Oblong Punch That Won't, Grrrrrr

[DoubleC]

Sorry Art, I should have known that. I'll see if Bruce has one for the first of the month. I have a nice person who read this and is sending me a mallet to borrow for a few months. I just got my strap end punch from SLC, and again went a few bucks cheaper and it's GUESS what.....? Tandy. But since it won't need the brute force the oblong takes, and also can be sharpened easier, I'm going to try it on a belt I'm starting. If it doesn't work the first time, will strop it and try again before I send it back. Know I have some wood up here in the apartment already I can whack it with. If I send it back, I'll get one from Bruce too. I like vintage everything, all my household things from furniture are vintage or antique. Also if Bruce doesn't have the oblong, I think SLC has Osborne and I'll ask them what number it is before I order it. Thanks for giving me the guts to say, 'it's not me, it's the lousy tool, send it back.' Cheryl

[CowboyDan]

Something like this would be a good begining (and cheap) sharpening stone: http://www.harborfreight.com/combination-sharpening-stone-7345.html A local hardware store should have something similar for about the same price.

For a maul, you could try a brass hammer. They're used when you want to make sure you don't marr what ever you're hitting, and also where a spark is a very bad thing. Usually pretty cheap, they come in different sizes.

When you get the money, get a better sharpening stone: http://www.amazon.com/TRI-6-Arkansas-TRI-HONE-Sharpening-System/dp/B00062BIT4 something like this is usually a good place to start. You have three grits, so you can go from nasty bench-grinder marks to almost no marks at all, all on the same set. Then hit whatever it is you're sharpening with the strop.

I took an ultra cheap pair of scissors from nasty dull (couldn't cut flesh at all) to ultrasharp (I ended up with at least a dozen nicks in my hands) in a short Sunday afternoon with that stone set, and that was before the strop.

[alyshae]

I got one of those stones for about $10 at Home Depot