TexasJack

Wow! Very nice!!

Nice job!

Chuck Burrows Wild Rose Trading Co - Stitching Pony

I made a couple of ceramic knife sharpeners and sheaths for Christmas gifts. Gave them to my son and FIL. My wife wanted me to make her a ponytail holder (I don't know what else to call it) so I made one and then I turned a piece of cocobolo wood on a lathe to make the pin that holds it on her hair. Thought if I posted pics it might give others ideas for simple stuff they can do. I also noticed after posting that my photographic skills really suck.

Invisible ornaments! Clever idea and you could probably give them away to in-laws and such, but they might be hard to sell.

I remember the owner of a company I worked for saying, "This would be a great business if it wasn't for those damned customers!" Every time some client would do or want something bizarre, I'd remember that saying and smile on through the issue.

Looks very nice to me!

I like the looks of it.

I hate answering this because there are so many others on here who are far better than me, but maybe if I do they'll join in. IMHO, there is no certain angle. Use the thicknesses to make the sheath fit the knife and guard. The shape of the guard will define the angles or how many shims you need. Just make sure that the pieces all join together for the entire length that you have extra shims. In other words, make sure there are no gaps or hole because the angles don't match up or an edge is too short. I think you are totally on track. The primary welt is there to protect the thread that holds the sheath together. The shims make the sides wide enough to allow the guard into the sheath. They effectively become part of the primary welt. I see a lot of people searching for patterns and angles on this forum, yet the guys who are real experts seem to always use the knife itself to determine the size and shape. Let the knife tell you what thickness and angle is necessary for a good fit.

"Wedges" is a good description. I'm trying to find a diagram I saw awhile back, but thus far haven't been able to find it. Once you get the pieces skived to fit properly, you can glue them together with a bit of rubber cement and do your normal thing.

Chuck Burrows has the plans for one of these on his web site.

Yeah, Irfanview is free, very easy to use, and does a nice job.

I don't have that pack, but I have some other Ghormley patterns and they are very well done.

Excellent! I consider that to be about perfect - simple, very practical, and looks great with the rifle.

Beautiful work!

Somebody I used to do business with was handing out business cards that were magnetized so you could put them on a file cabinet or whatever. They had to stop because people were putting the card in their wallets and nuking their credit cards. Of course, the strength of the magnet will affect how far it might have an impact. Some of those rare-earth magnets are pretty powerful

Flying blind, indeed! If you don't know what the steel is, you don't know what it will take to harden it. Heating to non-magnetic and quenching (followed by holding a more moderate temperature for a few hours) will work for simple steels. If the needles are stainless steel, a different method is needed. Steels don't lose their temper over some period of time unless they are exposed to a lot of heat (like 500 deg. F.) If the needles are to malleable (soft), then they were always that way and may not be made of a steel that will sufficiently harden. The solution is simple: buy better needles. Avoid packages with the term "Made In China". Chances are pretty good the steel isn't any good.

I suggest you do a search on here and see what you like. I did a quick one and got a couple of good examples (that happen to be outside): Will Ghormley's Hand of God Rig - page 4 Chuck Burrows - Old West Rigs My 2 cents (and compared to artists like Ghormley and Burrows my opinion would be worth about 2 cents vs. the national debt), doing a good job on the cartridge loops will be more important than whether you sew on the outside or weave it through.

First, if you replace the handle, it's no longer an "antique". On the other hand, if you FIX the handle, it's still not an antique (or at least no longer has value). That handle is pretty badly messed up. Chances are it will not hold up. It especially won't hold up if you use the superglue or JB Weld that has been suggested. Only epoxy is any good for holding together a knife and JBWeld is about the worst epoxy there is. When wood cracks like that, it has been subject to dampness and the inside area will not be tight. The rust on the blade would indicate the same issue. The wood can be treated with acrylic resin to keep it from getting worse, but I wouldn't recommend it. At a minimum, the tang of the blade needs to be cleaned and then degreased. Adhesives (glues) are NOT designed to fill in space. For that you need to have material mixed with it. Fiberglass or even sawdust can be used. Gun shops or Brownells sell an epoxy kit for glass bedding rifles that will work. It's a gel epoxy with powdered fiberglass to add to the mix. Best would be a new wood handle, epoxy for the adhesive, and drill the whole thing through for a small pin to hold the tang tight in the handle.

TwinOaks suggestion was a good one! I spent a couple of years in upstate New York (the last year they had 92 inches of snow for the season). My solution was to move back to Texas. It was snowing when the movers loaded up the truck, and I asked them to let me know when they were done (as they had to occasionally use the snow shovel on their ramp). When they finished, I nailed that damned snow shovel to the wall of the garage. The truck driver said, "That looks like a fairly new shovel." It is, I replied. "Well, what are you going to do when it snows in Texas?", he asked. I answered, "I'm going to fix something hot to drink, pour some bourbon in it, and watch it snow. Then, I'll watch it melt, but I'm never shoveling another flake of snow."

I'm not big on skulls either. But if that's your thing, that's fine too.

Funny! And good job!

Cool! Do more!!