Well, I went the Paracord route and it was a bust. Besides it's boring!
I decided to go back to playing with knives. Just finishing blanks, not making steel. Putting scales on blanks isn't too stressful if you have a sander and a buffer, so all kinds of stuff seems to be arriving from out of the blue. At least it's something I have done before and hopefully I still can do it again. Got to have something to do for a couple hours a day, to get the mind set somewhere else.
Most of the blanks found on ebay are made in China or Pakistan, India, etc. Very few are actually US made. The folders are just about all from China and they are just ok. Not fantastic, but not too bad either. With some fancy wood, bone or other scales on them, they can be really nice. Some of the straight knives are made in the US, especially from two guys who do a lot of Damascus. I love the looks of Damascus.
Most of the tools are still on the way, especially a bench sander and bench buffer, so not much will be done soon. I am not going to be doing hand cuts and hand sanding, except for final sanding. The machines will do the work this time around. I can't really say how all this stuff is coming about, but I imagine I will make some threads about them, as it goes along. I thought about a knife forum, but Way back when I got into a couple of them and they were worse than CPF as far as being very snobbish, so I really don't want to go there again.
Just a teaser, as usual.
Oh, Yea, there's some Copper for bolsters and pins there. Can't do without Copper.
Well, I don't know if there will be any to sell, but possibly. I have a few I need to make for the person who is Financing the show, but I may make some to sell. Right now, I would probably just go with a PM type deal, to discuss options. I do not see working out in the shop more than an hour or so a day, so it will be slow going and it might be weeks before I have much to show. It just depends on how it goes.
Stones and my hand. I have used systems before, but mostly I have always sharpened by hand, with a good set of stones. Now, I will probably go back to a system, just because I am too Rusty and Crusty…
I will go with the Edge clone. Same style as the edge, but much cheaper, China style... Spare stones too. It really isn't the system, but what you learn and what you like. In the Old Days, my grandpa could sharpen a knife by hand that would scare the hell out of anyone, but it's like everything else. If you hardly ever do it and don't want to mess with it, then a "system" works best, because you don't really have to learn how to sharpen. Hell, for some, the best system is taking them to someone else, LOL.
I’ve tried the edge clones, the lansky system, the spyderco sharp maker, those silly things with the notch that you drag the knife through, but I’ve never gotten as good results as I have with my trusty stone and leather strop. Just something about taking your time and it all turns out beautifully! Those knives will look good with that material for the scales. (I did cheat a bit, however; I made a little platform for my stone that holds it at about a 15° angle. All I have to do is just keep the blade parallel to the table and the platform makes sure I get the right angle on the blade edge.)
I use a Crock-Stick set for mine, and it works well enough for me… :cowboy_hat_face:
So let me know if you are interested in making any to sell. I need a decent smaller fixed-blade hunting knife to field dress game and am having trouble finding one I like. Definitely intended to be a working knife, and not a show piece…
I will let everyone know if I do make any to sell. Right now, I have a few to make for my backer?, sponsor?, don't know the right word, but all the knives I make for a while, will go to him. If I continue, I may try to sell some, but I am an amateur for sure and from what I remember of the last time and this time so far, the knives would be best described as "Rustic", or "Quaint",... Hey, I am trying to avoid saying "poorly made" here ok?,
I had a go at this a few years ago, only as a knife for myself - if I can find it I’ll upload a pic of it later, came out better than expected. Overall it is a very rewarding thing to do , I think you’ll enjoy it a lot OL. I know modding a flashlight leaves a ‘bit’ of you in every one you make (in a sense) but probably more so with the knives/handles - no 2 will ever be the same.
You’ll be glad you got a bench/belt sander with that hard wood, that much I can tell you lol, some of that wood is rock hard and very demanding to work, actually surprised me how hard it was!
Anyways, good luck with your little venture OL - I’m sure they will be fantastic quality, as usual!
You won't find really good steel in Chinese kit knives. Mostly 440C or 9CR14 or 7cr17MoV. Mostly all inexpensive stainless. RC rated usually 56-60 range.
