31 October 2013: Happy Halloween! :)

Palomino Blackwings, Freshly Sharpened.

Picked up a couple of new Blackwings at the local art store today.  :)  I love going down the aisles of the art store to kill time.

I've never stopped to think about what lead hardness these are, but I've always loved the way they wrote.  They're so much smoother than the typical pencils you buy at the stores (Ticonderoga and such).  Of course, you're also paying a premium for them as well ($1.50+ for Blackwings versus like $0.05 for Ticonderogas).

I don't go through pencils too often other than for the occasional sketching, so it's worth it for me.  I like that the erasers are replaceable and that you can pull them out to your desired length.  :)

I'd misplaced my Kum pencil sharpener somewhere, but I think I've gotten pretty good at sharpening my pencils with a knife (something I have to do at work anyway, since pencils are few and far inbetween, let alone sharpeners).  I follow the 2-stage "method" of sharpening like that old Kum, where you first get just the wood off of the graphite, and then sharpen the graphite itself.

Maybe if I find a nice pencil clip and tip cover I'll start carrying to EDC these.  For now, I'll stick to the bullet pencils for that job.  :)

26 October 2013: Simple Saturday

19 October 2013: Rough Day. Winding Down.

The sweetness of the Shock Top definitely compliments the woodiness of Five Pawns's Castle Long Reserve.  :)  haha At least, I think so.

:)  Been really digging this Sheppmann - nice, light knife to carry around.

15 October 2013: Range Night w/ the Boys

:)  It's that good time of the month again when I get to hit up the range with the CalGunners and try out more guns than my regular range has to offer.  Had tons of fun with my buddy M.  I took two munchkins with me, C and K.  For their first time shooting, they did pretty well and they had lots of fun too.  :)  Gotta love the excitement in the eyes of first time shooters.

;D  I'm pretty dang happy with the results tonight.  This was shot with the Browning Hi-Power, 9mm, shown above.  10 rounds, all right down the center.  I loaded up each mag with 5 rounds.  Yellow set was first, then the unmarked.  It seems that I get a little fatigued after 3 or 4 rounds and my shots drop after that.  I'll need to work on that. 

But I did get a lot better at not anticipating my shots!  Whoo!  All in all, it was a great night.  :D

14 October 2013: Exams, Round 2

12 October 2013: All Packed Up and Ready for Plaza Cutlery Knife Show!

My Story of Five [Pawns]

I had the absolute pleasure and honor to visit the Five Pawns flavor bar yesterday afternoon.

Upon entrance, you're met with immaculate and exquisite taste in art and decorations (I LOVE those GIGANTIC Five Pawns tubes!)...

as well as a well stocked flavor bar.

My story of Five...

5 bottles were bought.

Of those five, one was the Castle Long Reserve, one of their seasonal and yet-to-be launched flavor.  Upon opening up the tube and examining my treasure, I'd come to realize that I received bottle #5 of the 67 made.

The workers gave a small cheer and the maker signed my tube.

Good times were had by all.  If you're ever in the area and can stop in for a spell, you'll not be disappointed.  The guys were great!  I'd spent a good 4 or so hours there with my brother, just chatting it up with the guys about anything and everything.  Small world - there's a whole network of us who knew each other in one way or another, through different means.  It's crazy, the relations that we make throughout our lives and how we all tie in together.  I look forward to being around a lot more often.

Bullet Pencils! :)

I've really been digging the brass Midori pencil.  By all means, I looked into it deeper and found out about these old bullet pencils that they used to use as promotional items.  :D  And so begins my newest collection addiction...  hehe!

Why this over my rOtring Rapid Pro and the like?  There's just something more satisfying about sharpening and using a wooden pencil than a mechanical one.  I'll probably toss some Blackwings in these shortly (I'm wanting to try the newer Pearl line).  It kinda defeats the iconic eraser of the Blackwings... but I do love the way the wood smells and the graphite writes.  :)

My favorite is definitely the red one without the clip or eraser.  The second favorite is probably that black one.  :D

What's nice about these is that you can replace the pencils with regular round ones that you find just about anywhere - with the Midori, you had to hack it a little with some support since the pencils they use are of larger diameter.

I've yet to figure out the eraser part... I'm kinda picky with my erasers, even moreso than I am about the type of lead I'm writing with.

Cheers!

04 October 2013: Friday Night Maxin' an' Relaxin'

Keychain Thingie

I made a new leather leash thingie thing today.  :)

Here it is in action.

It's definitely more comfortable than being clipped directly to a belt loop.  I don't know why, it just is.  Doubles as a leash wherein I can tuck the keys portion into my pocket but still have it attached to my belt for easy retrieval.  :D