Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

A Badass Blade Made From The Warthog’s Gun?!

FighterSweep Staff No Comments Technology

Editor’s Note: A badass blade made from The Gun?! What sort of devilry is this?!? Surely it cannot be true?! Oh, but it is, FighterSweep Fans. This one is especially for friends and family of the A-10 community. There is an artisan out there who got the idea of making knives using the metal from shot-out GAU-8 cannon barrels. The shot glasses made from 30mm shells are completely awesome, but how cool would it be to have your own piece of cannon cutlery?! You definitely need to check these out!

The [A-10 Warthog] is a badass plane, about that there can be no doubt. And at the heart of that badass plane is the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon, a massive gun the plane itself is essentially built around. But after thousands and thousands of shots, the barrels of a GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon wear out. When they do, Shane Barefoot can turn them into sweet one-of-a-kind knives.

A knife-maker by hobby rather than trade, Barefoot has been dabbling in the art for close to two decades now, though he says the knives he isn’t ashamed to show off have all been made in the past ten or twelve years. These GAU-8 knives are just one of his more recent projects.

A Badass Blade Made From The Warthog's Gun?!

Barefoot got the hookup for the scrap through a friend’s son, an A-10 mechanic who has the line in to companies in charge of recycling the demilitarized scrap. Once he gets the raw chunks, it’s a matter of working them into something it’s possible to cut a blade shape out of. But it’s not easy.

When I ask him how difficult it is to work with the barrel steel, he laughs. “It’s actually a nightmare.” The exact composition of the steel is a mystery—the government isn’t exactly keen on disclosing that, and Barefoot says he’s never been able find anyone who can manage a convincing guess. That it would be tough stands to reason though, and when Barefoot gets to working it, he needs to break out the power hammer.

Eric Limer’s original article can be viewed in its entirety at Popular Mechanics right here. Definitely go check out the rest of the article about these blades, FighterSweep Fans. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime heirloom for the Hawg Driver or maintainer in your life?!

(Images courtesy of Popular Mechanics)

Related Posts

  • Former Air Force pilot instructor explains why there’s just no replacing the A-10 ‘Warthog’Former Air Force pilot instructor explains why there’s just no replacing the A-10 ‘Warthog’
  • Let Freedom Ring: The A-10C Thunderbolt IILet Freedom Ring: The A-10C Thunderbolt II
  • The GAU-8 Avenger: The Gun the A-10 Was Built AroundThe GAU-8 Avenger: The Gun the A-10 Was Built Around
  • Watch the legendary A-10 absolutely obliterates a HumveeWatch the legendary A-10 absolutely obliterates a Humvee
  • Watch: A-10C Thunderbolt II Double Aileron Roll!Watch: A-10C Thunderbolt II Double Aileron Roll!

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • July 3, 2022

    Russians Are Accidentally Flying Their Jets Into the Ground to Avoid Being Shot Down

  • July 5, 2022

    Female Air Force Special Tactics Officer First to Earn Scarlet Beret

  • July 4, 2022

    Spain Will Replace F/A-18 Hornets with NATO Eurofighter in $2.15 Billion Deal

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Lars Dirch Sørensen This didn't age well.
  • Speir Mor Media Amazing history and pride in the old B-52! And that’s one hell of a range. [...]
  • disqus_lkVjMrnsGt As an 8th grader in 1960 I first became acquainted with the 1952 Washington [...]
  • SWS Irrational fears and misinformation is not a reason to get a waiver from a [...]

© Copyright 2022 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...