Blind faith.

How's this for a one liner: "Blind faith in guns is no better than blind faith in government."

The question is: In what ways are gun owners guilty of exhibiting "blind faith" in their guns?

Sight pictures...

Folding stock has been added. 

I really like peep sights. Like on this sporterized Eddystone M1917. They are better for precision shooting and I find them more fun to shoot.

So, the real question is how I get them on the AK?

Survival of the fittest.

I went on a camp out with the scouts over the weekend and I got to practice my makeshift shelter skills:

It rained all night and I stayed completely dry. Neither I nor my stuff was even touching the ground. Made from two tarps and paracord.

Here I am, bearded once again, on the 5 mile hike we went on the following day. I might have the survival part down, if only I could conquer the fit part...

 Finally here is a particularly good picture I got of my nephew Cash.

ESEE Izula Knife Project.

Since we last spoke I decided that my ESEE Izula needed a new finish. The Izula is definitely one of my favorite knives and has to be the best small fixed blade knife currently available to the masses. It's shape and contour make it the best handling knife I own. The small size and incredible sheath / belt clip combo convinced me to use it as my edc for nearly all of 2012 (until I got the spyderco dragonfly zdp-189).

Stripping it wasn't too complicated, but it took several nights to get it how I wanted. Once the knife was clean I needed to settle on what finish I would give it. I decided I wouldn't go for the polished look, because that tends to result in making the hard lines of the excellent ground and cut steel look more like a slightly-melted popsicle. Other options I considered were plating it in copper and/or nickel, bluing it like a gun, or any number of patina methods.

The Izula is made from 1095 high carbon steel, which isn't the most advanced or high tech on the market, but it holds an awesome edge and is easy to sharpen. The downside is that 1095 isn't stainless as it doesn't contain any chromium. Stainless steel is any steel with a chromium content of about 12% or more. This means that it will rust easily. Giving it a coating of some kind or keeping it oiled will keep it from doing so. Doing some form of both is best.

So after looking at all my options I settled on the idea of giving it a forced vinegar patina. It turned out okay, but I will redo it when everything else is done.

By "else" I mean the fact that I decided to make scales for it from cross sections of my Vepr's stock. It wasn't all that easy but it ended up coming together well enough. Here's the photo essay version:

I cut two cross sections of the walnut stock.

Then I spent the next several days filing, sanding and carving.

 Until I ended up with this. The finish is simply boiled linseed oil.

Here you can see the patina closer.

So I still need to drill holes for the pins, which I plan on doing as soon as I can borrow my brother-in-law's drill press which should be this weekend.

Now I'm working on my neglected CZ75 Compact. I think a new set of walnut grips might be in order...