Spoon carving a new Endicotts Army Surplus web site.

Spoon carving a new Endicotts web site ?

Well, not entirely true, however, the SpoonCarvingFirstSteps company camera and mobile studio has been working overtime to get Kevin Endicotts new web site and web shop up and running.

For those of you who do not know about Endicotts Army Surplus it is the Westcountries premier army surplus store. 

Infact I'd be prepared to say it's the countries best !

I have been using Endicotts store for over 25 years now buying and testing all manner of equipment that I have used with Mountain Rescue and my more personal escapades.

Kevin Endicott launched his new site over the weekend.

It is jam packed with very well priced equipment which you can now purchase on line with a click of your mouse.

Kevin and I will be starting part two of the product shoot covering clothing and larger equipment very soon.

The LBM has been very helpful....

Whilst the Moose Man has been looking after my boots.

I think they need a bit of a polish.... ?

Kevin has managed to procure some brand new unused/unissued stock.

He also has plenty of the old favourites.

If you nip over to his web site you'll find some bargains, special offers and a nifty competition.

So either march down to his shop.

Endicotts

2 West St,

Exeter,

EX1 1BA

Info@endicotts.co.uk

01392 433331

Or place your order on line via the brand spanking new web site and virtual reality shop.

Endicotts online shop.

Great equipment for your adventures...

Jon Mac.

MaChris sales move to a new home at Workshop Heaven.

Due to an increase in demand for our MaChris line of knives

Chris Grant and I have passed over the sales and orders to our good friend and colleague

Matthew Platt

of 

Workshop Heaven

Nip on over to Matthews web site and sign up for his news letter.

He will inform you of availability and price via a regular email.

The MaChris Bushcraft/Carving knife.

Design :- Jon Mac.

Crafted by :- Chris Grant.

The MaChris bushcraft/carver has been in production for five years now.

It is a superbly crafted knife designed for maximum comfort and minimum maintainance.

A fast knife in the hand, this knife will allow the user to undertake the simplest or most demanding carving work.

The MaChris bushcraft/carver is made using 52100 bearing steel.

This steel is extremely tough and will not chip or fold even in the hardest of wood.

The super keen cutting edge can be easily serviced on a good quality Japanese water stone.

A 'King' Japanese waterstone from Workshop Heaven is recommended.

The MaChris bushcraft/carver has a Scandinavian grind which is ideal for carving or skinning.

The fine tip will allow a tight turn when tackling internal curves.

The handle has been ergonomically designed to give a high degree of comfort during long periods of use.

The handle design will enable the carver to deliver maximum power in both forward and reversed grips.

The overall dimensions of the MaChris bushcraft/carver are.

Length :- 230 mm.

Spine width :- 3 mm.

The MiniMac carving knife.

Design :- Jon Mac.

Crafted by :- Chris Grant.

The MiniMac carving knife is made using 52100 bearing steel.

The MiniMac carving knife is a smaller version of our MaChris bushcraft/carver.

This smaller knife is an ideal size for more delicate, refined carving work.

Again, the handle design will enable the carver to undergo long carving sessions with little fatigue.

The blade is mounted to the handle via a pin tang.

A light fast knife with a fine tip useful for tight internal curves and chip carving decoration.

The overall dimensions of the MiniMac are.

Length :- 200 mm.

Spine width :- 2.75 mm.

The MaChris EVO.

Design :- Jon Mac.

Crafted by : Chris Grant.

The MaChris EVO is brand new from MaChris Design.

This particular model is a prototype made in a very resilient and tough stainless steel.

CPM 154.

The handle profile is very similar to the MaChris bushcraft/carver giving the user a high degree of comfort and speed whilst at camp.

The handle scales are stabilised Caledonian bog oak some thousands of years old.

(stabilisation by Crandart knives)

This is a flat grind bushcraft/camp knife designed for some tough use.

The spine is a full 6mm tapering down to nothing at the cutting edge.

The design will allow the user to batten some reasonably large wood for the camp fire whilst also being delicate enough for use in the camp kitchen.

The overall dimensions of the MaChris EVO are.

Length :- 250mm.

Spine width :- 6mm.

At the moment we are testing a prototype and if all goes to plan we will make the EVO available toward the end of 2015 beginning of 2016.

I will keep you informed of it's progress.

I would like to convey our thanks to our present customers and we extend a welcome to our new MaChris knife owners.

Yours.

Jon Mac.

©MaChris Design.

A MiniMac write up by WORKSHOPHEAVEN .

Here you can read a splendid write up by our good friend Matthew Platt.

I can't tell you how excited both Chris Grant and I were when we finished reading it.

Matthew owns and runs a business called 

WORKSHOPHEAVEN

He sells top of the range woodworking tools.

Please take some time to visit his web site.

FRIDAY, 17 APRIL 2015

Bespoke Hand Tools: The MiniMac Woodcarving Knife

This is the best woodcarving knife I have ever used - by a very long way.

It is the finished product of a long collaboration between two good friends of mine, both of them wonderfully skilled craftsmen. Creative artist and woodcarver Jon Mac from Dartmoor and custom knifemaker Chris Grant from Arbroath. 

The knife began as a bespoke commission for Jon's work carving elegant spoons, bowls and kuksa. When you watch Jon carve you'll quickly grasp the care and consideration with which he approaches all creative tasks, the design of this tool is no exception. There isn't a straight line on it, and every curve has been considered, refined and perfected by hand and eye. 

Chris thrives on the creative process, he gets deeply involved in the design of each project, feeding in his rich experience of blade steels and heat treatment processes. Working to the highest standards in metal, wood and leather, he brings everything together to deliver an exquisitely handcrafted product. He only makes knives, but boy does he make knives!

The development since the original commission has been entirely organic, other carvers have tried the knife and been sufficiently blown away by its performance and dexterity that, with Jon's blessing, they have commissioned their own. Jon is a big guy with large hands, so when the stream of people who wanted one showed no sign of abating, the two got together again to work on a smaller version of his original design that would be better suited to people with average sized hands.

The result is the MiniMac, same sweet balance in exactly the same spot as the MaChris, same extraordinary edge strength, but when you compare the two side by side you can see that the subtleties of both the blade and handle shape have all been completely reworked. The MiniMac is a stick tang, which makes it considerably lighter, although in use they both just blend into the hand.

I've had this MiniMac for a few months now, and apart from a couple of very light dressing strokes on 5 micron lapping film I am still using the original shaving sharp edge. 

The MiniMac has very quickly become an integral part of how I work; to the extent that trying to carve with anything else just feels wrong. I can work with it for hours with no fatigue and place cuts with a level of precision I had previously not understood. It is no understatement to say that I would now be at a loss without it. 

Workshopheavenhttp://www.workshopheaven.com/index.html

Could you still carve with a lesser knife? Of course you can, absolutely, but at the end of the day I carve for pleasure. There is nothing quite so luxurious as leaning against a tree on a sunny afternoon with a really good knife and a nice piece of wood and relishing every single cut.

©Matthew Platt

German mountain pack Gen 2

When I saw this old style cotton canvas ruck sack I was taken back in time, quite a way back in fact.

I bought something very similar to this when I first started out on my hillwalking adventures.

It would get filled, usually overfilled, with things to sleep in and under.

Something to cook on and something to cook.

Whatever didn't fit in it was tied to it.

My old mate Kevin Endicott turned up at the farm last week with a boot full of equipment for me to photograph.

Most of the equipment I photographed has now been sold on.

However, Kevin still has a bundle or two of these useful packs from back when.

Kevin Endicott also has a more modern nylon variant.

Have a look at his web site at

Canvas backpack

Nylon backpack

A super ruck for the outdoor enthusiast.

ENDY Stats: 

Capacity: Approx 35Lts. Gross. 

Dimensions: 

Height; 16" / 40cm 

Width; 14" / 36cm - max.

Depth; 6" /  15cm approx.

Material: Canvas. Cotton. Bound seams

Weight: 2lb 6oz / 1,075gms - typically