bigfootnampa

Frosty the hobby stores have fabric paints and even Walmart in their crafts/fabrics section.  Fabric stores are likely to carry some and art suppliers have it.  It will be available from a hundred sources online as well.  

I use WD-40 on most of them.  Files to be used on aluminum or brass, copper or silver I coat with chalk powder (or whiting).  WD-40 tends not to gum up as other oils are prone to do and the whiting helps a lot to prevent the teeth filling with jammed metal filings.

Continual maintenance... wash by hand after every use, dry and coat with oil... I've been using coconut oil.   Such knives will darken and take on a patina of use... but maintained as I suggest will serve wonderfully for many years! 

Now I ask you, does he look like a "good boy"?  Methinks he was more likely a very "BAD boy"!   He's got the goods now though!  I know you'll LOVE that grinder!  If you need any tips on belt suppliers or sharpening blades just say so!

The kind of heavy wear that the buckle's "tongue" or "hook" or "prong" gets will wear off any coating but also keep it clean and rust free.

Easiest way is to use a paint that will not chip.  Thin coats of fabric paints work pretty well.  The same flex that enables it to survive multiple washings on fabric protects it from chipping.  I often use Tulip brand "Slick".   As with most coatings several thin coats will usually get the best results.  I often use multiple colors to get complex stoney or woody looking finishes.  This is an example that I have done on a Bubba Mug for a christmas present.  The texture is a burlap overlay with about a dozen coats to get to this point (finished... I think)!

3 days and 2 axes each!?!?!?  Did you guys take a lotta smoke breaks?  :)  Just kidding!  They look very nice and that is a lot to do for students!  A couple of those are near twins of my swiss carving axes, which are such useful tools that I have two of them so that I needn't walk too far to get one when it's needed!  

Could one take like brass filings or powders, same with bronze and copper, and take the piece to the proper heat and sprinkle the powder in? I've never played with this way of coating, I've wanted to just curious is all.

Try it!  You'll have some success... though the brush method is generally subtler and easier.

I have that book also!  It is a very nice one!

I should say that some pigments are benign… but most are somewhat toxic and some are VERY toxic.  Thus an oil, wax, or oil and wax, finish with pigments in it will often become unsafe for food… depending on the pigment(s) added.

Walnut oil dries and is safe to eat.  Waxes like beeswax and paraffin are safe but NOT with pigmented colors added.  Other waxes I would be wary of.  People that have problems with wax finishes on larger surfaces usually try to cover too much at once and the wax dries before they get it buffed.  You could do smaller areas at a time or power buff.

Be very careful of cocobolo!  It is sort of a poison ivy of wood types!  Especially dangerous to the woodworker exposed to the dusts! 

Nice Knockers!

I love your tools Dave!  PetersonJ20: I have found that a large gouge with a diagonal edge will slice a neat spill out of straight grained surfaces!  You don't need a corner to cut as a traditional spill plane requires.  It is also much easier to make the gouge than a spill plane!  I work the gouge with a slide cut pulling sideways rather than pushing.  

I think the design of the handle pushes your fingers into those nasty teeth at the base of the blade!  I would want good gloves to work with this blade!

Yes I have had guys look at some of my carving knives and tell me about the knives that they used to make... how they could bend them 180 degrees without damage... etcetera, etcetera!  I roll my eyes and think "no wonder they quit making them... who would want a knife like that?"!  My carving knives are made to cut hardwood and hold an edge for a long time doing so!  The blades are small and fairly thin... easy to break if you are careless... or abusive... but experts can carve with them for many years!  When you are slicing hardwoods it's all about the edge!

If the rasp is solid steel they are often something like 1090 or 1095 and would be heat treated the same as new steel of that type.  Some of the cheaper rasps are only case hardened and not going to hold an edge well... best to weld in a bit of higher carbon steel for those and heat treat according to the type steel used for the bit.

Most horsemen seem to like fixed blades kind of stout and about 4" long.  They like to wear them in a scabbard designed to hang at angle so that the knife can be drawn easily in a cross draw fashion.  Sharp edged but with a thick backed blade that would be very strong if misused for prying or such.  They don't ask much!

Google architectural metals suppliers and cast iron posts or newels.  There are thousands to choose from!  I'd get several with a similar look and let your customers choose from those... finding the exact duplicates is likely to be very difficult!  I have done some where I turned them from wood and finished with a textured paint to mimic the look of cast iron... it worked beautifully!

I have visited the area and was shocked at the cultural bias toward art there... not just in food either.  One of my fondest memories of the trip was a trip into the mountains above Taos searching for small stream trout fishing.  I found myself in a tiny ridgetop town that had about twenty homes, a single bar and at least FIVE art galleries!  My kinda country!  

I also especially remember a small roadside shop that sold aromatherapy products, singing bowls and shampoos and such.  It had a marsh painted on it's floor and walls and the shelves were designed with tiered curves to look like waterfalls with the custom made bottles of product all displayed in waterfall pattern textured and wavy bottles so that the products mimicked the look of water falling across the shelves!  The whole effect was absolutely STUNNING!  

When we parked in Taos we went in for a quick bite at a local eatery that advertised FREE root beer!  The root beer turned out to be homemade and EXQUISITE!  They also made their own salsa and several types of beer!  What a region!

They will probably forge just fine but mostly behave as mild steel would.  The case hardening is quite thin and will not retain any influence post forging.

Nice flowers!  I like your vases and bases too!

Don't forget to dress the struck end though!  round the corners and give it a bit of crown so that you minimize the chance of chips and mushrooming and the crown helps to keep the force of strikes centered.

It looks like your pintles are in end grain.  Screws in end grain are a very weak fastener!  I would have used hand wrought spike pintles... much stronger in end grain... stronger in any other configuration too!  With a heavy gate like that you may need to rework the top pintle especially.  Drill and cross pin with some epoxy as well might fix it. Otherwise you can make a strap pintle that would run parallel to the fence stringers and fasten into the side grain.  Even as you have them the hinges look a tad on the skimpy side to my eye as well.  Fun project!  I hope it works well as you have it but I am of the STOUT school of carpentry... hence my suggestions.

Looks really COOL!  NICE WORK!