"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Gum Ball Machine Maintenance. Grandpa to the rescue.

We've had this since my sons were little and now my grandkids get to use it. That was until yesterday, when the coin mechanism got jammed. So, I took it apart and much to my dismay a spring came flying out of it. I hate it when that happens! I wish I'd taken before pics!

It took me 10 minutes to figure how that spring and dog went back into the mechanism. Anyway, I adjusted this and that, put a little mineral oil here and there, and it's working again. Tomorrow the kiddos will be asking for more pennies to operate the "M&M Machine".

Now I have a picture in case it needs disassembling again!
By the way, I had 4 knives on my person as all this was accomplished! I also ate too many M&Ms as I was testing the reassembled unit!

 

That’s cool, Gary, I bet the kids love it! Glad you didn’t lose the spring!

When I was a kid, my grandpa had a full-sized slot machine he’d give us quarters to play.

 

Thanks, Barrett! A slot machine would be very cool!
When I was a youngster it was playing Monopoly with my Grandma and cousins around her dining room table. My older cousin Mark was always the banker! I feel there were some shenanigans afoot!

 

That's the payoff.

 

Great machine Gary, but how do you eat too many M&Ms?

 

I thought for M&M‘s goes the same as for Whisky or as a wise mane once said: ‚Too much of anything is bad but too much of good Whisky is barely enough‘

Gerd

 

Awesome! That's what Grandpas are for, loading the grandkids up with sugar and then sending them home!

 

Absolutely!

 

I do like my m&ms, and whiskey! My mantra is all things in moderation, with the possible exception of acquiring knives!

 

@Peregrin I agree with keeping things in moderation but sometimes I feel like I can Better understand the German actor Kurt Jürgens whom the older ones probably remember who once said something along those lines:

If the world is collapsing tomorrow I‘d rather have a glass of Whisky in my hand than a Glass of water.....

Only sometimes but most times my tendency to keep things moderate prevails.

Gerd

 

I totally agree with Mr. Jürgens and I'm one of those that sat in the movie theatres, and watched him on the big screen in the 60s and 70s.

 

Cool story, Gary!
That mechanism seems a little more complicated than the one in this purported "first vending machine" (dispenses water) invented by Heron, a Greek mathematician/engineer who probably lived after the Greek "empire" had been replaced by the rising Romans.


- GT

 

I might be missing something regarding that mechanism, but it looks like a dirty coin might make someone think twice about buying a drink.

 

IIRC, the urn may have dispensed some kind of holy water at a shrine to a Greek or Roman god or goddess, so no worries! (Plus that was used "pre-germs", at least in terms of knowledge. )

(By the way, this is the same Heron who came up with Heron's formula for finding the area of a triangle as a function of the lengths of its 3 sides.)

- GT

 

Happy V-J Day.

 

That’s interesting, GT.

I was reading about the Pythagorean Cup the other day.

 

Hope everyone is having a great day!

I grew up with SAK's, and later went on to modern knives like Spyderco's, Kershaws and Benchmades. But recently I have acquired a Case Mini trapper. ( Thanks to BF and Joliepapa for pointing me to certain online shops and thus sparking my interest even more!)

This knife moves me in a strange way, I like the history, the quality, the lack of tacticoolness and simplicity.... I love it. For the same reason I love Opinels, but I love this trapper even more and I know for certain it will see a lot if pocket time and that it won't be my last traditional.


(It looks a bit less bright IRL)

 

Very cool, Barrett!
I'd never heard of a Pythagorean Cup before; looks like an effective way to teach the brotherhood to avoid greed!

- GT

 

I was sitting at my desk today writing checks and paying bills, when I realized my hands were really "old and wrinkly" looking kinda like the stag on the pictured Bulldog Stockman.




I guess it means I'm an "Old Hand" at knife collecting.

 

At least your fingers still look straight and the joints aren't all swelled up.