Knifemaking Rules

Sean Cochran

Well-Known Member
Here are just a few rules that I have found to hold true
Feel free to add to the list

1. The blade always gets dunked before the thumb.

2. Fat tips are only a good thing if you are a waiter.

3. "...Just a little more" usually means "oh well, I wanted a smaller knife anyway"

4. No matter what you tell yourself, that last scratch will not come out at the next higher grit.

5. As your srap bucket of knives grows so does your knowledge.

6. After you see a knife across the room stuck in the wall, you realize while buffing there are to be no distractions

7. You can never have too many new belts.

8. Just because steel isnt orange doesnt mean its not hot.

9. Yes even you can be allergic to cocobolo.

10. Black boogers are just the begining, wear a mask.

11. When using that really expensive handle material you just got, you will drill a hole in the wrong place.


Anyone else?
 
That squeaking drill bit doesn't really mean it will break off does it?
 
Hand-sanding can be:

A) quiet time when you can experience a sense of zen-like meditation
or
B) karmic punishment for something horrible you did in a previous life

Maybe both. But mostly the second one.
 
Hand-sanding can be:

A) quiet time when you can experience a sense of zen-like meditation
or
B) karmic punishment for something horrible you did in a previous life

Maybe both. But mostly the second one.

Heck I have only hand sanded 13 blades so far and I am 100% sure I have to go with B:D
 
Black boogers are just the begining, wear a mask.

In blacksmithing we use them to start the fire tomorrow morning.
 
A new anvil with a perfect face is guaranteed to get dinged the first time someone else uses it. Just ask Robert Dark.;)
 
When quenching a blade you did not really want shorter than it turned out (a customer is waiting for the order, you really need this one for a show, the other nine are busted and I'm running out of steel, you pick the reason), and you swore an oath you would not go more than one-thousand one and out dammit, occurs always after the dreaded ping.

Or when you are showing off and should not have been so cavalier...
 
the dullest your band saw will ever be is when you don't have any new ones on hand and you have the most blades to cut out than you have ever had...
 
Within days of declaring that you will stop taking deposits and get back to only making knives you like, you'll get a request for something you really don't like much. The project will involve services you can't provide yourself so must farm-out; hence you won't want to take on the up-front costs and will have to ask for a deposit.

Just to make things interesting, it will be your most potentially lucrative knife-job to date, and will come at a time when you're broke as a bum.

God sure does have a sense of humor :)
 
Jelly bread always lands "jelly side" down. I wish I would have remembered this.

That is before I polished a caping knife at 0200. This before it was razor sharp. That is before it slid out of my grasp. That is before it made one perfect flip while falling. That is before I saw it sticking out of the top of my foot...
 
Jelly bread always lands "jelly side" down. I wish I would have remembered this.

That is before I polished a caping knife at 0200. This before it was razor sharp. That is before it slid out of my grasp. That is before it made one perfect flip while falling. That is before I saw it sticking out of the top of my foot...

You need to learn to juggle. The book Juggling For The Complete Klutz is a good way, btw.

What people don't understand about juggling is that learning to juggle is really all about learning where and how things fall.

Later, when you advance to juggling more 'interesting' things you build up your reflexes in other ways. There have been many times where I've thought - with my hand suddenly and safely back by my side - "Darn, I could have safely caught that machete / torch / other item." Very few noticeable scars involved in learning those lessons too. ;)
 
You need to learn to juggle.

You do understand that I'm about the only guy in history who ever cut his ankle learning how to spin a balisong.

(I used a balisong that I had just polished. I was seated on our couch next to my wife, spinning the knife open with my left hand. I got up to get a soda when my wife remarked, "Hey, Einstein, you're leaving a blood trail...")

Having told that anecdote, I'm not sure I'm a good candidate for jungling sharp objects. In fact, I did pull my hands away from the caping knife. I did not take a step back, ergo the wound.

BTW, don't ever stab yourself in Madison, Wisconsin. At the ER a woman from their Domestic Violence office questioned me on if I was being abused by my wife. No joke. They wouldn't let us leave until we answered their questions--and I produced a business card showing that I am a sharpener.
 
"Good judgement comes from experience - experience comes from poor judgement."

The more you can learn from others poor judgement, the lower your hospital bill will be.
 
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