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Old 02-04-2021, 10:50 PM   #1
TriggerNJ
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Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

What happened to the KJ shafts?

I've been using them for while now but I can't seem to find them anywhere these days. I prefer them because I could get them in 7.5mm shark fin for guns as short 90cms and the shark fins were placed far back etc. They were the perfect fit for me and I would really prefer not to have to switch up my setups. Florida Freedivers doesn't seem to have them anymore.

Is there anyone still selling them?

I can't seem to find a good replacement either.

Ideally I need a euro shaft with a shark fin shooting line attachment or hole through the shaft not in the tail, spring steel, 7.5mm, and available for guns ranging from 90cm-110cm.

Any suggestions?
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Old 02-04-2021, 11:16 PM   #2
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Looks like MAKO has what you want, but in 7 not 7.5 mm?
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Old 02-05-2021, 02:55 PM   #3
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Check out www.speargods.com. They make shafts too.
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Old 02-05-2021, 06:01 PM   #4
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Yeah, mako just doesn't carry it in 7.5mm.... I know I'm splitting hairs but I've been through all the tinkering and landed on this combo that's absurdly dialed in and durable for what I do that I hate to go back to the drawing board.

Thanks sharpshooter! I never would have found them. I've been searching but IDK why speargods hasn't come up in them. Looks like they carry standard exactly what I want. Pricey but looks perfect! Hopefully it's as bend resistant as what I've gotten used to. I'm going to order one and give it go before I place a larger order just make sure. Thanks again!
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Old 02-05-2021, 06:08 PM   #5
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

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Originally Posted by TriggerNJ View Post
What happened to the KJ shafts?

I've been using them for while now but I can't seem to find them anywhere these days. I prefer them because I could get them in 7.5mm shark fin for guns as short 90cms and the shark fins were placed far back etc. They were the perfect fit for me and I would really prefer not to have to switch up my setups. Florida Freedivers doesn't seem to have them anymore.

Is there anyone still selling them?

I can't seem to find a good replacement either.

Ideally I need a euro shaft with a shark fin shooting line attachment or hole through the shaft not in the tail, spring steel, 7.5mm, and available for guns ranging from 90cm-110cm.

Any suggestions?
If you're looking for something specific and custom I'd recommend Addiction Spears. Dean Koutras makes them. He's made shafts for me and a buddy of mine. His website doesn't seem to be working, but you can email him at vectormarineproducts@gmail.com or call at (949) 295-3590. Any size, cut, etc. Anyway you want it.
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Old 02-05-2021, 06:50 PM   #6
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

I think they were made by Spearmaster in South Africa. Don't know if anyone distributes thm in the USA.
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Old 02-05-2021, 08:01 PM   #7
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

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Originally Posted by TriggerNJ View Post
Yeah, mako just doesn't carry it in 7.5mm.... I know I'm splitting hairs but I've been through all the tinkering and landed on this combo that's absurdly dialed in and durable for what I do that I hate to go back to the drawing board.

Thanks sharpshooter! I never would have found them. I've been searching but IDK why speargods hasn't come up in them. Looks like they carry standard exactly what I want. Pricey but looks perfect! Hopefully it's as bend resistant as what I've gotten used to. I'm going to order one and give it go before I place a larger order just make sure. Thanks again!
Give Rich a call at 727-432-1967 to make sure the shaft you want is what we call here "spring steel". What you call "bend resistant". I've been very pleased with the shafts for my Battle Axe 58. I got the long flopper with a solid steel roll pin. The spear end tip is pencil point shaped. You can have tip choices and flopper (barb) length choices. My long flopper hangs down for auto opening. Never did a distance test with a flopper on top vs. bottom.
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Old 02-07-2021, 10:45 PM   #8
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Quote:
If you're looking for something specific and custom I'd recommend Addiction Spears. Dean Koutras makes them. He's made shafts for me and a buddy of mine. His website doesn't seem to be working, but you can email him at vectormarineproducts@gmail.com or call at (949) 295-3590. Any size, cut, etc. Anyway you want it.
Does he carry the same spring steel as in the South African shafts? For some reason I didn't think so.

Quote:
I think they were made by Spearmaster in South Africa. Don't know if anyone distributes thm in the USA.
Yeah, that was them I believe. I was getting them from Florida Freedivers branded as "KJ" but I haven't needed to order any in a long time and they aren't there now. I'm hoping they start showing up again. I don't see them elsewhere either so I'm gonna give FF a call this spring if they don't show and see if they will still be restocking them.

Quote:
Give Rich a call at 727-432-1967 to make sure the shaft you want is what we call here "spring steel". What you call "bend resistant". I've been very pleased with the shafts for my Battle Axe 58. I got the long flopper with a solid steel roll pin. The spear end tip is pencil point shaped. You can have tip choices and flopper (barb) length choices. My long flopper hangs down for auto opening. Never did a distance test with a flopper on top vs. bottom.
After looking through them more closely it looks like only the 7mm ones are the South African spring steel. I ordered two of the 17-4 SS 7.5mm shafts to give them a go anyway as I'm down to one semi rusted shaft on my 90cm at this point. I'll see how they work out in the upcoming season while I keep looking. Hopefully they will work out.


Honestly it's pretty aggravating not being able to find the shafts I was used to. I have a stockpile for some of my other size guns but unfortunately the 90cm is my bread and butter gun at home. I'm down to one already ratty shaft left for it.

I feel like I have to explain why I'm being so picky....
I drop in reverse triggers on my railguns then power them up pretty extreme so I have a sort of a swiss army gun for at home. Small package with a lot of punch for big fish like stripers but still very accurate at distance for the little delicate stuff like porgies, seabass. The shaft will also not bend at all when on the next drop I shoot point blank at a fluke laying on our rock reef or into a hole for a Tog or seabass then wretch the shaft back out. Those 7.5mm shafts were absolutely perfect. They were affordable, outlasted any of the many other types I have bent immediately, had the shark fins placed pretty far back, and could handle the power with fantastic accuracy. The shooting line attachment through the shark fin was the icing on the cake because my mechs chew up mono pretty quickly when attached to tuck into the trigger housing. I'm mourning the loss and not ready to accept losing them quite yet

Thanks guys
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Old 02-08-2021, 03:57 PM   #9
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TriggerNJ View Post
Does he carry the same spring steel as in the South African shafts? For some reason I didn't think so.



Yeah, that was them I believe. I was getting them from Florida Freedivers branded as "KJ" but I haven't needed to order any in a long time and they aren't there now. I'm hoping they start showing up again. I don't see them elsewhere either so I'm gonna give FF a call this spring if they don't show and see if they will still be restocking them.



After looking through them more closely it looks like only the 7mm ones are the South African spring steel. I ordered two of the 17-4 SS 7.5mm shafts to give them a go anyway as I'm down to one semi rusted shaft on my 90cm at this point. I'll see how they work out in the upcoming season while I keep looking. Hopefully they will work out.


Honestly it's pretty aggravating not being able to find the shafts I was used to. I have a stockpile for some of my other size guns but unfortunately the 90cm is my bread and butter gun at home. I'm down to one already ratty shaft left for it.

I feel like I have to explain why I'm being so picky....
I drop in reverse triggers on my railguns then power them up pretty extreme so I have a sort of a swiss army gun for at home. Small package with a lot of punch for big fish like stripers but still very accurate at distance for the little delicate stuff like porgies, seabass. The shaft will also not bend at all when on the next drop I shoot point blank at a fluke laying on our rock reef or into a hole for a Tog or seabass then wretch the shaft back out. Those 7.5mm shafts were absolutely perfect. They were affordable, outlasted any of the many other types I have bent immediately, had the shark fins placed pretty far back, and could handle the power with fantastic accuracy. The shooting line attachment through the shark fin was the icing on the cake because my mechs chew up mono pretty quickly when attached to tuck into the trigger housing. I'm mourning the loss and not ready to accept losing them quite yet

Thanks guys
I haven't asked Dean if he carries spring steel shafts.

What about Rob Allen shafts then? He makes 7.5mm shafts in the configuration you want, spring steel. Honestly if I had my way, all of my shafts would be Rob Allens. For reef hunting RA's are all I shoot. Tough and super straight. https://www.freediveshop.com/shop/sp...inned-shaft-2/
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Old 02-08-2021, 05:48 PM   #10
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Yeah, I'll end up with the Rob Allens if I don't end up being able to get exactly what I was using. I've always used the RA's in the past but they have the shooting line attachment through the tail and the notches up quite bit further. Other than that they are my best option at this point if the heat treated 17-4 don't work for me.
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Old 02-08-2021, 08:55 PM   #11
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

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Originally Posted by TriggerNJ View Post
Yeah, I'll end up with the Rob Allens if I don't end up being able to get exactly what I was using. I've always used the RA's in the past but they have the shooting line attachment through the tail and the notches up quite bit further. Other than that they are my best option at this point if the heat treated 17-4 don't work for me.
Get the wire finned RA shafts, then you can run your shooting line through your fin of choice. RA's wire fins were tested to 270 kg with no failure apparently.
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Old 02-09-2021, 10:29 AM   #12
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

"Yeah, that was them I believe. I was getting them from Florida Freedivers branded as "KJ" but I haven't needed to order any in a long time and they aren't there now. I'm hoping they start showing up again. I don't see them elsewhere either so I'm gonna give FF a call this spring if they don't show and see if they will still be restocking them"
----------
The shafts were indeed made by Spearmaster and I initially branded them as KJ shafts in order to try and separate them from all the other Spearmaster shafts coming into the USA at the time. None of the big boys ( Wong - Mako - Florida Freedivers etc ) had the sole distribution rights to the Spearmaster shafts in the USA and it was a kind of a free-for-all, with the main players sticking their own brand names onto the shafts.

I used the manufacturers initials in reverse (Jan Kr******) hence the KJ brand.

Only Spearmaster was able to offer the fin tabbed shaft in South African plated spring steel. Rob Allen was reluctant to manufacture them (did not want to weld the fin onto the shafts) and so they offered the inclined pinned shaft and the wire looped tabs as alternatives.

Spearmaster had the manufacturing down to a fine art and I am not sure if anyone else has made such a fin tabbed spring steel shaft? Pity!
I was really disappointed at the time that Rob Allen did not take that same route.

Since leaving the Industry I have lost touch with most of the players and I do not know if Spearmaster is still in business? The Covid issue appears to have hit the South African manufacturers hard.

Regards,
Mike Damms
Ex Florida Freedivers and Rob Allen distributor.
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Old 02-09-2021, 10:30 AM   #13
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

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Get the wire finned RA shafts, then you can run your shooting line through your fin of choice. RA's wire fins were tested to 270 kg with no failure apparently.
Yeah, that’s gonna end up what I do most likely. I know it's bound to give me issues attached to wire though because the gap is so big letting the crimped loop move around. Hopefully just a minor annoyance when loading and nothing more.
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Last edited by TriggerNJ; 02-09-2021 at 10:39 AM.
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Old 02-09-2021, 11:13 AM   #14
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

Thanks for the info Mike. I bought one to try it out back when you started offering them and it's all I've used ever since. I wish Rob Allen would have started making a tabbed shaft by now or at least a shooting line hole up the shaft a bit as an option on the wired shaft if the welding adds too much work/expense.

It seems like spearmaster is still making shafts. The 7.5mm shafts (130cm) I want must just have terrible demand here because they aren't carried by the one brand still offering tabbed legit spring steel. I'm not sure why as railguns have always and still do offer 7.5mm shafts for 90cm guns. I can still get them in all manner of configurations and even tabbed from lots places but none of them are the combination of good spring steel and good solid tabs in a 130cm shaft. Seems impossible to me with all the options these days.
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Old 02-10-2021, 12:01 PM   #15
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Re: Shafts...Can't find the ones I like anymore.

The big problem with finned carbon steel shafts is that the fins are made of stainless steel and there's always going to be bad corrosion due to electrolisis between two different metals. Probably that's why old Rob didn't take that route.

He participates here from time to time. Maybe he'll chime in.
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