Rescue Me

In an earlier posting about the kitchen knives I have accumulated, more than one was a rescue knife.  By rescue knife I mean it had been abused in the past and left for dead.  I don't find good ones in that shape very often but when I do I snatch them up and give them a little TLC.  The two rescue knives in the pic are the 2nd up from the bottom on the right side, and the 2nd down on left side. 

This rescue knife is the 2nd down on the left.  It is a J. A. Henckels 10" Chef knife.  New, this knife probably went for $100.  I got it at a thrift store for $0.50.  You can't really see in this picture how badly it has been treated, but trust me, it was in bad shape.  It looks as though someone took it to a grinding wheel thinking they could sharpen it that way.

Here you can get an idea of how it was treated.  There are deep scratches, scuffs and grind marks going every which way.  The edge was damaged in places and there was no way this could be used in the state it was in.

So the first thing I do is make a plan and try to stick to it.  I look it over and see that the cutting edge is uneven but the spine is straight.  The tip has been ground down and there are battle scars on the spine.  The guard/bolster area needs to be taken down a bit for the knife to cut properly.  As you can see in this pic I have drawn a line at the tip that I will cut off at the portaband.  While cutting it I dipped it in water many times to keep the steel cool.  After cutting the tip off it's time to take it to the knife grinder.  When the tip was cut it left the area thicker than the tip should be.  My first step is to thin the tip down so it flows with the rest of the blade.  I can't tell you how wet my hands got grinding this blade.  It went into water after every second or two of grind time and I touched it to make sure I didn't let too much heat build up and ruin the heat treating.

This was a very slow process and after an hour and a half of grinding it looked pretty good.  Unfortunately I had to grind off the makers mark but it had to be done.  I turned my attention to the handle which had some scarring.  First I tried to buff the handle but it instantly caused friction burns.  Next I got out the sandpaper and went at it with that.  It will not have the shiny handle it once had but it will still feel good in the hand.

I notice the edge isn't as rounded, when compared to my 8" Henckels chef knife.  The edge is more like that of a Sabotier.  From the handle, the edge is fairly flat 75% of the way to the tip.  It should perform well in the kitchen though.

It needs to be sanded a little more to make everything nice and even looking.  Then it will get a good sharpening.  At that point it will be ready to give away to some unsuspecting victim...I mean to one lucky reader of The Backyard Pioneer.

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There was a minor setback with the Give Away knife.  It seems to have a crack in the blade close to the handle.  I noticed it as I was hand sanding the blade.  A line kept showing up perpendicular to the edge as the 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper went over it.  After seeing it happen a few times I turned the blade over and tried on that side.  The line was about 12mm long and went to the edge and around the other side the same distance.  Looking online, I found J. A. Henckels website, printed out their customer relations information and packed the knife up to send back to them.  It went in the mail on March 26th.  Hope their customer service is as great as their knives are.  I informed them that this knife was going to be given away and their reputation was on the line.

When I hear something I will update the post and proceed from there.

Show Season Begins

The first of the season runs Friday March 22nd through Sunday March 24th in Linden, Tennessee.  This is  a good show with lots of people attending.  Here's the low down on it:

LINDEN'S 5th ANNUAL BLOOMING ARTS FESTIVAL: WEEKEND EVENT FEATURING ARTS, CRAFTS, FOOD, AND LIVE CONCERT

Fire, glass, wood, antique fiber, molten metal, paint splatter, bungee jumping, live music and street theater dance!With an outstanding slate of events and interactive exhibitions, Linden's 5th Annual Blooming Arts Festival promises to be a spectacular kaleidoscope of fine arts, crafts, and performances that are all at once "family friendly" and focused on "audience participation"...while also offering food, music, kid's activities, and an element of spontaneous fun for all!

The 3 day event runs from 12am-5pm on Friday, March 22, 10am-8pm on Saturday the 23rd and 12-5 on Sunday, March 24th,featuring interactive artist demonstrations in blacksmithing, fiber art, , painting, theatre, and music of multiple genres.Demonstrating artists and performers include local and regional artists and artisans.Food will be abundant provided by local eateries and street vendors. Guests can tour the Linden Art District, and the Historic Commodore Hotel featured in recently on television and in magazines.

Approximately 100+ exhibiting artists will present items such as wood carved bowls, totem poles, hiking sticks, pottery, clay figures, stained glass, weaving's, jewelry, baskets, quilts, painted feathers, portraits, photographs, paintings, dolls and gourds.There will be live music on the square all day and the Saturday Night Concert, starting at 5:30, featuring Tara Tinsley and Joey Hyde,sponsored by First Bank, will surely get the town rockin'!

Linden is in final stages of its downtown revitalization and has a new streetscape including widened brick sidewalks, new streetlights and landscaping completing Linden's "renaissance" transformation. Linden's Mayor Jim Azbill, likes to tell all visitors to enjoy while "the paint is still
  wet!"

The Blooming Arts Festival is part of an effort to bring attention to the rich cultural, artistic, and historic heritage of the community, and has grown into a regional signature event attended by thousands. In continuing a nod towards technology, there will be a drawing for an iPad giveaway, sponsored by the Bank of Perry County, as part of a social media campaign. Participants need to become Facebook fans of the Blooming Arts Festival and register at the festival.

The 2013 Blooming Arts Festival has expanded not only in number of days, but also includes indoor and outdoor venues throughout Linden's downtown, with performers and demonstrating artists mixed within exhibit locations. A Quilt show, beauty pageant, large antique faire and a live concert on Saturday

Night make the first weekend of spring a jam packed not to be missed event.Participating artists are excited about their media, and eager to share information and encourage hands-on activity. Artist listing's, and a schedule of events will be available at the event's Welcome Booth. Festival attendance

and parking is free. For further information please go to www.bloomingartsfestival.org

 

Stop on by and say Howdy to Leslie and I as we welcome each and every person that stops by the booth.  We will be there Friday and all day Saturday.  Unfortunately we can't be there on Sunday.

KMG Upgrade

So I finally went ahead and ordered a pair of 3-step pulleys from McMaster-Carr for my KMG grinder.  It has been something on my mind for at least three years. 

The reason for it is to be able to control the speed a little bit.  Now I could have gone with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) and new DC motor to make it infinitely adjustable, but I did not want to spend $900 to do so.  Instead I purchased a 6213K73 with 5/8" bore and a 6213K73 with a 3/4" bore to fit my motor and KMG drive wheel, respectively.  The pulleys have 2", 3" and 4" wheels so I can get 3 speeds from a one speed motor by moving the belt from one tier to the next.  They set me back a whopping $45 including shipping

There are many times when I want to slow the machine down.  When working with materials like purpleheart and a few others, the fast speed burns the oils in the wood.  Then it has to be sanded again, usually by hand, to get the dark coloration off.  I'm sure this upgrade will pay for itself rather quickly.  All totalled I have about $65 in this upgrade.  Not bad when compared to $900.

First thing I did after ordering the 3-step pulleys was to clean off my grinding table.  Dang there was stuff on that table that I haven't seen in years.  Luckily the layer of dust was protecting everything. 

Next was to take the motor off the bench and measure it all up and drill holes for the motor.  My plan is to mount the motor to a piece of 3/4" plywood.  Hinges will be attached to one side so the weight of the motor will keep a constant tension on the link belt. 

The old pulleys were taken off of the motor and drive wheel with a gear puller.  New pulley is attached to the motor in this picture.  The other pulley was put on the KMG drive shaft.

From that point I had to attach the plywood base to the grinding table and remount the motor square to the grinder.  I ordered 3 feet of link belt to replace the v-belt that was transferring the power from the motor to the grinder.  The new link belt really makes a significant difference in the way the machine runs.  V-belts will retain humps in the belt which makes things run bumpy.  The link belt can be made any size by adding or subtracting the small links.  So it was easy to make it the right size.  With regular v-belts if you don't have the right size you end up going back and forth to the supply store to get the right one.  This takes the guesswork out of the equation.

This upgrade was way easier than I thought it would be.  It's something I should have done a long time ago and will make life a little easier at the old grindstone.  Everything runs so smoothly now that I can't wait to grind some blades on it.  I'll let y'all know how it works.

Review ofJK Toby v2.0

This is a review I posted on BladeForums.com.  The knife was made by John Kiedaisch of JK Handmade Knives.  The knife belonged to Peter H. aka KYenglish who generously allowed a bunch of us knife slobs to put our grubby paws on it and tell y'all what we think.

JK Toby 2.0 Review

OAL - 7.375"

Cutting Edge - 3.000"

Blade Width - 0.785"

Blade Thickness - .092" at Spine - .034" at Tip

Handle - 4.250" Birdseye Maple -  0.839" Thickest Width - 0.552" Narrow Width

Sheath - Brown Leather Pouch with White Stitching

When I opened the box with this knife in it I was really impressed at how it looked and felt.  Personally I prefer a smaller knife and this fit me very well.  After initial view I gave it a closer inspection.  It appears somewhat rough and the scales haven't been sanded smooth.  I noticed a small separation at the front of the left scale and back of the right scale.  The separations are minimal.  After everything the knife has been through already I'm surprised there isn't anything else going on with it.  While the scales were a little rough, I noticed that it had an excellent grip in the hand with no slippage. 

The knife and sheath went onto my belt at that point and stayed there for two weeks.  I sharpened it a bit and stropped it so it would shave with no problem.  This took the place of my EDC's and was used as much as possible.  I didn't put it through everything I would have if it was a little larger, but knowing John made it, I wasn't afraid to use it hard.

So the first weekend our grandson was with us and a friend let him catch a few of his trout.  Gramps whipped out Toby and made short work of them with no effort whatsoever.  It was mostly used for food prep at home but would work well as a hunter.  It did a great job at home and work opening boxes, cutting plastic tubing, slicing sacrificial rope and whittling some apple wood.

One of my favorite tests is cutting through a nice venison steak.  It performed great and I believe that steak gave it a little bit of color.  While showing it to a friend I did stab it into a mailbox a few times with no ill effects to the point or edge.  He was totally impressed.

I have to say that Toby 2.0 is a really nice knife and anyone would be happy with its performance.  Thanks to KYenglish for the opportunity to participate in this Pass Around.

A Day Of Rest?

Well I shipped out the latest knife to my customer by Priority Mail on Friday Feb. 22nd.  It was packed securely with lots of bubble wrap and handed over to the USPS.  The package was insured and had delivery confirmation so that I would know when it was delivered.  Holy Mail Carrier Patman!  It was delivered to my customer the very next day.  What a relief for me.  Now was the custom knife what the customer pictured?

This is a picture I took before shipping it out.  Not a bad looking knife eh? 

Here's another picture of the knife just  hanging around in the woods.

This knife is a present for the customers husband and a lot of thought and care went into it by Jasmine.  So after all was said and done I decided to make a small gift for her.  Actually I decided that a few weeks ago.  In the process of making the handle, I didn't like the first one that I cut out.  It didn't fit my hand properly and if I don't like it no customer is going to get it.  Back to cutting out a new set of handles from the elk antlers I have.  Yada, Yada, Yada, Bada Bing, Bada Boom I used part of those first handles to create a pair of earrings for Jasmine to match her husbands knife.  Hoping she likes them, they are certainly one-of-a-kind.

So after the anticipation of waiting for the package to be delivered and opened, I finally found out that Jasmine did indeed love the knife and sheath I had made, along with the earrings.  What will her husband think of it? 

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 Cast Iron Follies

 This is how it started.  In November 2012, I won a 4 quart Griswold legless dutch over on thee bay.  Well I still have not seen it.  OMG it was a thing of beauty and was waiting to dive into my oven.  Tracking says it ended up in a mail sorting hub somewhere in Pennsylvania?  Here I am waiting and waiting and waiting.  Nothing.

I have two cast iron dutch ovens but they are too big for the two of us. Leslie sells them both for me. After selling them I find smaller cast iron dutch ovens to take their place.  The indoor or legless dutch oven is a Lodge brand and came out of the box seasoned and ready to go.  The outdoor dutch oven is a Stansport and does not come seasoned.  This has to be done before cooking in it.

We had a nice pork shoulder roast from our friends at Tomina Farms.  This was going to be the first thing cooked in my Lodge cast iron.  I got to open it up with a JK Knife that I am testing in a Pass Around. 

I decided that it had to be put in the smoker for a few hours before it went into the dutch oven.  Here it is with a nice cajun rub on it. 

It seems like I'm missing some pictures but oh well.  While the roast was smoking I got a good fire going.  This burned for a while, down to coals before I put the rack over the pit.

The whole thing was coated in vegetable oil and put over the hot coals.  I moved the pieces around occasionally and turned them over and back a few times too.  All this was done to season the cast iron evenly and thoroughly.  After a good hour and a half I took them off the fire and let them cool down.


Wow! I see the pictures turned on their side.  I think you can see it all and get it.  The roast was delicious as were the potatoes, onions and carrots.  While the roast was in the oven I made up a batch of cornbread and baked beans to go along with it.  The cornbread was made in my 8"cast iron skillet.  Ate it all before taking pictures...sorry.

Now I am ready for anything.  Cast iron skillets, indoor dutch oven and outdoor dutch oven.  I'll be making a few trivets so I can use the skillets and indoor DO by the fire.  Also in this picture is a half full glass of Sierra Nevada Torpedo.  Dang I can smell the hops from here.


If you don't have any cast iron, get yourself a skillet at least.  They cook so well and evenly.  You also use less energy because it doesn't take as much heat to cook with.


Those were my Cast Iron Follies for the day.  The first thing in the outdoor dutch oven is going to be squirrel.  Got 3 in the freezer waiting for a good recipe.

The Backyard Pioneer

If y'all have time please take the time to check out my friend Mike Prunty's blog at thebackyardpioneer.com.  His articles are coming out like wildfire and they deal with a lot of important issues facing us all today.  He was kind enough to publish a post or two with yours truly.  The first of them was "5 Questions with Patrick Burns of Arcadia Knives" and there is a link below if you haven't read it.  There is a lot of good information in that article to get a person, who wants to have a custom knife made, started in the right direction. 

 

Here's the link- http://www.thebackyardpioneer.com/2012/03/03/5-questions-with-patrick-burns-of-arcadia-knives/

The other article he posted with my input, really started as a comment to his review of a new well made kitchen knife.  I sent him an email telling him about the nice kitchen knives I had acquired at thrift stores and yard sales.  Mike posted today that it was one his top 5 blog posts and generated a lot of views.



Here's the link to that one- http://www.thebackyardpioneer.com/2013/01/16/thrift-store-knives/

Like I said check out his blog and sign up for email updates to it.  He has shared some AWESOME recipes that have become mainstays in our house.  His gear reviews are honest and to the point.  He has recently been through Hurricane Sandy.  He proved that emergency preparedness is not something for crazy folks.  His family survived through it because he has taken the time to care for his family by using essential life skills.  He also learned quite a few things about what worked well and what didn't.  I guarantee you'll learn enough to keep you coming back to his blog.

2013 And Not A Post To Be Found

Much has happened since the last posting.  Mostly normal everyday stuff.  There were a few times I was going to set down and write something but have excuses for that. 

Leslie went to Wisconsin for  a Christmas party with her family.  All her brothers and sisters were going to be there and she was surely NOT going to miss it.  She left the day before my last posting.  That left me home alone.  Yeah I really don't get much time alone in the house so I planned on enjoying the solitude for 5 days.  There also was the project I was working on, a Christmas present for Leslie, that had to be finished before she got home.  It was a kitchen island counter top to match our counters.  I had been working on it for a couple weeks when I could.  Luckily my buddy has a wood shop out where I was trapping.  So I would spend some time on it whenever he was around and he helped guide me with the proper sequence of steps in creating the island.  Oh, I also got her three high back stools so we can sit at the counter to eat and chat.  Whew! 



My buddy came by Saturday Dec. 21st to help me get the top ready to install.  We worked and got most of it ready and told him that I'd finish it myself since it was in place and only needed trim and screws to hold it down.  Well I'm working in my shop, the doors are open and it's beautiful outside.  As I'm cutting some trim on the bandsaw I see someone in my driveway and think "What The Heck?"...grab your gun!  Oh No!  It's Bob, my son in law.  He's holding his phone up videoing my reaction.  Where the heck did they come from?  What's going on?  Is this real?  Then I see Jess, my daughter and li'l Bobby.  They surprised the crap out of me!  No idea they were coming down, but I guess she had to get me back for doing the same thing to her the year before at Bobby's first birthday party.  What Goes Around Comes Around.  We enjoyed good times together.  The day Leslie was to return, we had planned Christmas dinner with a spiral cut ham, cheesy hash browns and more food.  Carrie, Hunt and Julian came up in the rain, from Alabama about an hour before Leslie came home.  When she walked in she brought our Marine, Shane with her.  Surprise Again!  Neither I or Carrie knew this was happening.  He had caught a flight to Nashville and waited hours for his moms flight to get in.  It was a wonderful Christmas together.  Oh yeah I got some Bacon Jerky!





 Bob, Jess and Bobby




Carrie, Hunt and Julian

Shane and Leslie

 
I finally finished a Bush Craft knife for myself right at the end of the year.  It was made with Aldo's O1 and a chunk of some beautiful burl wood.  The sheath is a dangler so I can use it a couple different ways.  It's nice to make something for myself every once in a while.

New Year was spent with our friends at Dunmire and everyone had a great time.  Leslie's Irish Cream didn't stand a chance.  There was music, dancing and ceremonial hugging and kissing as the clock struck 12.

The second week of January I hurt myself at work while lifting, moving and twisting with a heavy pump as I was partially bent over.  That kept me from frolicking around like I usually do.  Seems like it takes longer to heal up than it did even a few years ago. 

Even with the pulled abdominal muscle my focus has been on a custom knife.  This knife was designed for the customer and I have been trying to document most of the steps involved with it.  I will post the WIP (work in progress) after the knife is in the customers hand.  This is not going to be a Spoiler Alert for the recipient but I don't think most can visualize what it'll look like just from a picture of the blank below.  I have come to realize that a heck of a lot of effort goes into the creation of a working knife from a blank chunk of steel, a piece of antler and some leather.  The documentation of the steps takes quite a bit of time to photograph and articulate.  All the processes go much faster without stopping to take a pic and think about how to explain it.  Communication with the customer has been a pleasure.  It is nice to deal with nice people.  There have been countless emails and phone texts with pictures and comments, so many, I believe, the customer will be glad to have some peace and quiet when it's all done.  But that's what they wanted so take that Jasmine!

I am looking forward to completing the sheath this week then putting on my makers mark, sharpening it to razor sharp and shipping it out. 

Custom knives take more from a maker in that we must try to visualize what the customer has in their mind. It's not easy and that is why anything custom costs more.  There are so many questions that need to be addressed before we can even start the ball rolling.  If you are looking for a custom knife be prepared to communicate and wait.  Some makers out there have 1-4 year waiting lists, mine is much shorter.