Chris C

Impressive, littleblacksmith. You didn't say................so I won't ask. But every day I wake up and don't see my name in the newspaper is promise of a "glorious adventure". (it means I'm not in jail nor am I dead!)

You and I sound an awful lot alike, Jennifer. It would be a ton of fun to share a morning over a cup of coffee with you.

Glad to hear that, Thomas. I've a few old chisels that I'd like to re-purpose for smithing.

I agree with Rust Bluing. I use it a lot on gun parts. It's so easy to do it's ridiculous. Just time consuming and requires a little extra care keeping body oils off the metal. I love the look myself. A beautiful black. I think it would look great on that hawk. Chris

WOW, that ought to do the job. She should love to use that one. Chris

The first picture Latticino posted is for wood and would work with Micarta. The second picture is what I use on the backs of a target front sight to cut down on reflections. It would work fine for "coining" work, but as BIGGUNDOCTOR indicated, it would really "shine" for things like the bolt release knob on a Mauser. But I don't see why it couldn't be pressed into duty to work on that knife handle. Chris

No need to thicken good epoxy, Frosty. (think Acraglas) Yes, absolutely, you can and should stabilize bone and antler. The best bleach for bone is Hydrogen Peroxide. TSP will break down the structure of bone. Chris

Well shame on you then, Frosty...........you terrible, horrible person. How dare you imply I don't know what I'm doing. (heck, I never know what I'm doing!!!) Well, Jennifer, it looks as is someone couldn't keep their "fingers out of the pie", so to speak. (I see footprints in the painted foor!) Chris

One of the "problems" I have with internet forums is what just happened. My feeble brain can't "get" that even though my question has been answered, other people's might not have. I've even been chastised for that attitude. Guess I'm just not smart enough to get it through my thick skull. Chris

Okay. I just thought you missed I'd already sealed the wood's fibrous surface. My bad..........as they say. Chris

Oh, so you actually texture both sides at once? Cool.............and efficient. Chris

Smart. I never did that when I was making furniture and even as expensive as my pieces were, there were times I really didn't make any, what I'd call, profit. Tough to swallow when it takes 10 months to build a piece of furniture and one breaks even. I should have used your method. Chris

Thanks for the enlightenment. Chris

I like that one, Thomas. Tempted to use it in my signture. Chris

Never thought of using them for projects, Thomas. Thanks. Chris

Amazing how alcohol can ruin our best efforts on a project. Still, once it's covered with coal, no-one but you (and all of us, of course) will know the welds weren't perfect. Chris

Thanks, JHCC. Going to start keeping my eyes out for a good candidate. Chris

Thanks. Oh, one more question...........what did you use to mark the rounded face? Looks as if it was a cut-off disc in a grinder...........am I correct? Chris

I really admire that texture, JHCC. I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for a garage sale ball-pein. Do you recommend a particular weight hammer, or will any size work? Chris

Thought so, thanks. Chris

I'm prepared to pour mine, DanR, but daily schedule is getting in the way. Hate it when "life" does that! I've got a Bouncy Castle blower on my line, so it definitely puts out a lot of air when unrestricted. As I close the gate slowly, it takes the excess air and cools the motor with it. When the gate is completely closed, all it does is revert all the air to the cooling side of the motor. Pretty slick. Can't wait to get my ribbon burner cast and get this whole thing set up. I'm stoked seeing your results. Chris

Lookin' good. Chris

The reason I put handles on files is because it felt un-natural to me to have the tang stuck into the palm of my hand!!!!! Hand hurt for two weeks. A dirty ol' file tang shoved into the hand close to the wrist tends to inflame violently. Ever since then, when working on really hard filing work, I use a handle................and have found the golf balls pad the palm even more. Guess I'm just an old softy! Chris

Well that's clever. Chris

Can't get an answer from the seller. It was just posted yesterday, but he may be working late. Just sent him a second e-mail. Waiting.................................................. Update: He just e-mailed and said he'd update the pics. Just putting the kids to bed and would get back with me. Says it rings.