;) Not really all that hung up on ratings. Sounds like a movie I might watch. English humour is classic. Not sure how Andy will feel about that comment... My favorite modern comedy was "Office Space". Kind of like an exaggerated play off lots of real world elements of the folks I deal with at work all the time- If you tell anybody I said that I'll deny everything.
It's come to my attention these days that I'm "catalog deprived". Funny, I've always been aware of them in the environment but just never seemed to aquire them. Got the internet for that. But then you often need to know what you're looking for.
Seems like the only way to preserve some of the really fancy grains would be to put a glass like finish on them. I just tore down a kind of wood plate zylophone kind of thing we scrounged up somewhere years ago. The wife decided she wanted it gone since it's just sat in the corner for a lot of years. I realized the wood slabs that you tapped for tones were some really cool wood. Ebony or somthing really dark and reddish and HARD. Thought I was going to make scales out of them till I got to looking closely. They're cut pretty odd and the only scales of a usable size that could be made would have to be really thin stuff. Beautiful wood grain though. Make a good inlay material...
Had tube of two ton epoxy out in the garage that kind of seeped out all over the place. What a mess. I went and bought some Gorrilla glue. Thought I'd give it a try instead. Much nicer bottling.
I am on the list. Kind of just lurking at present. Not sure I fully understand how it works. I get email conversations in my inbox and have replied and got responces but I feel like I'm missing part of the picture.
Hmm. Could be. I use a lot of the black stuff they sell in the automotive stores 'cause thats the only thing I could find in the really fine grit around here for metal. :-) Just got a set of EDM stones from McMaster-Carr though (up to 600 grit). Can't wait to try them out.
Got a big roll of 1" wide red AlO that I use for all my first pass sanding and oxidation removal. Also a roll of the black mesh stuff that is a little finer. I try to stick with the tan wood sanding paper for handle material.
Don't think I have anything that is true Emery.
Thats pretty much what I've been doing. Most of the handle shaping is done in place on the knife. Don't have to glue it but with the pins holding it snug together I get a better feel for what I'm doing and can pull it apart to do trickier stuff.
The first is what I wanted to do and the second is what happened :/
Have to try and locate one of those...
Don't know about the skilled part but yeah, thats me ;) ... to greater or lesser degrees at times. I figure in the end you get what you get and try to do better the next time.
Not so worried about color matching (within reason) but I'm shooting for a tight fusion anyway. The bolsters in this case are not as seamless as I wanted but it's all holding tight. Kind of limited in material matching by what was available. Pins are my usual brazing rod and the bolster material started out life as a grease bearing. Maleable and brass looking.
Up to now I never really felt the need for one. Got a christmas present that I won't get to play with till after (you guessed it) Christmas ;-) It's a Craftsman All-in-One rotary thing that can operate as a plunge router, angle grinder and hand held cutter/grinder type thing (with the attachments). Should work well for doing more precise drilling among other things.
;-) So there really is some truth to the McGiver slanders.
I'm not adverse to using whatever tools come to hand, but in my limited space (and budget) I don't need a lot of large shop tools getting in the way. Pretty satisfied with my blade crafting capabilities but it's the Fit and Finish stuff that kills me. Would like one of them fancy bench grinders made especially for hollow grinding knives... ;) But as they say, its the skills that need to be developed, not the tools.
GA