Slipjoint video, wich one?

Hengelo_77

Hengelo_77

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Mar 2, 2006
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My boss lets me pick a gift for christmass/year-end.
I'm thinking of an on-line vid on slipjoints from chriscrawfordknives.com
But wich one?
I've made 3 slipjoints and just send nr. 4, 5 & 6 of for HT.
I have a good grinder, a Fordom but no mill, router or surface grinder.

I think I have it narrowed down to these two:
1) Slipjoints with Luke Swenson
2) Slipjoints With Craig Brewer

Swenson has a 2nd vid on Embellishments that I am also interested in.
Brewer has a 2nd vid on multi blade folders I am also interested in.

Any advise?
 
I think that Luke Swenson's is really good. I got that, Chris Crawford's, and Bill Ruple's multi-blades. I "outgrew" Chris Crawford's quite quickly, and I have not outgrown Luke's yet. When I first started, I was pretty caught up on machinery requirements of tutorials I found. Eventually I broke it down into steps, so when Luke pulls out an expensive, specialized, piece of machinery to do nail nicks (for example), I can replace his process with whatever I can manage. He also heat treats super early in the process, which I cannot do due to grinder constraints, so I moved some things around. I can't comment on Craig's video.

You should ask for a surface grinder for your year-end gift. ;)
 
I agree with Stan. I have both. Got Luke's first and referenced it a ton in the beginning. I don't think I've watched the full Brewer one yet but that's not because it isn't helpful. The videos are great at giving you a basic understanding of some of the processes and tooling involved. From there you'll devise your own techniques and processes that work best for you.

I gotta disagree with Sean though, after a 2x72 you need a decent mill. With a good mill you can build a basic SGA for your 2x72 and a ton of other slipjoint specific tools and save yourself thousands! I do all my shields with a dremel mounted in a customized StewMac router attachment and a special clamp I made on my mill. Got the idea from Keith Johnson.
 
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I bought the two Swenson vids first, and then got Craig's slimline trapper video when it came out. They're all great, IMO, and as has been said, both makers' videos have a lot of crossover/similarities, but also have some differences in how they more/less make it to a very similar end result.
IIRC, Craig's video covers on 1 video what Luke's video more/less covers in two. FWIW, Craigs one video is also about as as long as Luke's two videos combined. Personally, I think the Swenson vids could have/should have probably been combined into one, even if it cost a few bucks more, but it is what it is.

If I didn't have all three of them already, I'd probably go with Craig's video first, though Luke's definitely has a lot of good stuff in it as well.

I've been debating picking up the couple of Chris Crawford slipjoint videos too, though I'm wondering if it's worth getting both the basic and intermediate, or if I should just get the intermediate one. It's not that I think I'll necessarily learn any more than what's already in the other videos we're discussing, but I do like seeing how other makers approach making their knives.
 
Drew Riley said:
I bought the two Swenson vids first, and then got Craig's slimline trapper video when it came out. They're all great, IMO, and as has been said, both makers' videos have a lot of crossover/similarities, but also have some differences in how they more/less make it to a very similar end result.
IIRC, Craig's video covers on 1 video what Luke's video more/less covers in two. FWIW, Craigs one video is also about as as long as Luke's two videos combined. Personally, I think the Swenson vids could have/should have probably been combined into one, even if it cost a few bucks more, but it is what it is.

If I didn't have all three of them already, I'd probably go with Craig's video first, though Luke's definitely has a lot of good stuff in it as well.

I've been debating picking up the couple of Chris Crawford slipjoint videos too, though I'm wondering if it's worth getting both the basic and intermediate, or if I should just get the intermediate one. It's not that I think I'll necessarily learn any more than what's already in the other videos we're discussing, but I do like seeing how other makers approach making their knives.
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I have not seen Chris's Intermediate video, but I probably wouldn't recommend his basic video if you are already comfortable with the basic process. He very intentionally structures it for people with limited tools and I found myself with more questions than answers with respect to various non-essential components (shields, bolsters, relieving liners,...). It is a great video, but likely would not be worth it at your point.
 
Sean Yaw said:
I have not seen Chris's Intermediate video, but I probably wouldn't recommend his basic video if you are already comfortable with the basic process. He very intentionally structures it for people with limited tools and I found myself with more questions than answers with respect to various non-essential components (shields, bolsters, relieving liners,...). It is a great video, but likely would not be worth it at your point.
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Good to know. Thank you.
 
I have Luke Swensons video and have watched probably 15 times.
I have Creg Brewers multiblade video as well as Rupple multiblade, both are great.
 
I have both videos from Luke and Craig, I do appreciate that Craig shows how he does the file work on the back of the slipjoint and how he starts the peening process. both are very good videos.
 
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