Everyone loves some #johnwick artwork! Really really happy with these still. My buddy has the pit bull one (pencil) and I've got the ink one next to my chair in the living room
First day in the shop post show. NASCAR day with the in laws. Gotta finish my presentation for my LAST APPRENTICE CLASS!!!! I got it all wrote down and planned out a few weeks ago, just need to put it in PowerPoint. I'm so excited to be in apprentice purgatory, waiting to turn out and take the journeymen test at 8,000 hours. I'm at 7600 something. Nervous about taking it. I've learned everything in the field. Our class is a joke.
Worked on some grinding and finished another set of scales this morning. Then heat treated the next four blades.
The ferric chloride works amazing! Soooo much better than the muriatic. Shoulda listened to people. Live and learn. Sometimes the hard way is the best reinforcement to just listen.
My mom got a picture of me talking to the gentlemen who bought the re-handled Husqvarna axe I did a few months ago with a purple heart wedge I got from Gabe. Got some advice from him about rehandling axes which was so awesome 👍
Greatly appreciate being a part of this community! Hoffman handles are amazing, feel great, look great and smell great while shaping them. Made the overstrike guard for this one, but left everything stock, other than sharpening it up more. Definitely wanna keep practicing with axes and hatchets. Yesterday was such a good day. Kind of a culmination day. Happy to have my wife's support with all of this, and my inlaws and mom visiting yesterday was cool and very grateful for my best friend being there to talk to me and help with sales and organizing.
I will be doing another show the Friday and Saturday leading into Father's day weekend. Hopefully I can get some more stuff done before then! Working on a handful of custom orders now, got a couple more yesterday.
I will be planning on doing a build for a 1000 follower giveaway soon as well. Like I said leading up to 500, there is still a long way to go for fundamentals for myself, but I definitely wanna show my appreciation for everyone's support. Gotta figure out how giveaways work lol
Thanks everyone!
I've had soooo many makers give me advice, and pay it forward to me. I'm gonna do what I can. I'm giving the maker next to me's son a Clint Eastwood picture because he loved my art yesterday, and I'm gonna owe him a Titanic picture soon haha
I'm gonna give the maker some stickers from a whole bunch of makers I've gotten them from, as well as material suppliers, a slab of micarta to play with, and this spalted block of wood I got recently from a maker box.
Absolutely love the generosity of this community, I'm gonna keep doing my part whenever I have the opportunity.
I met a hero. And he's awesome! Thanks Tony! Sitting next to a great Damascus maker close to home all day then in strolls Tony and talks to both of us, whoops out his Tidbit and makes our jaws drop haha. Seeing one of his blades in person, holding it, super awesome. Like holding a legend. Honored to live close enough to so many good makers here in Missouri!!
Conversation has picked up a lot. Gave away a couple of business cards now. The maker next to me is @crabapple_creek_forge and they make amazing Damascus cowboy style knives. Definitely give him a follow. Amazing work. It's fun talking to other makers in person.
Dude! It's such an amazing thing to buy from other makers you revere. @hallblades999 sold me this beautiful dayglow g10 tracker model he made that I had been eyeing for a while now. He held it for me until I could pay him. Beautiful lines crisp bevels, very comfortable handle, great jimping. Very sharp, and good 'click' with the kydex too! I'm so stoked to finally have one of his blades, but especially the color I was wanting so bad. The tracker is a really versatile size and shape. I'm legit thinking of making this main hunting knife, being dayglow, and in nitro v steel! He does great work!
Thanks so much sir!!! Can't wait to get more from you again!
Wife and kiddo weren't home, flipped on do not disturb and cranked the tunes. Trying to chase bevels and couldn't get anywhere consistent tonight. Flat grinds it is. For now.
Busy day, and it's not over yet. Got a bunch of stuff ready and loaded up for the local gun show tomorrow and Saturday! I'm really trying to set low expectations for selling some knives, but I'm bringing a bunch of old army gear and backpacks and stuff I have laying around. Got a Glock frame project, some ar15 uppers, holsters and stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to make enough money to get my new grinder and pay back some of what I owe my father in law for the shop work I've done lately. 🤞
I've got 24 blades for tomorrow and Saturday. 5 are not mine, 2 are blanks I bought from Jason at Brassbrigade and 3 are Damascus blanks I bought that I put handles on when I first started out. Definitely wanting to phase out all my old stuff. I've got some of the recent stuff that hasn't sold as well! Got a journal cover, a couple wallets, and I'm gonna bring some leather stuff I've made, and the coon skin hat to sell and or show off capabilities.
Got my slabs of resin from @chino blades too! Very excited to try them out.
Finally finished running that gas line at work. Holy crap un spooling it was a huge pain in the ass. Super heavy for plastic. We had to fish it through the 8" sleeve like 700 feet to the back of Buc-ee's. They got started back filling, so I won't feel as bad not being there tomorrow
Worked on some blades after work today. Had these cut roughly, just needed time to shape them and start the bevels. The two smallest ones are already spoken for, custom builds from people I know. Little edc blades! The second biggest one is some mystery steel I found, that is hardenable. So naturally, I thought I'd make a blade from it! Duh.
The biggest one I'm very excited to finally start. Got it cut out from a massive piece of 1084 I bought a few months back. Been procrastinating on it, because it's a ring blade...which sucks to drill, but also because it's large and has a recurve edge. I didn't watch forged in fire until after I started making my own knives. Of course I binged the show, taking what notes I could, getting inspired, learning about junk steel types. I fell in love with the Celtic ring knife that was a finalist blade. I'm gonna tweak mine a tad, and it's gonna be a lot shorter, but I absolutely love my shape so far. It's a challenge, and I'm gonna have fun with it if it kills me!
Busy day working on the rest of that 8" gas sleeve run out at Buc-ee's. Sooooo over engineered. Engineers love patting themselves on the back for stuff that doesn't need to be like that. Just because it's like something in Texas... Good God.
Needless to say, running the gas line didn't go according to plan. Had to bring it up to the far corner of the pad, and spool that crap out by hand the three of us. Now we have a 600' long spaghetti noodle to fish through the line. Can't wait for that.
