Bart

Hi Jason and Thomas, I do agree with the both of you guys; I did some research on the origin of this particular knife and I found that the blade is indeed made in China which is, in my opinion, very well known for the amount of crap which it delivers. In the near future I'll might have a go at forging a proper blade with the desired adapter so it can heat treated in one go. Then I can make a proper size blade which fits the job, as he 's only gutting rabbits with it. No need to have a blade the size like that. I'm gutting anything from woodpigeon to roe-deer with an Opinel No.9 ......

Hi Guys, thanks for your replies and of course a happy and healthy 2019! Here's some pics from after the rework. It was just to get him going again and we'll see how it's going to wear again. On the first pic you can see what type of blade it is, the second one shows some dull spots on the edge and on the last one you can still see a bit of the discoloration. Grtz, Bart.

Hi Thomas, Thanks for your reply. Like you say, the edge did not discolor and I think you might be right that the welding didn't do the blade any good. And to Glen, unfortunately I didn't make any pics and started wondering after I've ground the blade. What I can do is await to see what happens with the blade in the near future. It is only used for gutting and cutting rabbits, so there's not a lot of force involved.... I hope to be able to post some more . I've got some pics from after the sharpening, but they're not telling something very obvious I'd say. Anyway, we'll see...

Hi All, A friend of mine who has unfortunately lost his right hand in an accident popped in this morning with his hunting knife which he wanted me to sharpen it again. Eyeballing the knife's edge I noticed that is was massively chipped. I managed to get it sharp again by using a few whetstones but I still got major concerns about the quality of the blade. The blade was marked as being a Winchester hunting knife, but googeling the knife makes me think it's a China made blade.... so there's a certain doubt about quality. Besides that the specs of the blade reckon it's surgical stainless steel, and I don't have any experience with that kind of material....i.e. it doesn't ring a bell. Anyway... the knife's handle has been removed by an orthopedic device maker, in order to weld an adapter on it which fits in my mate's hand prosthesis. Could it be that the hardness of the blade has suffered from the TIG welding so that it may have caused the edge to chip that bad? The area of the blade adjacent to where the handle used to be showed some brown and blue discoloration. Or is it just another piece of China crap? Just tell me what you guys think... Grtz, Bart.

Thanks D.C.!

Yes Aus, spanner was an old scrap chrome vanadium and it does hold a good edge indeed. And for the rain pipe....No tinsnips put in my pipe.... Grtz, Bart

Thanks guys, Now hopefully coming winter I can find the time to forge some more and graduately gain experience. Grtz, Bart.

Yep, clogs are shopwear....and around the house. I've been running around on 'em since I was a child. The pair on the pic is new,most of the time I have to file out the right upper partof a new "klomp" (clog) to get it comfortable because my right foot is slightly deformed by a motorbike accident... For the rest I like 'em very much. No sweaty feet, solid nose and if you wish you can nail or glue rubber anti slip soles underneath.... Lots of people over here got the leather uppers as well, lots of types over here! Dutch are cloggies ey.... Grtz, Bart.

Hi Gergely, She's weighing in at 82 KG. Not to big not to small either and easy to move around...... Grtz, Bart.

Nice work! Another thing on the list of things I want to make.... Grtz, Bart.

Since I'm behind the computer for once I'd like to share some other small things I've made recently. I used to work in my father in law's shop, but last winter I ran into a neat Peddinghaus anvil so I can do some small stuff at home in the garage. I'm using a propane forge for the time being, but I want to get a coal forge in my garage as well because I just like it a lot more than the propane thingy... Anyway check the pics and tell me if you got some usefull tips. The knife used to be a 27 mil spanner, the bracelet a piece of scrap round bar and the split cross was apiece of 10 mm square bar. The rose is made of a piece of scrap rain pipe... Grtz, Bart.

Hi all, It's been a long time since I've posted something but now I had a nice little project I would like to share. In my job as industrial gasturbine engineer I tend to mess around in boiler houses of combined heat powerplants. A few weeks ago I was eyeballing some scrap coil springs of the pressure relief valve of a steam boiler. I asked the plant engineer what he was going to do with 'em and he said he was going to throw 'em away.... No way José! So I asked if I could have 'em which was allright by him....Thank you very much! Last winter I was at my aunt's place and she asked me if I could take away some old junk from my uncle's workshop, and aha there was this old woodturning machine waiting to be rescued. So I took it back home, cleaned it and modified it a bit and it was ready to go again. Unfortunately there were no proper gouges with it anymore, so I thought I 'd make my own. Now that's what I did with the coilspring from the boiler. Straightened it, forged a gouge, hardened and sharpened it and turned a handle for it from a branche out of the backyard. The gouge where I turned it with was a try-out from a retainer ring from an epicyclic gearbox. It looks odd, but it does the job as well. Anyway, have a look at the pics... Have a nice day, Bart.

Hey Harry, My best guess is that your anvil weighs in at 41 kilograms, which makes sense when you say it's 89 lbs. I know that Kohlwa makes two types of anvils with a 41 KG in the range... Grtz from Holland, Bart.

Check. I Used the solder for drinkingwater lines. It is a tin and silver mix. I also made sure there's no green copper oxide anywhere, because that seems to be pretty evil as well. I've been reading a bit about distilling, and think I'm able to make a non toxic alcohol now... Grtz, Bart.

Capacity is about 15 liters, say roughly 3 gallons... Sugar is easiest for now, but I definetly gonna try grain mash. And no, I didn't pound out the tank myself, it is an old close in boiler. I made the hat myself, the rest is waste pipe and elbows... Bart.