The eldest daughter, of a very close friend, is getting married soon. My wife and our four year old daughter were invited to the bridal shower which was today. Times are tight for us, like they are for so many, and we didn't really have the money to buy a gift. My wife asked if I could make something for them to take as a gift. I am still, very much a beginner, and as such, I am very self-conscious about my work. I didn't want them to have to go empty handed, so I made a simple letter opener, with a leaf handle. The bride was very gracious, and said she loved it. Perhaps, I underestimated the value of a handmade gift, no matter how simple.

Do not sell yourself short it looks very nice, and I believe that anything made comes from the heart.

Thank you Clam River.

VERY nice! I will often sand and polish the blade on letter openers and the contrast looks interesting when combined with "as forged" elements like your leaf handle. The polished blade will tend to smoothly open letters without snagging even if the blade is not very sharp. I love what you made and this is only suggestions for future work... forge on!

Thanks Bigfoot, I like the idea of sanding the blade. Do you use a belt grinder for that, with a fine grit belt, or something else?

Very nice... Do you have The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims? I was just thinking, it looks like one of the projects in there :)

No Backwoods, I don't have that one, but I have seen some of her work. Thanks very much for the compliment.

It is a beautiful gift, pure and simple and I love it and I am sure the ' bride to be ' will treasure it too !

Thank you very much ma'am. All of the comments, and compliments, are greatly appreciated. I would be very interested to see some other gift ideas you all have used in the past. Christmas is just around the corner you know. ;-)

Honestly, I'm not hunting for ideas, just interested to see what others have done, for gifts. I've been thinking about trying a corkscrew; I've seen some beautiful examples on here.

Right now I would use my new 2" X 72" belt grinder followed with a buffing wheel with white diamond buffing compound on it. I have done them by hand with sandpaper though and that is not too hard either.

I will have to try the "by hand " method for now, but would definitely like to try it. I was working on a project today, and after two hours in the smithy, I was wringing wet. 103 degrees outside, and I'm building a fire to heat metal. This really is a disease.

Your gift is an impeccable work of art. Surely, she meant it when she said she loved the gift.