The Gearhead Gunsmith

01/24/2026

Alrighty folks, that's a wrap. SHOT Show 2026 is officially behind us!

Wow, the attention we got this year was something else. Last year we brought a concept, and this year we brought a product to show off, and the feedback was incredible. My heart is racing with excitement to jump right back into it when we get back on Tuesday, assuming we don't get delayed with these winter storms coming in this weekend.

To address the two most frequently asked questions;

-YES there will be additional batches after the first. Once the first batch ships, I'm going to take a brief break from the shop for a week or two just to give myself some time to recharge, then we're going to jump right back in for round two. I don't have an ETA on this, but I expect it will be sometime around April, but maybe sooner. I'm also hoping to have a more streamlined process figured out by then where we won't have to rely on preordering and long lead times to get y'all your Tensei.

-We will also begin implementing a wait-list as soon as we get back. This will be in the form of a web store listing with a deposit of a few bucks (5 at most) to reserve your spot in line for the next batch(es). Once it's your turn, we'll reach out to invoice you for the remainder. There won't be a delivery timeline guarantee for the waitlist (since yours might be in a batch later this year depending on when you get in), and you'll also be able to pull out at any time with no hard feelings. This will go live next Friday (01/30) so y'all have some time to get ready.

Pic for attention, they say to never meet your heroes but I'm glad I didn't listen. Karl Brugger of B&T stopped by on the last day of SHOT, and he loved the concept behind the Tensei, and I got a chance to tell him that the story on his KH-9 was one of my biggest inspirations in doing what I do. I'll talk more about that when I get back.

I can't stress it enough how incredibly heartwarming it is to see y'all so excited about the Tensei. Seriously, thank you all ♥️

Yours truly,
The Nambu Hobo , aka the Tensei Sensei 😂

01/22/2026

To everyone sending us messages about the next batch of Tensei SBR's / carbines, I'm trying to answer them as fast as I can but I'm still at SHOT Show, so please be patient with me 😂

If you're one of the wonderful folks waiting on a response; We don't have a wait-list yet but I'm working on one as soon as we get back. I don't have an ETA on the next batch since we're still working on the first one, and I want to make sure we ship out a damn near perfect gun before we even think about taking on more orders. My focus is, and always will be quality over quantity

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of your resident Nambu Hobo / Tensei Sensei with another dream gun of mine that HK will probably never let us peasants have 😁

01/22/2026

I didn't realize how awful my hair looked til I finally had time to stop and look in a mirror yesterday 😂 SHOT Show setup was rough, to say the least.

However, I am fully embracing "Nambu Hobo" along with "Nambu Prophet" and "Tensei Sensei". Expect stickers and T shirts!

The best fi****ms reference books: https://www.headstamppublishing.comhttp://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeaponshttp://www.floatplane.com/channel/ForgottenWeapo...

01/20/2026

Gun Jesus Approved 🤙🏻

01/18/2026

I did a little "contingency photoshoot" in the event that Frontier Airlines misplaces my gun case like Spirit did with last year's prototype, which almost didn't make it due to severe winter storms in and around Houston during that time. Thankfully, they were able to get it out on the next plane after ours, and it arrived later that night.

But, here's the Prom Queen all dressed up for her big week! I was hoping to have no non-production 3D printed parts on the SHOT '26 prototype, but the focus was getting the critical stuff made first, so I can live with the fact that the only visible printed parts are the sights, the rear plug, and the trigger guard ring.

01/18/2026

For those of you who were wondering, yes it takes down just like the original 😁

It needs just a little bit of refining but it works fairly well!

01/17/2026

If you have a Tensei order in, please check your inbox / spam folders. You should have a "Build Thread" email chain - this will serve as our personal line of communication between you and I while we go through the build process of your specific Tensei.

Within this email you will see a questionnaire that will be used to lock in your customization options. Any changes made here will override what you initially selected, if any changes are made.

Pic for attention; just a little side by side of the Tensei's stock with with my original Type 100 stock

Thanks!

01/17/2026

The finger grooves are there for a reason 😂

01/17/2026

Hammer fired was definitely the way to go!

We had a few malfunctions, mostly due to the magazines. The only critical one was a case of hammer follow, but I knew that was bound to happen eventually because we didn't have time to harden the FCG components before SHOT Show, and I wanted to get a few rounds downrange

All in all, I'm VERY happy with where we're currently at with it! As you can see, we also now have successful extraction, and ejection!

If anyone is going to SHOT, stop by at booth 42206 and say hi! I'd love to chat with y'all

01/16/2026

Blued steel, and shellac on walnut. I gotta say, it's hard to beat that classic look!

01/15/2026

I'm dedicating Serial #2 to those that supported me, and believed in me as I turned this dream of mine into a reality.

Over 10 years in the making, and I owe it all to y'all. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I know the font should be bigger / bolder but you get the idea 😁

01/14/2026

Also, the trigger pull and reset is sooooooo good now 🤤