A Better Trip!

By: Clay Tun

I decided to go Cambodia because I wanted to see Angkor Wat, and the cheapest way to get there from Bangkok is by taking the bus or train. I thought I had it all planned it out. I had written instructions from 3 years old forum without a map. I thought it was good enough.

The night before I left Bangkok

I stayed with my friends at Shangri-La Hotel, which is a 5 star hotel. I asked the front desk clerk about getting to Poi-Pet border to cross into Cambodia. The clerk asked “Why do you want to go there? It’s nothing there…dangerous…my sister had bad experience…etc.” They found an easy solution which was to take the casino bus. It’s a direct bus that go straight to the border, and will not pick up passenger along the way. When I found out about this, I had to change my plan. So I did a quick research about this bus station and the bus that go there. I found a few article/forum posting from 2009. After reading people forum, my worry was set to ease.

In the morning few of my travel buddy already left to the airport. I started getting my stuff and head to the hotel lobby. I met the front desk clerk and he had already called the taxi for me. When the taxi arrived, the clerk started talking to the driver. After hearing them going back and forth, I begin to worry. I was like “What is going on? At this rate I will miss the bus.” After they finish talking the taxi driver got back in the car and drove off. I’m like WTF just happened.
Continue reading "My journey to the strange Land (Crossing Poi Pet)" »

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I have a Fiskars hatchet for camping. It’s not very big, about 14″ long. The hatchet itself is excellent. I like the quality of the head, which is made in Finland and it seems to retain an edge very well. The handle, although light and feeling cheap (plastic vs wood?) has been sturdy, though I have taken care with my strikes making sure not to accidentally strike the handle against wood.

The one thing I have always disliked about it is the (in my opinion) ungainly and poorly designed case or cover it comes with. It is fine for hanging on a hook in the garage, or hanging in a store, but isn’t very good for carrying. It’s big, has a big carry handle and the plastic pressure locking tab wears out and would break over time. I decided I was going to make a replacement sheath for the axe head.

Today I took my first step in Kydex construction and following a procedure very much like the one described HERE, proceeded to make a very simple cover.

The reason I chose to make a simple cover over a fancier cover with belt loops is that I can attach a belt loop to this cover, as designed (the top two holes are spaced for a kydex loop) or I can just tuck the axe through a belt, or mount it to the Molle loops on my backpack. It’s simple and minimalist, and the best part is it adds very little weight or volume to the hatchet itself.

For the build, it was fairly simple. Figure out shape, cut Kydex, heat Kydex, press in foam, cool, rivet. The only divergence was I used a heat gun to heat the area where it grips the blade and used my thumb to form it a bit tighter than the foam was doing. I then did something I haven’t read anyone else doing. I used an ice cube to hold the press and force cool the spot I had heated form the indented grip. You can see how there’s a tighter grip on one side.

Although this wasn’t a step by step instruction guide, I hope you enjoyed the article and I want to encourage you, if you have been thinking about trying Kydex forming, go for it!