My day at Delbert the Madman's shop. Pic heavy.

Mike Davis

Mike Davis

Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
1,327
So i finally worked a day into my schedule to make it up to Delbert's shop. First impressions is Del is a super nice guy. We got to chatting about all kinds of stuff, mostly knife making...mostly lol. He has no reservations what so ever about discussing and showing his techniques. Just being able to watch and chat with him has made me change my whole perspective on what i am doing. I can't say enough about how much help this has been to me. I would highly recommend new guys starting out, give your local makers a call and ask if you can maybe hang out and watch them work...the experience is priceless! And if you get lucky, They will be as awesome to you as Delbert was to me. Ok now for some pics...lots of pics...
P1030096.jpg

P1030105.jpg

P1030113.jpg

P1030119.jpg

P1030145.jpg

Delbert with the hammer head.....Kinda warm :p
P1030130.jpg



And of course...goodies brought home :)
27 inches of damascus sweetness
P1030154.jpg

Cannot go to his place and not buy a bar :)
P1030161.jpg

And Sam...we made a 4 1/2 lb hammer lol
P1030155.jpg

And some round vine pattern
P1030159.jpg


I cannot say enough good stuff about Delbert. He is a kind and generous person. I had an amazing time and hope to do it again real soon.
Thanks Delbert.
 
Del is a great guy indeed! So far we've only gotten to hang out at hammer-ins and the like, but one day I hope to make it to MI and invade Del's shop to see what wacky ideas come to life.

So, what are your plans for all of that Damascus? :)

-d
 
Well, the big one is for a cutlass design that i have...I have another bar in the shop that i think might make me a few folders. Not quite sure yet. If you do come to MI and invade Del...Let me know...That would be a fun day of wackiness to observe... :D
 
Mike,
Thanks for sharing the photos, looks like fun. Great looking Damascus and hammer!
 
Delbert rocks. I always buy some damascus from him, whenever I get a chance to meet up with him. Great stuff.
 
deker said:
Del is a great guy indeed! So far we've only gotten to hang out at hammer-ins and the like, but one day I hope to make it to MI and invade Del's shop to see what wacky ideas come to life...
Click to expand...

Hey Deker, make it a proper road trip and don't hang to the east of the state on I-75 but go up the center on 127 and stop into my place to see what kind of mischief we can get into to. The last time you were up Dusty's Cellar in East Lansing was good but steak grilled in my gazebo would be better. Then you could give Tim Zowada a call and see if you could pester him in his beautiful area of Michigan before going on to Delbert's. That should give you your fill of Michigan eccentrics for a while;).
 
Hey Kevin, That is the blade i emailed you about. I figure that after a few heavy weeks of grinding i might have it pretty much ready for HT. With this going into the salts, can i take it closer to final thickness for HT? I know salts contain the atmosphere so there isn't really any decarb from an open atmosphere, but is it more forgiving on the edge thickness? Maybe this will be the excuse i need to come peek at your setup lol.
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
Hey Deker, make it a proper road trip and don't hang to the east of the state on I-75 but go up the center on 127 and stop into my place to see what kind of mischief we can get into to. The last time you were up Dusty's Cellar in East Lansing was good but steak grilled in my gazebo would be better. Then you could give Tim Zowada a call and see if you could pester him in his beautiful area of Michigan before going on to Delbert's. That should give you your fill of Michigan eccentrics for a while;).
Click to expand...


Oh, I plan on making a whirlwind tour of MI when I'm out there! I wouldn't miss the chance to visit Cashen Labs(tm) and pay homage to Thumper out at Tim's if I was out in MI again!

It may be a while before I can afford the time off, but I'd like to spend the better part of a week out your way. In the meantime, I'm occupying myself with Viking-style composite constructions and learning to brew mead so I have some interesting stuff to bring with me ;)

-d
 
Mike Davis said:
Hey Kevin, That is the blade i emailed you about. I figure that after a few heavy weeks of grinding i might have it pretty much ready for HT. With this going into the salts, can i take it closer to final thickness for HT? I know salts contain the atmosphere so there isn't really any decarb from an open atmosphere, but is it more forgiving on the edge thickness? Maybe this will be the excuse i need to come peek at your setup lol.
Click to expand...

What was the steel combination again? If it is suitable for the salts, go as thin as you like, I wouldn't sharpen it as you Will have to work with a sharp blade afterwords, but make your life as easy as you can by getting the hard work done on a soft blade.
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
What was the steel combination again? If it is suitable for the salts, go as thin as you like, I wouldn't sharpen it as you Will have to work with a sharp blade afterwords, but make your life as easy as you can by getting the hard work done on a soft blade.
Click to expand...

O-1 and L-6 from carpenter :)
 
Mike, Looks like you guys had a blast! I talked to Del the other day.. What a gentleman, and kind and well spoken man he is! Not to mention his damascus is AMAZING!! :)

Great looking hammer, you got any pics of it finished and handled?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top