Ideas for our resident artisan's

[rookhawk]

Mushroom knife. If you hunt and fish in North America, you should be learning your native plants and you ought to be harvesting some of the choice delectables! -

 

[rookhawk]

Gunsmith's hammers:

 

[rookhawk]

Bee hive tools:

 

[rookhawk]

Back pocket concealed carry wallets:

 

[rookhawk]

Altoid Tin survival kits with holster:

 

[rookhawk]

Foragers Belt Pouch. Pops open into a sack. I carry one anytime I walk in the woods. One day it gets filled with berries, the next mushrooms, the next leeks, the next nuts.

 

[rookhawk]

Tiny but very useful, upgraded version of the Morakniv Scandi Neck Knife.

 

[fourfive8]

I think generic knife that has saturated the market may look something like this

OK, one idea- one post.
Here's a utility chopper with original wood sheath. ca 1890 from the Ifugao people in mountains of Luzon Philippines, (aka Igorot mountain people). OAL is 17". Blade is 12". Tapered from hilt to tip. 3/16" at hilt to 1/32" at tip. High quality forged, hardened steel. Full length pass through tang. Wood handle with woven rattan over wood. Very popular style. Many similar blades still in use today in Philippines.

Young Ifugao in traditional dress

 

[458 Exp]

Not quite sure if this qualifies for this topic, if not feel free to move or delete.

But I’ve started making bullets for big bore rifles.

I came up with the design about a year ago while recovering from a hunting injury and couldn’t walk for 10 weeks.

I took a bonded nose cavity of a Aframe and stuck it on top of a Barnes X (solid shank driving bands)

416 400gr

9.3 285gr

375 300gr

 

[VertigoBE]

Gunsmith's hammers:

View attachment 471551

How about a full set of gun smith tools for the vintage gun and rifle: screw drivers, hammer, punches ?

 

[Frederik]

Good going Rudi especially since bullet stock and shipments are on the slow side.
Bullets look good and functional.

Some good functional tools in the topic.

 

[curtism1234]

Regarding the bbq tools, I think the price point will be important bc I see these types of things as a unneeded novelty. Imo you want to keep retail within someone's birthday/ fathers day gift or holiday weekend budget.

 

[nztimb]

Regarding the bbq tools, I think the price point will be important bc I see these types of things as a unneeded novelty. Imo you want to keep retail within someone's birthday/ fathers day gift or holiday weekend budget.

That may not be possible for a hand made set, but then the original sugestion was for higher quality than the posted pics and quality adds cost. For most the cheaper commercial machine stamped brands are always available and would be more in line with what you sugest.

 

[rookhawk]

@458 Exp I really like these bullets!

There is one thing like it on the market, but sort of the opposite.

Swift has come out with a solid that has a bit of expansion at the tip. It's really being sold as "its a solid, but provides a bit more wound channel". That's definitely acceptable for elephant with the right power behind the bullet.

Your bullet is sort of the opposite. "It's a soft, but even if we hit bone some portion is going to continue to make a bore-sized hole through the animal". This would be great buffalo, brown bear, and large plains game medicine.

The only other bullet like this I'm familiar with is the storied Nosler Partition. It has a totally frangible front and the back of the partition remains a pellet to hopefully stay the course. The reason partitions get a mixed reputation is that the front lacks controlled expansion, its just random franging that works amazing sometimes and detonates wrong resulting in a lost animal on other occasions. (Elk hunters always loved partitions...until they didn't) The notion of a bonded A-frame soft nose and a monometal solid rear is a great contingency plan for heavy-bone deflection.

 

[mdwest]

That may not be possible for a hand made set, but then the original sugestion was for higher quality than the posted pics and quality adds cost. For most the cheaper commercial machine stamped brands are always available and would be more in line with what you sugest.

Agreed...

You'd be servicing a niche market... and it might be difficult to find that niche (people that will pay several hundred dollars for a very nice set of BBQ tools vs using the $29 set they can buy at Walmart, and have to replace once every 2-3 years)....

But as an artisan, that's always going to be the case (the vast majority of people are going to buy a $29 "hunting" knife on Amazon... but.. there are a select few, very small % of the people in the world that use knives regularly.. that will indeed pay $300 for a "hunting" knife.. and not think twice about doing it...

I'd guess there arent thousands of people that would buy custom BBQ tools..

But.. I'd venture a guess that there might be hundreds of people that would..

The trick is simply to find them...


For me, I'm somewhere in between... I love outdoor cooking, and probably do it at least once a week all 12 months out of the year.. and in the spring and fall when temperatures are nicer will do it a couple of times a week... I have a very nice grill that I use, that costs a good bit more than a basic charcoal or propane grill that is more typical in the American household..

I'd gladly pay for a quality set of tools.. and would thoroughly enjoy them...

I just know down deep I am too cheap of a fellow to spend several hundred dollars for BBQ tools though..

Its the same reason I shoot winchesters and rugers.. and not Rigbys...

I love the look and all of the appeal of a rigby.. and am at the income level that I could certainly buy one tomorrow if that's what I really want to do..

But at the end of the day, the Scot-Irish in me prevails.. and I hold onto my pennies.. and keep shooting my winchesters lol... Im a cheap ass at heart lol...

Im the guy that would pay $150 for some very nice factory produced BBQ tools.. rather than buy the $29 walmart specials.. but.. Im also not the guy that would pay $600-$1000 for custom, hand made BBQ tools.. even though I could afford them..

That said.. There are definitely people out there that would, and will buy them... its just a matter of finding them..

 

[rookhawk]

Tangental to @mdwest I have a grilling need that can't be fulfilled in the marketplace.

I only cook with whole-lump charcoal, a pretty standard practice for Big Green Ego, Primo, Komado Joe, Ugly Drum Smokers, and traditional Texas Offset-firebox grills.

To get the process of lighting your grill going quickly, you use a chimney starter to start your coals. The standard one is a weber brand one of which I destroy one every year from heat. (they are junk) There are equally junk off-brand ones.

I've looked everywhere for a $100 quality, $100 price chimney starter that holds enough lump charcoal to fill my XL BGE grill. Does not exist.

 

[fourfive8]

@458 Exp,
Agreed, great design! I admire the tenacity and skill to make them. I think you have created a Rhino soft point, a North Fork soft point and a TBBC soft point. Banded shank, heavy tapered jacket front holding a bonded lead core supported by a solid base. The key design features of the aforementioned three.

 

[rookhawk]

@458 Exp,
Agreed, great design! I admire the tenacity and skill to make them. I think you have created a Rhino soft point, a North Fork soft point and a TBBC soft point. Banded shank, heavy tapered jacket front holding a bonded lead core supported by a solid base. The key design features of the aforementioned three.

I was unaware of these three having similar designs to the aforementioned custom bullets. I need to do some research. I had heard of TBBC but found they were supplanted by the A-Frame in the "soft" category. The other two may be more modern technologically as I've never seen nor used them.

 

[spike.t]

I like the idea of the Braai set @VertigoBE and with your outline covering more fully what we spoke of privately, the prefered design criteria you have mentioned as a base to start from so it would be good to get other members input so design ideas can be refined (or extended).

I have a few ideas and will do a bit of drawing this week
end and side use for the tongs as sugested and one sharpened edge to the spatula
Knife is a shortened and slightly wider blade (with end as secondary spatula) than my nakiri and the spine of the blade is the ever handy bottle opener but the spatula can have the projecting area behind the handle
3 prong fork is easy.
As far as the metal choice for these tools, that is a discussion for later but the stainless steel is considerably more expensive to buy and to heat treat.

As far as the wood for handles goes I generally do not have multiples of high grade woods. I keep a selection of different woods with sometimes 2 to 4 of each but seldom have the quantities on hand to do what would be required for many sets of these tools so that is a matter for discussion.

Think these would be what you want...

Replaceable blade skinning knives and hunting knives by Havalon Knives

 

[spike.t]

Agreed...

You'd be servicing a niche market... and it might be difficult to find that niche (people that will pay several hundred dollars for a very nice set of BBQ tools vs using the $29 set they can buy at Walmart, and have to replace once every 2-3 years)....

But as an artisan, that's always going to be the case (the vast majority of people are going to buy a $29 "hunting" knife on Amazon... but.. there are a select few, very small % of the people in the world that use knives regularly.. that will indeed pay $300 for a "hunting" knife.. and not think twice about doing it...

I'd guess there arent thousands of people that would buy custom BBQ tools..

But.. I'd venture a guess that there might be hundreds of people that would..

The trick is simply to find them...


For me, I'm somewhere in between... I love outdoor cooking, and probably do it at least once a week all 12 months out of the year.. and in the spring and fall when temperatures are nicer will do it a couple of times a week... I have a very nice grill that I use, that costs a good bit more than a basic charcoal or propane grill that is more typical in the American household..

I'd gladly pay for a quality set of tools.. and would thoroughly enjoy them...

I just know down deep I am too cheap of a fellow to spend several hundred dollars for BBQ tools though..

Its the same reason I shoot winchesters and rugers.. and not Rigbys...

I love the look and all of the appeal of a rigby.. and am at the income level that I could certainly buy one tomorrow if that's what I really want to do..

But at the end of the day, the Scot-Irish in me prevails.. and I hold onto my pennies.. and keep shooting my winchesters lol... Im a cheap ass at heart lol...

Im the guy that would pay $150 for some very nice factory produced BBQ tools.. rather than buy the $29 walmart specials.. but.. Im also not the guy that would pay $600-$1000 for custom, hand made BBQ tools.. even though I could afford them..

That said.. There are definitely people out there that would, and will buy them... its just a matter of finding them..

Jeez stop being a cheapskate....go buy a rugby....