Yup. I'm going to build an armored shell that will keep things from making the circuit.

What happens with most buffer accidents is that the buffer grabs the work piece and either throws it away from you (damages a wall or something) or the work piece goes all the way around and directly into you. If you build a metal cover for the back and top of the buffer then work pieces will get stuck/deflected in there. Worst case it fucks up the piece or the buffing wheel.

Now I just have to save enough for a welder and a couple of other misc tools so I can fabricate it. Nothing off the shelf will work for my setup.

Subcontract it, is my vote.

I saw a video of a guy sandblasting well-used epee parts to clean them up for a rebuild. He had a nice little plexiglass booth built around the blaster with heavy rubber (?) gloves mounted inside. I wonder if you could contain the whole unit to save your garage from shrapnel?

Or, you could use your backup hand.

I suppose his off-hand is getting stronger now that its attending Morningwood.

Perry, I had to remove hella rust from one of those Damascus blanks the knife fairy sent me and completely removed the pattern. I gave it a bath in muriatic acid and the pattern re-emerged but rather faintly. I suppose there is a special sauce they need to be dipped in. Any pro-tips?

Do you know the composition of the damascus? 15N20 and 1080+?

If the billet contains nickel (as in 15N20) use ferric chloride (usually available at Radio Shack for PCBs in 35% concentration). 4:1 water to etchant.

You have to start with the billet VERY clean. Use 409 or Windex. Then air dry it very well.

Then repeat the following process until the pattern is visible:
1. Hang in the etchant for 5 minutes. It should not be in contact with any surface in the
2. Neutralize the acid with windex or tri-sodium phosphate solution.
3. Scrub off the oxides with 2500 grit paper or #0000 steel wool.

I'm not really familiar with what to do with muriatic. I've heard 50/50 water to acid and 10:1 water to acid. Some people add hydrogen peroxide as a kicker to make it work faster (do not inhale this shit).

Hope that helps.

Thanks, will give it a try. The composition is a mystery.

How did the etch go F3?

I bet it was groovy!

hopefully it went smoothly and looks groovy...


ftfy

Can you make a rough estimate what it would cost to have a unique knife like that, made by a big name maker like White?

And I AM sorry about your finger.

That cuts me to the quick.

Damn, Perry. That is a sick knife. I'd bet 7-8 grand at least. I've got no idea how many hours are in it though.

The etching of the blank has been added to the job rotation. May be a few weeks yet before I can get to it. I stole a chunk of wood from your care package to make scales for it. Not to worry, there is still plenty left for you.

I should have a WIP pic to show here in a couple of days. I bought two dozen various clamps and have been able to do a bit of work with some thought.

I'm with F3 on the price. No less than $4-5k and as much as $8k. Maybe as high as $10-$12k depending on how much of a name John White is. (I don't keep up with the collector market.) It is a full-on art knife. It will not be used. Never. Okay, it might if you are very rich or you are just slicing scraps of paper.

John probably has at least 40 hours in that knife, and probably more like 60-80. Then there is time for the sheath maker and inlay/engraver. I don't have much idea how long those two things take, but I wouldn't be surprised if the total number of hours on this knife didn't top 120 hours.

You can easily bring the price down if you compromise on the blade (pattern, not quality), engraving and sheath. I bet you could get a nice usable d-guard bowie for about $1k. That would have a simple sheath, plain steel blade and stainless fittings.

Here's a load of cheap porn. Minimal story, mostly pictures:
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showforum=2

From a link on that pr0n site of yours.
You know how people say "Ooh, I want one of those."? Well, I need one of these:

whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
--pause, regrip--
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
whack
...

ahh... I'm done chopping wood now.

start carrying water, then.

But there's a hole in the bucket, dear martha, dear martha.

Thanks, those prices are believable, but I think 40 hours is way short, 120 is believable since he had to start over when he was way along with the blade.

Slicing paper, or perhaps Mr. Boddy in the Library.;)

I want to do that when I grow up.

That was awesome.

Very cool. I'm pretty impressed that the axe head was constructed traditionally. A lot of folks just make the entire thing out of steel, instead of splitting mild steel and welding in steel at the edge.

Making some hammers and axes is on my list of things to try, when I can find some room in the supplies budget.

I've been making a few nails here and there to practice hammer control. It takes me 5-10 minutes for each one. Fun and good practice, but those nails are expensive!

People used to burn down their cabins when they moved so they could collect the nails for the next cabin they'd build.

That reminded me of Jonathan Nedbor. He came to teach at a local blacksmith workshop last year. His home/shop is in High Falls, NY. He is a student of Dutch Colonial ironwork.

He talked about this and how nails retrieved this way would be straightened by children.

Unfortunately he has no web presence. If you are ever down in his neck of the woods, I would stop by.

I'm trying to get my children to sort my miscellaneous fasteners into broad categories. nails, screws, bolts. They are pretty good, but the attention span isn't there. Maybe I should put an audio book on for them...

and to light the way forward, eh?

"Chopping wood", eh? That what you teenagers are calling it nowadays? :jagoff:

I've got the first of two knives for classicman finished, packed and ready to ship tomorrow. It's going to BigV for a sheath.

When I've got my pennies lined up, I want to start making my own sheaths. I think I'll start with Kydex/thermoform sheeting sheaths. Which leads me to the next round of porn. Covering up that naked steel:
http://www.dorsetwoodlandblades.co.uk/howtokydex.htm

(Warning: These are somewhat in-depth, from what I've watched so far.)

Hope you don't mind that I'm sharing the first...

I am so psyched! I'm getting one for each of my sons.

Yeah. That's totally cool. I mean to have my wife take some semi-pro shots of it, but got it boxed up before she had a chance.

I bet we'll get some pictures during the sheathmaking process too.

Pics from BigV? Ya think????? lol

Just maybe. But I'm thinking since it'll involve sharp implements it's pretty much a given. If he had to hang from a chandelier and use power tools there'd be no question.

Where the hell is he anyway?
That must be some interview he's having.
He knows we have knives and shit to talk about too.

someone make a spot for this boy in the hall of fame. That there is some dry humor.

American tradition...

Edward Knifehands!

He couldn't zip his fly without injuring himself.

Several of those look like Randall Made Knives. They started making knives before WWII. Now they are highly prized collectors items.

http://www.randallknives.com/

Time for some Guy Clark

Randall Knife


My father had a Randall knife
My mother gave it to him
When he went off to WWII
To save us all from ruin
If you've ever held a Randall knife
Then you know my father well
If a better blade was ever made
It was probably forged in hell

My father was a good man
A lawyer by his trade
And only once did I ever see
Him misuse the blade
It almost cut his thumb off
When he took it for a tool
The knife was made for darker things
And you could not bend the rules

He let me take it camping once
On a Boy Scout jamboree
And I broke a half an inch off
Trying to stick it in a tree
I hid it from him for a while
But the knife and he were one
He put it in his bottom drawer
Without a hard word one

There it slept and there it stayed
For twenty some odd years
Sort of like Excalibur
Except waiting for a tear

My father died when I was forty
And I couldn't find a way to cry
Not because I didn't love him
Not because he didn't try
I'd cried for every lesser thing
Whiskey, pain and beauty
But he deserved a better tear
And I was not quite ready

So we took his ashed out to sea
And poured `em off the stern
And threw the roses in the wake
Of everything we'd learned
When we got back to the house
They asked me what I wanted
Not the lawbooks not the watch
I need the things he's haunted

My hand burned for the Randall knife
There in the bottom drawer
And I found a tear for my father's life
And all that it stood for

Found a couple of versions of the song on youtube. Very touching.

I thought he looked pretty proud, and I think he represents the egalitarian quality of knife collecting. A guy doesn't have to buy the Purdey shotgun of knives, to collect. Every price level can be a collection, and the knives that you make, are always a goal.

Exactly. Randall Knives aren't fancy. They are special because of sentiment (Pops tells stories about how he killed a dozen Nazis with his!) and utility, not fancy engraving, wood or whatever.

Is your Pops' name Bud, by any chance?

Probably the same rhetorical Pops.

I went out to the shop to grind. Flipped the switch on the grinder and got an error light on the controller. Something shorted out according to the "slow blink" light. Haven't been able to figure out what yet.

Hoping it's still in warranty. The controller was $600 and the motor was $250. Not looking forward to replacing them after virtually zero use.

Bummer. I hate sinking money into stuff that doesn't work...

5160
7" OAL
SS pins

I cannot remember what kind of wood I used. Smelled almost like cinnamon as I was working it.

http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0752.jpg
http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0740.jpg

Wow! That's really amazing. Very nice.

Paging V... Paging BigV.

Honduran Rosewood or Elm.

Seriously! Nice work.

Thanks all.

This one is for my grandpa's birthday. I tried my hand at a sheath. It came out pretty mediocre. Definitely a whole different skill set that I'm not quite ready to dive into.

Can't wait to get started on the next one.

7"?

Very nice work, sir. Proud, you should be.

•spoken in to my phone

So I have two knives in the pipe. They are the last two I need to do for other people. One is for classic, and is going to put the other one I sent to shame. The other is for a friend.

I think I'm going to quit making knives for a while after those are done. I don't have the time (read: not willing to sacrifice other things) to make the endeavor worthwhile. I think I'll refocus on my software development skills and work toward some more interesting things in that arena.

I find that I will take up a hobby and run with it for a while, and then get bored after too much focus in it. But it usually comes back. Or something similar.


It's about time for me to build a canoe. Or two. It's a lot to bite off though.

This is true. Not the canoe, though, not for me. The obsessive knitting has squeezed out the obsessive concertina playing. I wish I could do both at once.

Sent by thought transference.