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  1. MTBob

    A Tool That's Just About Eliminated Hand Sanding...almost!

    I saw this conditioning flap wheel on Pop's some time ago and got a couple, thinking their hype was over exaggerated. Well, after testing for a couple months, I'm becoming a believer. I've used these wheels on G10, Micarta, and natural wood to finish sanding after getting to about 120 with a...
  2. MTBob

    A Nifty Little Tool to Sand Scales

    The other day I was wanting to simply sand the face of a knife scale. It's a bit of a pain to do it by hand on the 2" belt. But, I remembered buying this little gizmo at the SLC Blade Show for something like $5-10. Works pretty slick. But, it also can round the ends & corners if not careful...
  3. MTBob

    CA Glue on a Wood Handle

    I'm in the process of making a set of steak knives with differing kinds of wood handles. I'm curious whether the use of CA glue on natural (unstabilized) porous wood, say Zebra or Walnut, will result in a better finish than just using a plain Tru Oil finish? Or can CA glue be used as a filler...
  4. MTBob

    Thoughts on Gift Giving

    As a hobbyist knife maker, I mostly make knives for family and friends. Most are given away, with infrequent paid commissions. Knives are a wonderful gift for any kitchen or sportsman. However in recent years I've found the most rewarding gift of all is inviting people to come to my shop to...
  5. MTBob

    I'm A Believer, Peening It Straight

    After seeing a number of posts on KD and watching a couple of videos from Pop's, I finally made a knife straightening peening hammer. I tested it on a post heat treated 52100 think chopper that's in the larval stage. It had about 1/16" deflection starting just behind the ricasso. I had a...
  6. MTBob

    Another way to post pictures

    In a recent posting the OP asked how to post pictures. In addition to the conventional way of adding photos by uploading an attachment, you can also embed a photo right into the text of a posting using a screen shot of the photo. This works on my Windows 10 desk top computer using an App...
  7. MTBob

    Thoughts on WA Handle finishes

    As I dive deeper into the world of stainless knives with WA handles, I'd like to see if there any ideas about handle finishes. At this point I'm limiting the handle composition to natural, un-stabilized, wood with highlight stacks of contrasting woods and G-10. On oily woods like Bocota and...
  8. MTBob

    An Experiment To Minimize Hand Sanding

    One thing I dislike is hand sanding - on anything. So to preserve my aging hands I'm always looking for a way for a machine to do the work. I've begun making more kitchen knives and I've fiddled around with some grinder attachments that seem to offer a way to get a hand sanded look in rather...
  9. MTBob

    Documenting Heat Treatment With Paragon's Bartlett Sentinel Controller

    I recently purchased a Paragon KM18t 3 element Pro. This furnace has a Bartlett Sentinel Controller that is very easy to use. It incorporates a WiFi connection that allows access to the stored heating cycle data. As an example, here's the data output from this morning's heat treatment of some...
  10. MTBob

    First Gyuto with Saya

    7.5" Gyuto with Saya, AEB-L blade, Cocobolo oval handle with G-10 ferrule, Cherry Saya with walnut pin.
  11. MTBob

    Darkening After Etching on AEB-L

    I'm just finishing a knife for a customer and found that using my Personalizer with SC-1 electrolyte on AEB-L that I didn't get a darkened mark after etching. The etching seemed to work pretty good, but it just wouldn't darken. Should I use a different electrolyte, or is there another work...
  12. MTBob

    Those Yellow Bellied French Knife Grinders

    A guy sent me this photo of French knife grinders and I thought it might bring a smile. Next time I'm stiff from hunching over my grinder I'll be thinking of this position and pondering which is worse, vertical or horizontal! Claude Dozorme still makes knifes with a distinctive French design...
  13. MTBob

    Drilling A Wa Handle

    I thought I'd post a few pictures of a fixture I made to drill holes in Wa handles, for use in the dowel assembly method. This is about the third one I've made and each time I've had trouble holding the handle in place and getting a clean straight hole. This fixture seems to solve that...
  14. MTBob

    Knife sharpener for non-knifemaker?

    Do you all have any knife sharpener recommendations for a non-knifemaker, to be used mostly for kitchen knives?
  15. MTBob

    Aluminum Quench Blocks, Will This Work?

    I'm setting up to heat treat stainless steel. I dug around in my junk pile and found 2 blocks that seem like they would work for most of my knife sizes. Rather than building some kind of vice clamp arrangement, I'm thinking that the weight of the blocks should be adequate for heat transfer...
  16. MTBob

    Knife Scale Recommendations - Xmas Gift

    I'd like to get my son a couple of nifty knife scale blanks for Christmas. Any recommended sources?
  17. MTBob

    Leather Question - Color Transfer

    I'm new to leather working, so here's a newbie question. When staining / coloring a leather sheath many makers recommend putting stain on the upper / inside part of the sheath. This gives the sheath an overall similar color when looking in the "knife hole". However, having applied the stain...
  18. MTBob

    Platen Assembly Modifications

    I thought I'd show a recap of some modifications I've made to the Reeder grinder platen assembly. As a hobbyist knife maker, I enjoy making tools and modifying equipment about as much as knife making. My grinder doesn't stand the test of full time knife making, but it does get used hard for...
  19. MTBob

    Bought A New Mill... Now What Can I Do With It?

    I'm a sucker for nifty looking machinery & tools. I found this curious little "mill" on CL at a price I couldn't pass up. Even though I've got a nice Clausing 8520 Knee Mill, I just figured a guy can't have too many mills...(that's what I told my wife)! This thing is manufactured by Vanda Lay...
  20. MTBob

    What Causes This Discolorization?

    Can anyone tell me what causes the discoloration of the steel in this photo? It is heat treated 80CrV2 from AKS, coated with ATP641, 5 min soak at 1575F, quenched in Canola Oil, tempered at 375. Post heat treat, the blade was ground flat (by hand) prior to adding the primary grind. It has...
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