SHC

Way I figure it, I’m in no position to question the motivations of a chicken. The ones that watch me at work probably question my sanity and intelligence too, so fair’s fair.

Roadside find. I hit a chicken this morning. No idea why it was crossing the road, but when I turned around to go pick it up I saw this out in the ditch. No houses nearby to claim it so I grabbed it. Don’t know what it’s lined with. Almost looks like someone’s attempt at a forge actually, but no holes in it. Unfortunately, the chicken wasn’t salvageable.

I laughed out loud at the “yeah, yeah, yeah” comment. I’m born and raised in the South and been all over. That seems to be a uniquely North Carolina thing! I was stationed in Camp Lejeune and didn’t get the full effect, being a melting pot of cultures from all over the US, but a couple years after my EAS I ended up living in Pittsboro NC. That “yeah, yeah, yeah” was one of the first things I noticed! Also, I never felt anything was laid back when I was there, they must be comparing things to other places I ain’t been. I’m originally from Mississippi, we know how to work hard and chill hard.

Nope, not really any good bluffs. And I’d probably get in all sorts of trouble! Ah well, we’ll probably just sell it for whatever we can get.

Way to go Nodebt! I hope the date goes well! I got my honey something she deserves. A new 2022 GMC Terrain. Time to get some work done to the Tahoe and maybe light the Traverse on fire and roll it off in the river or something. She got me a creeping rose bush! I already love it, don’t even have any blooms on it right now. Gonna have to build something for it to creep on. Don’t know how it turned to guns, but my little lady handles the M16 and AKM just dandy.

I’m kinda curious how many here can knit. I can knit. I can only knit scarves really, but my nieces loved them. They were made with a rainbow yarn. I had to quit because it was running my blood pressure up. That kind of surprised me. I took it up because it was supposed to be relaxing.

George, they’ve upgraded the blowers on FIF! Still may be pretty sorry to yours and the rest of the expert eyes of professional full time smiths here, I know little about blowers. I’ll be picking y’all’s brains and the numerous threads about that some day very soon hopefully. But I noticed in these later episodes I’ve been watching that they seem to produce much more volume and just keep spinning and spinning when the bladesmiths let go of the handles. Steven, I’m in north Louisiana. It ain’t Florida, but we have our issues with humidity too. I have a brand spanking new anvil from Holland Anvils, and I could practically watch the rust begin to grow the moment I unwrapped it about a month and a half ago. I go out to my forge daily, even when not working in it, address any fresh rust on all my tools with a handheld wire brush and liberal amounts of BLO. The sides of my anvil now have quite a pretty chocolate brown patina and a polished face. The rest of my tools have a nice polished sheen from use combined with this treatment.

Chimaera, Marine Biology has always fascinated me too. I’ve always felt a draw to aquatic environments and the life they hold. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a teenager and usually tracked down some volunteer work anytime I was near the beach for more than a few days, but that’s been years… My wife has several aquariums at home, and there’s a place in West Monroe that builds custom saltwater aquariums and we fully intend to contract their services someday. We already have a perfect place for a massive tank. You think we’ll ever fully understand the depths of our own oceans?

I did have another bad experience with a cow after I quit cowboying and started riding a steel horse. Got boxed in behind a stock trailer on the interstate. I saw the cow at the rear of the trailer “prepare to fire” so I swerved into the breakdown lane and gunned it, passed the truck from the shoulder. Dangerous maneuver, not one I’d ever condone and it’s the only time I’ve pulled such a stunt, but I wasn’t about to have my day rained on like that. Frosty, I don’t even leave my truck door open now when I unlock a gate at any of the water wells I service. Won’t be a cow around for miles but that left a lasting impression on me. I’d also like to start a petition to change Arkie’s name to Kingpin. Just seems to fit ya know?

SHC = Steel Horse Cowboy. I was a biker once upon a time, until some fateful day. Very first day of a 5 day ride, a drunken lady on a cell phone “didn’t see the biker” until she realized she’d knocked me into oncoming traffic. A cop happened to be part of the oncoming traffic and saw the whole thing. He said he just knew I was dead. So he was a little surprised when he made a quick uturn and found me up and walking around in a daze. My bike did not survive. The rear wheel was somewhere up around where the gas tank used to be, the front wheel was where the rear wheel was supposed to be, the gas tank was relocated where the headlight should have been and I ain’t got a clue where the headlight went. Broke my right ankle and it was undiagnosed. I didn’t realize it was hurt until I got off the pain meds, so I walked around on a broken ankle for a month wondering where the crunchy sounds were coming from. Most of my back was road rash as well as both arms. My left hand and elbow looked like burger. Can’t play guitar anymore and round doorknobs are the bane of my existence. Because I can’t reliably hold things in my left hand, it leaves me fighting with doorknobs with my left hand. Or switching hands, fumbling cellphones and laptops and iPads. I have lost my temper and kicked my own front door off its hinges because of this. It’s gotten better over time, but I do have a very hard time with tongs. HELMETS SAVE LIVES. My helmet is on display at a motorsports store/garage in West Monroe. I was also a cowboy once upon a time. Grew up riding horses, working ranches and farms as the need arose, mending fences and keeping heifers from finding new ways to hurt themselves. That ended when I joined the Corps. Side Note: I HATE COWS. Always have, but the real clincher was one day as I was opening a gate, I turned around to find one backed into the open door of my truck and relieving itself all over the seat, floor, steering wheel, dashboard, instrument cluster, inside of the windshield, ceiling… it did #s 1&2. That cow fed me and my family and it paid for the cleanup of my truck. My horse pushed a giant dent in the side of the same truck while scratching his rump. That didn’t bother me none, I popped it out with a toilet plunger.

Nodebt, a Thor’s hammer pendant isn’t hard to make, can’t imagine a hammer in profile of your favorite smithing hammer would be too difficult. Can’t remember who did the steel carving thread I read (I’m gonna bookmark that when I see it again) but those skills would (I’d think) work just fine on softer metals such as brass and copper. I’ve got some brass and copper… and my gears are turning. Ugh, I need to look after my house and myself before I do anything else.

I had to look up what a curmudgeon is. I got grumpy when I read it.

You won’t hear me argue the matter. I’d warned him many times that he was going to end up getting shot by an angry husband. It hasn’t happened yet though.

I was kind of leaning that way too. Just seems the hardest part would be cutting the threads. Could even change the handle material entirely at a later time if wanted.

A friend of mine got an interesting tattoo. And every time he’d meet a pretty lady and ask her name he’d act surprised and say “I’ve got your name tattooed!” Then he’d proceed to show “YOUR NAME” tattooed in about the vicinity you’d get a penicillin shot. I’m not sure how many times he’d been slapped, but I’m pretty sure that’s why his eyes are permanently crossed. He’s apparently been slapped stupid because he keeps doing it.

Unladen swallow?

Not a great pic. Tang needs to be straightened with by heating or grinding. It’s going to be finished up with a guard and pommel of the same steel, a stacked leather handle, and sheath made from the same leather. Haven’t decided wether to pin or thread the pommel, kinda depends on where it goes as I work the tang some more. This spring it’s made from was a real surprise. It was just rolling down the street, not another vehicle in sight. It crossed my path and I got a hard breaking alert in my truck. I figured I’d be getting a phone call from my supervisor so I might as well stop and pick it up.

Josh, I’m not even gonna lie man, I know a little about the Golden Ratio phenomenon and it kinda freaks me out. Not in a bad way, but like you said, it’s found EVERYWHERE. It amazes me, it’s awe inspiring once you see it. The Golden Ratio applies to our own bodies, other animals, plants, and heavily subconsciously influences human design as you demonstrate with your cards there. Look at the shape of most nations’ flags. Playing cards, many drawers and cabinets, windows, even kitchen chairs. Doorways, the shapes of cars and trucks, the bends in a river, the threads in a spider’s web. A fella could start a religion based on the Golden Ratio.

I had never heard of that until reading this thread and color me interested!

I know most folks here like to build rather than buy, but just letting y’all know tractor supply sells the raised beds. If you’d rather not spend the money on it, you may at least be able to see one in person and get some ideas from their construction. I plan on buying. Cost of lumber is too high to bother building it. It would be nice to use reclaimed materials, but that sort of thing is so trendy with the upper middles here that no one sells materials. I answered a Facebook ad a while back. “Need gone, old barn, best offer.” So I messaged the lady. I’ll remove it, whole thing, pull the posts up and fill the holes. My cost, the materials. Oh no, that wasn’t gonna do. I thought my offer was perfectly reasonable, I’ll remove this eyesore you want gone, free of charge, and do a good job of it. Uh uh. She wanted someone to pay her because reclaimed materials are so “chic” around here. She was expecting $1,000 or more. Well that’s fine. Upon inspection I noticed there wasn’t a single piece of wood not eaten up by termites, so all I’d get out of it was a bunch of damaged tin I had no use for at the time. She called me back a month later asking if I was still interested. I happily told her I was busy and my rates went up to $1,000 to remove old termite infested barns. She started cussing me, so I just blocked her number.

Been sharpening my own knives all my life too, and one thing I’ve noticed any time the discussion comes up is that it seems no two people have identical preferences, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any two people assent that “if that’s what works best for you then that’s best for you.” I’ve seen knife sharpening discussions devolve into arguments as toxic and abusive as those over politics and religion. I don’t care for ceramics, but I’d like to. I’ve seen nothing else produce a finer edge as quickly, but no matter what I do or what I’m honing with it, I can’t keep a ceramic honed edge. With my finer stones and girth strap strop, no problems. Takes some time, but I can keep a keen edge for quite a while and through quite a bit of abuse. My EDC, a Kabar, is used often for chopping small brush, including bamboo, digging in dirt and chopping roots, chopping plastic tubing, cutting light wire, whatever I come across. It’s abused hard almost daily. Last time I sharpened it was about a month ago and it still shaves. It’s missing some of its finish and the leather stack grip has gotten dark and smooth from all the sweat, dirt and blood, but it’s sharp. Ceramic, quick, easy, wicked sharp. Easily as sharp as I can get it with stones and strop in a fraction of the time. Then I open an envelope and it’s done. I want to love it, I really do. But my lack of success in using them means that I haven’t bothered looking for them after moving last summer.

I usually don’t care for diamond stones because of how aggressive they can be. If the blade isn’t hard enough you just end up taking a lot of metal off without even producing a good edge. But they do work great on hard steels and last forever. Also great for axes and tools, quick touch up on a machete while you’re in the field. I like Arkansas stones for most knives, diamond for other reasons mentioned. If I were starting from scratch I’d invest in some good Arkansas stones, and order some Gordon diamond stones from harbor freight. I’ve got a set for bench use, but a folding DMT sharpener for field use. Those Gordon stones from HF are cheap but perfectly serviceable. I think my set cost something like $12 or so

Well that is very true about the bathroom jewelry part, and yeah the price will reflect quality in razors. If I were to suddenly decide to start shaving again, I think I would like to try a razor from Boker. My wife has the Gent 2 pocketknife and I’ve been highly impressed. I’m the one who keeps the knives sharp and the guns clean, and after having and using that knife for three years I’ve only had to strop it once. And my wife uses it daily, mostly opening envelopes and boxes, but cellulose is actually kinda tough on a fine edge. My prettiest razor is/was a Gold Bug. Pic for reference, not my razor. I did find a small treasure trove once. Went into a “junktique” store and asked if they had any razors. “Nope, but I’ve got pieces!” The owner handed me a paper sack that was literally full of pieces. And rust. Lots and lots of rust. I was about to offer to throw it in the trash for him because I for sure wasn’t about to give even a stick of gum for it when he said to just take it. I shrugged, thanked the feller, and just dropped the whole bag into a bucket of waste motor oil and automatic trans fluid in the back of my truck. Then I forgot about it for a few months. I don’t even remember what I found when I rediscovered it. I started buying scales and pins online for about 50 blades and fixing them up and some of them sold for a pretty penny on eBay. I made enough to keep my old junk Ford running.

I started shaving with a straight razor in the Corps, except while in the field when I used cheap disposables. DOD don’t pay enough for them fancy multi bladed contraptions. Frazer is correct, you can NOT get impatient with a straight razor. I don’t own a new one, I got all of mine used and restored them. Making one from scratch is probably much harder. I commend you on making the attempt. You do want a hollow grind, but there is a Japanese version of a straight razor you may be interested in if you don’t have the equipment to do a good hollow grind. But even those have hollow grinds, just not as pronounced. It takes hours of very fine technique, practice, and good tools to get a razor sharp and keep it sharp. But, you gotta learn somewhere, just as I did. I don’t know enough about edge geometry to go into full detail about the importance of a hollow grind on a straight razor, but I do know you’ll never get great or consistent results with a convex grind. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up scraping the whiskers off rather than cutting them. It’ll be painful, you’ll get razor burn and ingrown hairs, but your face will be clean of hair. You’ll need to start with good steel. High carbon properly heat treated. I’m not a knife maker so I wouldn’t know where to start with that. You‘ll need a very fine water stone, I’d recommend not less than 10K grit. Mine is twenty. A good leather strop. Mine is a saddle girth strap I coated in Flitz metal polish. I clamped a broomstick into a vise and went “shoe shining” crazy on it before I ever touched a blade to it. That gives a good polish to the leather and firmly imbeds the microscopic grit into the leather. At least that’s what I think is happening, and it’s cheaper than buying an actual razor strop. I’d recommend setting yours to the side for now, find an old used one and practice on it. Once you get it good, you’ll better understand exactly what you’ll need to do to make a good one. I’d say steer clear of stainless, they don’t tend to hold an edge well in my experience. If you find one that looks decorative, chances are that’s all it’s meant for- decoration. You would need to strop before and after each shave, and it’s best to get two or three and not to shave with the same one consecutively. You also want to be patient while shaving. I did one pass with the growth direction, and one across the growth direction. Hot towel to soften the skin and whiskers. Using a straight razor is a very rewarding experience for some reason. Once I got out of the Corps and eventually divorced, I no longer had anyone breathing down my neck to stay clean shaven. So I quit. I don’t even know where my razors are anymore. But it shaved ten to fifteen minutes off the time it takes me to get ready for the day.

I laughed at that way harder than I should have.