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

Apropos of nothing, today I finally updated my avatar to match the size the current forum software prefers. This is a small thing, but sort of a big thing for me.

The knife in my avatar was the Barlow that got me into knife collecting, which I researched here on the Porch. The Beagle shield reminded me of my Beagle, and that plus the knife just felt right for my avatar. That pup passed away some years back, and I later sold the knife -- but the avatar has always felt like "me," and I loved its commemoration of my pup and this hobby.

But the actual picture was tiiiiny, which was fine in the old system but blurry in the new software. I shrugged and figured hey, not the end of the world -- and it's not like I can take a new picture, right?

Right...except I discovered some old pictures of this knife. 🥳 Some quick rotating and cropping later, and I have an appropriately sized version that 99.9% of folks won't even notice has changed, still commemorating my pup and "official" entry into the hobby, but now visually legible in the new software.

I know this is a bit of a silly thing to spend time on, or share, but I wanted to share it anyway -- and Carl's Lounge felt like the right place to do it. :)
 
Dadpool said:
Apropos of nothing, today I finally updated my avatar to match the size the current forum software prefers. This is a small thing, but sort of a big thing for me.

The knife in my avatar was the Barlow that got me into knife collecting, which I researched here on the Porch. The Beagle shield reminded me of my Beagle, and that plus the knife just felt right for my avatar. That pup passed away some years back, and I later sold the knife -- but the avatar has always felt like "me," and I loved its commemoration of my pup and this hobby.

But the actual picture was tiiiiny, which was fine in the old system but blurry in the new software. I shrugged and figured hey, not the end of the world -- and it's not like I can take a new picture, right?

Right...except I discovered some old pictures of this knife. 🥳 Some quick rotating and cropping later, and I have an appropriately sized version that 99.9% of folks won't even notice has changed, still commemorating my pup and "official" entry into the hobby, but now visually legible in the new software.

I know this is a bit of a silly thing to spend time on, or share, but I wanted to share it anyway -- and Carl's Lounge felt like the right place to do it. :)
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🤗
 
Dadpool said:
Apropos of nothing, today I finally updated my avatar to match the size the current forum software prefers. This is a small thing, but sort of a big thing for me.

The knife in my avatar was the Barlow that got me into knife collecting, which I researched here on the Porch. The Beagle shield reminded me of my Beagle, and that plus the knife just felt right for my avatar. That pup passed away some years back, and I later sold the knife -- but the avatar has always felt like "me," and I loved its commemoration of my pup and this hobby.

But the actual picture was tiiiiny, which was fine in the old system but blurry in the new software. I shrugged and figured hey, not the end of the world -- and it's not like I can take a new picture, right?

Right...except I discovered some old pictures of this knife. 🥳 Some quick rotating and cropping later, and I have an appropriately sized version that 99.9% of folks won't even notice has changed, still commemorating my pup and "official" entry into the hobby, but now visually legible in the new software.

I know this is a bit of a silly thing to spend time on, or share, but I wanted to share it anyway -- and Carl's Lounge felt like the right place to do it. :)
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That’s a great story! Job well done. 👍
 
JM2 said:
Got about 2/3 of it moved and stacked to season. I don’t have a truck, I move it in the back of my minivan, otherwise it’d just be one load. But you have to make do the best with what you got. I’m trying stacking like this for seasoning this time. Previously I just let it lay or turned the rounds on end, like the ones at the end of the pile. Those are for potted plants. Now we’ll just see what the wife does with them. And the end logs on the bottom both have limb stubs left to keep the pile from rolling in case anyone is wondering.

https://imgur.com/5XZmice
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Splitting that Hickory now will be a lot easier than later my friend . That hickory is very hard and will burn very hot .

Harry
 
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Old Engineer said:
Splitting that Hickory now will be a lot easier than later my friend . That hickory is very hard and will burn very hot .

Harry
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Thanks. I was planning to wait till fall to split it. Then use it next year at the earliest. I did a hickory a few years ago, and I waited about 4 or 5 months then too, til it started checking. I’ve never tried to split hickory that was old seasoned. I thought last time it split easier after waiting a while. It seemed the axe bounced off. I will give it a go again and see.

I use a fiskars splitting axe with 36” handle.

I’ve split some maple and I thought it split easier after it’d been seasoned a while. Same for river birch. Is it a species to species thing or is there a general rule?

I didn’t grow up harvesting wood and everyone I know buys it, so Im learning as I go.
 
Dadpool said:
Apropos of nothing, today I finally updated my avatar to match the size the current forum software prefers. This is a small thing, but sort of a big thing for me.

The knife in my avatar was the Barlow that got me into knife collecting, which I researched here on the Porch. The Beagle shield reminded me of my Beagle, and that plus the knife just felt right for my avatar. That pup passed away some years back, and I later sold the knife -- but the avatar has always felt like "me," and I loved its commemoration of my pup and this hobby.

But the actual picture was tiiiiny, which was fine in the old system but blurry in the new software. I shrugged and figured hey, not the end of the world -- and it's not like I can take a new picture, right?

Right...except I discovered some old pictures of this knife. 🥳 Some quick rotating and cropping later, and I have an appropriately sized version that 99.9% of folks won't even notice has changed, still commemorating my pup and "official" entry into the hobby, but now visually legible in the new software.

I know this is a bit of a silly thing to spend time on, or share, but I wanted to share it anyway -- and Carl's Lounge felt like the right place to do it. :)
Click to expand...

I had to adjust mine after the switch to the new software, too. The old software allowed for avatars with varying aspect ratios (i.e., they didn’t have to be square or fit in a circle). You can still use the same photo, but I didn't like the way mine was cropped by the software. So I had to create some extra background space in the image (on the top and bottom) to make it square. My amateur photo editing really doesn’t hold up to scrutiny when viewing the image full size, but it works for an avatar. 😁

The funny thing is, I don’t have any particular attachment to that picture. It was just something I picked for my avatar 6 or 7 years ago when I was becoming active here on the Porch, and now it’s been there long enough that it would feel weird changing it. (I usually recognize posts made by friends and/or regulars here when I see their familiar avatars, rather than their usernames.)
 
Now you guys mention it, I think my avatar is framed less tightly than it was. I think it's fine, though.

I've switched back to my tru-sharp **47. The character on the CV one was starting to feel like a memento mori.
 
screened porch said:
Now you guys mention it, I think my avatar is framed less tightly than it was. I think it's fine, though.

I've switched back to my tru-sharp **47. The character on the CV one was starting to feel like a memento mori.
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I still haven't got used to the fact you're not called 'Scrteened Porch' anymore! :D :thumbsup:
 
Will Power said:
My knives will be my epitaph :thumbsup: Only trouble is nobody near me or in the frame know anything about knives nor cares about them. Another addition to the landfill....:eek::D
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screened porch said:
Somebody here might appreciate them. 😁
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Will Power said:
Way things are going, shipping costs might outstrip the value :eek:
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This is one of the recurring topics I contemplate on my daily hikes. :):thumbsup::cool:
I'll give my wife and daughter "dibs" on any of my knives they want to claim, but I don't think they'll be interested in more than a very few. So I sometimes try to figure out a way to get my mostly low-cost knives to Porch members who express interest in any of them.

Assuming that I'll be able to recognize when my health status indicates that I'd be wise to divest myself of many of my worldly possessions, I might try to set up some sort of series of "sales" on the Exchange in which I essentially sell knives for the cost of shipping them to the interested buyer. I'd probably set it up where the price is the same for an entire "lot" or any subset thereof. E.g., I could list a set of 10 knives, and if a USPS flat rate box cost say $10, I'd sell all 10 knives for ten bucks for the entire lot, or I'd sell a subset of 5 of them for ten bucks for the 5 knives, or if someone wanted a single knife, it would be ten bucks.

Haven't thought much about how I'd put together my sets of knives to attract interest from the rest of you. If I were to go with sets of 10, say, would I do sets of all the same pattern, or would sets of assorted patterns be better? Same or assorted cover materials? Same or assorted makers, or countries of origin, or blade steels, or numbers of blades? o_O:eek:

It's great to be able to keep my mind and my legs active simultaneously! 🤓

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
This is one of the recurring topics I contemplate on my daily hikes. :):thumbsup::cool:
I'll give my wife and daughter "dibs" on any of my knives they want to claim, but I don't think they'll be interested in more than a very few. So I sometimes try to figure out a way to get my mostly low-cost knives to Porch members who express interest in any of them.

Assuming that I'll be able to recognize when my health status indicates that I'd be wise to divest myself of many of my worldly possessions, I might try to set up some sort of series of "sales" on the Exchange in which I essentially sell knives for the cost of shipping them to the interested buyer. I'd probably set it up where the price is the same for an entire "lot" or any subset thereof. E.g., I could list a set of 10 knives, and if a USPS flat rate box cost say $10, I'd sell all 10 knives for ten bucks for the entire lot, or I'd sell a subset of 5 of them for ten bucks for the 5 knives, or if someone wanted a single knife, it would be ten bucks.

Haven't thought much about how I'd put together my sets of knives to attract interest from the rest of you. If I were to go with sets of 10, say, would I do sets of all the same pattern, or would sets of assorted patterns be better? Same or assorted cover materials? Same or assorted makers, or countries of origin, or blade steels, or numbers of blades? o_O:eek:

It's great to be able to keep my mind and my legs active simultaneously! 🤓

- GT
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🤔
Dump them all in a sack. Grab a couple of handfuls blindly. This is what you get. I'd buy a $10 grab box blind. Or three :D
 
btb01 said:
To further emphasize what I said about recognizing people by their avatars more than their screen names, I hadn’t even noticed that! 🤣
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I only noticed when I was linking Jer into a post one day, and 'scrteened porch' wasn't listed as a member! 🤣👍
 
mbkr said:
🤔
Dump them all in a sack. Grab a couple of handfuls blindly. This is what you get. I'd buy a $10 grab box blind. Or three :D
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Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. :cool::thumbsup: 🤓
I actually like this idea a lot; I'll bet it could be fun.
Instead of a GAW where we all know exactly what knives are involved, and a person is randomly chosen to win it, it would be sort of the opposite, where we know which people are interested, but the knives to be sent out are a random selection.

- GT
 
Will Power said:
My knives will be my epitaph :thumbsup: Only trouble is nobody near me or in the frame know anything about knives nor cares about them. Another addition to the landfill....:eek::D

The obituaries of the famous usually offend me as they're nothing more than a fawning pack of lies covering up the monstrosity of the powerful. However, I get amused satisfaction on reading an Obit of a famous name when the writer of the obit has pre-deceased the subject! The Grim Reaper Moves in Mysterious Ways :cool:
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I will have somewhat the same problem you will , and I expect that many others will too . A fair number in my family have given me knives and they know that they are to get them back , but they don't exactly know what they gave me . Lately I have been giving a few away to some friends . I have already given my relatives knives . I still have a few to give to some other Good Friends , but there will still be a Dozen Plus for my heirs to handle the distributing of and none of them know the value of them . I have a Database that kind of will give them some guidance . And I just received another one today .
I CAN QUIT ANYTIME ???????

Harry
 
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