Thanks again canoedogs. You answered my edit before I even posted it. Still wondering about the earpiece though. EDIT: Found them here:
http://www.xtalman.com/headsets.htmlfor 3.49 each, designed for use with these radios. Also you mention rusty razor blade, I assume this is comparable to the blued razor blade mentioned for the kits (makes sense since IIRC bluing is actually just a layer of oxidation - rust - on the metal surface)?