outdoor gear

Out for a walk

I went from the village on loop out towards the airfield.

I was wrong – I did take a few more snow photos.

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All Saints Church Branston
All Saints Church Branston
Branston fields
Coffee break​
Coffee break

To save time on the walk, I made the coffee at the office and took it with me in a thermos mug. For a snack dry wheaties in a small pot from my bento box – with the view below.

Branston walk
Branston walk

It was starting to get windy and cold.

Sunset
Branston Hall Hotel​
Branston Hall Hotel
Sunset

Out for a walk Read More »

New scales for my Swiss Army Knife

One of the scales on my Victorinox Camper Swiss Army knife had come loose so I bought some replacements from eBay and went for an upgrade. The new scales do not have the Camper logo but do have a slot for a pen and they came with a new set of tools, toothpick, tweezers, pin and pen. There was a choice of colours but after thinking about it I chose the classic red.

After watching a few YouTube videos I bought a desk clamp from Amazon to apply even pressure to fix the scales.

I removed the scale tools and the old scales easily popped off.

Victorinox Swiss Champ​
Removing the old scales using a Victorinox Swiss Champ
Victorinox Camper knife
No scales before cleaning

Once the scales were removed I took the opportunity to throughly clean the knife with soapy water and a washing up sponge and then oiled all the blade joints with some WD-40 applied with a cocktail stick so the knife was not soaked in oil. (I regularly use the large blade for cooking and I do not want excess WD-40 in my food.)

SAK no scales and serviced
No scales, cleaned and oiled

To help to fix the new scales I soaked them in hot water to soften them slightly. After a couple of minutes in the water I dried them with kitchen towel and then assembled the knife and scales in the wooden vice. Ensuring everything lined up under light pressure in the vice.

Wooden vice Swiss Army knife

The vice worked perfectly – the pressure was applied evenly and both scales popped on securely. A bit of extra pressure closed all the gaps between the scales and the knife body.

New scales Victorinox Camper knife wi th a pin, pen​ and screwdriver in the corkscrew
New scales

A quick check that the new scales were fitted correctly, a polish and fitting the removable tools, including a mini screwdriver in the corkscrew and the job was finished.

Upgraded Victorinox Camper knife with a pin, pen​ and screwdriver in the corkscrew
Upgraded Victorinox Camper knife with a pin, pen and screwdriver in the corkscrew

Top tip – use this type of vice – the wooden jaws do not damage the scales and the pressure is applied evenly when attaching the scales.

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New gear

Now the MSc has been passed – I will be able to get out and walk more. I have bought a small, rugged tripod, that can be attached to my day pack – I want to get some long exposure exposure shots, to steady the camera when it is windy and May be even some video.

Tripod and backpack

The legs of the tripod look like they will survive some mud and water. The smartphone mount that came with it is very simple in design so it too should survive outdoor use.

The tripod also came with a Bluetooth camera shutter release and fittings to mount a camera or Go-Pro.

New gear Read More »