King's X Posted September 20, 2010 Author Report Posted September 20, 2010 I doubt the 5.00 would even cover shipping anymore. How old is it? Maybe that makes a difference in the prices on ebay. If it's really old I would think it would be hard to compare the price of a new one, I would guess the old one would be worth more if it's unused. $4.95 Priority mail to ship anything under 4"x8". It is a very old blade probably going back to when they came out. It cuts nice, but I am into thin blades. I have been reworking my stamping area and clearing stuff out that I do not use, which the exception of some collection tools that I have. I did some upgrading the last year and a half to Barry Kings, Hackbarths and others, so I am basically getting rid of my stuff that I started out with. I guess I am half decent at this leather stuff where I can have some of my tools match. lol. Thanks Quote Greetings from Central Texas! The Grain Side Up blog #TheGrainSideUp
King's X Posted September 20, 2010 Author Report Posted September 20, 2010 Thanks Ben. Yeah, I agree anything is better than a generic blade unless you listen to Hidepounder (and I do always). I had a guy come into the local Tandy store where I was meeting with some guild members one Saturday. I try to make myself useful and answer questions for people when the MIT points me out from the register and says "that guy can help you!" Anyways, this guy was watching me carving out something, can't remember. He looked at me and pulled out a half back from his pocket and presented to me. He said how come my cuts do not look like your cuts? I patiencely waited to answer until I could come up with an answer. Before answering, I asked the guy how long he has been carving and he said this time, 1 month, but he has experience going back to high school. He then asked to hold my swivel knife which I believe I was using my Japanese swivel knife with a reworked ceramic blade. I allowed him to cut with it and he looked amazed! He then presented me with his generic off the wall Tandy knife and I cut on a scrap of leather. Okay, I attempted to cut on the leather. I felt like the blade had donkey locked and would not allow me to do anything with it, so I looked at the blade tip as I asked the guy when was the last time he sharpened it? Taking a play out of Hidepounder's play book. He said, "you have to sharpen these?" It is okay because I thought the same thing when I first started. Our guild treasurer and Tandy manager always has a 3-way sharpener in the store, so I took it out and oiled the stones. I spend about 20 minutes working the blade and gave it back to the owner with some home work. After showing him how to properly strop (or how I do it) I told him to go home and strop this blade properly for 30 to 45 minutes slowly and patiencely until he could use it as a mirror to shave! Then he could come back the following Saturday for some cutting exercises. The next Saturday, we worked on some practice pieces. He is learning! A tidbit of worthless information for you all. Thanks for listening! Hidepounder is right, if you get it sharpened right, the rest will come! Quote Greetings from Central Texas! The Grain Side Up blog #TheGrainSideUp
gtwister09 Posted September 20, 2010 Report Posted September 20, 2010 KingsX, I think that we have had all had some of those training moments. First thing I do is to teach people how to sharpen and strop a blade. Bob is right about sharpening but a couple of those blades that I had you had to strop about every 10-12 inches to get the kind of cut that you wanted. Even if you are just starting out...who wants to spend more time sharpening and stropping than cutting. Not me! Some think that it's good for them to learn the hard ways but I am not into discouraging people with my limited time spent with them. Like you said they really get an UH-HUH moment when they have a sharp blade. Regards, Ben Quote
King's X Posted September 21, 2010 Author Report Posted September 21, 2010 Yup! He was surprised how well his knife cut the second time around! You going to the boot and saddle show in a couple of weeks? I be there with 3-4 LW members. We are going to hold Paul up for some swivel knifes. Lol If you do go, just look for the 'urban' cowboys......the dudes in t-shirts and shorts! Don't worry, we stand out every year just like the guys from South America that come! Good night! Well, that didn't last long! The blade is going to the proud new owner. I am glad it will get someone who really cares about these vintage tools! Thanks R.C. Good evening! Quote Greetings from Central Texas! The Grain Side Up blog #TheGrainSideUp
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