I met the new Neighbor... oh, boy...

Rick Marchand

Rick Marchand

Donkey on the Edge
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He moved in a few months ago. Up and behind my property. We hadn't officially met until yesterday. He is in his late 60's, I reckon and oh man, does he have a lot to say about EVERYTHING. He is French... I am French... but he is that other kind of French. The stereotypical, condescending, nose in the air, France is the be all, end all.(why did you move here, again?) Anyhoo, He was very interested to learn that I was a knifemaker and had much to say on the subject... specifically what I am doing wrong!

Apparently...

1. France is the birthplace of Damascus(I didn't even try)
2. Laguiole knives can out cut ANY other knife PERIOD!
3. French steel is the best in the world because it is smelted from ore containing meteorite dust.(again, didn't go there)
4. The SECRET to making a knife hard is to pee in your quench bucket... whether it is water OR oil!
5. The only way to get a knife truly sharp is to use the same stones "they"(as in "them", as in "Whodahellutalkinbout"?) sharpen scythes with.(still looking on google)
6. You can only forge knives in a coal forge because it puts carbon into the steel
7. He explained a forging method that was essentially edge packing.

There were many other things he picked apart in my shop. It was actually quite entertaining because as I would begin answering a question, he would start to shake his head "No, no... zis is wrong... no, no, no." There were several times I honestly thought he was putting me on. Have I just been Punked! Sadly, not. He only stayed for 10-15 minutes... I learned so many things... except for his name.:)
 
Sad. He must watch a lot of YouTube videos....

-Eric
Overmountain Knife and Tool
Overmountain.us.com
 
I read about him!

He is one of the judges for the new CBC "Forged on Ice", or "Forge' a' Glace" as he calls it. It is a competition series where the smiths will have to all their work in heavy parkas on an ice floe.
The ice chop will be a standard test of all blades, but they are still deciding if the seal slice test will be too controversial. They may have to place it with the whale blubber hack.
They are considering bring in Shiva Ki as an International edged weapons expert. Reportedly, he has cut a polar bear in half with one cut of a machete. If an Inuit tribe will adopt him, he can legally perform the polar bear, seal, and whale tests.
 
I've eaten seal and beluga but had no part in cutting them up .Are you sure he was serious about meteorite dust ? High iron content meteorite material has been found in Greenland .I've known about that most of my life , even before I became a metallurgist .Two large pieces ended up in the Museumof Natural History in NYC !
Of course the carbon from the forge is needed to make it steel !!
Stones to sharpen scythes are available ,no problem there.
Can you send me some beluga ? I miss that ,would be a good addition to my diet !
 
Well, now there's at least two of us that know that everything you do is wrong....:p
 
Sounds like you found yourself a vast wealth of knowledge right in your own back yard, what are the odds.
 
As Woodster mentioned, the next time he comes around shooting off his skills, hand him a piece of steel and let him have a go making a knife. It should put an end to it by his own doing and provide free entertainment at the same time. You might even want to set up a cam to capture the moments.
 
kdogmcg said:
Until he cuts off his hand or sets himself on fire.
Click to expand...

Where as we all know it is bad to add insult to injury, he knows better, and he will add injury to insult.
 
He sounds like my brother's neighbour. I was forging a bar of round W1. He told me that steel is no good. I needed to get a lawnmower blade or a scythe... Sigh.

Oh yeah, he's a maritimer too... Go figure :D
 
S.Alexander said:
Oh yeah, he's a maritimer too... Go figure :D
Click to expand...
Dude!... I'm still in the room... jeez.


I feel better. A few friends of mine dropped by all suited up for their road bike ride and guess who came by? That's right, they where treated to a seminar on how much more fit and faster the old Tour de France riders where compared to today's athletes. Yes, nothing can touch the "still secret" technology that Peugeot used in their road bikes. Apparently the only reason they are not still Tour leaders is because they are forced to add weight to the riders and bikes to make it fair. He went on and on ... I loved watching my friend's faces as he explained how a few of the French riders don't bother using seats in order to save weight. I forgot to ask if they still kept the seat poles in place:eek:
 
Fire up that metal detector, go for a walk, and pop out some 1700's Spanish silver....it's out there. Peace is were we can find it. Good luck.
 
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