Gadgetry

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Ari

This is like a riddle, I've been racking my brain trying to understand, perhaps it's a display model and it's meant to be on a motorized stand that opens and closes it?

Of all the things to remove and then fake, the liner lock is such an odd choice, there's nothing special or complicated about it, it's just a springy flap of metal.

I was thinking they ordered the plate with the liner lock, but didn't bother to finish the part. I'll bet if you disassemble the knife, the liner lock could be bent into place. I don't know what you'd do for a detent though.

[viscousmemories]

I'm always down to play. I'll disassemble it and post pictures later today.

[viscousmemories]

IMG_6209.jpg IMG_6208.jpg

IMG_6207.jpg IMG_6206.jpg

IMG_6205.jpg IMG_6200.jpg

IMG_6204.jpg IMG_6203.jpg

IMG_6202.jpg IMG_6201.jpg

[specious_reasons]

Now I'm with Ari - this is mind boggling!

[Ari]

After going down the rabbithole a bit, I'm with Specious.

These are 'fakes' in that they're using Cold Steel's name, but not fakes in that Cold Steel doesn't make anything like them. There are two different sizes, the larger one was even modeled by a 3d student for a class and has normal solid plates with a long liner lock bar running most of the length.

The best view I've gotten of the smaller one is at 0:55 in this video and it appears the liner lock is meant to be bent up at a pretty drastic angle, flexing at the first rib instead of running the whole length. If yours is the smaller one, it seems they indeed forgot to cut and finish it.

LAOTIE Folding Knives - Quick Look - YouTube

[Ari]

Originally Posted by Ari

Philips Utra Definition 2700K. I also bought a pack of Ultra Definition with a light color dial at the bottom.

Having read they were dimmable and with my previous night light being an LED bulb wrapped in pin pricked blackout foil, I thought I would get a dimmer cord.

Wow, dimmability gives these lights so much more value I'm surprised they haven't added a dial to the bulb. The orange deepens a bit as they dim and the lowest setting is a nice glowing orb of accent light that produces just enough light to see a 10ft area at night if you have night vision but not enough to mess up that night vision.

Additionally I have actually used the variable temp bulbs, every light at 2700K felt a bit too intense orange, but a few at 3500k help to break that up.

[Ari]

I've been watching a number of videos on knife sharpening, and too not flood the post with videos I'll link the two most too the point, especially for the thread, and then include the highlights. (I don't own any of the stones mentioned here, at the moment the few knives I need to sharpen I do with sandpaper).

•If you own a carbide V style pull through sharpener, throw it away. Sand paper on concrete or even just concrete is better for your knives. The way they sharpen makes for an edge that dulls almost immediately.

•Steel is like clay, while it's easy to think of a dull edge as a U it's much more chaotic with curls, folds and dangly bits as the reason it's not cutting.

•The technique to get a razor edge is simple, despite the billions of videos on the topic, you're angling the edge to an apex that's acute enough to cut but obtuse enough that the clay like steel forms a thin 'bur' or hair like wisp, that can be felt curled over too one side once formed, which is thin enough to catch and break off during stropping. As the sharp edge is underneath this hanging on bit, it's easy to see how too thin of an angle can result in a thick bur that bends back and forth but holds on.

•The specific way you rub the edge against the stone matters way less than keeping a good angle and a flat surface. The final scratch pattern should be perpendicular to the edge, but going forwards or backwards doesn't matter.

•When knives first start to dull it's often because the edge is rolling over, and all that is needed is a few swipes down a knife-steel to align it. This rolled over bit can eventually form a bur or fold which breaks and leaves it ragged, it's really only then that the blade needs sharpening.

•A good heat treat matters when doing non knife jobs with your knife. A test of three knives made the same but with bad, ok and good heat treatment all acted the same when doing normal knife slicing tasks, it was only when lateral forces were applied that the poor heat treat chipped and snapped before the better one.

•Modern super steels are amazing, you can buy a high end knife that will likely never need sharpening. However once dulled, they need diamond stones or to be sent back to the factory to be resharpened.

You're Sharpening Your Knives Wrong - How To Make...

Sharpening Stone Buying Gift Guide Christmas 2023...

[specious_reasons]

Who got some cool shit for the holidays?

My oldest gave me a set of native-artist designed pens, which I thought was both thoughtful and cool. Mrs. Reasons got me another native-designed pen. I got a laser level that I think Mrs. Reasons might use more than me. That was all nice.

Then I asked for and got the Teenage Engineering PO-14 (the "Sub").

Why? Well, I thought it would be fun to use to make simple rhythms to play along with on the ukulele, or play around with recording on my Mac, or any other odd little things.

The Sub is... kind of hard to use, especially if you're not familiar with sequencers. Everything is a 16 beat pattern, so it's not well suited to unusual timing signatures. I don't have all of the options set properly, and it's easy to mess up what I was trying. Through the use of a tab site for reference, I was able to program the bassline for Sisters Of Mercy's "Lucretia My Reflection" but then I did *something* and it's not quite right. Oh well.

[seebs]

oh, hey, one of my friends got a teenage engineering synth a while back, she seemed to like it.

i am not great at sharpening knives. i have had better luck when i try to pull the knife back across the stone, and i can get them at least a little sharp, but it's tricky and i can't really tell what i'm doing.

the big thing for me was discovering that the knife-steels are realigning the blade, not abrading it to make a new edge, and that doing that before the sharpening is supposed to improve outcomes. (i think "honing" is "make the edge straight", as opposed to "sharpening".)

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by seebs

oh, hey, one of my friends got a teenage engineering synth a while back, she seemed to like it.

I like the product fine, I just have a complicated relationship with making music. I want to, but my knowledge and skill require a lot of work I haven't been able to commit to since immediately post-college, and even then, I didn't get anywhere close to good. It doesn't help I never learned to read music well or understand music theory, and it doesn't come naturally to me.

Even devices that are simple like the Teenage Engineering synths still have fundamental design principles based on basic knowledge of music that sometimes eludes me.

[seebs]

So I was talking about how pretty those are and a person I know who did startup stuff and has money apparently ordered me an OP-1 Field. Uh. Well I did not expect THAT.

[specious_reasons]

Around the holidays, I picked up some additional pouches - you know small bags to carry & organize stuff. This weekend I set about optimizing my pouch usage, only to discover that it was already pretty well optimized.

[seebs]

are you drawn by rob liefeld?

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by seebs

are you drawn by rob liefeld?

Sometimes I feel like it.

I got this Maxpedition Pocket Organizer quite a while ago, and have tried a few variations of it, and this works for keeping all of my changing cables, spare pens, and pencils and a few other miscellaneous things well organized in my bag. I have a small one for the tools I carry in my bag.

I bought a couple of other pouches to try them out, but they didn't really work any better. I will still have uses for these, I just wound up not changing what I already did. Rob Liefeld will be disappointed.

[Ari]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

I got this Maxpedition Pocket Organizer

How's the general quality?
I've been looking for a pullout bag for emergency items like bandages, safety pins, narcan, etc. and what I've found has either been cheap enough but of poor quality or designer brand and overpriced.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Ari

How's the general quality?
I've been looking for a pullout bag for emergency items like bandages, safety pins, narcan, etc. and what I've found has either been cheap enough but of poor quality or designer brand and overpriced.

I have one that's 11 years old, used daily for 8 of those, and it's held up really well. I have a few which I've used in various ways, and I haven't had any significant wear or problems.

I think my only issue is that the interior is a bit busy and I don't use some of the features. That's one reason why I was looking around for alternatives.

[JoeP]

Something I've wondered about recently is getting a custom organiser pouch made. My sewing skills are not up to it - I'm not even sure if a normal sewing machine would handle the elastic and velcro and webbing and other materials.

What's the likelihood of there being some company that offers making a pouch to the customer's design? Would the economics of this kind of thing be prohibitive?

[Ari]

Originally Posted by JoeP

velcro and webbing and other materials.

Random sewing tip, do not, under any circumstances, decide to make sticky stick on velcro extra sturdy by running the machine over it. I've made that mistake once before, and whatever glue they use comes straight from hell.

[Ari]

Topaz Upscale AI, it's not magic, but it's close.
A friend saved this photo in websized 1024 pixels instead of the original and wanted to print it.

This is with minimal settings adjustment (and also a perfect photo for the AI).

[specious_reasons]

I am still on a pouch kick, trying to get a usable solution for keeping my keys from destroying my pockets. I purchased a "condom pouch" which is just a small, squarish pouch made from waxed canvas. It had a big leather logo on it, which I removed. It does the job, but I have to dig my keys out of both my pocket and the pouch to use them. I'm thinking how to make this a better experience.

[specious_reasons]

A few more attempts, but I haven't found a better pouch than the "condom pouch". I've got like a 40% chance to dig out what I want 1st try, but I haven't yet found something that just works. The 40% is better than wearing holes in my pockets.

Oh, and with my mother estate money starting to come in, I'm feeling flush. I intended to purchase a new higher end pocket knife. I wound up buying two.

The first is a USA made knife. American Bladeworks Model 1 V6 Flipper Knife which I expect will be my default. It's a full sized flipper with trendy Magnacut steel.
Screenshot 2024-03-21 at 4.12.54 PM.png

The second is Brian Brown Knives Finch Front Flipper Knife which is a bit more fancy-looking, it's a high-end steel, but not as trendy as the one above. This one is a bit harder to flip, it's going to take me a bit more practice to open this one-handed. I expect this to be the knife I carry when I want something smaller and more stylish.
Screenshot 2024-03-21 at 4.13.08 PM.png

[Ari]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

The first is a USA made knife. American Bladeworks Model 1 V6 Flipper Knife which I expect will be my default. It's a full sized flipper with trendy Magnacut steel.

That's very stylish in a way that says you don't smoke cigars but also for some reason always have a few on hand for an impromptu celebration.