I've been tinkering

[swright81076]

Firstly, if this is in the wrong section I apologize.
Now, I'm still new to this forum but over the years as a lurker i have been amazed at the knowledge and skill of its members. So I've decided to talk about my new tools.
Firstly is my knife! This is 3mm carbon steel, with a narrow tang (I was watching ray mears having a blade made and took inspiration from his blade and tang) the blade has a scandi grind. (Cheated here as my father has a metal workshop in his garage, next will be done by hand).
I had some bowl blanks left over so chose a nice light one (birch) and some brass fittings.
I really like the feel of the knife, and when making it, that's just what I went on, does it feel right.






The second thing I've almost finished is a side jet alcohol stove. Can't wait to try it out, from what I've seen of them, they are quite efficient. Just needs sanding and polishing.



Other things I've made are bracelets, stages, monkey fists, watch straps, belts and dog leads all from paracord.

Thanks for looking. I'm a beginner at this, but hope to improve my skills with knife making.

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[dave53]

great looking knife regards dave

[TomBartlett]

Nice work there. Cheers for sharing. If I ever get my act together I'd like to handle a knife myself.

[swright81076]

Thank you. Its still a work in progress, feels great in the hand but might modify it slightly.
As for the little stove...... well. This design doesn't need priming or preheating. Poor meths in, leave 30 seconds, blow into opening and voilla.
I am impressed. It boiled a thick copper bottomed (cold) pan of cold water (500ml) in under 4 minutes. What is even better is that I only put in 1 tablespoon of meths, when it'd finished there was over half left inside.
There's gonna be two or three of these with me on my next outing.


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[crosslandkelly]

Nice looking knife. Amazing boil time on the stove, must try one myself. Thanks for posting.
Colin.

[Perrari]

Knife looks good, so does the stove. What was the container you used to make it ? and how big is it ? it looks like the type of thing I would carry. One more question, - what's a 'Monkey Fist' ?

[swright81076]

Thanks again. My veg tanned hide arrived yesterday so I'm working on the sheath.
The stove is made from 2 cans of coke, cut down. Weighs next to nothing, this version of mine is a modified high pressure side burner. Its the diameter of a can and about 50mm tall. It also is its own pot stand.
I'll upload a picture shortly.
As for a monkey fist. Its a knot around a ball bearing or marble.
Here's a link to one with instructions.

http://www.animatedknots.com/monkeysfist/index.php

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[crosslandkelly]

Knife looks good, so does the stove. What was the container you used to make it ? and how big is it ? it looks like the type of thing I would carry. One more question, - what's a 'Monkey Fist' ?

I think it's a knot.
Colin.

[swright81076]

the stove.





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[swright81076]

Hopefully a short video of the stove working.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-oa...e_gdata_player

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[Lister]

The video is set to private.

[swright81076]

Sorry about that. Should be ok now.

[shaggystu]

....Poor meths in, leave 30 seconds, blow into opening and voilla.........

blow into the opening!?!?!?

[swright81076]

well, I think I've finished my knife. This was purely for test purposes.
I'm happy that next time I will be able to create something nice from the mistakes and lessons learned from this one.

And eventually may be able to produce something like the ones made by the skilled makers on here.

The sheath is veg tanned 4mm hide. I've experimented using dental floss as the thread. I made holes by eye using a 1.5mm drill and used my carving chisels to make some marks. This should have been done when the leather was still wet.

I have ordered some leather craft tools and thread. Hopefully next time the sheath will be a bit better.

Thanks for all the kind comments so far.











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[swright81076]

I wasn't overly impressed with the handle of my first knife, so I removed it and started again.
This time I've used some fancy oak veneer laminate thingy I picked up from niche timber in Wakefield a few years ago. They called it ice cream stain wood.
It is a very hard beast, and after lots of cursing, fags and brews, its done. (I may round it off further just to show off the pattern a little more)








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[Lister]

That looks gorgeous

[swright81076]

Thank you. I prefer it to the original.

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[Chiseller]

Well done Steve , different for sure. Hopefully see it in flesh at some point. Good elth :thumbup:

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[swright81076]

Cheers mate. Give us a bell when your free. I'll get some steaks in.

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[Chiseller]

Cheers mate. Give us a bell when your free. I'll get some steaks in.

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Good elth :thumbup:

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