Walking Stick

I've browsed several blogs about making a walking stick and since I've been hiking a few trails with my wife, I decided to make one. It's not that I need a walking stick to aide me in walking but since I have a knowledge of Arnis, a Filipino art of stick fighting, I thought it would come handy for self-defense not only against bad people but also against slithering cratures you might encounter along the path. So here's my rather futile attempt to make one.




I removed the bark with a machete.


Then, I carve a wood spirit on the handle.


I made several wood spirit around the handle then I left the stick to dry in the sunlight.


After a while I get back to the walking stick and I found several cracks on it.

Then I remember on one of the blog I read, it says not to dry the stick directly under the sun but just leave it under a shade.

Oh well, lesson learned. I guess, I'll continue and finish this project despite the cracks. I'll polish it with a sandpaper and probably put a lanyard hole on the handle and also put a stick pic on the other end of the stick for my camera. And then coat the stick with linseed oil. I'll take pictures and post it to keep you updated.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

$1 knife

When will my being a penny pincher ends? I can't help it, I saw this knife at Walmart and I can't resist buying it for one dollar. Unbelievable - what can you do with a one dollar knife. You tell me, here are some photos of the knife.




3 1/4" partially serrated blade, lockback folder, with pocket clip, made in China.


4 1/2" plastic handle with checkering.


The blade is dull out of the box, won't cut paper. Even the serrated edge needs sharpening but I don't have the tool to sharpen it.


Maybe this knife is good as striker for firesteel because the spine is squared off and sharp. Or maybe I'll reprofile the blade and remove the serrated edge so it will be easier to sharpen. For my next project?

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Gulay - Vegetables

Filipinos are fond of vegetables especially Ilocanos. Who among my countrymen would not know the famous vegetable dish pinakbet. My mouth waters at the thought of inabraw and diningdeng of the North or the laswa of the South. And you can bet, if you see a house with plants like talong (eggplant), kamatis (tomato), okra (gumbo), sitaw (string beans) or ampalaya (bitter melon), it belongs to a Filipino.

We planted vegetables this summer, latter part of spring to be exact. Here are some photos of them.


Trellis for sitaw.




Tomatoes.


Eggplant.


String beans.


Bitter melon. We use the leaves for munggo dish.


Okra.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading. /

Gerber Profile Fixed Blade

Someone said that "if a $30 knife is expensive to you, you are not into knives." Well, I guess I'm not into knives because not one of my knives cost more than $25. Including this Gerber Profile Fixed Blade that cost $19.97 + tax at Walmart.




It comes with a sturdy nylon sheath.


4" drop point titanium coated blade. It comes very sharp out of the box.


Full tang with non-slip rubber handles. For me, a moderately priced knife that I won't hesitate to use.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

North Branch Trail System

Yesterday, we biked the North Branch Trail System from Golf Road to Chicago Botanic Gardern. This was the second time we biked this trail but it is only now that I was able to take a video.

The North Branch Bicycle Trail is a Class I bicycle trail and starts at Caldwell and Devon Avenues in Chicago, and continues north approximately 20 miles to Lake County, Illinois.

The trail winds along the North Branch of the Chicago River and the Skokie Lagoons, providing access to various picnic groves, golf courses and also the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Here's a short video I created.



That's all folks! Thanks for viewing

Garage Sale

I biked around the neighborhood last Saturday and there were several garage sale. Most are selling clothes and kid's toys so I didn't bother to look around. However, one guy was selling interesting stuff and I ended up buying the items below for 9 dollars.


1. Axe - 2 dollars
2. Saw - 1 dollar
3. Leather Hole Puncher - 3 dollars
4. Gun Tacker - 3 dollars


The axe and the saw are very rusty so when I saw a WD40 on the shelf I asked if it was for sale but the guy was kind enough enough to give it to me for free because the can is only 1/3 filled. I thought I had a good bargain, went home and cleaned the items I bought.


After cleaning the axe with sandpaper and WD40 ...


... and after sharpening with a bastard file.


I found out that the axe is the official axe of the Boy Scouts of America. To find out more about the axe, I googled for it and I saw one on sale at eBay for $54.00, used with a sheath. Well, I really got a good buy isn't it?


And that's not all, the old gun tacker is also on sale at eBay for $24.00.


The items all cleaned up. I bet I'm gonna be going to a lot of garage sale. It's profitable you know.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Knife & Flint Combo

I saw this first in one of the videos of Ghostkamo and I thought it would be a great back-up knife. I checked on eBay for the price and that what really made me decide to buy - $11.95 + free shipping. That was cheap!


It comes with a firesteel and a nylon sheath.


7 1/4" overall length, 3" blade made of stainless steel with black coating. Handle cord wrapped with shoelace like string. The jimping at the back of the blade can be used as striker for the firesteel.


A close-up of the tanto blade shape.


The firesteel is the same diameter as LMF Boy Scout model but a little bit shorter. The firesteel alone could cost $5-6 if you buy one with the same specs.


The knife and firesteel inserted in the sheath. Very compact and low profile design. Definitely, it will be in one of my kit.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.