u/SharpeWorks

Like many, I was dismayed to see the design of the newest America The Beautiful pass. So I turned to one of my favorite technologies: 3D printing! I have designed a set of National Parks topography sleeves which also function as retractable mirror hangers.

The sleeves do not permanently alter the pass in any way; they just...block out the parts that don't really seem very National Parks friendly, and add some 3D topography instead.

So far I've designed sleeves for four parks (Rocky Mountain, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Big Bend).

You can find them here! And if your favorite park isn't an option yet, I have added an option to produce the topography for a new park, which I will then make available to future customers.

I have one other Vosteed knife (the Corgi) which I think is pretty great as a non-threatening little EDC, but I was blown away when my Racoon 2.0 arrived last night and I found it's - well, a polished, slick, well-designed knife with great action at a great price.

I bought this one to design scales around, but it's so good, it's going in my collection of best knives! The are absolutely crushing the "top liner lock" (basically the Spyderco compression lock with button actuation). The centering is perfect and the action feels as good as a Spyderco.

I also really like the ergos, with a jimped little straight choil section that reminds me of the PM3.

The steel isn't amazing, but hey, it's not bad for a $70 knife!

I also kinda love the weird Bowie blade.

PM3 Salt with Micarta scales | Bel Air with Zephyr scales

Which one are you taking to work?

A few years ago my climbing partner and I started using Rockie Talkies for multipitch climbing, then for skiing, backpacking, bikepacking, and pretty much everything else we do outside. I think it's a great product, but I've always wanted a better mounting system than the carabiner that comes with it.

I started iterating a low-weight mount that's easy to use and easy to strap to a backpack, a bike, etc. After about a year of using one regularly, I have some final designs ready to share, including a version that has an embedded magnet that interfaces perfectly with a hydration bladder hose. I print these using engineering-grade nylon for high strength, and I've optimized the design for light weight.

If you like the idea, you can pick one up on my Etsy store here!

A few years ago my climbing partner and I started using Rockie Talkies for multipitch climbing, then for skiing, backpacking, bikepacking, and pretty much everything else we do outside. I think it's a great product, but I've always wanted a better mounting system than the carabiner that comes with it.

I started iterating a low-weight mount that's easy to use and easy to strap to a backpack, a bike, etc. After about a year of using one regularly, I have some final designs ready to share, including a version that has an embedded magnet that interfaces perfectly with a hydration bladder hose. I print these using engineering-grade nylon for high strength, and I've optimized the design for light weight.

If you like the idea, you can pick one up on my Etsy store here!

A few years ago my climbing partner and I started using Rockie Talkies for multipitch climbing, then for skiing, backpacking, bikepacking, and pretty much everything else we do outside. I think it's a great product, but I've always wanted a better mounting system than the carabiner that comes with it.

I started iterating a low-weight mount that's easy to use and easy to strap to a backpack, a bike, etc. After about a year of using one regularly, I have some final designs ready to share, including a version that has an embedded magnet that interfaces perfectly with a hydration bladder hose. I print these using engineering-grade nylon for high strength, and I've optimized the design for light weight.

If you like the idea, you can pick one up on my Etsy store here!

I think the Bel Air is one of the best knives ever designed. I've used the black aluminum model as my EDC for the last 2 years, but I've always wanted more grip on the scales and wouldn't mind it being a bit lighter...closer to a Bugout but without the questionable handle flex or ridiculous price. So I designed my dream Bel Air scales!

Material: ASA-Carbon Fiber, 3d-printed. An engineering-grade thermoplastic with good strength, environmental resistance, and rigidity. Very light compared to the original aluminum scales. Full knife weight is now 66g (2.3oz).

Thumb Catch: I've learned over a year of making scales that a divot across from the clip makes it super easy to get the knife in and out of the pocket. It's a feature I've wanted to add to scales like this one for a while now.

Tactility: The material is more grippy than most plastics thanks to the addition of carbon fibers. The surface texture has a good amount of grip without hitting that point that will start to rip up your pocket over time.

Branding: Help me out, Reddit. What should I call these? So far I like ErgoScale, Zephyr, and Sirocco. Any other suggestions based on the look and intention behind my design?

I think the Bel Air is one of the best knives ever designed. I've used the black aluminum model as my EDC for the last 2 years, but I've always wanted more grip on the scales and wouldn't mind it being a bit lighter, closer to a Bugout but without the questionable handle flex or ridiculous price. So I designed my dream Bel Air scales!

Material: ASA-Carbon Fiber, 3d-printed. An engineering-grade thermoplastic with good strength, environmental resistance, and rigidity. Very light compared to the original aluminum scales. Full knife weight is now 66g (2.3oz).

Thumb Catch: I've learned over a year of making scales that a divot across from the clip makes it super easy to get the knife in and out of the pocket. It's a feature I've wanted to add to scales like this one for a while now.

Tactility: The material is more grippy than most plastics thanks to the addition of carbon fibers. The surface texture has a good amount of grip without hitting that point that will start to rip up your pocket over time.

Branding: Help me out, Reddit. What should I call these? So far I like ErgoScale, Zephyr, and Sirocco. Any other suggestions based on the look and intention behind my design?

I'm not the first person to make a tool for this purpose, but - I did! I like the way it turned out. It's compact, works well on my PM2 and Para 3, and I think it's got some character.

The first time I put new scales on one of these knives, the lanyard tube was really, really stuck to one of the G10 scales. I ended up taking pliers to it and marring the surface, and even bent it a little. I immediately ordered replacement hardware and designed a tool, based on a few other options I saw online.

It's up on my Etsy here, for those of you who swap Spyderco hardware often.

Current favorites by task:

EDC - Kershaw Bel Air XL
Classy - Para 3 Magnacarta
Fidget - Kershaw Bareknuckle
Serious use - Cold Steel Recon 1

I wanted a good system to quickly swap AXS Blips onto different parts of my bike, or even between bikes. So I designed a velcro-based solution that I've been testing out over the last season.

This part is 3D-printed in carbon fiber-reinforced nylon. The two I've been using for the last year have been strong and reliable! I really like that I can put them on different parts of the handlebars if I feel like it. I know that many people incorporate their blips into their hoods, but I sometimes like to take them with me, and other times am perfectly content without them.

What do you all think?

Or as I like to call them, Prosciuttos.

I love love love my '22 Outback...and I hate hate hate the Driver Monitoring system. It beeps at me at all times, ESPECIALLY when my eyes are fully focused on windy mountain roads. It's downright unsafe. So, I designed and 3D printed these custom Driver Monitoring Blockers (still trying to think of a more catchy name). This disables the system on startup, so I don't have to turn it off every time I start my car.

What do you all think?

Real topography data, on the handle scales of the fantastic Civivi Vision FG. 3D printed in ASA-CF for strength, wear resistance and texture.

By customer request - Okinawa island on the Civivi Yonder.

3D-printed based on open-source topographic data. ASA-CF material for rigidity, strength and grip.