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

[mbkr]

And how is it uphill BOTH WAYS???

Gravity is relentless.
Both ways

 

[Just Tom.]

You just need some DIY rod holders on your milk crate there, like these ones I made for kayak fishing.

What I really want is a canoe. Or to make a lightweight version of the johnboat my brother and I made as kids (per dad’s design and under his supervision). That thing was just barely car-top portable - we didn’t have a trailer - but drew almost no water and you could paddle it like a canoe, or pole it through shallow channels between islands, scraping the bottom along as you went at times.

Whatever I make or get has to be solo portable because my wife and daughters are not interested it seems. I’m not a huge kayak fan, but I may have to go that route. Maybe I will rent one at the local reservoir next week and see if I can be persuaded..

 

[Just Tom.]

Gravity is relentless.
Both ways

Pedaling my old mountain bike is like pedaling a Sherman tank. I feel like I got almost as much exercise as I get on a typical 35 mile trip on my other bike (just an inexpensive department store road bike, but a huge improvement on pavement).

 

[Tyson A Wright]

What I really want is a canoe. Or to make a lightweight version of the johnboat my brother and I made as kids (per dad’s design and under his supervision). That thing was just barely car-top portable - we didn’t have a trailer - but drew almost no water and you could paddle it like a canoe, or pole it through shallow channels between islands, scraping the bottom along as you went at times.

Whatever I make or get has to be solo portable because my wife and daughters are not interested it seems. I’m not a huge kayak fan, but I may have to go that route. Maybe I will rent one at the local reservoir next week and see if I can be persuaded..

I think the Oru Kayaks are pretty interesting and might fit your use case very well. It's an origami kayak that essentially folds up into a briefcase. I haven't been in one but they do seem to get good reviews.

 

[mbkr]

I think the Oru Kayaks are pretty interesting and might fit your use case very well. It's an origami kayak that essentially folds up into a briefcase. I haven't been in one but they do seem to get good reviews.

Sent me on an interweb search. Those are pretty cool

 

[dantzk8]

I think I'll join a gym. My Medicare supplemental will pay for it, and there's one ten minutes' walk from my house. Try to thicken up these toothpick arms.

We have a gym membership through my wife’s work, which is great, except that I don’t feel guilty about not going because we don’t pay for the membership.

I used to laugh at my neighbors who paid someone else to mow their lawns so they could drive to the gym and exercise. An old fashioned reel mower is a good workout*


*Now I'm 60 years old and it's 106 degrees out. The neighbor kid mows my lawn and I'm looking for somewhere I can go swim laps.

My gym club. Felling, skidding, sawing, splitting, stacking. For a great fitness. Free registration for BF members.

Dan.

 

[Jack Black]

View attachment 1867639

My gym club. Felling, skidding, sawing, splitting, stacking. For a great fitness. Free registration for BF members.

Dan.

That looks like quite a work-out Dan!

 

[dantzk8]

That looks like quite a work-out Dan!

Oh yes ! I like wood and wood tools.
It keeps me in shape and i'm happy at 66 to still be able to do it . I already have wood for two winters in the barn and still have two cords to stack.



Dan.

 

[Just Tom.]

Oh yes ! I like wood and wood tools.
It keeps me in shape and i'm happy at 66 to still be able to do it . I already have wood for two winters in the barn and still have two cords to stack.

View attachment 1867651

Dan.

I love seeing pictures of your property and equipment, Dan.

 

[dantzk8]

I love seeing pictures of your property and equipment, Dan.

Thanks Tom,
An old traditional house on a large plot located on a high flat land nicknamed "Little Siberia" for the tough climate. No much people. Just enough work with basic tools to keep me busy. What else could i need?

Dan.

 

[Jack Black]

Oh yes ! I like wood and wood tools.
It keeps me in shape and i'm happy at 66 to still be able to do it . I already have wood for two winters in the barn and still have two cords to stack.

View attachment 1867651

Dan.

Good for you Dan

 

[Just Tom.]

Thanks Tom,
An old traditional house on a large plot located on a high flat land nicknamed "Little Siberia" for the tough climate. No much people. Just enough work with basic tools to keep me busy. What else could i need?

Dan.

Sounds idyllic.

I spent a total of about 3 years in France as a young man, a lot of that time in and around old stone farm buildings - mostly in the Languedoc region generally, so a little different from where you are I guess. Still, seeing your place brings back fond memories of simpler times.

 

[GmpaJim]

What I really want is a canoe. Or to make a lightweight version of the johnboat my brother and I made as kids (per dad’s design and under his supervision). That thing was just barely car-top portable - we didn’t have a trailer - but drew almost no water and you could paddle it like a canoe, or pole it through shallow channels between islands, scraping the bottom along as you went at times.

Whatever I make or get has to be solo portable because my wife and daughters are not interested it seems. I’m not a huge kayak fan, but I may have to go that route. Maybe I will rent one at the local reservoir next week and see if I can be persuaded..

I would encourage you to build, something. Your sole goes into it. I don’t make knives, but I understand those who do.
I‘ve done 5 boats and am threatening a 6th.
The rowboat is 14’, wherry from Pygmy Boats, WA. The canoe is 17’, from Clark Craft in Buffalo.
Suggestion, start with a kit. They are two different types of construction, each doable by anybody. A kit will obviously speed up the process and will inadvertently teach you how to build from plans alone,
With todays coverings, wooden boats are no longer a “maintenance pain”
After seeing your project come to life, and an outing or two, your fam may have a change of mind.
P.S. you’re right about the weight. Car-toppable is usually optimistic.

 

[Just Tom.]

I would encourage you to build, something. Your sole goes into it. I don’t make knives, but I understand those who do.
I‘ve done 5 boats and am threatening a 6th.
The rowboat is 14’, wherry from Pygmy Boats, WA. The canoe is 17’, from Clark Craft in Buffalo.
Suggestion, start with a kit. They are two different types of construction, each doable by anybody. A kit will obviously speed up the process and will inadvertently teach you how to build from plans alone,
With todays coverings, wooden boats are no longer a “maintenance pain”
After seeing your project come to life, and an outing or two, your fam may have a change of mind.
P.S. you’re right about the weight. Car-toppable is usually optimistic.

View attachment 1867687

Nice work!
Ideally I like a 17’ canoe - growing up we had a Browning aluminum one and a wooden one my dad made by ripping strips from 1x boards and laying them over a frame, then fiberglassing over the wood strips. I was thinking of maybe something like your red one there, but a little shorter to save weight, and completely flat on the bottom but with some rise towards the bow and stern, sort of like a pirogue. Maybe even a square bow.

All this is just daydreaming for now, but my dad still has tons of books on boats and ships of all types (he used to make models as well as real boats), so I may borrow some and start sketching out plans.

 

[screened porch]

P.S. you’re right about the weight. Car-toppable is usually optimistic.

That origami canoe is the best of the portables that I've seen.
Plastic kayaks have gotten amazingly affordable, but I don't like the way they clamp you in.
And a canoe will throw you in, but a kayak will hold you under.
Obviously I speak from sparse expertise.

 

[Jack Black]

That origami canoe is the best of the portables that I've seen.
Plastic kayaks have gotten amazingly affordable, but I don't like the way they clamp you in.
And a canoe will throw you in, but a kayak will hold you under.
Obviously I speak from sparse expertise.

As the founder, in 1982, of Broomhall Canoe Club in Sheffield D ), I've bought and used plastic kayaks, and they're fine Jer. Back then, they weren't as manoeuvrable as some of the low-volume fibreglass ones, but they're very tough. I used to use a spray-deck, but even then you can get out of them easily enough. Of course, there's a lot to be said for a nice open canoe too. The last time I paddled was about 5 years ago in a 3-person aluminium Canadian canoe on the River Wye near the Welsh borders, which was very different to how the River Don in Sheffield used to be!

 

[JM2]

Oh yes ! I like wood and wood tools.
It keeps me in shape and i'm happy at 66 to still be able to do it . I already have wood for two winters in the barn and still have two cords to stack.

View attachment 1867651

Dan.

Beautiful. Neatly stacked too. I enjoy all aspects of working with firewood. I especially like splitting though.

Course I don’t mind a little bit of chainsaw work either. I have a husqvarna 371xp I’m fond of. I’m thinking about getting a chainsaw mill for it and using it to make boards.

Here is a thread https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/my-late-mom’s-knife.1876514/ I started with a project I did that came from firewood. I bought it from a friend and there was some old locust posts, as well as some cedar. I didn’t use hand tools in making it, but reclaiming wood for it was very rewarding.

Thanks for sharing your woodpiles with us.

 

[JM2]

View attachment 1867639

My gym club. Felling, skidding, sawing, splitting, stacking. For a great fitness. Free registration for BF members.

Dan.

So I have few questions. First, why do you have some double length split pieces? And how did you split them? An axe? Do you have a stove to fit a double length piece or do you have to saw them in half before use?

 

[Just Tom.]

An half hour walk to the gym would be better. Nothing like walking to get in shape. I talk from experience, my dog walks me 6 miles every morning.

Dan.

I seems like you are a real trendsetter, Dan!
My wife turned on the TV news while I was working, and when I looked over I saw this:

 

[meako]

I seems like you are a real trendsetter, Dan!
My wife turned on the TV news while I was working, and when I looked over I saw this:

Ive been saying this for many years...something wrong with a society that drives to the gym to walk on a treadmill...Walk to the shops and bring the swag home in a backpack...thats what i used to do.

Got given the Australis 3man for free...I plan to drag it to Lake Mummaga and leave it near a mates place...no way i can lift on to the roof racks..