Why, thank you sir! That pile of kitchen knives was two straight days of profiling. I don't want to profile anything else for a long time. I'll tell you what- I TOTALLY GET the value in having blanks water jetted now. Thanks again for turning me on to the VSM belts. I did all of those with a single 36grit and dressed them up with another single 60grit. That's about ten bucks total in belts to profile 26 blanks. And it's not like I threw the belts out- they're still good enough for rough work and the 60 is good enough for rough shaping handle material, since all it had to do was square up the rough 36grit cut along the profiles.
That's the first time I've used bocote. That's a wood that will fool you, huh? It's ugly as sin as a blank block, but by the time you sand on it some it gets really nice to look at and the color turns considerably lighter. The guy I'm making that knife for is crazy about it, which makes me very happy.
Hey John,
Can you tell me more about the VSM belts, I don't think I heard of them, I've been using the belts from(....and as usual these days my mind went blank)! Anyway, the results I've been getting from those, I want to say I got them from a guy I initially found on eBay, then found that he had a Facebook page, It GOES something LIKE (HIS NAME) THE KNIFE MAKERS FRIEND, and I'm ashamed I can't recall his name, super NICE guy, very helpful, anyway the best I can recall and PLEASE DON'T HOLD ME TO any of this, as it is to the BEST of what I recall, ANY OF THAT, THE NAME OF THE COMPANY, THE NAME OF THE GUY, I'M SURE i WOULD RECALL IT IF I HEARD IT, BUT SO FAR MY MEMORY IS COMING WITH NOTHING! Which isn't a new problem, just one that'S getting worse by the day! It's a constant problem, I can't even recall my HT process for the most used steels, I've used over the past 9 or 10'ish years! It's so crazy even in conversation, I try to pull a work up and nothing's there, when I'm typing an email, I usually have to look up a word I'm trying to use, it's gotten pretty pathetic, I would have to say! I've been quiet for a long time, as I've not been able to work in the shop very much at all over these last few years. Although, every once in a while I do go out there, sometimes I just sit there looking at the walls, taking in the smells, that I love so much, sometimes that's enough to motivate me to get some work done, but one day of work ends up in a month or more of not working in the shop, i'm still working my full time job as that is what keeps the bills paid! I still lurk on here a lot, but I've just kept quiet, reading about all these amazing knives I get to see on here! As I was saying about the belts I'm using is that I've been getting amazing results with them, if I could only recall the name of the company! Is there a Phoenix Abrasives Co., out there, never mind, I don't think that's right either, anyway, can you give me some more info on the VSM Belts, I'm not exactly looking into changing, but I'm always on the lookout for equipment that will make my work better and/or save money in the process! I'm game for that! THANKS! And your work is looking amazing! You've come a long way in a short time with your skillz! Looking forward to hearing from you, Rex
