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Everything posted by SUP
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@chuck123wapati. That's nice! It is so satisfying to use things that have been around for a long time, knowing it will not be wasted.
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Very beautiful. Those shades of blue are perfect.
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@fredk I imagine goose grease was around all the time as a cooking medium as well as for aches and pains and bruises. I wonder how similar tools would hold up over time when kept preserved in the currently used waxes and oils. I like the idea of limited number of items, each with myriad uses. Wonderful, how enterprising humans are. There is another thread going on, about old time armorers and tool makers and how enterprising and inventive they were - necessity being the mother of invention.
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@Littlef, yes. debates everywhere. Isn't that nice? That is how one learns, after all. As you say, I plan to use the paste wax for longer storage and oil for knives constantly in use. @dikmanyes, mineral oil is a petroleum product, but see, that is natural too, organic, isn't it? At least was, when learning organic chemistry! Strictly speaking, from plants and animals, only very long ago! If it is okay for baby skin, as the only ingredient of Johnson's baby oil other than fragrance, it should be fine for leather! I have no issues with it. Same with petroleum jelly - main ingredient of Aussie conditioner, I learnt! Yes, I do plan to mix mineral oil and beeswax. no paraffin wax though - don't much like it except as a hardener. LOL. That's okay @chuck123wapati. We all have our own way of thinking. The world would be a boring place if we all thought the same way . Stepford families! On my part, I like to pick and choose what I keep of the old and adapt of the new. I like to make things myself - from food items to things I use around the house. I make my own cleaning solution, leather conditioner and now, it appears, I will make my own blade protectant - not because I cannot get as good ones outside but because I like the sense of satisfaction from making my own. Like I said, to each his own. own
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@chuck123wapati Very interesting. It seems to be a universal oil, useful for everything!
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@dikman yes, so many ingredients to choose from! But luckily there are so many, what we at home call 'MBAs' online, people who like to share their knowledge. Search and I can get all the information I need. That is how I created my leather conditioner recipe. @fredk, with the beeswax, some carnauba wax maybe - supposed to prevent rust but not sure if this is true. And mineral oil in place of olive oil. I dislike olive oil. And some orange oil and lanolin for fragrance should work - that combination gives a pleasant fragrance and it is good for the leather too. No vegetable oil, so no need for any preservative. Let's see. I will experiment. That is fun. I kept a new Osbourne blade in a chrome-tanned sheath for one night and it got rust spots. Cleaned and oiled that blade. Now, I can definitively say, once and for all," Chrome tanned leather is not good for making leather sheaths. It causes the knives to rust".
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@fredk, that is a good idea! Not just for the sheaths either. I make sheaths only to protect the knives, so plain veg tan will do. But other things where a peep of the inside will show a beautiful chrome tan and on the outside, the veg tan. And I am so glad to hear they can be wet molded together, with the proper thicknesses. I have a lovely old purse I found at an estate sale I plan to make in leather. The purse is wood covered with cloth and I want to make it with leather in place of the wood and no cloth. I was wondering how to do it but this way would work. Thank you for that tip.
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@Sheilajeanne, that is very beautiful and so true.
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@bruce johnson and @dikman. Yes there are so many brands and compositions. LOL I think it will be best if I use a paste wax for those I do not use all the time and mineral oi for when they are in continuous use. Only still to decide the paste wax to use - probably make it myself though - I enjoy that. Thank you for all your guidance, all.
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@doubleh would that be like the wax you get from Montana Knife Company?
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Saving a compass
SUP replied to Gezzer's topic in Purses, Wallets, Belts and Miscellaneous Pocket Items
That is nice and a lot more individual than a generic compass in its metal casing. Very nice indeed. -
@fredk I just used the food grade mineral oil as I had it at home. I will go look for the 3-in-one. A thinner oil is better. Thank you. I did not know that.
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I have been searching online and several sites say waxes are best for knife blades while other recommend oils. I have been using food grade mineral oil on the blades on my knives. I am wondering whether waxes are better and I need to shift to using that? Could I get some advice on this please?
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@Gezzer Going to follow that from now on. No more "let's see...". @fredk, I have not had an issue with a single knife sheath made with veg-tanned leather. So I suspect that here, or at least where I get all my leather from, the oil-tanned leather is in fact chrome-tanned leather with oil-finishing, and that chrome tanning evidently adversely affects knife steel.
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Yes. That is when it hits home the most, when we do something and the person we do it for is suddenly not around. The formalities are painful, especially when you see the name on all those documents. I'm sorry. This is a really difficult time for you.
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Oh. So 2 differently tanned leathers have the same generic name of 'oil tanned'. Hmm.
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@fredk, oil-tanned leather is sold as a sub-section of chrome-tanned leather, at least where I buy it from, Springfield leather. In the description too, the type of tannage is given as 'Chrome'. From what I have read, 'oil-tanned leather is not really tanned in oil. It is finished with some sort of oiling, post chrome-tanning. Since I got this from a seller as well as other articles online, I thought it is possibly true.
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I am so sorry for your loss. Consider it a blessing for both of you, that you were with her until the last. The last thing she knew was that her son with her. Our prayers are with you. I lost my mother in 2021. I could not be with her as she is not in the country and I could not travel due to health reasons. She was ailing - she never really recovered from losing my father in 2008. I spoke to her 10 minutes before she passed away suddenly. The only consolation for me is that her last words to me were 'I love you very, very much" and I replied ' I love you too". Every day that we were apart for over 35 years, I called her twice daily so that when she awoke in the morning and then went to bed at night, she knew I loved her and that I was fine. I still sometimes reach for the phone to call her - habit of half-a-life time. One never really gets over losing parents but it does get a little easier. It might take while but that day will come when you can remember her with love and affection without the deep associated pain.
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@bladegrinder the steel, I think, is some form of high carbon Steel. The knife is an Henckel, an old one. It is very humid here, in Georgia, too. But my other knives kept in veg-tanned leather sheaths are fine. Like all my knives I coated this one in mineral oil as well. @fredk, I have not tried chrome-tanned leather on any other knives, not even the newer stainless steel ones from Osbourne. Maybe I will switch sheaths with a new knife and check tomorrow. That will at least tell me if it is the metal of the knife or the leather that causes the problem.
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All my knife sheaths are veg-tanned leather except one. A coupe of weeks ago, I read several articles which declared that chrome-tanned leather did not damage knives; knife makers who said they have used chrome-tanned leather for sheaths for ages with no damage to the knives. More fool me, I thought to give it a try. I used oil-tanned leather on one sheath - knife had a thin layer of rust within a couple of days. Cleaned it up and making a sheath with veg-tanned leather now. it is possible the knife is old and that makes a difference. No idea but I am not risking it again.
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@Klara. Probably. I have seen some knives with this shape though. I spend a lot of time online looking at tools, techniques, leathers, etc. and have come across it a couple of times. Whether they have all been sharpened badly or this shape is also of use, is the question.
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@TomE That is a great idea! Wish I had the space for that. @Klara I just put up a magnetic strip for my knives last weekend and it is very convenient. Stuck on a couple of leather cutting scissors as well.
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@Klara, Very true. I just wondered because I saw this and the shape is a little unusual. Not seen many Blanchard knives around . The only ones I have seen are on eBay and they are much more expensive. This seller has a good reputation and had several knives on sale, different brands, all at reasonable rates - so naturally all sold. Did not plan to buy any of them, so no loss. Incidentally, after an extensive internet search, I have seen other old Blanchard knives with 'A Paris' on it. I have heard that Blanchard is a very old and respected brand and the older knives are supposed to be good while the new ones, not so much.
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In the photographs I have seen when I searched online, it is always "PARIS' while here it is 'A PARIS' That is one of the reasons why I wondered. Also, it is available for the price of 29 Euros, which is rather low for an old Blanchard, I thought, but I might be wrong.
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Is this an authentic Blanchard? I don't know how to determine if it is authentic or a fake, so I thought I would ask here.