Private Show Today - Photos added

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Today is my Fathers Day private show. The weather has been poor most of the day, but finally cleared up an hour ago. The customers have trickled in steady, and enough have bought knives and other gifts to make it a good day. I'll pack it all up in 45 minutes and see what we did Monday.

My fathers Day gift to myself is to spend all Sunday afternoon out in the shop ... we'll see how that comes out.

Photos added:
The display case is made from an antique oak cigar display from a general store. I added an internal leather covered shelf to set knives on.
The bottle openers are from brass .50 caliber machine gun shells and brass 20 mm cannon casings. I turn the 20mm projectiles on my lathe.
The complaint Dept. desk items are practice grenades with used primers, pins, and handles from smoke gerenades. The sign says, "Complaint dept. take a number please". There is a red tag with a 1 on it on the pin.

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

Please share.

 

[i4Marc]

Hope it was a good show Stacy. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Good stuff!

 

[Fish30114]

Best wishes for stellar results there brother!! And Happy Fathers day to ya

 

[ron_m80]

Fathers day is coming up? I never remember these things. I struggle with birthdays.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Fathers day in the Web-ster's Dictionary:
Fathers day - noun ( while technically a noun, it is more of a verb)

A day to honor one's father by allowing him to take the entire family to dinner and a movie at his expense.
Colloquial use - A day to honor the family's father by making him clean the house for company, mow the lawn and trim the hedges, and then prepare a full family feast on the grill.

 

[TonyRV2]

Aint that the truth....Have a great father's day Stacy, and to all of the other dad's on the forum.

 

[Shipshores]

Did you make all the stuff in the pictures?

 

[Ken H>]

Stacy, you always have such a way with words imparting wisdom {g}

Those are some NICE displays you have - and shows your great artistic skills nicely. Good... no, GREAT!! job.

Ken H>

 

[Randydb]

Very cool Stacy. Nice work. Same question as Shhipshores...you do pens too?

I don't see any difference between father's day and mother's day around my house. Mother's day: Kids bring wife and me breaky in bed. Then I take the kids out for the day while momma stays home for a rest and we meet momma again around 7:00pm for a late supper at a nice restaurant. Father's day...just repeat mother's day steps.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Did you make all the stuff in the pictures?

Yes, I made everything. I turn inlay pens, oyster knife handles, handles for ceramic sharpeners, other turned items like the salad spoon/fork set, and all sorts of other odds and ends.
All the knives are mine as well as jewelry items.

I added a close-up of the elaborate Steampunk pen while I was doing the inlay. The inlay is an exploded watch movement. I had to curve all the pieces and make them about 1 mm thick.

 

[Shipshores]

Wow, you get some work done. You got any motivational advices?

 

[john april]

broadly talented. happy fathers day.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Wow, you get some work done. You got any motivational advices?

Yes, find something you like to do, and do it until you are good at it. Then find something else new to learn and do that as well. If something stops being fun, it will kill your creativeness. Quit doing the thing, or find a way to make it fun again.

The fastest way to take the fun out of knifemaking or similar crafts is to make a business out of it and take orders. Just make what you like. If others like it and want to buy it from you, that is a bonus.

 

[Randydb]

Yes, find something you like to do, and do it until you are good at it. Then find something else new to learn and do that as well. If something stops being fun, it will kill your creativeness. Quit doing the thing, or find a way to make it fun again.

The fastest way to take the fun out of knifemaking or similar crafts is to make a business out of it and take orders. Just make what you like. If others like it and want to buy it from you, that is a bonus.

SOOOOOOOoooooo True! Do what brings you life and enjoyment. If it sells then it's a bonus. I have done the same things with my job. Love teaching and being with the kids. The district has asked me to become a principal many times. I would hate that job and I would just become bitter. The extra $25k+ a year wouldn't come close to compensating for that. I just keep on doing what brings me life.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

My older brother was seriously wounded in Vietnam. He came home broken inside and out. He healed most of his physical injury, but did not want noise and commotion around him. He traveled the world, living in quiet places. In the mid 70's, he ended up back in Florida in a semi-rural area and after a few years became a mail man. He later moved outside St. Pete and carried a route there. He was asked to become a supervisor in the mid 80's. They put him in an office and he had to deal with unhappy peoples problems. He did it for a week, and told them to give him his mailbag and his sanity back ... and went back on a route. He did that until last year when he finally retired at 69. He been healthy and happy all those years because he loved what he did. Last year, they moved to very rural upstate NY. He can drive over and have lunch in Toronto faster than driving down to Ashokan. I asked him how he liked his first NY winter and he had one word - quiet.

 

[Shipshores]

I understand where your brother is coming from.I quit a good job last year because I had to deal with people's problems everyday. I would get home and sometimes turn around and go right back out. My wife thinks I'm a hermit because I won't leave the house for weeks at a time. I would be happy to stay in the shop all day but it's not paying the bills. I have to get out there and network with people. I don't get as much h done as I should for the amount of time I'm in the shop.

 

[AVigil]

Those picts are nice but way to far away. Take those blades out of the sheaths and get some upclose picts and some picts of those folders in the case as well.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Do I see stacked leather handles? Very cool! We need closeups!