What do you do when things go wrong in the workshop ... ?

Generally, I throw the offending blade against the wall and leave it for 6 months. Then, I go back and either make it a smaller knife or correct the mistake. Speaking in dead languages works too! :D
 
I have a pile of OTHER knifemaker's knives laying in my shop, just for such an occasion. I throw those junky ole knives(like Nick Wheeler's) instead of mine. Mine are much too valuable to be throwing around with reckless abandon.

:D


(yeah, and if you believe that, my Wife(Morgan Fairchild) has some nice swamp land to sell you)
 
Where would we be without drunken sailor language!!! When I screw up it's usually because I'm tired and it's very late and I'm trying to do just one more thing on a knife. Suddenly a slip of a file screws up an entire evenings worth of hand sanding. Then my vision goes black and blood spouts in a fountain from the top of my head and I grab my sword and jump on my chariot and slay hundreds of my enemies before getting a shower and going to bed. :D
 
Thanks for those replies, guys. :D :D There is definitely a really humorous side to all this. I can identify with everything said !! "Design opportunities" is how I tend to see it these days, and like John, my attitude IS improving.

I reckon everyone has a rant and a rave - why not ? The measure of the craftsman is what he/she does next ! (I'm saying that 'cos I don't want to deny myself the opportunity to expel some pent-up frustration ! :p :D ) I don't do much martial arts practice anymore, but the gym workouts get surprisingly productive after a bad day in the workshop.

In all likelihood, if someone were around to observe the little "tantrums" that occur, it would look quite funny (especially if caught on camera...) :eek: :D

Just as long as it doesn't get destructive or too scary for anyone else.

Would love to hear more stories... Jason.
 
This master knifemaker is also a master of stealth. He can float past the dog, eliciting no more response than swollen tick dropping from the K9's ear. He acts as though his wife's pleads for fixing the faucet were intended for a plumber. He assures the children that their real father is just around the corner.

Slowly, quietly, he follows the contours of the homes interior walls using the palms of his hands as eyes. Watching, listening, sensing in his bones anything that might interrupt his progress. Finally he reaches the doorknob to the garage and slips in. The master is no longer in the temporal world. He is no longer bound by time and priorities. He has entered ... the Knife-Zone.

There he allows his creative energy flow. There are sparks and fearsome noises. The raw steel is becoming an object of beauty and use. He doesn't fully comprehend magnitude of the energy that absorbs him. His hands tremble with excitement as things take place seemingly without his involvement.

A cry of delight leaves his lips, the creation is almost within his reach! When abruptly the moment is cut short with a scream from a mere child, "Dad, the phone!"

Suddenly the steel hits the platen at 30 degrees leaving a really nasty gouge and it drops from his hands. He is frozen in time, locked in a nether world between the Knife-zone and life. He can't think, he can't move, in the distance he hears a small child-like voice.

"I don't know why, he's just standing there"
 
Well, I generally get out of the shop, go grab the cycling shorts and either pull the recumbent or road bike off of the wall hanger and go for a 20 mile ride in the hills or mountains around here...that generally cools me down enough to go back to work without being angry.

:)

-Darren
 
So Jason, did you figure out how you got the 2 inch ripple, and how not to let it happen again?

When I mess one up It takes me about 6 to 8 hours of being pissed to get over it. I normally take the blade and snap it of in the vise, throw it in the trash and swear I will never make another knife. O yea there is the ocasional 100 yard toss. I have to smoke a stogy and drink a cold pop! :eek:
 
Peter, that's as bad as punching the goat in the head and breaking my thumb. At least I got to make a knife out of the goat.
:D
 
My shop is located in my mother's house that is surrounded by six acres of trees. When (not if) I make a mistake on a knife I scream bloody murder and grab the double bitted axe and reduce poplar population by one, maybe two. I will end up using the fallen wood to produce more charcoal anyway.

Judo night are a different story. I usually save my frustrations for my students, one of which is 6'4" and well over 320 pounds and another is an experience submission grappler taping in at 6'2" and 240 pounds.

Afterwards, I go back and correct my mistake. It may take several months to cool down and finish it but it has been worth it.

My latest pride was my worst mistake. Not only did I mess up the handle, using a rivet to blow out the wooden slab but also snapping off the tip in an accident. Now it's a cm shorter but it's re-heat treated with a visible temper line and I'm now redoing the rosewood handles. It was supposted to be ready for a Christmas present.
 
Since I have a day job, I try to maximize shop time. If it isn't too aggravating a screw up, I just do something else of a different nature like cutting up some wood or guard/bolster material.

Sometimes I just need to go take the dog for a walk or go shoot a gun for a while. It is amazing how well explosive combustion soothes a temper tantrum.
 
Here are a few more things I do.

My workshop days are also the gardening days. If I'm frustrated, I sometimes either start mixing up my own formula for potting / planting mix or I water the garden beds. Both have a repetitive zen-like quality about it and it helps me calm down. Also saves me having to do the garden later in the evening.

Get out my bokken (wooden practise sword) and practise some routines for a few minutes. It doesn't help that I've forgotten most of the moves ! :)

Play with my guinea pigs. These little cuties cannot help but make me feel good. Here's one of them ...

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/f...3C-BA2540B2C58C}&exp=f&moddt=38014.8448812616

Lately, I've been doing Don Fogg's "meditative" procedure of sweeping the workshop. Its also very zen-like and not only promotes a sense of calmness and order, it also works very well to reduce mistakes and improves efficiency simply by making things cleaner, more accessible, more pleasing to the eye.

Always learning... Jason.
 
This is what happens. I try hard not let it bother me when I've put hours and hours into a knife and I'm just about to finish it when the fatal error occurs. If it isn't too bad it can sometimes be saved. For me, it's usually lock issues but it could be grinds or a detent. Since it's something I'm constantly on guard for, it is really gratifying when everything really does roll along smoothly and the finished piece is just what I wanted.

A couple of years ago I was not so lucky. A customer asked me if I could make a modification to a finished knife and I foolishly agreed. The project sounded easy enough, just add some overlays to the knife. I spent a couple of hours on the overlays and was just about done when I notice that there was a sharp edge on the frame near the lock cutout. I went to hit it on the scotchbrite wheel and fumbled it, the piece went flying into the wall where it struck a metal bracket. At first I was disgusted but then I got really torqued when I saw that a major ding had developed on the edge of the lock. In trying to fix the ding I succeeded in screwing up the lockup. Finally I got that under control only to discover that the detent no longer worked properly and to make matters worse I had somehow damaged one of the new overlays. Finally, after fussing over this thing for a total of about two hours after the initial mishap I went over to the anvil and smashed the whole thing with a 2 lb hammer. :D

I have since made it a policy that I will not alter a finished piece, it is what it is and if it's not what the customer wants then I try to make another one.
 
I swear loudly until I'm out of breath. The neighbors probably think I have turrets syndrome the way things have been going, like yesterday when my propane tank froze and the chuck came off my drill press all within about 15 minutes of getting into the shop.
I've been trying not to anymore, but I've been know to haul off and punch the top of the workbench :eek: and I did throw a block of wood at my POS bandsaw once but it bounced off and hit me in the chest which only made me madder :D
I can't get to wild with chucking stuff because there is usually a car parked in the other half of the shop/garage, otherwise the knife throwing thing would be just the ticket. I think I need to get a punching bag like J, or buy a goat ;)

Shooting guns is fun, I also go out and ride my horses or do work at the barn. Thats a little better for releiving the stress than the swearing and hitting things. It does get dangerous if I working on stuff out there and it goes wrong though, as there is plenty of room to chuck stuff. The stress slowly melts into a nice sense of pride when you chunk a pitchfork 30 feet and it sticks in the ground like a speer though :D
 
Don't get a goat! They cause as much stress as the relieve, trust me, I know. I skipped my own stress program a few weeks ago when my small metal cutting bandsaw kept popping off it's blade. I shoved it, stand and all, over and across to the far wall. As it was falling I noticed it was heading for one of my buffers. :eek: I got lucky though, it just missed the buffer and only broke a couple plastic pieces. Oh well, the Grizzly scratch and dent sale must be coming up soon.

Back to the punching bag.
 
Made a neat knife handle at least. :rolleyes:
goat%20knife.JPG
 
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