Stacy's oyster knives

[elementfe]

Just thinking back to a recent thread, Stacy did you finish that run of knives?
The ones you posted a few years back are beautiful, but I have to ask...are those little bolsters milled? Seems like a lot of work to do that on an inexpensive knife.
Thanks!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Not yet. The recent surgeries and hand problems have greatly limited my shop time.

I have over 100 oyster blades in AEB-L, all ground out and shaped, ready to go to Peter's. The blades are sitting with another fifty or so knives that also need HT. I am going to try and finish a few big kitchen blades that need to go into the batch this weekend and send the lot off next week. I have the handle wood sitting in boxes in the garage waiting for those oyster blades when they come back. I seriously doubt I will have any done by my June 13th fathers day show, though.

 

[elementfe]

Sorry to hear about the body giving you trouble- hoping for good recovery so you can do more of what you love.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

So far the recovery is good. The knee replacement is just a week shy of three months, and I barely notice it anymore.
The hand problem needed nerve surgery at the elbow, and is three weeks post-op. It is doing much better. It will be months before it is all the way good, but I can use it sufficiently to do fine watch repairs and set diamonds now. I am going to grind some blades this weekend and see how it goes. My main issue still is that the little finger sticks out a bit ( no adduction), and is totally numb. If it bumped a 36 grit belt I wouldn't know until the blood splattering on my facemask told me. I will come up with a protective method to keep it out of the way. I may fold it under against my palm, and not put it in the glove finger. that would keep it out of the way. I'll let you folks know how it goes.

Another worry is hand sanding and sharpening, where cuts are easy to get. I have to be careful not to drag the little finger along any edge

 

[Frank Niro]

I'm very familiar with some of the joint movement problems. I'm getting by and I can say content when I see what pain and problems some of my friends are going through. It's great you are over the knee operation, Tracy, and I'm hoping the arm will get back to normal state very soon.
Frank

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I got them ready for shipping last night. Here are some shots of the oyster blades and some other knives.

Tip - I mark every blade withy the steel type when working on it, and them mark with the white metal marker paint pens before HT. The mark stays on during and after HT. Even with all that, make careful records of which blade is which or you may end up finishing a knife and saying, "What steel is this blade made in?"