A Neighbor's Enthusiasm

ddavelarsen

ddavelarsen

Joined
Dec 7, 2000
Messages
5,179
One of the neighbors came over today (not the svelte redhead, alas) and we got talking about knives (imagine that). Ended up showing him my shop and some of the reject knives (Ever think about that? The only knives we keep around are the ones not good enough to sell, so that's what visitors get to see..), and he was very enthusiastic. Then I showed him the samurai armor (that Jeanie calls Widowmaker because it took a year and a half of my life to build) and he really freaked out. He was so excited spit was flying from his mouth while he was talking! :D

And all the while I'm trying to show him my tools - Look at this grinder, it'll do everything but spread peanut butter; here's my new digitally controlled heat treat oven; that metal cutting band saw was the best $150 I ever spent; here's the fan I made out of a couple of biscuit fans from an old mainfraim computer and the disc grinder I made from a bunch of its other parts; etc. But Dang! All he could see were knives and armor. <sigh> I love making knives but I enjoy my shop for its own sake. Anyone else feel like that? It was nice to see his enthusiasm for the work but I'd sure like to share my happiness with my actual shop with someone too... :rolleyes: I guess you just have to be a tool freak. ;)
 
Dave-

I have as much pride in my shop as my knives. Unfortunately, I don't get paid to make it as nice as my knives, so there are still lots of things I'd like to be "better" or "nicer."

But often you get those people that just see a shop full of "stuff" that really peaks little if any interest.

I am always in awe and excited like a little kid when I get to see other people's shops. I like to study their lay-out, and see how they progress through the steps of their work in said shop.

Yep, I feel for 'ya buddy :)

Go over and kick his ass down the street! :D j/k

-Nick-
 
Dave I have no clue what your talking about, no one ever comes by unless its the mailman and I think he's coming by to see the wife and not me, anyway he only drops off the mail and thats it. Why else do you think I hang around a bunch of losers forum like this one, I'm like the maytag repairman. :( :D :D

Its most likely the best no one comes by, I'd probably just bore and tick them off anyways. :D

I'm with Nick, go kick his ass.

Bill
 
Hey Dave,Been there,done that too!When it comes to my tools & shop,"which I am very proud off ";most folks that come to visit say 2 or 3 things,every time.1) I've never seen any tools like this before.2) What does this or that do? And most of all (like your armor I'm sure)3)Can I see that ___ blade again-that is just awsome!!Just like you said,that question comes as I'm "trying" to show off another piece of equipment I'm proud or just tickled about.Oh yes also,"How do you do this stuff?"Mostly it seems to be the precision stuff,(Height gauge,surface plate,planer gauges,Depth mics,(the list goes on)that puzzles them the most.Every one has seen a drill press or mill etc.But the other stuff,anodizers,etching equip.is just a mystery to them,I'm glad though that the end product gets the most attention,thats what I'm there for!!I love my shop!!And I love spending time in it,sometimes to much!!And my wife is a slim,trim beauty too,but my shop?Wow,you've just got to see it!! :D :cool: :)
 
I know exactly what you mean Dave. I get people coming through my shop all the time (more than I'd like sometimes, seeing as how my shop is in my parents garage). Most of them want to see knives and other projects and I don't have much finished stuff other than the bad ones I kept. But I've got a whole shop full of tools, some of them that I built. And its stuff that I've earned with my knifemaking, so I'm really proud of it all.
You wouldn't beleive how many people have asked to see knives and see the shop, and I drag them over to my belt grinder, excited as can be about it as if I just got it yesterday.....and all they do is give it a nod and start asking if I have anymore knives they can see :grumpy: Try and explain that I made the motor mounts and base for the grinder myself, and all the stuff you can do on it....and you get a blank look as they ask about more knives.
So then I point them towards my welding table, with a firebrick top(about 3ftX4ft), 2 benchgrinders mounted on the corners, and a big shelf for hammers and steel and heat treating stuff underneath. Its mounted on casters so I can move it around the shop. Tell them I made it myself from my own design, and all the stuff I use it for. Yep you guessed it.....same question...."got anymore knives?"
Then you move over to the forge. Explain how I made it out of an old propane tank, designed it myself, pretty much designed the burner myself, what I used to line it with etc. This involves fire and seems to hold their interest a little longer, most ask if they can see it run. So I light it up, and its starting to glow within a minute. And they seem to have decided that its really just noisy and hot....and they ask if I have anymore knives to show them. Or they just keep their mouth shut and hope the tour is over and I will finally let them leave :rolleyes:
At least they seem to like the knives :)
 
Well, I'm a lover not a fighter but I might just kick his ass anyway. :D More likely though, he'd kick mine. :rolleyes: :D

Yeah, tools are just cool as hell and I really dig getting something new and more refined than what I'd been using before. Measuring instruments rock!

Just for grins, I don't have a granite plate, I'm making do with the slates from a pool table that was in the basement when we bought the house. Jeanie said it was a crappy table so I dismantled it and used the parts for all kinds of stuff. She's been trying to get that slate off me ever since. ;) Ain't happening. At least not until I get a nice thick, heavy piece of shiny new granite...

Visiting someone else's shop is always a treat; it doesn't even have to be a knife shop. But Bill, any time you're up for a visitor I'll come over and look at all your stuff! So long as your neighbors don't take exception to having a misfit like me hanging around. he he! I might scare em. :cool:
 
Matt you made me laugh again, that's exactly how it goes! :D Just a blank stare until you get that next flashy blade out... They don't seem to appreciate the steel stock, or even profiled blanks! Man the process is as cool as the finished product most of the time. But noooooo... "Got any more knives?" You nailed it. :D
 
No Problem Dave, neighbors are far enough away and the only time they might come around would be if I was giving something away for free or they needed help with something. Cheap Ba*****s :D Anyway if you like solitude and want to learn how the maytag repairman gets along, just come on by. door is always open, well most of the time anyway. :yawn:

Bill
 
The first thing I always show in my shop is my LG power hammer and forge. If I see the glazed eyed look or the "ozone stare" I know it is over and we immediately head upstairs to go look at knives and past projects.

It is just lost on some people.
 
I forgot to add, one of the best ones I've had, was just recently. And it was a 13 year old kid.

He just kept looking around in total awe at all of my tools wanting to know what each one is for.

"This is an awesome profession. This is so cool. Most peoples' jobs suck. This is cool..."

He was such a well-mannered, polite, and simply likeable kid, that I ground out a throwing dagger for him in 15 minutes. At least for a few minutes, he thought I was the best thing since sliced bread :D

So not ALL shop visitors are dumb arse holes :D
-Nick-
 
Sean the "past projects" thing is cool. That's definately one of the best parts of visiting another artesian's home, getting the curator tour. :cool:

Nick I've had that experience too. A couple of times coworker's kids have come over with their folks, and they do seem more interested in how things work than grownups do. Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of it that way.

I wonder why it's true? Maybe it's because kids haven't decided what they're going to do yet so everything matters; adults, unless they're makers too, maybe are less interested because they know they're never going to get "involved." I think people who make stuff might pay more attention; at least my friends who do have shown more interest in the tools and processes.

The first time Uma came over she was all over it, and she doesn't even make stuff. But then she does have kind of an unusual interest in swords.

(:D)
 
You can always tell, if some one is a tool nut, right off the bat. I usually show them one of my 3 lb. hammers first. If they handle it like a salami, I know we can start talking about the weather,real quick like and not waste each others time looking at cool stuff like; you know, that new set of cobalt hot work drill bits that you purchaced for next to nothing.Fred :eek::D
 
haha Dave Allin Kahrl stopped in today and looked over my
goat path rrr shop I mean..very interested young fella,, I think he liked a few of my tools and stuff too.
we showed some toys and talked a lot .. well I did anyway,
I tend to do that.. :rolleyes:

so there are some guys that are interested in more than just the knives..
but I think it's mostly just the makers that are interested in the boy toys.. the rest just want knives :grumpy: ;)
 
Funny topic. My shop is a shoebox. It's only 12'x14' but fully enclosed and built in a corner of our 2 car garage (takes up 2/3 of it). It's even air conditioned. Generally when a neophyte walks between my wife's 3'x5' anti stat workbench/laundry table and the washer & dryer heading toward the shop (five whole steps) all they see is a cluttered wall and a couple blank doors with a basic safety warning posted on them (no admittance with open toed shoes, safety glasses required, etc).

Generally I'll open one door (double doors to allow moving large machines easily) and step in first and hit the lights and invite them in. If they're total newbies, the reaction is generally," Wow, I've never seen anything like this before". Then they focus on my Bridgeport like it was a space alien machine :) There's an added air of mystery about the grinders as they're now vaguely visible behind a floor to ceiling brownish welding curtain I installed to keep the grinding debris off the ways of my lathe and mill. If they're hip to machine tools, teh reaction is generally that they've never seen so much stuff crammed into such a small space and still useful.

My shop is well lit but densly packed so most uninitiated folks are blasted with sensory overload as there's simply too much unfamiliar stuff to absorb at once. Unfortunately I've spent the last two years building the shop instead of building knives and don't have a bunch of old knives/swords to show off so they are pretty much stuck trying to understand why I have all these different tool boxes and wierd machines and what I might be doing with them. Hopefully the incoming KMG will let me make some meaningful blades and have some cool scraps to show off because the machines themselves just seem to perplex most folks.

As someone noted above, I also have a facination with precision measuring gear. I'll probably never need a 6" mic for knife making, but I've got one!

Dave, too bad you're not local. I come across NICE pieces of smooth granite all the time. I have a tiny workbench compared to most guys and currently most of the working area is covered by a shop grade 18"x 24"x4" (rated to .00045 accuracy) plate that I use for general working and a 12"x18"x3" inspection grade plate (rated flat to .00004) and I think I have less than $50.00 invested in both. Last week I found a 2'x4' inspection grade Microflat on a stand that I could have had for nearly free, but couldn't figure a place to put it or a way to transport it. I thought about using it as a dining room table but it wasn't quite large enough.

I take great pride in my shop and while it's tiny, it has tremendous capability. I'm about done building it and hopefully soon you guys will see some cool stuff come out of it soon. Until then, it's a mystery to most who enter......
 
Dan Gray said:
haha Dave Allin Kahrl stopped in today and looked over my
goat path rrr shop I mean..very interested young fella,, I think he liked a few of my tools and stuff too.
we showed some toys and talked a lot .. well I did anyway,
I tend to do that.. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yeah, well, I had a great time, and I really appreciate it. :D :cool:

Dan makes things look so easy, and obviously enjoys himself a lot. I really dug everything I saw, his gear as well as his knives.

nickwheeler said:
"This is an awesome profession. This is so cool. Most peoples' jobs suck. This is cool..."
Click to expand...

I don't need anyone to convince me that knifemaking is a great way to spend your days, but yesterday I definitely felt like that kid. Thanks, Dan!

-Allin
 
John

What tasks do you use the granite plates for? How flat do they really need to be for knifemaking purposes? I got a 12 x 25 scrap piece when they installed my kitchen counter tops. The bullnose edge has some ripples in it but the flat part appears pretty flat. I will check it with a straight edge this afternoon.


Fred

I like how you "test" your visitors. My wife does that to people that she is meeting for the first time and may want to build a friendship with. I would be like the kid that visited Nick.

Phil
 
F. Allin Kahrl said:
Yeah, well, I had a great time, and I really appreciate it. :D :cool:
Dan makes things look so easy, and obviously enjoys himself a lot. I really dug everything I saw, his gear as well as his knives.

I don't need anyone to convince me that knifemaking is a great way to spend your days, but yesterday I definitely felt like that kid. Thanks, Dan!
-Allin
Click to expand...

I had a good Time too Allin
anytime... give be a buzz and we'll do it again for sure...
hopefully by that time I'll have my forge relined and the new 100 gal propane tank set up.
I have a new electronic control for the ign for it ( hope it works right) then I'll be able to
control the temp by thermocouple and not worry about a flame blowing out..
. :D new toy :)

I should have thought about you doing more hands on with hollow grinding and used some (at least longer steel ) for that blade, (more useable)
have you tempered it? I hope I helped some on the use of O/A quenching.. :) I did say around 430 deg and not 330 right :confused:
a bit hard but it's a small bugger.. :)

Allin showed me a wood plane he / they make where he works.. very cool
dang he brought up one of his blades too..nice one for skinning..
running CNC will help you a bunch later I'm sure, learn what you can now it gets harder the older you get... your on your way on your knives as I can see,, we'll just have to get you making sheaths,,, :)

sorry Dave I got on a tangent again or two.. :rolleyes: :)
 
Paul,

The precision granite surface plate is used to give you an absolute reference for measuring and inspection purposes when using a height gauge. Neither of mine are accurate enough for use in a real precision tool and die shop, as they haven't been lapped and certified in quite some time, and certainly not since I've owned them, but they should be good enough for my uses. In a real precision shop where the tolerances are down to just a couple ten thousandths of an inch or less, all the inspection gear and parts to be inspected are kept at 68 degrees to ensure consisant and repeatable measurement as all materials have some degree of thermal expansion which will throw off precision measurement if not accounted for. This is the reason that many of the better micrometers have some plastic sheathing around the part of the body that you hold to insulate the mic from the your body heat. In a really precision shop, the mics get held in a special stand so that you don't touch it at all except for light finger pressure on the barrel to take the measurement.

An inspection plate is first ground, and then lapped to a flatness that would be impossible to check using something as simple as a straight edge. When they are certified, they are measured for flatness in at least four directions (x axis, y axis and corner to corner both ways) and are specified out to at least six decimal places. I just checked the old cert on my better plate and it's rated flat to .000050 whereas the bigger plate is only rated flar to .00045 which is just under half a thousandth, still plenty good enough for knifemaking, but not precision in the true sense of the word. A form of optical inspection using collimated light is used to obtain these high precision references (don't ask me to explain how that works). Any real precision inspection stuff wil also have certification tracable back to a NIST standard (National Institute of Standards and Technology).

As my goal is to build folders where having perfectly parallel surfaces and perpendicular holes will make for the smoothest action, I thought it would be good to have a reference which is what the small plate is for. The larger plate is used as a general work surface when covered by a wood protector I made to keep from dinging it up (more) when banging on stuff. The sheer mass of a hunk of granite that large makes for a very stable work surface. My intent as I progress along in my pursuit of folder making is to use it with fine sheet abrasives for hand lapping parts for ultimate flatness. You wouldn't want to use the inspection grade plate for this lapping as over time the lapping would destroy the precision of the plate itself.

Wow, I've been away from precision metal working for over 20 years, and I'm only 43. I can't believe I can even remember this stuff. I guess I must have had good shop teachers. Sorry for the verbose reply, but when taking about precision stuff, I like to give a precise explanation.
 
John

Thanks for the great explanation. If you are as thorough when making folders, you will do well. I would have asked my father if he were still around since he was a machinist for most of his working life.

Your comment about the mass of the work surface makes sense in view of all the work benches that I have used over the years. At one point, I had considered asking the counter top installer if I could pull some old granite and corian counter tops out of his dumpster to make a workbench. I don't see why he would mind. He has to pay someone to haul the dumpster away when it gets full.

Thanks again.

Phil
 
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