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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
Awl--
Well, taking a break from the Harold/Home Despot fracas (rcm), I forayed to Manhattan on Sat--a psychologically and often *physiologically* painful endeavor for me--to my second knife show. I hate ostentatious Manhattan yuppies, and what's the first thing I see outside the hotel hosting sed knife show?? A stretched Hummer--swear to god.... One way to describe a good knife show--and I'm a liberal atheist (albeit w/ increasing primordial urges to build my underground concrete bunker)-- is that these shows are nothing short of a near-religious experience. Now, it may be that being a mere hack machinist, I am over-awed by these craftsmen and their wares. But sed hacked-ness may also mean that I don't appreciate this stuff *enough*! Suffice it to say that anyone here who really cuts metal, and occasionally aspires to .001 tolerance, will be mesmerized by what they see. And what is *really really neat* about this is that most often you are talking to the guy *who actually made the knife*, most often by hand (little cnc, not that many BPs, either!), that I daresay would leave the good machinists here, unfamiliar w/ true knife making, dumbfounded. As opposed to the dealers who booth up at these shows, about 15% of the booths. They too are very knowledgeable, but more $/industry-oriented. But you can always tell a dealer from a maker: The dealer don't want you touchin his stuff, unless yer credit card is on the table--all his **** is under glass, etc. The makers have their stuff right out there, waiting to be fondled... sez a lot. Oh, and the *prices* will knock you on your ass as well, bruhs.... I'll tittylate you w/ but a cupla things I remember. One fellow, rahcheer in LI, NY, found a way to fuse titianium to steel, w/ a startling effect of a sort of medievil antiqued mother-of-pearl--incredible, as was the price: $5,000 for the blade, about 8" by 2" by about 1/8" thk. Turns out there about 3 ways to fuse titanium to steel, but this LI guy seems to have one of the better ones. There are two ways to "anodize" titanium, one with heat, the other w/ electricity. The resulting color varies w/ the anodizing voltage! I was shown two colors, one from 50 V, the other from 100+V--pretty high voltages, it seems. But incredible results. Damascus steel is the big thing, and most of these guys make their own! Incredible, a real metallurgical tour de force. Now, as indescribable as most of this damascus steel is (the patterns, the colors, the selective etching, the engraving/artwork, etc), one stands out in particular. This particular fellow has a magnifying glass amidst his knives. So I amble up, and observe, You gotta be real proud of yer work iffin got dat 'glass on the table. So he sez, Take a look. It's called Mosaic Damascus--tiny, tiny scenes and themes, animals, insects, hieroglyphs, fish, one after the other, seemingly engraved in the steel. But it's not engraving! He explained how it's done, but I don't have a clue. "Forging" was in there some place. Beyond artistic/technical comprehension. It would have been easy to spend an hour just studying his knives thru that 'glass--easy. I looked at, but did not hold, a $52,000 pen knife. Henry Franck, I think, makes but 7 a year. Not a bad gig. Mike Walker has a $28,000 folding knife. Why is it $28K? Well, apparently his wife left him, she did all his engraving, and this is the last of his knives w/ her engraving. Can you say "re-con-cil-ia-tion", Mike?? Cuz she can engrave like a muhfugguh.... Oh, Mr. $52,000 sold two on Friday. That's one booth that paid for itself!! The makers are from all over the world, a surprising concentration from S. Africa, couple from Japan, New Zealand, not too many from Europe, tho. Couple from rahcheer in LI, Brooklyn, bunch from Texas, midwest, CA of course, PA. The Texans and Arkansas peeple luv these big-assed Bowie knives, so effing big and heavy you can chop down a small tree with them. Also some swords, etc. Very nice custom knives can be had for $500-$750--actually a bargain, in some cases, so nice are the knives. But I would say that of the "serious" custom mades, about 75% are between $1K and $2K. There were some original switchblade and "assisted-opening" mechanisms, that were explained to me in some detail by the builder, and I still don't have a goddamm clue as to how he did it. Drop-dead gorgeous, in the detail AND in the mechanism design. I could go on and on and on, but suffice it to say that *anyone* involved in metal almost has an *obligation to themselves* to go to one of these shows. It really goes beyond "value", beyond collecting, because after a while all that stuff almost becomes fuzzy. What is most valuable, in my mind, is being able to witness and then comprehend so many truly spectacular "creative events", by totally dedicated, gifted, even fanatical people. No real way to do any of this justice w/ mere description, or even photos. You gotta SEE it, hold the work, study them, feel it, talk to the makers. Note also that some shows are more dominated by the survivialist/military/tactical peeple. These shows I've gone to are not, altho those are also interesting knives, and there is some presence in these shows. These shows are more high-end, artistically/craft oriented, w/ spectacular displays, and occasionally w/ some demos--engraving at this one. The next good show is at the end of February 06, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, on 49th & B'way in Manhattan. 6 hours is barely enough time to take it all in. Many people will go on all the days, for which there is a substantial discount. Oh, leave yer checkbook/cc at home. Reason: once you start buying, you may not be able to stop. I risk losing my goddamm house when I go to these things. You could *easily* spend $50K--*easily*.. There are a cupla knife ng's, and these guys are very knowledgeable about events, shows, specifics, much more than I am. Oh, one last knife ditty: From my first show, I got inspired, and ackshooly made a knife!! Solid brass stilleto-style gravity knife, a fukn beaut, iffin I may say so myself--oh yeah, w/ no cadcam!! Got constant offers, orders for it from the aficionados at my job--some big buck offers, too! Unique in that it was not only a very uniquely versatile tactical knife (iow, for fighting--figgers, right?), but also somewhat artistic AND quite utilitarian!! It had a multi-position feature, so's you could use it like a box cutter, as well. Then my auto accident. Got everything back--wallet, job ID, keys, money, credit cards, tools, watch, everything-- ceptin Le Knife! Fukn ****!!! I still need to pursue this, as it was EMS who stripped off (literally cut off) all my clothes, followed by the police handling the scene. Some muhfugguh, paid w/ my tax dollars, walked off w/ it! Proly figgered I wadn't gonna be needing it much, given the apparent damage, but still..... Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. And then the wife leaves for her moms house 'til it's over, which means I gotta feed the cats, clean their boxes, and the goddamm vomit... Not a good thing..... ---------------------------- Mr. P.V.'d formerly Droll Troll |
#2
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
PV
I have the doors for your underground bunker Respectfully, Ron Moore PS: LOTS of metal content! "Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message ... One way to describe a good knife show--and I'm a liberal atheist (albeit w/ increasing primordial urges to build my underground concrete bunker)-- is that these shows are nothing short of a near-religious experience. Now, it may be that being a mere hack machinist, I am over-awed by these craftsmen and their wares. But sed hacked-ness may also mean that I don't appreciate this stuff *enough*! |
#3
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
... Awl-- snip for brevity http://beggknives.com/gallery.html |
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
The new york show is a nice show, I know some of the people you talked
to just by your description. You also have to consider the relatively primitive tools we knifemakers use. Most use a 2x72 belt grinder a drill press a buffer and assorted hand tools like files and saws. I cut handguard slots with a drill, a jewelers saw and finish with a small file. I rough grind the bevels on my blades with the belt grinder and flatten them out by draw filing. When I polish my blades I hand rub with wet dry sc paper wrapped around a micarta block. I start with 240 then work my way through 320, 400, 600, 1000 and then lightly buff with a red compound on a hard felt wheel. When done you have a near mirror finish with no distortion due to high or low spots. |
#5
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On Sun, 13 Nov 2005 21:59:29 -0500, "Proctologically Violated©®"
wrote: Awl-- Well, taking a break from the Harold/Home Despot fracas (rcm), I forayed to Manhattan on Sat--a psychologically and often *physiologically* painful endeavor for me--to my second knife show. I hate ostentatious Manhattan yuppies, and what's the first thing I see outside the hotel hosting sed knife show?? A stretched Hummer--swear to god.... One way to describe a good knife show--and I'm a liberal atheist (albeit w/ increasing primordial urges to build my underground concrete bunker)-- is that these shows are nothing short of a near-religious experience. Now, it may be that being a mere hack machinist, I am over-awed by these craftsmen and their wares. But sed hacked-ness may also mean that I don't appreciate this stuff *enough*! Suffice it to say that anyone here who really cuts metal, and occasionally aspires to .001 tolerance, will be mesmerized by what they see. And what is *really really neat* about this is that most often you are talking to the guy *who actually made the knife*, most often by hand (little cnc, not that many BPs, either!), that I daresay would leave the good machinists here, unfamiliar w/ true knife making, dumbfounded. As opposed to the dealers who booth up at these shows, about 15% of the booths. They too are very knowledgeable, but more $/industry-oriented. But you can always tell a dealer from a maker: The dealer don't want you touchin his stuff, unless yer credit card is on the table--all his **** is under glass, etc. The makers have their stuff right out there, waiting to be fondled... sez a lot. Oh, and the *prices* will knock you on your ass as well, bruhs.... I'll tittylate you w/ but a cupla things I remember. One fellow, rahcheer in LI, NY, found a way to fuse titianium to steel, w/ a startling effect of a sort of medievil antiqued mother-of-pearl--incredible, as was the price: $5,000 for the blade, about 8" by 2" by about 1/8" thk. Turns out there about 3 ways to fuse titanium to steel, but this LI guy seems to have one of the better ones. There are two ways to "anodize" titanium, one with heat, the other w/ electricity. The resulting color varies w/ the anodizing voltage! I was shown two colors, one from 50 V, the other from 100+V--pretty high voltages, it seems. But incredible results. Damascus steel is the big thing, and most of these guys make their own! Incredible, a real metallurgical tour de force. Now, as indescribable as most of this damascus steel is (the patterns, the colors, the selective etching, the engraving/artwork, etc), one stands out in particular. This particular fellow has a magnifying glass amidst his knives. So I amble up, and observe, You gotta be real proud of yer work iffin got dat 'glass on the table. So he sez, Take a look. It's called Mosaic Damascus--tiny, tiny scenes and themes, animals, insects, hieroglyphs, fish, one after the other, seemingly engraved in the steel. But it's not engraving! He explained how it's done, but I don't have a clue. "Forging" was in there some place. Beyond artistic/technical comprehension. It would have been easy to spend an hour just studying his knives thru that 'glass--easy. I looked at, but did not hold, a $52,000 pen knife. Henry Franck, I think, makes but 7 a year. Not a bad gig. Mike Walker has a $28,000 folding knife. Why is it $28K? Well, apparently his wife left him, she did all his engraving, and this is the last of his knives w/ her engraving. Can you say "re-con-cil-ia-tion", Mike?? Cuz she can engrave like a muhfugguh.... Oh, Mr. $52,000 sold two on Friday. That's one booth that paid for itself!! The makers are from all over the world, a surprising concentration from S. Africa, couple from Japan, New Zealand, not too many from Europe, tho. Couple from rahcheer in LI, Brooklyn, bunch from Texas, midwest, CA of course, PA. The Texans and Arkansas peeple luv these big-assed Bowie knives, so effing big and heavy you can chop down a small tree with them. Also some swords, etc. Very nice custom knives can be had for $500-$750--actually a bargain, in some cases, so nice are the knives. But I would say that of the "serious" custom mades, about 75% are between $1K and $2K. There were some original switchblade and "assisted-opening" mechanisms, that were explained to me in some detail by the builder, and I still don't have a goddamm clue as to how he did it. Drop-dead gorgeous, in the detail AND in the mechanism design. I could go on and on and on, but suffice it to say that *anyone* involved in metal almost has an *obligation to themselves* to go to one of these shows. It really goes beyond "value", beyond collecting, because after a while all that stuff almost becomes fuzzy. What is most valuable, in my mind, is being able to witness and then comprehend so many truly spectacular "creative events", by totally dedicated, gifted, even fanatical people. No real way to do any of this justice w/ mere description, or even photos. You gotta SEE it, hold the work, study them, feel it, talk to the makers. Note also that some shows are more dominated by the survivialist/military/tactical peeple. These shows I've gone to are not, altho those are also interesting knives, and there is some presence in these shows. These shows are more high-end, artistically/craft oriented, w/ spectacular displays, and occasionally w/ some demos--engraving at this one. The next good show is at the end of February 06, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, on 49th & B'way in Manhattan. 6 hours is barely enough time to take it all in. Many people will go on all the days, for which there is a substantial discount. Oh, leave yer checkbook/cc at home. Reason: once you start buying, you may not be able to stop. I risk losing my goddamm house when I go to these things. You could *easily* spend $50K--*easily*.. There are a cupla knife ng's, and these guys are very knowledgeable about events, shows, specifics, much more than I am. Oh, one last knife ditty: From my first show, I got inspired, and ackshooly made a knife!! Solid brass stilleto-style gravity knife, a fukn beaut, iffin I may say so myself--oh yeah, w/ no cadcam!! Got constant offers, orders for it from the aficionados at my job--some big buck offers, too! Unique in that it was not only a very uniquely versatile tactical knife (iow, for fighting--figgers, right?), but also somewhat artistic AND quite utilitarian!! It had a multi-position feature, so's you could use it like a box cutter, as well. Then my auto accident. Got everything back--wallet, job ID, keys, money, credit cards, tools, watch, everything-- ceptin Le Knife! Fukn ****!!! I still need to pursue this, as it was EMS who stripped off (literally cut off) all my clothes, followed by the police handling the scene. Some muhfugguh, paid w/ my tax dollars, walked off w/ it! Proly figgered I wadn't gonna be needing it much, given the apparent damage, but still..... Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. And then the wife leaves for her moms house 'til it's over, which means I gotta feed the cats, clean their boxes, and the goddamm vomit... Not a good thing..... ---------------------------- Mr. P.V.'d formerly Droll Troll Got a picture of your knife? Id love to see it. Now you know why the Religion of the Blade has lasted for so many thousands of years. Form, function, finish are all just a few aspects of turning a dozen wheelbarrows full of ore, into something that is....special being too shallow a word. Gunner "Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules. Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner |
#6
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On Sun, 13 Nov 2005 21:59:29 -0500, "Proctologically Violated©®"
wrote: One fellow, rahcheer in LI, NY, found a way to fuse titianium to steel, w/ a startling effect of a sort of medievil antiqued mother-of-pearl--incredible, as was the price: $5,000 for the blade, about 8" by 2" by about 1/8" thk. Turns out there about 3 ways to fuse titanium to steel, but this LI guy seems to have one of the better ones. Probably not Titanium. Most likely it's called Damascus Steel or Wootz steel ? http://www.mines.edu/Academic/met/pe...s/damascus.pdf Has "Titanium" replaced "billet" in marketing hype? Always loved those "Titanium drills". -- Cliff |
#7
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
Awl-- Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. Amazing. I always look forward to reading a Kirk Gordon post; now I've got a new author to make sure I watch for! Excellent post, PV. Thanks for sharing. moT |
#8
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
"Tom Accuosti" wrote in
nk.net: Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. Amazing. I always look forward to reading a Kirk Gordon post; now I've got a new author to make sure I watch for! Excellent post, PV. Thanks for sharing. You actually look "Forward" to Kirk's posts? You sadist you! BTW, those aint called posts, they are called novels. j/k Bing |
#9
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 07:41:29 -0500, Cliff wrote:
Probably not Titanium. Most likely it's called Damascus Steel or Wootz steel ? http://www.mines.edu/Academic/met/pe...s/damascus.pdf Has "Titanium" replaced "billet" in marketing hype? Always loved those "Titanium drills". More projects to do....... Mark Rand RTFM |
#10
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
Bing wrote:
"Tom Accuosti" wrote in nk.net: Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. Amazing. I always look forward to reading a Kirk Gordon post; now I've got a new author to make sure I watch for! Excellent post, PV. Thanks for sharing. You actually look "Forward" to Kirk's posts? You sadist you! BTW, those aint called posts, they are called novels. j/k Bing Actually I think they are correctly classifed as non-fiction short stories g ca |
#11
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Well, taking a break from the Harold/Home Despot fracas (rcm), I forayed to Manhattan on Sat--a psychologically and often *physiologically* painful endeavor for me--to my second knife show. I hate ostentatious Manhattan yuppies, and what's the first thing I see outside the hotel hosting sed knife show?? A stretched Hummer--swear to god.... I think it lives in St. Louis, at Royal Gate Dodge, but I'm not too clear on that. It has been there a number of times when we took our ram van there for service. (Haven't been out there in a bit since the warranty ran out.) Of course, it may not be the ONLY stretch Hummer in existance. What a crazy thing to do! Jon |
#12
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
There's a very long one here in Honolulu. About 10 windows long.
Karl "Jon Elson" wrote in message ... Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Well, taking a break from the Harold/Home Despot fracas (rcm), I forayed to Manhattan on Sat--a psychologically and often *physiologically* painful endeavor for me--to my second knife show. I hate ostentatious Manhattan yuppies, and what's the first thing I see outside the hotel hosting sed knife show?? A stretched Hummer--swear to god.... I think it lives in St. Louis, at Royal Gate Dodge, but I'm not too clear on that. It has been there a number of times when we took our ram van there for service. (Haven't been out there in a bit since the warranty ran out.) Of course, it may not be the ONLY stretch Hummer in existance. What a crazy thing to do! Jon |
#13
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 10:46:47 GMT, "Karl Vorwerk"
wrote: There's a very long one here in Honolulu. About 10 windows long. Karl Ive seen at least 5 here in So. California Gunner "Jon Elson" wrote in message ... Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Well, taking a break from the Harold/Home Despot fracas (rcm), I forayed to Manhattan on Sat--a psychologically and often *physiologically* painful endeavor for me--to my second knife show. I hate ostentatious Manhattan yuppies, and what's the first thing I see outside the hotel hosting sed knife show?? A stretched Hummer--swear to god.... I think it lives in St. Louis, at Royal Gate Dodge, but I'm not too clear on that. It has been there a number of times when we took our ram van there for service. (Haven't been out there in a bit since the warranty ran out.) Of course, it may not be the ONLY stretch Hummer in existance. What a crazy thing to do! Jon "Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules. Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner |
#14
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
clay wrote:
Bing wrote: "Tom Accuosti" wrote in nk.net: Proctologically Violated©® wrote: Awl-- Oh yeah, I do wind up w/ an immense inferiority complex from these shows, which leads to but another bout of Existential Crisis. Amazing. I always look forward to reading a Kirk Gordon post; now I've got a new author to make sure I watch for! Excellent post, PV. Thanks for sharing. You actually look "Forward" to Kirk's posts? You sadist you! BTW, those aint called posts, they are called novels. j/k Bing Actually I think they are correctly classifed as non-fiction short stories g Well, he spins a god yarn, whatever you call them. I've printed out a few of them for the guys in the shop. Even the non-technical ones. I have to admit, though, PV certainly does manage to use, er, creative spelling to add a certain, um, flavor to his fevered rantings. moT |
#15
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
It is sold as Timascus by Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply
A lot of people are intimidated by the professional knifemakers and don't even try to make a knife which is why one of my favorite knife stories is about a guy who made a "little ugly knife" http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Kni...nite_story.htm. tom |
#17
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
see
http://www.knifeart.com/talbychucbyb.html http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Kni...ife_prices.htm http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Knives/impervium.htm http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Knives/lubricium.htm be setting down when you calculate the prices Uncle George On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:47:47 GMT, Gunner Asch wrote: On 15 Nov 2005 08:41:00 -0800, wrote: It is sold as Timascus by Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply A lot of people are intimidated by the professional knifemakers and don't even try to make a knife which is why one of my favorite knife stories is about a guy who made a "little ugly knife" http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Kni...nite_story.htm. tom How much does a piece of Talonite cost? Id like to try making a knife out of it. Using modern tools of course... Gunner "Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules. Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner |
#18
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:47:47 GMT, Gunner Asch
wrote: On 15 Nov 2005 08:41:00 -0800, wrote: It is sold as Timascus by Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply A lot of people are intimidated by the professional knifemakers and don't even try to make a knife which is why one of my favorite knife stories is about a guy who made a "little ugly knife" http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Kni...nite_story.htm. tom How much does a piece of Talonite cost? Id like to try making a knife out of it. Using modern tools of course... Find the AMS number *if* it has one. I *might* have a smallish bit or similar. -- Cliff |
#19
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Knife Shows or: Surviving Inferiority Complexes
On 15 Nov 2005 08:41:00 -0800, wrote:
It is sold as Timascus by Chuck Bybee at Alpha Knife Supply A lot of people are intimidated by the professional knifemakers and don't even try to make a knife which is why one of my favorite knife stories is about a guy who made a "little ugly knife" http://www.carbideprocessors.com/Kni...nite_story.htm. Perhaps he work-hardened it ... -- Cliff |
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