Vostok Brass Bezel Mod - Acid Bath Strip

After becoming bit by the Vostok bug, I then was tempted to start doing mods. At first I thought maybe I would just swap the straps and actual bezels and inserts. Then an admin from a Vostok group on facebook was kind enough to send me numerous bezels and random parts that I was free to play around with. I had about a dozen different bezels that came from Komandirskies and Amphibias that I could work on with little consequence. I recently had seen a few cases and bezel combos that had been stripped that looked really cool and vintage with brass being exposed. And since the cases the Dirskies come with start to wear rather quick I felt inclined to start with some bezels that would look cool if I decided to strip a case to match. I chose 4 different bezels to strip first as a test and to learn the basics. My one Dirskie was my training model with mods and it was chewed up and worn the most. Some spots were exposing brass through already as I sweat and work my watches hard in the Summer heat.

Note: I am not an alchemist, a chemistry major, or even a person very familiar with metals or chemicals. That being said take precaution if you choose to do this mod or any other mod that may result in injury or death. This is my personal take on stripping Vostok parts to get down to bare brass. There are many ways to do this, but this is my account. Be safe, follow the directions on the chemicals you use, and you should be fine. Im just a dude who likes watches and figured I could try doing this.

Supplies needed are:

Gloves
Two containers - Glass or Plastic
Toothbrush
Wooden chopsticks or skewers
A scrubby sponge - Green side and yellow side
Muriatic Acid - Concrete etching solution (Hydrochloric Acid or Spirit of Salt)
Water - Or added baking soda to water if you have it. Not required but good to have.
Also, parts you want to strip obviously.

Important note: the Dirskie cases and parts are all different. The gold tone colored cases and bezels are made of brass with a titanium nitride coating. The silver or chromed Dirskies are Brass that are chrome plated. To be fair this example and test I used only silver chromed Dirskie parts. In theory if you stripped either type the results would look the same in the end if done completely. As both types are the same base material.

Before I started I was very careful about reading the instructions for the Muriatic Acid. The fumes and any contact with the chemical needs to be minimized. If you plan on doing anything with chemicals you should be reading the directions and precautions first. For most applications of this concrete etching solution, the chemical needs to be cut with water. Again the instructions give the specifics on the ratios and amounts for how to use it for different applications. Do not use Muriatic Acid inside. Just plan on doing this mod outside to be safe. The acid I used was 30-35% hydrochloric acid.

Since the container of the chemical was in plastic I grabbed a tupperware bowl that was going to be thrown away to use for the Muriatic Acid. I had a glass jar for plain water to use as a stop solution to halt the chemical reaction. You can also mix in the water some baking soda to help stop the reaction even faster. In my plastic bowl of the acid I was a bit worried about how strong it would be pure straight from the bottle. What I did was a mixture of 50/50 chemical and water. This was just in case I noticed it was eating the brass parts too quickly. Later you can adjust accordingly after seeing how it initially reacts.

                                       

The first of the four pictured above I tried to remove as much of the finish I could with a green scrubby pad. It worked okay but was really really difficult. The acid bath is much easier.

In the beginning I bathed the four bezels in the 50/50 acid water solution for one minute. I dunked the parts from the acid bath into the stop solution of water and then checked them with the wood chopsticks. It was apparent the bubbles on the bezels were the reaction of the chemical on the parts. Do not use anything else to fetch the soaking items out of the acid. Wood  After one minute and checking It was safe to say that it was working but with the 50/50 bath made it would take longer. The next few times around the 50/50 solution worked fine for 3-5 minute baths with the stop solution in between. After a couple of times of doing this I would scrub the parts with a clean toothbrush and scrubber pad to get any extra metals or finish off that may be loose. Be careful not to get the toothbrush in the acid bath or it will eat the bristles up. Use the chopsticks to get anything out of the acid bath.

After about 20 minutes of being careful I added more acid to the soaking bath. It was probably 75% acid and 25% water. This did help speed up the reaction process. I continued 3-5 minute cycles of sitting in the acid solution but I didn't let it sit unsupervised for very long. I think some people assume you can leave certain solutions sit overnight or for hours on end. I do not suggest doing this with Muriatic Acid on these Russian watch parts.

What I noticed what of the 4 bezels, 2 of them were cleaning up much quicker. The parts are not all made the same and its apparent. The two that were difficult to strip were coated either through a different process or were just different metals I thought. But it is possible the two that were difficult were better finished and just had more of the chrome plating on them. One bezel I even roughed up with a scouring pad before and realized that it was not the way to go about stripping these by hand. I assume after doing this experiment that all the parts and pieces of a Vostok watch will be different to work on. Not all the finishes were equal or the same. And all the parts looked slightly different after working on them for about an hour total. After an hour of soaking and scrubbing and rinsing, the 4 parts were about 80-90% completed. The acid bath turned green/bluish after a while. This seemed to be normal.

Dispose of the used acid properly. Seek instruction from label. Do not dump down drain directly. I cut the used portion (probably 1-2 cups worth of acid) with lots of water and then just disposed of it in my grass near my parking pad outside. It was harmless at this concentration when I poured it out.

The results were nice. The enamel or paint the factory uses did not appear affected by the acid. Which was fine if that is what you want. The brass underneath the chromed finish was very nice. It would look great left alone or with a forced patina. What I am really curious to see is if the brass would look good intentionally aged and with a nice patina on it. I will be looking to find the optimal solution to use to get the stock bezel paint off that wont damage the brass. The paint could be scraped out probably carefully with a toothpick made of wood or plastic but if there is a chemical that is safe to use on it, I will try that out. You can also buff the parts out with fine nail file blocks with different grits as well after its all done for a high polished shine on these brass parts.

After I did this soaking and rinsing, I used Acetone nail polish remover and worked on some of the numbers and enamel engraved areas. What I didn't expect was the enamel didnt come off in the acid, and it actually protected the chrome finish underneath. I may leave one like this to put on one of my projects but the other really nice one I am stripping completely. The metals all were slightly different even though they apparently are the same base brass. None of these were the same. None of them were predictable. Doing multiple pieces as a single project would be okay for a experiment like this, but I suggest cutting the acid down and working slow. Wouldn't want to ruin any pieces in this process.

The primary reason I wanted to write this up was to hopefully help and encourage people to mod their watches, especially Vostoks. With them being so easy to mod and cheap there is little to risk with the AK's of the watch world. So far all of my Russian watches have had their quirks. All of mine were right around the $30-35 mark and the parts are all over thanks to a cult community of fans. I appreciated getting my parts for free from the facebook group. This allowed me to not only test some methods I probably never would have. It also helped me to write this entry up to help new fans of the Vostok to take the plunge and to make their watch their own. This is my part of paying it forward to the watch community. And I really hope others can find this account somewhat useful and informative. When I searched how to videos and posts on this specific mod I came up with very little. Maybe some other folks will feel inclined to start doing the same and help others out with these more daunting mods. Between bead and sand blasting, chemical stripping, painting and powder coating, there is a huge list of ways to change the look of your Vostok and make it your own. You should try it if you do not mind tinkering and experimenting yourself. After all this is half the fun of Vostoks. Right?

EyeBuyDirect or ZenniOptical?

For those interested in just the meat of this, skip ahead to TL;DR. If you want to know the full story, I suggest reading the previous entry on how I fixed my glasses until I got my glasses in the mail, directly from the glorious Internet.

                                                                         ***

In my last entry I had a pair of glasses I wore everyday for about 5 or 6 years break. I attempted to show how I went about fixing them temporarily. Turns out the method I used worked perfect for about 2 - 3 weeks. I did re-break them near the end of this time frame stumbling around half asleep after lazily trying to adjust my fan in my room, quickly toppling the fan on my already fragile glasses. Which was fine because I really had not expected them to last as long as they did anyways.

In actuality, the extent they were broken (both arms completely broken off) I would figure is unusual and probably not salvageable in most cases and a perfect example to show what may work to fix them. Since I wear glasses from the time I wake up until I go to sleep I had no other option than to make them work until I could get new ones, as they were my only pair I had.

Going and getting glasses typically isn't like pulling teeth. It is expensive though. My last pair (RIP) were in the $400 - 500 range after everything. And paying that much was not an option for me this time around. I beat around the idea of ordering them online. Usually when you go to the optometrist they charge quite a bit for the frames and lenses and your exam. After I saw how much it was to get them online I was pretty much sold. The prices they have in store are so inflated, it infuriates me. Glasses bought in store should come with a large bottle of lube, because LensCrafters is going in dry.

TL;DR

After much time invested in which companies were reputable I decided to try two different companies and see how they both compared. The companies I researched the most were EyeBuyDirect and ZenniOptical.

For the sake of this entry I will be focusing on two things. How to order glasses online from either company, and which company is the better option and why.  The processes for ordering on both sites are nearly identical. As part of the "How To" section, I will go over important key bits on how to go about ordering your first pair of glasses online.

Exam

So, you are like me and you need glasses but do not want to buy them in store. Well its pretty simple. You need to get an exam. Most people can use their family optometrist for this, although they may not be too happy if you do mention you planned on getting your glasses ordered over the Internet. They may try to push a sale or whatever they got going on at the time. Just get the exam. They will give you the prescription info and you can easily put the info in yourself to order online. If you were like me and you had not been to your optometrist in a long time and figured the price to have them do it was too much you can always get it done cheaply at any big box type store if you have that option. My exam was $57 and some change. They handed me my script for my new glasses and I was off. Easy as that. If you had an exam done in the last year you may be able to use the script from the last visit, but I would recommend just getting one done for the new ones. Its not that expensive and they may last for a very long time if maintained.

And really there is no point in paying for the expensive extra tests they try to sell either. That is unless you have a history of eye related problems or your immediate family does. If they do however see something strange during your exam and suggest an extra test to check it, take their advice. But if you have no problems then don't waste the cash.

However, one thing to keep in mind is if you have a strong Rx your prices will be higher in order to allow the lenses to be fitted properly to the frames you choose. Another important field is something called Pupillary Distance or PD. This measurement will be important for the correct fit. Make sure you know beforehand that you may need to filter your results based on this if your PD rating is a strange number.

Ordering

The ordering is much easier than I had anticipated. I thought that it was going to be a real pain to enter the info from the prescription for each pair of glasses. Truth be told its actually stupid simple. Both sites allowed for the Rx to be saved so all you have to do is pick your frames and then essentially tell it you wanted your new prescription for them. Its a simple couple clicks after you choose the frames. Its really that easy.

Shipping and Handling

Both companies offered similar rates. I used promotional codes for both (Free UV protection, % off total order, or Free Shipping) and did whatever was the cheapest. If you place a larger order from either it is going to take a bit of time for the entire order to be processed. Remember it isn't like they got your glasses sitting in a box ready to be shipped. Each pair must be made and QC checked before sent to you. Be patient!

This was hard for me because I knew I had limited time to use the pair that I had fixed. My orders took about 2 weeks to get. Maybe a bit longer. But the size of the order will change this. If you order 1 pair of glasses, then it may take less time. Both companies were comparable in the time it took from clicking purchase, and to having them on my doorstep.

If you have managed to enter everything right, and paid for your order, followed tracking, and were somewhat patient congrats. You successfully ordered your glasses online and saved hundreds of dollars. Some people are reading this and thinking "Isn't this supposed to be comparing EyeBuyDirect and ZenniOptical?"

Overall: both companies exceeded my expectations. But there are a few things to note. ZenniOptical is more expensive than the latter. I only got one pair of glasses through them and I was not disappointed. I paid about $34 without shipping for a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarer knockoffs and they were pretty nice for the amount I paid for them.

I ordered 3 pairs of glasses from EyeBuyDirect. This order took a little bit longer but I had expected that. I cant ding them for slow shipping because it still got here within a very reasonable amount of time. One pair out of my order had issues. It was not comfortable and rubbed my ear raw after wearing them all day. I went to the website to review them and found out the rating system is flawed on their site. They pretty much only post 5 star reviews, leaving critical ones out for new shoppers. After emails being sent back and forth they opted to replace them free of charge with another pair and upgraded them for my hassle. Customer service with EyeBuyDirect was awesome after I mentioned I would write the Better Business Bureau about their trickery with the rating system. I intentionally ordered cheaper glasses from them to see what the overall quality was like. And all surpassed my expectations. Glasses range from $6 - $50+. Mine were all in the $6 - $15 range. After everything I had 4 pairs from EyeBuyDirect. All for about $59 plus shipping.

All of my Rx's were correct. All came with a case and lens cloth.

Quality from both were like lighter versions of the glasses I previously owned. Think of what sunglasses feel like weight wise. They were fairly comfortable, and with each pair catered to a specific job (computer, driving, night, daytime, or intermediate use) its easy to switch out as needed.

The one thing I can say is that it sucks not being able to try them on before buying but you have to be willing to take that chance. But for the price, it is so worth it. The total price for everything was under the $170 price range for my exam and all 5 pairs of my glasses. It should be noted, I had many extras added on so this price is pretty crazy for this much worth of product.

ZenniOptical or EyeBuyDirect?

If you don't mind taking a slight chance in buying a pair of glasses you cant feel or try on beforehand this is the best way to purchase glasses. The prices they have are unbeatable from either company, but the cheapest and fairest was EyeBuyDirect. If I was wanting to get quality glasses that were a bit more expensive I would try ZenniOptical, only because the quality was slightly better than the others I had ordered. But keep in mind the one pair I got from Zenni were about double the price of my other ones from EyeBuyDirect. Not to mention EBD had pretty good customer service when I had requested an escalation to my inquiry. I had supervisors calling my personal phone to talk to me about the issues I had.

I know this was wordy, but its been weeks since I got my glasses and it was important I had a decent time testing them out. I am overall very satisfied. One thing is sure, I will never go get glasses at the brick and mortar stores ever again. When I saw I could get complete glasses for $6, I about shit myself. Thinking I could have had 83 pairs of glasses for the price of my last pair made my head spin.

Highly recommend both companies, but EyeBuyDirect has an edge with the competitive pricing and customer service.


-TSB

Fixing Broken Glasses: DIY

Today my cat decided to wake me up a bit earlier than usual. He decided to plop his heavy, lovable, fuzzy body onto my bed (which is on the ground) next to me and started to claw and scratch my head and pillow. Of course, I was not too happy about this in my semi conscience state. I decided to gently push him off of my bed so he would leave me alone hopefully for another few minutes. I heard a fat body plop and slight popping sound, and he just sat there. Breathing heavily.

*looks at me with clear disapproval of my actions*

Well, that popping was the arms of my glasses breaking. Both of them. He slid off my bedroll and onto them laying face up, arms not folded. So they broke at the weakest spot on both sides.

 

I could have sworn I heard my cat walk off giggling and choking on a piece of cheesecake as he walked his fat self out of my room. And look, I know it wasn't his fault. But it doesn't change that my cat is a fat asshole on the regular. Immediately I was pissed. I have restrictions on my license so I can't drive without them. I started looking for options to fix them myself and came up with jack shit. Reason being most people are going to either get a new pair or just pay to have them repaired. Well neither are in the budget at the moment.

The popular thing I was seeing was to use heat shrink tubing on them and ta-da. Nope, that wont work here due to where the break was at. It would need bracing of some sort to even be an option. So I came up with an idea myself. Now I did take into consideration that the heat shrink tubing may work after I do some modifying and engineering.

I went to the hardware store and got some things.

 

For the sake of this entry I will say I did not use everything in this photo. However, you can use all of these things and they will work. The things I recommend are:

• Super glue - Fast drying type.
• Waxed floss
• Epoxy - Quick setting kind with a 5 hour cure time, 24 hours for full set.
• Heat shrink tubing - has to be able to go over the thickest part of  frame, remember.

 You can use all of these items to be able to fix glasses at least temporarily. And I needed to do something that would work realistically for about 2 weeks. Where my glasses broke on the arms was at the weakest place on the entire frame. Heat shrink tubing would not work on them because the end wouldn't have anything to hold onto with this frame design. Then I remembered something.

I used to watch videos of a survivor guy on youtube who showed how to use sinew rendered from game animals. Sinew is basically a tendon that is dried and has many used for many different things related to bow hunting specifically. You get it wet and its like a fiberous noodle, and then when it dries it becomes very hard and stable. With this in mind, I figured the wax floss may work really well as it could obtain the same properties with an adhesive.

What I did was I used a small amount of super glue to hold the arms and frames together in place. Then I took the wax floss and wrapped it up around the bits I needed to hold together. Then as it got tighter and better wrapped I started to wrap a bit tighter. At this point they were held together and I would put them on and move the pieces a bit. I did this to make sure the frame and arms fit my face. I gently took them off and started applying superglue to the wax floss wrapping. Slowly, I started to add more and eventually covered the entire wrapping. The glue dries really poorly if you do too much at one time. Would be wise to suggest small amounts more often as it dries.

This is what it looked like after I did a good amount of layers and fitted them.

I did both sides and waited probably 20 minutes, but I should have waited longer before I put them on. But I figured if it was still soft somewhat, they could dry in the right position on my face and then be comfortable when I have to wear them until I get the replacements. Note: these do not bend anymore. Simply put, this is a last huzzah for this pair of glasses.

After this step I did attempt to see how the shrink tubing would fit and with the new layers of wrap on them the tubes did not go over it completely. So the shrink tubing was pretty much useless to me. The idea was that I could put epoxy on the wrapped area and then heat shrink tubing over it as a means of extra protection. If these glasses ever were broken again, with these measures taken it would be pretty difficult to break them in the same place I figured.

No I wasn't completely in love with them either after this. I did not want to look like the stereotypical geeky kid with tape on his glasses. I did what I always do. Took a black permanent marker to it to finish it off. I wasn't planning on the extra steps as it would be useless. The optometrist will be seeing me tomorrow anyways. Just need this pair to last 2 - 3 weeks tops and then they go into retirement.

After the black marker, they looked wearable. No one will probably even notice as long as I keep the bits I worked on as dark as the frames. The DIY instructables were trash online. It was a good thing I remembered about sinew or I wouldn't be typing this up right now. The floss worked as a great medium for wrapping material and the super glue dried hard and keeps everything firm and in place.

As a matter of fact the glasses fit better today than they did yesterday before they were broken. Strange how that works out. But hey, I am not complaining. I will be getting my Rx from the doc and ordering glasses online. Fingers crossed they are as durable as this pair. These have been worn daily since sometime in 2008.

-TSB

*See following post for how to buy glasses online and which companies are best*

Update: The Dr who did my exam today told me that my repair was legitimately one of the best he has seen since he started his practice. He couldn't tell they were repaired until he asked me to take them off. He laughed when I said they fit better now after the repairs.

Project: Painting Rifle Magazine - VZ 2008/VZ 58

What originally was supposed to be a quick project turned aggravating. It was actually made me so angry that I figure a write up may be the only redeeming thing to come from it.  Explaining my experience should clear up questions on this process making it easy to do for anyone. If you are not interested in the trials and tribulations of stripping and repainting magazines, then you should just skip to the end and see the pics.

Why paint magazines?

Believe it or not there are some people that it makes sense to do this. Tons of people who use the AR platform agree/disagree with this practice for different reasons. Some genuinely like to make the war torn magazines that have seen much use in the field look like new. Others argue that prices for these AR parts are so cheap, why bother. In the world of customizing weaponry, it isn't just to make it your own unique little snowflake. There are practical reasons to do so. If you are using a rifle to go hunting, then camouflage would only make sense. To blend into your surroundings and gain the upper hand. Same would go for preppers.

 

"Very Operator. Such tactical. "

As gun owners, most decide what is going to be the "designated purpose" or job of that firearm long before purchasing it. I stated before some would ask "why bother painting magazines when they are cheap now?" Well its is partially true. At least for AR platform lovers. Enjoy the endless amounts of mags under $15! The rest of the ruffians that like the AK platform are S.O.L. when it comes to some of the variants. The magazines are harder to find and depending on which one you own, can be much more expensive to supply in this area. Not all AK's are the same. Neither are their magazines.

When I bought a VZ 2008, a beloved Czechoslovakian AK inspired variant, I knew that this was a problem. To the educated, it looks like an AK47 and a WWII era STG 44 made a baby that fires 7.62x39. And to most people who are either mall ninjas or fans of the Call of Duty series, it is an AK47 to them. Which it is not. In any way. Because it is not an AK. And it doesn't use the standard AK magazine.

However, this isn't about the gun though. (That write up is later) This is about the magazines. These are more difficult to find and much more expensive. The reason is because each magazine has a button that is attached to the follower that keeps the bolt open upon firing the last round in the magazine. When I got my rifle one of the magazines were dented bad enough for me to go, "That is going to be a nice paper weight/training mag I guess."

When I inspected it the wall was dented. I had noticed these magazines were considerably lighter than my AK mags in any respect. Later I found out why. Because they are made with aluminum, not steel. This is what it looked like.

I admit it, I am a tinkerer. When it comes to things I prefer to take them apart and learn how they work and function. I knew after inspecting this magazine there was a chance that it may not work at all. And the best case scenario for it would be that if I could fix it, it may actually still be functional enough to play with at the range. In the end I would at least end up with a cool looking demonstration magazine to use and I could learn about painting and fixing it as well.

The follower was definitely getting stuck in the area of the dent. I loaded a couple rounds in it and figured it may be fixable. I took two large flat head screwdrivers and used one to push the follower down past the dent and used the second one to pop and push the dent out. Be careful doing this, because I did manage to accidentally shoot the flat head pushing the follower down like a rocket when I took my hand off of it. Even after these attempts it was clear that this mag was unsuitable to be used in any serious "loadout" of any sort.

"The possibility of a magazine malfunction during firefight?"

Now I realized I could have just painted over the original coating the Army used on it, but was led to believe that it would be a fairly simple process to strip it and just repaint it.

The supplies I had on hand were the following:

• Toothbrush
• Rags
• Steel Wool
• Brass Brush
• Citristrip
• Mineral Spirits (environmentally friendly)
• Aircraft Stripper
• Alcohol 

I cleaned the magazine with alcohol to start. The paint was already starting to wear off. I assumed that it would come off quick with some help. I tried the Citristrip first.

The forums I checked praised this stuff for how well it works on projects. I was really skeptical though since it said it was safe for indoor use. But since the temps were well into the single digits recently, I had to do this inside and needed something that didn't create nasty fumes. Instructions said to put it on thick, and be patient.

I gooped it on with a toothbrush and started to gently scrub. Nothing was happening. So I decided to wait. Roughly 12 hours later I came back. I was hoping that some bubbling and chemical changes would have taken place surely by then.

Nope. It didn't even dry up. It stayed gelled on the magazine just like It looked when I first put it on. I used the brush on it a bit more to agitate the paint. Nothing. It was literally unchanged. Citristrip did not work one bit. I thought maybe I didn't leave it on long enough possibly. But most of the results people were talking about were well within this time frame. The temperature wouldn't be the problem, since it was done indoors. This stuff may have worked well on wood projects or other types of coatings, it did not work one bit for the military grade coating on the VZ magazines.

Next I tried the Mineral Spirits. I wiped all of the goopy Citristrip off and started to soak the magazine in the environmentally safe Mineral Spirits. With this I knew after a couple hours of soaking and checking that it should do what it needed to. When I came back to check on it, the magazines finished was relatively unchanged. With the exception of some minor color change on the bare aluminum it literally did nothing more.

The color change could have been from the Citristrip or the Spirits, but It didn't do anything to the coating. It was clear at this point that the coating was either powder coating or some sort of enamel. Nothing broke through it to get under the finish to pull it up and away from the aluminum.

As a last ditch effort I went apocalyptic. I have a friend that is in aviation that recommended Aircraft Stripper/Remover. This stuff is serious business. It makes paint bubble off of 50 year old car hoods, and can do serious damage to skin, lungs and eyes. Take extreme caution when using and only use this stuff outside.

I put a thick layer on it and waited. Said you could start to see results in minutes. The temperature was very low, so I put it on quickly and brought the magazine inside in a bag. Waited about 30 minutes and nothing. It looked like it was bubbling a little bit but it was just the stripper, not the paint. Micro bubbles were coming up. And the bag I put it in was having pretty serious reactions to the stripper, so I knew it was definitely working on that front.

"Strippers that actually work."

After one later I put one more layer of it on, same process. Bagged and brought inside. The temperature was low enough to work against me, but I brought it inside and it was obvious it really wasn't working like it should.

I was pissed off to say the least. The paint was not even remotely peeling away from the magazine. I got all of the stripper off of it and started to scrub hard with my steel wool. The stripper may have made the coating a bit easier to come off but it did not work the way it should have. The paint should have bubbled up and been scraped off. Nothing of the sort happened. I scrubbed nearly all of the coating off by hand using elbow grease. Which it should be noted, I could have skipped the aforementioned steps and just scrubbed it hard with steel wool to begin with to get it bare.

By hand I managed to remove most of the finish. To get to this point it was already about 3 days worth of work and waiting. Hopefully it will turn out good to justify the effort, money and energy.

For paint I chose to use two colors and try a method I have never done before. Might as well experiment a bit and try something new. The paint I chose was Rustoleum branded and it works great on all the projects I have done with it. Over long term Rusto seems to last with heavy use.

I chose a base color of Lobster Red, which is burned orange color. And a Satin Cabernet color which was like a red wine. The idea was to make a cross of two colors with the use of a stencil to create a sort of AK74 vibe. I wanted an almost gaudy demo magazine color intentionally, but wanted it to still look the role of awesome.

Two layers as the base of the Lobster Red semi gloss. Waited one day in between coats and then waited an extra day for it to set. I cut a laundry bag to use as a stencil for the last coat. Hit the mag with the Satin Cabernet and let dry for 2 days. It creates a pretty cool pattern to break the shape of the magazine up a little bit. This same technique is used with woodland colors to help blend and confuse the eye from a distance.

Here is the results.

I realized the picture was pretty bright and was using warm lighting so the photo came out more orange that it actually is. Its darker red moreso than "hunter orange".

The pattern was very cool when I actually had it finished and dried. The painting was really a make or break for this. I was pleased with the final result to say the least.

In closing, I learned a lot from this experience. It took much longer and much more resources than I liked. After everything it was more than $35 for all the supplies on hand and took days to do. I could have easily just primed and painted over everything and cut the stripping out, and I realized that. But I was trying to learn the whole process and prefer doing it all by hand. Yes, I could have bead/sand blasted it, but why? I don't have the equipment on hand to do it first of all, and secondly I wouldn't pay to do it. It just isn't worth the hassle unless you have the stuff to do it. 

None of the strippers performed like they were supposed to. The coating on these VZ magazines are so tough. They know what they are doing in that department it seems. Here is the kicker. I took the magazine and loaded it and it took it to the range. It functioned 100%. However, this mag is still a demo mag to me and will never be used in my loadout. 

Want to paint your magazines? Do it. Take one that is a throw away and try this method. Take my advice, do not waste the time doing what I did. Prime it, paint it, and rock it. It will be ready for years of abuse.

I will be doing my full write up of the VZ 2008/VZ 58. It was hard not writing more about the rifle itself, but its deserving of an entry all its own. Bookmark the blog, and read the past entries in the meantime.

-TSB

Learning The Arts of Manliness - Part 1: Shaving

Chances are, your Grandpa was/is way more bad ass than you or your Father. He probably went to war and killed a ton of tangos, got loads of fine trim, and drank most men under the table. He sort of resembled what was the present day version of James Bond, but would have mopped his worthless carcass all over the street in a CQB scenario if challenged. Grandpa is basically the Operator you never could be.

Chances are, your Father was/is way more bad ass than you. He probably burned his draft card, got loads of fine trim, played in bands, did a ton of drugs and partied harder than any present day frat boy could even wish to come near. And if confronted by a present day frat boy, would out party him, lower his "status" 3 or 4 ranks to scum not using speech, steal frat boys girl, and become legends of the campus just because he can. Dad is basically the Rebel you never could be.

So what could these two men have that you probably don't. Well Ill give you a hint. Its related to shaving. Yeah, that is right. Your Grandfather, and Father probably shaved like men when they learned. They cut the piss out of themselves and learned how to shave properly by using archaic tools. And they appreciated it. Essentially men today have become all too familiar with the disposable razor, and lame canned gels and shaving cream's. You are the first generation to abandon one of probably the most important arts known to the almighty Alpha. You have been shaving wrong this whole damn time.

"Click for expanded image"

Are you still with me? Well since you read this far, clearly this sounds familiar. You go to the store buy a pack of cartridges for your Mach 3. Then you go and find a can of shaving gel/cream that probably has pictures of Master Chief or Steven Segal on it, and you paid way too much for both because you are used to the common convenient ways and are uneducated. Not because you are Beta necessarily, but because you simply do not know that shaving is an Art and isn't supposed to be taken for granted. Stop being ignorant. Now you have no excuses.

"What do I do if I have to stop buying razors at my local big box stores TSB? How will I shave?" Easy there padewan, I got the solution and its super easy.

Believe it or not, there is a whole world that still believes that wet shaving is the best way to shave.  Wet shaving is most commonly done with a straight razor or a single, or double edge razor blade. For the bulk of this I will refer to double edge or DE as the method of choice, because lets face it. The straight razor isn't the way to go if you are starting out on this adventure.

Besides this Alpha - Beta junk why should you switch? Ill list a few reasons here:

• It is cheaper. Without a doubt, it will save you money in the long run.

• Very consistent, high quality shaves. (After you learn the ways of the elders)

• Environmentally friendly. 

•  Teddy Roosevelt. He was shot mid speech and finished it with a gaping, bloody, untreated, sucking chest wound. He shaved this way. 

Its cheaper. A pack of 10 blades will run you about $1.70. Suck on that modern day cartridges! And each blade (if DE is the choice) can last for 2 shaves effectively. The shaves are consistent once the skills are acquired. They will be closer, and last longer than the common day multi-blade counterparts. Smooth as a baby butt smooth is what you will be. Its environmentally better because landfills are full of plastic disposable razors. With DE shaving you only throw away the blade. There is no cans going into the trash for the shaving soap or cream either. The blades can be recycled, and the creams produce no trash.

Now you want to save your hard earned clams, protect mother nature, and get consistent baby butt smooth shaves. But what do I need to start out? Its not expensive to get started with either. The high-end of the finest shaving kits run $800+. Your kit will not even come remotely close to this. Lets try, oh about $20 initially, or less.  Even if you try it and you decide to go back to your earth polluting, money wasting, ingrown hair creating ways, you will not be out much. Choosing to go back to disposable razors may also reduce your chance to meet the woman of your dreams. Beta patches will go back on immediately.

"John sat next to the water cooler, and sulked in the beta after his demotion."

You will need to choose:

• A razor
• Blade
• Shaving Cream or Soap
• Mug or Scuttle
• After shave, or Lotion
• Styptic pencil

Razors can be had on the cheap or free even. Ask your Father or Grandfather if they still have theirs. Heirloom stuff can be cleaned and used again. Nothing is more nostalgic than an Alpha passing down a tool for the next generation to grow and learn with. You can also go to the antique shops and local junk stores and find functional pieces to use. They are cheap running from $4 - $10 easily new and used. Make sure they take modern DE blades too. Blades on the other hand, are available most places like Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and other merchants. They are all cheap and easy to get a hold of usually. Utilize online sources like Ebay to find all of these items you cannot find locally. Creams and or soaps are fairly easy to get too. The pucks can be had at the same places as the blades. Look for them good. Chances are you never noticed they were there in the first place. They are cheap too. Under $2.00 and will last much longer than the canned counterparts. Mugs and scuttles are another thing. You do not NEED a scuttle or expensive mug. Use a mug such as one for coffee and as long as it holds your puck in place, it will work. No expensive things needed here for a beginner. After shave isn't necessary but I recommend a lotion post shave to smooth, hydrate and even train your skin to the new experience. Styptic pencils can be used also to stop bleeding from nicks and cuts. It helps a lot for the beginners. You will get cut up a little bit. It happens to all of us at one point or another.

Walmart still sells Van Der Hagen kits with a mug, brush, and a puck for under $10. Boar hair brushes are cheap but they soften up a bit after using, and the kit comes with one of fair quality. Its perfect for the beginner. Van Der Hagen is pretty good stuff. It would be worth a look I think. I personally have a stockpile of the VDH soap pucks. It is very easy to work with, and forgiving on the lathering retarded. It also has a very faint scent that is nice too. (Typically, I dont care for fragrance in hygiene items, my natural smells attract the finest of women from yonder.)

Now that you got the tools, how do you go about learning how to shave? Well the simple answer is watching videos and tutorials or going ape on your face with none of the homework. I advise you all to research it first. The first couple of times you shave, you may get nicks and cuts. Big deal. You learn from your mistakes, and next time you do things differently. Watching videos will help clean that bloody curve up. The video below illustrates most of the important things to note to save your hide.

There is a ton more to this than just shaving, and I wont get into it too much here as this is an intro to possibly a mult-part installment for the TSB. Invest a small amount of research and time into finding a kit that fits what you can afford. After doing it a short time, you will soon find out that it is a luxury not a chore. It is meant to be a ritual for us. Its time for us to reflect and relax. Unless you have the option to have a beard all year, you fall into this category and can try it out and you should. Make your Grandpa, and Fathers proud. Learn the ways and hope one day to show your own Son how to shave this same way. Pass it down to the next generation. And if you do not do it for this reason, do it because Teddy Roosevelt did.


A great place to start research about this area is the Art of Manliness website. It has many links to place to get started on this endeavor.


- TSB

Works Cited/Places of interest

Art of Manliness Official Website - Bookmark this page
http://www.artofmanliness.com/

Teddy Roosevelt - Short read on the Alpha himself
http://www.cracked.com/article_15895_the-5-most-badass-presidents-all-time_p5.html

Classic Shaving Supply
http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html

Ebay
http://www.ebay.com

Alpha's and Beta's - The Confinuing Battle

A few nights ago I had the chance to see a documentary called "Mansome" (2012) which was directed by Morgan Spurlock, the dude everyone watched gorge on McDonalds until he threw up. This film touched on a few different things about how men have changed over the last few decades, and how men have essentially turned into vagina's because the modern day media has destroyed the concept and identity of the true alpha. Actually, the synopsis is "A documentary that explores the question: In the age of manscaping, metrosexuals, and grooming products galore - what does it mean to be a man?" .

In short it was completely about the material things that have changed for men over time. But it failed to deliver what most of the people feel defines a manly man. It was incomplete to be short and to the point. Without understanding what is considered manly, how can one gauge what is the opposite sociologically?

One reviewer on IMDB by the name of Steve Pulaski stated, "One topic that I desperately wish the film would've centered more on is the idea of metrosexual behavior in males and how it could quickly transcend into blatant narcissism." This is a good point. This pretty much included everyone involved in the film subject wise. They were complete narcissistic prick job, fucktards. Including the very interesting beard man.

The thesis for it was just as it said, but leaves out so much about what it actually means to be a man just in general today aside from looks. As in a role model, teacher, leader, or good person in general and how iconic men live their daily lives as a true alpha male. I think it desperately needed more time spent on what defines what a real "Man" is, and not so much about how men nowadays are sniveling pussies that get their eyebrows waxed. What happened to being a man?

"No."

The film opened up my eyes and really expressed that men today are much different than men were years ago. When drinking and beating your wife and children in public were much more socially acceptable, I hardly think a man who is classified as "metrosexual" would hold up if I had a time machine and sent them to the 1930's - 1950's. Lets just guess about this scenario and say in a bare knuckle brawl between a typical man of the day and a metro male, the pampered male would probably end up crying at some point about clothes getting dirty, and the bridge of their nose being destroyed. I cannot grasp this current trend. My guess is it lies in part of natural alpha-ness. Alpha's need no reason to understand the ways of the beta just to know how to identify it, fashion a weapon, and kill it. Therefore, the mere sight of a metrosexual beta just induces rage. This is my best educated guess though. What does TSB think makes a person alpha? Well let me touch a bit on it, but from a few areas of popular interest. This is entirely different from person to person. But TSB isnt just any person. He is a man.

 "When smoking was still pretty damn cool."

Short thoughts on things that are classified as Alpha according to TSB.

I have always enjoyed writing and reviewing beer. Beer snobbery. This magical liquid has been linked to man for centuries. It is what binds society together and makes it functional and happy. Beer is not just a drink to get drunk on, but one to behold and savor. Its an art to make it and to appreciate it. I love beer. And I think beer is an alpha facet to appreciate. Along with beer a new area of understanding is whiskey for me. Both beer and hard liquors are to be things I always link to past times of the gentleman. Not talking about drunks necessarily. They are things to be taken in moderation to be classified as alpha. Things I also slip into this category are the appreciation of fine cigars and pipe tobaccos, and also the mode of which one chooses to shave. Does this make one alpha? No. Not on its own. However, these things do help define a refined man.

Its not just pastimes or a means of one relaxes I suppose. Hobbies and life skills are pretty important to a modern day alpha. I mainly think of skills that are useful and in need like automotive repair, gardening, woodworking, smithing and welding, cooking, carpenters/construction/electrical/HVAC, or any skill to be more self sufficient fit in this area. The alpha is a learning breed that never stops at one subject but is advancing in many things over the course of time. These types of things to learn and study make a person much more important in a group. They are essential to others who need it. Think of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. He relies on no one else for his well being. He is a poster child for most of this already mentioned and should be a role model for future generations. Swanson is the definition of all that is alpha. He is an ideal figure to base what should be alpha male I think.

Full size available here for downloading. Print and put in your son's room for full effect.

Aside from these few short things what makes a person more alpha than beta is ultimately how he carries himself. How he promotes fairness, and honesty, and loyalty to the people he comes in contact with. How one treats others. Its about doing what is right all the time. Its about doing what is right when no one is looking. Its about being confident, and willing to fight for what is right and willing to be physical to maintain status. He is a man that is respected, a selfless leader, and entirely capable which means he is also feared among all ranked below him.

These characteristics make the difference. It literally makes all the difference. Today people are fake and counterfeit. Real people are hard to come by today, and when they are found you should hold on to them real tight. 9/10 people are people not worth keeping for the long haul I think. Men have turned into blubbering, whiny, narcissistic, useless pricks because they have devolved. Taking responsibility on ones status is solely based upon themselves. Most of the time you can do the alpha thing just by simply doing what is right. Even if it is not ideally what you would initially want to do. Being a good person leads to these other things I believe. Its harder being an alpha rather than a beta that is for sure. Its worth it. And anything worth it requires more effort.

"Beard guy seemed cool. But quickly turned out to be a douche just as much as the rest of the subjects."

This film "Mansome" is a bit of laugh but more importantly a look at where men in society have gone wrong today. It is a loosely put together film that touches on random subjects related to men and was put together in an awful manner to portray the extreme ends of male today. From a man who has a beard that runs his entire life, to a man who is addicted to fulfilling his desire to look good because of teasing in high school, it was cringe worthy most definitely more than once. They both were filled with self importance registering off the charts on the pretentious asshole scale. It should be called "The Beautiful Betas" because all of the males presented were about piss poor examples from the start. The only saving grace from this monstrosity of beta filled nonsense were the parts about Barbers. For the record, I would kick both of the aforementioned "men" in their gullets without so much as flinching if given the opportunity.

"Is that a fucking orange slice in my beer?"

Attract positive, denounce the negative. Learn to be honest. Be stern, and be fair. Be a leader and a teacher. Be a family man, and a reliable, dependable contact. Be a friend and a companion. Be feared when confronted, be a force to be reckoned with when applicable and necessary. Be a figure for other children and young men to look up to as an ideal example of what being a man encompasses.Take the wheel and direct your life in the path you want to and stop waiting for things to come your way by some cosmic force. Its time for change. Its time for boys to turn into men again. Its way overdue. This current fad trending with only physical importance and lack of character, needs to die and go away never to return again.

Check out Mansome. Its a watch atleast once film. Although this film could only rate a strong 5/10 on my scale of greatness, (and I am being generous considering the amount of beta involved) it is worth seeing to use as a tool to identify the characters to avoid in life's daily endeavors.

-TSB




Links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294729/

http://www.artofmanliness.com/

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-alpha-male.htm

Firearm Q and A - Questions From the Interwebs.

Today I asked a group of people randomly found on the internet to openly ask  me any questions they had about a daily CCW carrier. Out of the barrage of questions (had a few hundred posts), some were worth noting here in an entry. The format was open forum, anyone could post whatever they wanted anonymously without having issue or worry. Some have been corrected for spelling and grammar.

It went as follows:

Question:

What kind of gun and what kind of caliber, discrete holster or open carry? Hip, thigh, shoulder, or ankle Holster?

TSB:

I suggest anything that is .380 or larger for a few different reasons. I personally prefer 9mm myself but I would not denounce anyone for carrying a .380 (summer comfort carry usually) or even a .22 for self defense. Do I prefer .22 for self defense, no. 9mm is the smallest I go if I have the option. A CCW means discrete. Open carry is not an option for my EDC. I prefer a nice leather inside the waist band option (IWB) and I have been using a small of back (SOB) for my frame. I use a Tagua if interested and it's a very nice holster. Only drawback is you may have issues bending over or squatting in public because with larger framed pistols it may print or pop out if not careful. Its called concealed carry for a reason. The other styles pose obvious problems if you think about it. Especially with shoulder holsters and ankle holsters. Shoulder holsters require constant adjustment. And not only this they are expensive, and point the firearm in a dangerous direction at nearly all times. Also, you have to wear a jacket with them and this would not work in the summer. Ankle holster pose another problem. If you needed to get to it, you would have to be leaning down and nearly tying your shoe to reach it. This is not effective as a main carry. For a backup, I would suggest it as a last resort carry.

Q:

Why are you such a tool? I hate to generalize but I never met a guy who carried a gun and was not a complete ass hat.


TSB:

I find this hard to believe since most CCW holders do not announce they are carrying. The general population that are CCW holders are strictly discrete carriers. Chances are you have met many people that are abnormally nice that are just so happening to be carrying firearms and you never knew it. As with any group, there are always going to be douches that represent a bad portion of an awesome group of people. This is no exception.

"This is not your typical CCW carrier, I promise. He has a record I am sure of it."

Q:

How small is your penis?

TSB:

I do not carry a .50 AE pistol to compensate for anything lost in the nether region.

Q:

What are you afraid of?

TSB:

Not much really. I carry as a sense of security knowing that if anything were to happen I would have the option to protect myself and my loved ones and complete strangers in the worst of situations. I live not in fear but in confidence of my training. Its a comfort and a privilege to do so.

"WHUAAAAAAAAA?!"

Q:

Do you carry with one in the chamber?

TSB:

Yes, I carry with one in the chamber. I also do not have a safety on my primary carry firearm. Some people do not like the idea of carrying a firearm with a round chambered for different reasons. One is the accidental discharge myth which I can debunk. In a proper fitting holster, a firearm will not discharge on its own without the aid of an outside force, such as a finger inside of the trigger guard. The triggers are recessed and a proper fitting holster covers the entire trigger guard making accidental discharge nearly impossible. In order to be ready for a scenario you do not have time to charge a weapon most of the time. You will lose the chance to act out of surprise. Carrying with one in the chamber closes the gap of safe to engage, not safe to engage. Some carry with safety on. That is okay if you have been trained to deal with it. Glocks do not have safeties and its for a logical reason. Safeties in the heat of engagement can get you killed. I have never been hot on using safeties for this exact reason, but my lifestyle allows me to do this. I also do not own a Glock.

Q:

Now what do you do if said robber breaks in when you are at work, or on vacation. Your gun will do jack shit.

TSB:

According the the company I work for, the right to carry does not transfer to the employees. Patrons inside our premise can carry though. So at work, I do not carry although my General Manager said if it was up to him, I would be carrying every day there. But this does not mean I am unarmed completely. I carry a work knife that would be suitable for self defense in some scenarios. By policy, if I was robbed whilst working I would have to do whatever they wanted. If my life was in danger I cant say exactly how I would react. But I can mention that utilizing my work knife would be part of it. I have learned a bit about disarming a violent person with a handgun and can say in confidence it would be hard to fire a weapon with a broken pointer finger. On vacation, nothing would change. My CCW routine would remain as long as the laws allow me to travel with it there. I wont go to California or Illinois anytime soon. So I don't have to worry much about that.

Q:

Would something like the Taurus Public Defender be a good home defense weapon?

TSB:

Anything is better than nothing. A pistol like that would be suitable for most jobs presented to it. Options for .45 and .410 is a great option and you can use it to your advantage. Alternating rounds .45 - .410 - .45 etc can help is making sure you hit your target, whatever it is. For carrying in public it would be difficult for most, but for larger framed men it wouldn't be much of an issue. And also, revolvers have little problems when firing. Less failing to fires, and better for loading and forgetting. You can store a loaded revolver for years and not worry about if its going to operate. Revolvers are great. Don't let anyone tell you differently.


Q:

Do you think it would ever be possible in the US to restrict gun ownership in ways that made it difficult for criminals to get them? Or would that require changing the 2nd Amendment, and leave guns in the hands of criminals anyway?

TSB:

In short, no. I do not think that restrictions will change anything. Bad people tend to get guns by doing illegal things anyways. If you restrict, the majority of law abiding citizens are affected in more ways than criminals. Criminal types will always just steal guns. Its one of the biggest worries and obligations of being a responsible gun owner is securing them so they do not GET stolen and used in a crime. Its sad. There is no simple way to do it though. And if there is, it isn't in my own knowledge bank now.

Q:

 What is a good home defense option?

TSB:

I prefer a 12g pump shotgun, with a 18.5 inch barrel. There is much debate over what load to use in it, but I say "Where do you live, what is your scenario" before choosing. For apartment dwellers, condos, and town houses, you live in close proximity to other neighbors. Trailers could be included in this too. You could use bird shot and not worry too much about pass through with smaller sized shot like 7, 8, or 9. In a home with space in between, buckshot can pass through walls hitting loved ones in other rooms. Its all about your scenario and job for your weapon though. Pistols would work great with a tactical light option. But like a broken record, anything works better than nothing. But you have to break down the important bits of information about your surroundings and choose what works best for you and the safety of your family. 00 buck is not ALWAYS the best option. But many disagree with me and say LULULUL LOAD UP MAGNUM SLUGS AND BLAST AWAY. Which is irresponsible and incorrect for most.


I may do this again in the near future as it was fairly comical with some of the questions, and responses to my answers. Will be posting more frequently if time allows it. I would like to specially thank the random internet lurkers for this one, as it was completely up to them with what was posted for this entry.

-TSB