Purple! Because Ice cream has no bones!

Horsewright said:
Its the humor around here that has made me a relatively recent participant in Cowbell land!
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We have a good time in here and try to keep things light. Glad to have you aboard. Feel free to post whatever you like in the sub, ¡Mi casa es su casa!
 
Redmeadow Knives said:
We have a good time in here and try to keep things light. Glad to have you aboard. Feel free to post whatever you like in the sub, ¡Mi casa es su casa!
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Mucho gracias amigo! Nothing more important that a Californio paisano could say to another paisano. Gracias.
 
Redmeadow Knives said:
Poolside at the kids swim lessons this morning. I've been told I look mad all the time, I don't get it. Besides, how can you look mad with a pair of purple glitter sunglasses on your shirt?
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Maybe this is just my "I'm a Dad, and prepared to rip your face off if need be" look. Who knows, not a smiler but a big hugger, I'll squeeze ya till ya pop and probably look mad doing it😁
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With the right gear, not the sparkly sunglasses, you could pass for Grizzley Adams. Grab some of Horsewrght’s gear from his ranch and head to those hills we have seen, and you would be ready for a log cabin, maybe even be a stagecoach way station manager. Do you or Horsewright hav any old West towns or old mining camps around your areas (Tehacapi in CA and in Montana)?
 
I am going to ask Just because….you sort of know I would……do either of you (John and Dave) have one of each other’s knives? A Cow bell for Dave and a Cowboy or Paisano for John? Just curiou.
 
cbach8tw said:
With the right gear, not the sparkly sunglasses, you could pass for Grizzley Adams. Grab some of Horsewrght’s gear from his ranch and head to those hills we have seen, and you would be ready for a log cabin, maybe even be a stagecoach way station manager. Do you or Horsewright hav any old West towns or old mining camps around your areas (Tehacapi in CA and in Montana)?
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No old towns on the ranch but the ruins (foundation mostly) of a couple of old mining cabins. We do have two old mines on the place. In those pics above, the one where I've been following that wild boar. There's a little hill in the background that has what appears to be "moguls" or bumps. On the other side of the flats there's another hill like that with the moguls. Local legend has it that those moguls are tailings from the long toms used in mining back in the gold rush days. Several Native American sites on the ranch, grinding stones, possible sweat lodge areas etc. After a rain, finding arrowheads or chips more often is pretty common.

On the Cowbell deal. I'm not really a knife guy, believe it or not. I don't collect knives or anything. Generally just have one or two of my own that I'm using. Often time prototypes. For instance my current EDC is a Paisano. Now the Paisano is a long established model for me but I started making it in 26C3 which was a new steel for that model. So I started carrying one of the very first one in that steel and have for a couple years now. When I'm done with one and start carrying another I usually just give the old one away to some local cowboy kid that might have a hard time affording one of my knives. Dave has one:

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Many of my ground crew has em.

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My daughter after finding and catching her horse, near one of the grinding stones.

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An acorn mash was a staple around here.

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This is the Gordo in 26C3 that I gave to Dave:

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My daughter Alyssa, (Rudy, Smoke, Aly she has many nicknames), herself is living history, she likes the spicy shrimp Brother Bill cooked up for dinner:

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She is a seventh generation Tehachapian. She is the great, great, great, grand daughter of Don Antonio Leiva, an absolutely legendary Californio Vaquero and Caporal (cowboss) on Rancho El Tejon. Don Antonio settled in this area some 20 years before there was ever a town here and was here before the Gold Rush of 1849.
 
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cbach8tw said:
With the right gear, not the sparkly sunglasses, you could pass for Grizzley Adams. Grab some of Horsewrght’s gear from his ranch and head to those hills we have seen, and you would be ready for a log cabin, maybe even be a stagecoach way station manager. Do you or Horsewright hav any old West towns or old mining camps around your areas (Tehacapi in CA and in Montana)?
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There's a ton of ghost towns, abandoned homesteads, and old mining camps all over Montana. We've gone to quite a few, we're gonna try to hit up a couple more this summer. One of my favorites is Bannack, it was the Territorial Capitol before Montana became a state. Garnet is another cool one. Old homesteads strewn throughout the prairie leaning over everywhere. What fascinates me is what they used for insulation, old Saturday Evenings Posts and pages from old catalogs wallpapered between studs to seal things up. A few old log cabins and shanties still stand. I'll try to find some pictures. You still see grain trucks from the 50's hauling grain from half million dollar equipment with GPS systems that drive themselves. Hutterites buy up a lot of the old farms that are sold because kids want to get a degree in IT instead of run the family farm. I digress.

Scrappers wiped out tons of ancient equipment that was strewn across the countryside when steel prices went through the roof a decade or so ago. Before that it was commonplace to see rows of old machinery that had been sittin since the turn of the 20th century.

cbach8tw said:
I am going to ask Just because….you sort of know I would……do either of you (John and Dave) have one of each other’s knives? A Cow bell for Dave and a Cowboy or Paisano for John? Just curiou.
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Like Dave I'm not a big knife guy either, the wife and I carry Redmeadows and I have less than a dozen cheap pocketknives that I've had for years. I carry a pocket knife that was given to me by Dopic1 Dopic1 years ago. My prized possession is a late 40's maybe early 50's Ruana that was given to me by a friend. I bought a forum knife a few years ago but gave it to a guy that was struggling to open a knife way too small for his level of dexterity. I will say that if I was the knife buying type, one of Dave's would be on my list for sure.
 
Redmeadow Knives said:
There's a ton of ghost towns, abandoned homesteads, and old mining camps all over Montana. We've gone to quite a few, we're gonna try to hit up a couple more this summer. One of my favorites is Bannack, it was the Territorial Capitol before Montana became a state. Garnet is another cool one. Old homesteads strewn throughout the prairie leaning over everywhere. What fascinates me is what they used for insulation, old Saturday Evenings Posts and pages from old catalogs wallpapered between studs to seal things up. A few old log cabins and shanties still stand. I'll try to find some pictures. You still see grain trucks from the 50's hauling grain from half million dollar equipment with GPS systems that drive themselves. Hutterites buy up a lot of the old farms that are sold because kids want to get a degree in IT instead of run the family farm. I digress.

Scrappers wiped out tons of ancient equipment that was strewn across the countryside when steel prices went through the roof a decade or so ago. Before that it was commonplace to see rows of old machinery that had been sittin since the turn of the 20th century.


Like Dave I'm not a big knife guy either, the wife and I carry Redmeadows and I have less than a dozen cheap pocketknives that I've had for years. I carry a pocket knife that was given to me by Dopic1 Dopic1 years ago. My prized possession is a late 40's maybe early 50's Ruana that was given to me by a friend. I bought a forum knife a few years ago but gave it to a guy that was struggling to open a knife way too small for his level of dexterity. I will say that if I was the knife buying type, one of Dave's would be on my list for sure.
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Thanks for the info Dave and John, love to hear about the areas you live in, and the history. It did surprise me that you guys do not collect more knives, but you sure use what you do have. :thumbsup: As a collector, and user of some, there are many that just do not get used and are in storage. I have good intentions of thinning the herd, but it is half hearted, and I try not to obtain another knife unless I get rid of two beforehand. That has worked some, but not for long. You know you have too many when you say one or two is your favorite, and your daughter reminds you that you say that about every knife.
 
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I've never been much of a collector, I'm too cheap though I'm a big believer in buy once, cry once. I was pretty heavily into firearms and reloading before I started knifemaking, now my extra time and funds go to tools and knifemaking supplies. Making knives is satisfying for me and quells my need to be productive. I think it's in our DNA to make things, tools especially and what better tool is there than a knife?
 
John, would love to see the Ruana if you have time. Have a good weekend…..and trim that beard.:) It is so nice to hear the enjoyment one receives from making a good honest tool. My dad was an electrical engineer and was the measure twice cut once kind of person, I thought he could make anything. He even made a radio to listen to while at the work bench In the basement.
 
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cbach8tw said:
John, would love to see the Ruana if you have time. Have a good weekend…..and trim that beard.:) It is so nice to hear the enjoyment one receives from making a good honest tool. My dad was an electrical engineer and was the measure twice cut once kind of person, I thought he could make anything. He even made a radio to listen to while at the work bench In the basement.
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That's awesome, people like that are hard to find anymore.

Here's the Ruana, it's an amazing knife in hand. The small knife stamped under the logo puts it between 1944-62 as far as I know. My friend said his Dad had it at least since the 1950's.
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Redmeadow Knives said:
That's awesome, people like that are hard to find anymore.

Here's the Ruana, it's an amazing knife in hand. The small knife stamped under the logo puts it between 1944-62 as far as I know. My friend said his Dad had it at least since the 1950's.
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Now that is a knife to be proud of, somwhat is the blade length do you think? I I guess you may see more of the Ruanas since they are made in MT.
 
cbach8tw said:
Now that is a knife to be proud of, somwhat is the blade length do you think? I I guess you may see more of the Ruanas since they are made in MT.
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5 1/4" blade, 9 3/4" overall. I've seen a few up here and have passed by their shop a few times. They're just outside Missoula, MT in a little town named Bonner.
 
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