Brokenolmarine

Thanks folks, I will continue in woodwork, knifemaking, and leatherwork, and combine all three. Lol.

As soon as I do one that I have sewn on the machine I'll post it up. I have posted some in the member gallery, but those are all hand sewn.

An inside view of the box, before the hinges attached the top. She stores boxed items below the tray.

Miss Tina wanted a Jewelry Box, but asked if I could make it special. I made this one by hand, from a single plank of curly cherry. The trays inside from walnut, were bandsaw box style. The trim outside was formed with antique molding planes, as were the edges on the top. It took a while, but this is truly one of a kind. It's about a foot tall, sixteen inches wide, and eight inches deep.

Splitting firewood, I noticed some nice grain in a piece of walnut and tossed it aside. The wife said we were splitting wood to burn not to save. I ignored her. After a year of drying, I ran the wood thru the band saw, the planer, jointer, and then used the planks to build MY Flag/Medals display box. I have used this original design a dozen times to build boxes for other vets... as well as other original designs when requested. The boss doesn't ask when I save a chunk of wood we come across any longer.

Next grandchild came along and the pendulum cradle was up again. (The oldest daughter this time) Son had the first. This one is Black Walnut, Mahogany, birdseye maple. Same design, with slight mods. She got maple spindles in the edge for a touch of class.

My stepfather was an anal contractor in the Metro Richmond area when I was in High School and taught me to strive for perfection in my work. HE never advertised for jobs, and always had work lined up in the finest homes in the area. Wives called him to build things, spending Rich Husband's money. "Biffy Told me you built her addition, when can you start on a garage and Mother in Law's suite for me?" Every aspect of the job had to be done to his exacting specifications. Even those that the building inspectors would never see. So I tried to do my very best later in life... My best never hit HIS skill levels, but I did MY best... LOL. I used the best materials I could find, and didn't cut corners. I rarely sold my work, preferring to stick to gifts for family and friends, or donations to charity auctions or presentations for the family's of vet's who passed. Here is a pic of the cradle I built for my first grandson.... It's a pendulum cradle built from Walnut and Ash, and breaks down so the legs and spreader bar (underneath) store in the basket when the baby outgrows it to wait for the next. When the baby wakes, and moves, it rocks them back to sleep. Miss T made the mattress and rail pads.

I have knives with the sharp saw teeth on the back, in fact we often carried one in flight vest with massive teeth on the back. Those on the skinning knife are flat and dull and I do ride my finger there when cleaning. Thanks for the input...

Cool, new to knife making, did I explain the use correctly?

People always quip, "If you knew then what you know now... I bet you'd have taken different paths!". Actually, I saw the world, flew in combat aircraft, and met interesting people,. I also got to do exciting things most folks only see in movies, between the two careers. Were there things I would change? Ah, women I wouldn't have asked out, a couple in high school I would have. Cars and guns I wouldn't have sold, and a couple of both I wouldn't have bought. But the price I'm paying now for what I've seen and done... I'd do it again. I can't imagine fifty years in a cubicle.

I'll let Miss T know, she rarely let's me drive the tractor. She makes up work to do from the kabota. Farm Girls.

I know I'm lucky, she's been a keeper. We have been together thirty years, and enjoy many of the same things. Fly tying, kayak fishing, quiet country living. She is a no nonsense farm gal and I trusted her to take care of the kids when I worked Evening and Midnight Patrols. We spent my off time as a family and she appreciated that. She had managed the family budget carefully when their were four kids at home and still runs the budget long after I retired. Neither of us spends on frivolous things, but do buy quality when we buy. Lol. Buy well, buy once.

As this is a skinner, the forefinger rests on those cutouts as the user guides the blade while skinning the deer, goat, rabbit. As the hands are most likely "wet" this helps insure continued contact with / accurate control of the blade while separating the skin from the carcass.

I started in one of those Amish built wooden buildings, dropped at the end of the drive. Modified and upgraded over the years, 12x20. I stored equipment against the walls, rolling it out as needed, until I shattered my femur in a fall and a wheelchair would always play a part in my future. Built my dream shop, sold the house and moved a couple years later.

Very Nice work. I actually enjoy inlays. I ordered some turquoise last year before I injured my left wrist/hand, I intend to do inlays on the knife, sheath, gunbelt, and holster. Moderation in all things, don't want to get tacky.

My daughter didn't receive the knife for Christmas obviously, since it wasn't completed until March of this year. However it was still Her's and she chose a feather to accent the new sheath. I hadn't done one yet, and didn't like the first attempt. The second turned out better and she seemed happy with it. I went back and reapplied the antique and added another coat of sealer prior to the second picture. I was much happier with the sheath at that point. She'll probably beat it to death, not oil it, and I'll make another in a year.

I then worked my way up thru the grits until the shape and finish was to my liking. Then stained and waxed the knives and buffed them out.

So, surgery to have the wrist repaired and a metal prosthetic inserted. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. A type of Nerve Damage. No movement in the fingers at first, then limited range of motion. Over a year later, I have about 85-90% of the range of motion back and about 40% of the strength back. It can continue to improve for two years post surgery. I have been in Physical Therapy for a year. But, by February, I felt like starting work on the knives. I installed the brass pins, cutting and fitting each individually from brass rod.

I started these knives back in March of 2021. I was working on them for Christmas presents for my daughter and Son in Law in Southern Oklahoma. My daughter has the little knife she carried daily, but wanted a slightly bigger one for skinning goats, among other things. Farm Gals, what cha gonna do? So, one for her, one for him, and an extra Tanto for me. I wanted it to match the Cocobolo grips on my Match .45. I got as far as shaping with 100 grit when I fell working on the range and broke my wrist in two places requiring surgery. The knives lay dormant on the bench for a year.

I'm guessing you'd like to see the utility knife IN the case...

Miss T ordered me a surprise for my shop. She got a good deal direct. We put it together in less than 90 minutes. She met the freight driver with the tractor and pallet forks at the post office a mile from the house and brought it home and we took the boxes into the shop, so we could put it together in the AC... it was 99 that day. SHE has a hobby sewing shop and is gifted. She sews, crochets, quilts, embroideries.. I'll have someone to teach me. I sewed one item so far, a cover for my head knife. A couple small mistakes, but it worked.

We have only been in Oklahoma about two years and are still settling in on the new "hobby" farm. Back in May of 2020 we sold the place in VA when they elected an Anti-Gun socialist to office. I had 30 years in Law Enforcement and had retired to enjoy our little slice of country heaven, and he made sure to tell everyone that he was going to enact EIGHT gun safety laws his first week in office. Our daughter in Oklahoma was ill and mama wanted to be closer, we have a son in Texas as well, so we put the VA farm on the market, it sold in five weeks. We have two daughters in VA, but all the kids are adults with their own lives and can come visit now and then. We moved into a Ghost Town. My leather working gear got packed away a couple months before the move and stayed packed nearly a year. Then I broke my left wrist and spent a year recovering from the surgery. Just getting started again. I was preparing to build my 100 yard range when I fell and broke the wrist, and hopefully can start on the berm again soon. I miss the time on the range. My upcoming leather project? Once I feel ready? Western Gunbelt, Holster and sheath for a single action. All tooled, OR trimmed in rattlesnake. I haven't decided. But, population is 300 in town, and WE live outside town. Guess you could say it's guiet.

I asked Miss Tina to picked up a new Razor (Utility) Knife for me when she was at the Home Depot, and she came home with a nice high quality metal one. No plastic garbage for the boss. My old one was probably in the coop, her barn, the tractor shed, or her sewing/crochet/quilting shop.... I took it out of the package and noticed that it was a fixed blade model. I could already feel my fingers getting cut. I told her NOT to worry, I'd just make a case for it. NOT a sheath, no belt loops, just a protective case to keep the blade sharp and fingers protected. I didn't want this ending up riding around the farm on boot cut jeans. I dug a scrap of leather out of the bin, and knocked out the design in a couple hours. Tooling? Yup, I need the practice so I tool scraps laying on the bench from other projects. (Yup) What I really need to do is start practicing floral carving. I suck at it. Got it knocked out, the edges burnished and the holes knocked out, and then sewed it by hand. I was happy.

This was my very first leather project involving carving and stamping. I had made another sheath the year before, exactly the same, but done very little else in leather since. Funny the things the kids get you into. She wanted the flag carved in the sheath and I found one that worked vertically. Hand stitched, and while I had her knife here I refinished and sharpened the dang thing. She had carried it around the horse farm every day for more than a year. It got used daily and showed it. When I told her I had refinished the knife as well, she laughed. "Of course, I knew you would."

I have set up a corner in my woodworking shop to work on leather projects. My tool bar holds the stamps and the like, but the rest of the tools were stored in the drawers in the table. It's a nice Husky Table we caught on sale at Home Depot, height adjustable which works well with my wheelchair, or when needed, with the Table Saw as a catch table. This one is set up as my leather working table permanently. I had been banging the idea of mounting a peg board behind the table as I had seen in some of the You Tube vids, but I didn't care for that idea, then shelves with hooks in the back, but landed on slots for certain tools and holes for others. I added a couple shelves over those for the most used dyes and supplies. I'll add a rail to the top shelf in the next week or so, to make it functional, and a dowel across the front edge of the middle shelf as now and then if I strike an oblong punch for a belt loop.. something wants to fall off. But, overall, the project came out just as I had hoped.