoxy or whatever. You could also heat and twist the shaft, etc. for an interesting look. Then the whole thing could be painted with whatever paint scheme one wanted - a camo pattern (something like a Mossy Oak hunting camo pattern might be fun), a theme to match your favorite sports team, flowers and peace signs or whatever. A really skilled hand might even paint it to look like wood, at least to a passing glance. I wonder if it couldn't even be dipped using one of those water soluble 'decal' type kits. At any rate, I'm thinking that if the epoxy, resin or whatever was used to fill the PVC pipe were sturdy enough it might be sort of a 'poor man's' (I prefer 'do it yourselfer's) version of that Cold Steel walking stick I linked to in my last post.

My right knee sometimes aches, gets weak, gives out or even briefly locks up on me. Not often but sometimes. For that reason, I sometimes carry a cane just in case I need it. I carry one at work pretty much every day because there are stairs and such and going up and down stairs is usually when my knee will fail. I have always enjoyed sort of collecting canes, anyway, and have made a couple over the years. This is the one I have been carrying at work, lately: I turned the shaft on a lathe. At first, I had intended it to be all one piece with a wooden 'knob' as the handle but changed my mind as I went along. Instead, I put the knob at the bottom as sort of a pendulum/counterbalance to help the cane swing forward better when walking and used a small horse collar hame as the handle. I never could get the hame attached to the handle tightly enough to keep it from rattling some when I would use it (it was stable but had just enough play to rattle) so I recently wrapped the part where it attaches to the shaft with paracord with an integrated wrist loop. I don't carry it specifically for self defense but (as I can't carry a firearm, etc. at work) if I had to press it into use as such I imagine it would get the job done admirably. This is another I made using a 'twisted' (had a vine growing up it) piece of dogwood that I harvested, myself. I also turned it on the lathe, a little, just to thin down the top and bottom portions of the shaft as it was too thick and would have been way too heavy to use for a cane, otherwise. I have a larger hame as the handle on it. Finally, this is one I made to take with me when I was going on a cruise. I wasn't sure if the hames on the others would pass getting on and off the ship so I turned another shaft (oak, I think, but I can't remember for sure) and carved/shaped my own variation on a Derby style handle out of cherry. The ring around the neck of the cane (covering where handle joined shaft) is copper fitting from Home Depot. It worked great on the cruise and I used it for several months afterward then one day the handle just suddenly broke at a weak spot in the actual grip part of the handle. That was a complete bummer as this may well have been my favorite of all the canes, hiking sticks and walking sticks I have made. I have a couple of other handles I am working on that may, eventually, replace the broken one if I can get the remnants of the handle off without ruining the shaft. I used a bolt and epoxy to attach it in the first place because I wanted the joint to be very strong. Well, it is strong, alright - I can't get it apart. I don't have as easy access to the lathe as I once did so I haven't made any in a while. Just thought I'd show some ideas for canes that would work well as walking aids and, I believe, could function admirably if pressed into a role of self defense device. Also, Cold Steel makes this using man-made materials made to look (sort of) like real wood: http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/91PBS/IRISH_BLACKTHORN_WALKING_STICK.aspx

Wow. Love the lacework on that one. I've made a sheath for one of my knives that, because I intended it to give a sort of 'mountain man' look I used leather thongs to 'lace' the whole thing instead of using stitching but have never tried my hand at the smaller/finer lacing material like you used here and certainly not with the woven/almost braided looking pattern like you used. The very subtle tooling on the main body of the sheath is a perfect balance to the more intricate looking lacework (is that a stamp or maybe a combo of stamps?) Then there is the contrast of colors with the darker ('chocolate') brown on the lacework and the accent strap (with more tooling that sets the whole thing off very nicely) against the lighter color of the main sheath (almost looks like some leather that I have done using coffee as a light stain/coloring on the leather.) That light color was a great choice, as well, as it reflects the almost 'faded, antique' (and I mean that in a good way) look of the lighter areas of the handle on the knife, itself. It brings the whole setup together as one, very solid visual package. Lastly, that little 'spearpoint' sort of detail on the darker leather beneath the belt clip on the reverse of the sheath - by the very fact that it wasn't really necessary - shows your attention to detail and a desire to give the sheath an appealing, finished look from every angle. Very, very nice work.

So the dilemma is sell it or keep it and the issue with keeping it is that it doesn't get driven much?  Simple solution - drive it more.  There, problem solved.  You're welcome. :pleased:

  Except that the lord high almighty king of all Republicans, Ronald Reagan - as governor of California - pushed the legislation in California that eventually became nation-wide intrusions on gun rights back in the sixties.  That same Ronald Reagan later made it known that he completely supported the so-called Brady Bill.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that any politician is actually on our side.

  More like John Belushi (the Samurai Delicatessen.)    http://www.zie.nl/video/overige/tvshows-saturday-night-live-samurai-delikatessen-John-Belushi/m1cz8e7ftwuf   Actually, though, the first thing I thought of were those stupid videos Lynn Thompson does for Cold Steel.  The first time I saw one of those, I thought, "Why are they wasting that perfectly good meat by hacking it all to pieces?  Also, do they expect to be attacked by thick pieces of rope?  And why did they pick this fat guy to do their videos?" (Hey, as a fellow fat guy I can say that!)  Then I finally came to realize that the fat guy gets to do those videos because he is the CEO of the company.

Wow.  Something about the blade/handle shape was already making me think of the Elvin blades in the Lord of the Rings movies (and that is not a bad thing) but that sheath that Mark@Sea came up with really solidified the image, for me.  You guys should be making blade/sheath rigs for big budget movies!

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

  The OP, Grand Torino, made it.

  Not a bad idea but - for a 'traditional' looking hatchet - I think I prefer the traditional look of the one the OP posted.  I see what you are saying about the draw being a little ungainly but - in my case - I don't see me needing to 'quick draw' a hatchet nor do I imagine I would be drawing/sheathing it enough times in a row for it to matter much to me.  Now, if I were carrying a tomahawk as a self defense option, etc. I would definitely want something 'quick draw'.   Of course, another way to solve the 'ungainly' problem while sticking with a more 'traditional' look would be to simply make a leather edge cover with a snap strap to hold it on and then actually carry the hatchet on the belt in a hammer ring.  Alternately, one could make a kydex edge cover, carry the hatchet in a hammer ring and tether the cover to the ring with paracord, etc. so that it will yank the cover off as the hatchet is drawn from the ring (sort of like those 'trigger guard' devices some people like to use in lieu of a holster for a firearm.)

Nice, as always.

  The other sad thing is that there are probably party line Republicans who would vote for Hillary if she would just put an 'R' next to her name instead of a 'D'.  For instance, look at the mental acrobatics folks did when Haslam first ran for governor to try to convince others (and, probably, themselves) that he really was 'on our side'.  It is too much about party politics on both sides and voting to make sure their team wins the superbowl...er...their party wins the election than about really looking at individual candidates and voting for the best person for the job.  Heck, sometimes even people who would compare Lucifer, himself, favorably to a particular candidate during primaries will bend over backward to get others to vote for that same candidate once he/she wins the primaries.  Just because a candidate might be slightly less onerous than their other major party counterpart still doesn't mean he or she is a great choice.

  I tell you, it is getting to the point that every time I hear the oxymoronic (as well as simply moronic) phrase, "common sense gun laws" I want to vomit.  See, common sense - real common sense - tells me that criminals do not follow laws.  Common sense tells me that a guy that is going to walk into a school/church/restaurant/strip club or whatever and start killing people - often total strangers at that - and then eat his gun when the cops show up really doesn't give a tinker's damn about whether or not the gun he uses to do it was obtained legally.  Likewise a person who robs a bank, stages an armed invasion of another person's home and so on.  Common sense tells me that, ultimately, the only people whose behavior is changed by laws are the law abiding.  So, therefore, claiming that more/stricter limitations on the right to own firearms will somehow cause criminals to suddenly obey the law defies common sense.

Looks good.  I need to stitch up a couple such sheaths, myself, but every time I think I am going to get started I get distracted or the lazies hit me.

  Maybe but at least the rent is cheap.

  I don't particularly like pancakes.  I do, however, like waffles. :pleased:

  I actually kinda like eating at Waffle House, sometimes.  The one where I usually go has no gunbuster, etc.  In fact, I don't recall ever seeing anything anywhere in the restaurant that even mentions firearms (as OS has said, I don't usually go to a restaurant to read.)  Therefore, as I am in violation of no law, my firearm stays concealed and no one has ever said the first thing to me about it.  Heck, a couple of years ago they even had an article posted on a bulletin board in their public area in which individuals were speaking in favor of gun rights, etc.  Now, I think they posted it because one of their regulars or someone otherwise affiliated with their location was interviewed in the article but still I have never felt that I or my firearm were unwelcome there.

  My thought on that - and this is just for me, not criticiing your decision - is this:  "How likely is it that an armed assailant, wearing body armor, is just going to stand there while I shoot him 8, 10, 12 or 15 times?"  And my answer to myself is:  "He ain't."  If the assailant is wearing body armor, is armed with a firearm and, just as you said, is set on killing and I am there in just 'street clothes' with a handgun then - unless I get lucky and drop him on the first or second shot - he is probably going to kill me or at least put me out of the fight after I get off that first round or two.  The same goes for multiple, armed assailants.  There are no extra points for the amount of ammo left in the gun once I am down.   Keep in mind that two determined individuals took out pretty much an entire team of trained F.B.I. agents - killing two and wounding five others - in the Miami shootout.  That was with the F.B.I. agents having some idea of what to expect, not being surprised by a gunman just suddenly opening up in a crowded room, etc.  At least some of those agents did have semiauto pistols and some of them even had long guns (I remember at least one pump shotgun being mentioned.)  Also, keep in mind that the gun that finally ended the fight - in the hands of a very brave agent - was a revolver.  A S&W .357 (iirc, loaded with .38 Special or maybe .38+P ammo.)   In the North Hollywood shootout, two individuals wearing home-made body armor and armed with firearms injured eleven police officers and seven civilians while withstanding a hail of return gunfire before their spree was finally ended.  Again, police were armed with a mixture of revolvers and semiauto pistols along with a couple of shotguns, at least.  Interestingly, one of the assailants had to stop using his primary weapon - a semiauto (rifle) because it jammed and he was unable to clear it.  That jam may well have prevented death or further injury among the 'good guys'.  In the end, one of the assailants apparently shot himself and the other was taken out by a S.W.A.T. team (who shot him several times in the legs, resulting in his death from blood loss.)   The jist of all this is that one 'good guy' armed with just a handgun - be it a revolver or a semiauto - is going to have to get really lucky and stop such an assailant with one or two shots or else said 'good guy' will pretty much be toast.  Therefore, a revolver would be just as 'capable' as a semiauto in such a very, very unlikely situation.  Again, just my thoughts and the reason I figure a revolver is still just as good as a semi (maybe better) for concealed carry by a private citizen - because past those first, couple of shots it probably ain't gonna matter no how. 

  The strange thing is that, from what I could find based on research I did in the past to see if it was still legal to make small amounts of drinkable whiskey just for one's own consumption, the justification for not allowing people to legally do so was that stills pose an explosion risk.  It seems to me that fuel stills would pose the very, same risk.  So, once again the government gives some B.S. line to try and cover the fact that it is really all about the money.

Y'all aren't planning ahead on this one. Obviously, as duct tape might be in short supply once the zombie apocalypse actually starts (I mean, that's one of the first things I'd want to scavenge) you might not be able to change out your bayonet mounting materials very often if at all. Therefore, to maintain a presentable appearance as the world falls to pieces around you, even after slamming the bayonet through hundreds of zombie eye sockets, etc., obviously you would want a color or print which will not show the blood/brains/goo stains as badly. Therefore, I humbly suggest: Of course, there are probably some who are more concerned about the olfactory sense than appearances and, given how things will smell during a zombie apocalypse, that is understandable. In such cases, maybe a scented duct tape is in order. This one will help keep your fighting rig smelling minty fresh. So there are two, very good choices for mounting the bayonet. I wanted to come up with something making fun of the glow in the dark duct tape but I couldn't because, I have to admit, I actually think it is kind of cool.