Jason McEntee

AS40, 41, & 42: The Sierra Sidekick

These were sitting on the bench for a while half finished, as the devastating loss of my beloved labrador Trixie shut me down for a while. But, as she always stopped by my bench to check my progress throughout my projects, I figured she'd want me to get off my tookus and finish them...

I'd think these would make a good knife to carry when out for a deep woods hike. All three came in at 11" overall, and weigh in at 14 oz each. I used 1/4" 1075 barstock, made by stock removal. The handles are made from Wenge, Bubinga, and Padauk. As always, the blades were heat treated by my friend Lyndle Driggers of J&L Cutlery. 

Thank you Clifford. As the song stated, she was the world...

Tom, Izzy is beautiful. She looks like an absolute sweetheart; you can really see the love in her eyes. It tickled what's left of my heart to hear of her bond with the baby schnauzer.

Awww, Ginger is gorgeous!

Took me a week to edit this down, and it was hard at times. If you have 4 & 1/2 minutes to spare, here's a peek at the beautiful life my sweet Trixie led...

Thanks guys. As the wife & I don't have kids, we lost our child here. I still can't believe she's gone. I have to try to take comfort in knowing that she had a beautiful life in her ten short years. She was given all the love we had, and she gave it right back, tenfold at that.

Clifford, they most certainly are our children. The photos of you with your babies is a testament to that!

Beautiful. Your work is always so precise; the photos look like they came out of a catalog. Awesome!

My heart is broken. On Sunday morning, just the day before her tenth birthday, my sweet Trixie crossed the Rainbow Bridge after a brief yet courageous battle with cancer.

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 8:01 AM, JohnCenter said:

I am curious to try this, but have no electrical experience or understanding! Can someone please explain what the the dangers of electrical shock are. Also, what to do or not to do to avoid being shocked?

@Jason McEntee- Your mark came out really well! Two questions:
- Was that with the salt water mixture as the tutorial described? Or did you use another solution?
- You wrote, "I found that a simple 12 volt / 2 amp power supply was more than adequate." Could you post a  link to the product so I can have a better idea of what I need to buy or lend? I'm not sure what that box with the red and black wires coming out of it is.

I used very salty water...I didn't go with a certain ratio or the like. Here's a link to the power supply I use:

Power Supply

You'll need to get the leads and the alligator clips as well. Any electronics store should have these items. Cheers!

That's awesome. The sheath is especially nice!

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 5:27 AM, James Higson said:

Looks wicked! Like a stretched out Khopesh. I like it.

Thank you! I love Khopesh, and those certainly influenced the design. As a stock removal only guy, I'm limited to how much curve I can put on a blade, so, there it is...

Gratitude for the kind words guys.

Now she's finished...the exterior at least. I was waiting for my new license plates, took 12 weeks.

Thanks! I used Wenge for the handle. 

After taking the summer off to restore my vehicle, I finally finished a piece.

Envisioned to be the blade of a high-desert drifter, this piece makes me think of a scorpion's tail.
I plan on keeping and, doing some cutting with this one. So, instead of my usual 1200 grit low-mirror polish, I polished it to just a 400 grit satin finish. 

Steel: 1075
Handle Material: Wenge
Overall Length: 24 & 3/4"
Blade Length: 18 & 3/4"
Handle Length: 6"
Tang Thickness: 1/4"
POB: 3 & 1/2" past front edge of handle
Weight: 1 lb, 9 oz
Heat treated by Lyndle Driggers of J&L Cutlery

4 hours ago, Joshua States said:

Whoa dude! Nice job on that. Time to take her out hunting, climbing, or just cruising.

Thanks Josh. The second two photos were taken just a month after the paint job, at good old Pyramid Lake in the Nevada high desert. I'd say her tough wheeling days are over; I'm too paranoid about scuffing her up now, lol. I'll still make my annual runs to the high desert, but no rock crawling. We'll refer to her now as an "off-road capable street-cruiser."

This summer, I set aside the belt grinder, and picked up the air ratchet. I had taken a long look at my 1988 Toyota 4Runner, and realized I had been neglecting my baby. I've kept it up mechanically 100%, but I let the body and paint deteriorate. As the 1st gen 4Runners are becoming more and more collectable, and mine being the best vehicle I've ever owned, I decided to begin restoring her.

I went from peeling paint on all body panels, the black shell-top weathered down to bare white fiberglass, banged up front & rear bumpers, and rusted wiper arms and wheels, to what you see below. Some minor interior work will be next.

I'm thrilled with how she's looking now, and with the hardest part out of the way, I hope to get back on the grinder soon.

1988 Toyota 4Runner Dlx

Did you hear about the lady who walked backwards into an airplane propeller? Disaster...

(Dis-assed-her) I'm here all week; try the veal.

Thanks Jerrod, I was hoping to see the knife in question. I think those guys are high, Joel. No reason why it couldn't be a fine tool in the kitchen. Just, umm, keep it clean? Common sense is becoming less common these days...

Zeb and Will, absolutely!

Those are badass!

It's a good size water pan Alex, so the whiskey is diluted enough with all the water. 20 years ago, I'm not sure if any of it would've made it into the pan, lol. Can't stomach that stuff anymore; just the occasional porter or blonde ale now. 

Hmmm, not sure if I've had it with alder. I smoke my trout & salmon with Applewood chips. I also pour a 1/2 pint of whiskey in the water pan, along with a good amount of lemon juice.

Glad to hear the fire won't get to you Vern.

I'm in NorCal, and for us, the fun is just beginning. Every summer half of our state burns up. Makes me paranoid all summer, as my neighborhood was razed to the ground by a wildfire back in  2009. We bought a lot from some folks who chose not to rebuild, and built our house there. A large wooded area sits just 300 yards south of my house, so I am on edge throughout our fire season---which is flirting with becoming year-round.

My god man, glad I don't live anywhere near that place...I'd be so broke.

I love Amon Amarth. "Twilight of the Thunder God" is one of my favorite metal albums for certain.

I'm an old-school metal-head myself. I'm 44, so I've been exposed to many different genres of metal. My favorites are Norwegian black metal, "viking metal", and Swedish death metal. But, more often than not, when I'm in my shop, I usually find myself listening to none other than Ronnie James Dio.