Winners #27 & #45 - Dumb Contest - Drawing 8/22

It took me about 3 times to realize that "peaking" into a fire breathing forge tends to burn off beards and eyebrows, coincidently I have had to shave my beard off several times since I have been making knives. :rolleyes:
 
I was having a bad week, way too much going on. I had a knife that was purchased and needed to be sent out. In a rush I sent the knife out. 2 days later I got a message stating "Your knives could be sharper", I responded with an apology assuming that in my haste I did not pay close enough attention to the edge, and offered to pay for return shipping. He took me up on the offer, when it arrived there was no edge I hadn't done it... Luckily the customer was very understanding...

Thanks for the opportunity Mark...
 
About 30 years ago, I pushed a buddies car out of the snow bank and sliced my middle finger wide open from the bumper from the palm to the tip. (ouch) I walked around with a splint on, flipping everyone the bird for 3 weeks! I finally removed the splint and trashed it. Then decided I hadn't sharpened my EDC in a while, you guessed it.
15 minutes later I was digging that stupid splint out of the trash and putting it on the index finger on the same hand because I laced open the side of that finger to the bone.(OUCH) needless to say the knife was STUPID sharp!
 
About a year ago, I had just oil quenched a 12" Bowie out of 1095 steel with rope file work down the entire spine (not just the blade), I had set down my heat treat tongs for a second and without thinking grabbed the handle of the blade without a glove assuming it had cooled down, WRONG!!! I quickly dropped the blade on the concrete floor and not only did the blade shatter into many pieces but one of the pieces landed on my foot which I was dumb enough to be wearing flip flops while heat treaing. Needless to say I had a well blistered hand and a nice red brand on my foot and no more blade.
 
1st(and, last) time I attempted to taper a tang, I ended up with an angled flat area on the tip of my pinky finger. It seems them 50 grit belts don't care what they grind! :eek:
 
The very first knife I ever epoxied handles on(I know, not a common thing for me) was a major clusterfukk. I was using the wrong type of epoxy; the super fast cure stuff, and was paranoid about exactly how much time I had to work with. So, I was rushing things. Then, the handles screws wouldn't thread and as I was pushing harder while trying to get the threads to start, I stabbed myself in the palm with the screwdriver. And, I used WAAAAAY too much epoxy and it was oozing all over the place. So, not only did I end up with epoxy all over me, it was mixed with blood. Not fun, or a pretty sight. But, the knife turned out ok. ;) :)
 
I have a small paring Misono paring knife that I use often and keep lazer sharp. I grabbed it the other day to open a box, I had just gotten out of the shower and didn't have a knife on me.

I pressed my thumb into the edge and tried to cut through cardboard with the spine. No stitches but one more scar for the collection. Never done anything exactly like that before, hopefully never will again.

Thanks for the chance, beautiful Koa and I know just where it would fit :)
 
Dumbest thing I did was while making my first knife. I didn't wear a respirator...coughed up crap for a few days (big, hacking coughs). Probably shortened my lifespan by a bit there.
Pretty damned dumb, but I learned.:)
 
Second Of many dumb things... early on I was trying to clean up a tang on a knife, decided I didn't need a magnet. Pressed the blade up against the platen tip down and applied pressure. I then quickly realized that removing it from the platen was going to be a problem, right at that moment the blade slipped from my fingers, hurled toward the ground and stuck between my feet. It embedded an inch into the plywood floor. Dodged a bullet on that one.
 
Pretty much the same as everyone, polishing the tang to fit the scales and did not look at the grinder, but was watching the tang.

Ground a major groove in the end of my finger holding the blade, but did not damage the tang. Gotta protect the shiny parts, and had to throw away a nice pair of leather gloves, all bloody now.

Live and learn.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
Years ago I was attending a knife show in Los Angeles as I made the rounds to the many knifemakers tables I stopped and pick up a tanto. It showed grind marks, had a chisel edge and a cord handle. Over all it was a rather rough looking knife compared to the other makers there. I asked the maker " Is this your first knife show?" I was going to give him some words of encouragement. It so happened to be Phil Hartsfield:eek: and he have me a lesson on his blade philosophy.

I became a fan and we talked for a long time and I visited him at his shop over the years. Nice guy, had some strong ideas and I miss him.
 
I decided to harvest some birch bark to use as a traditional stacked handle.
I felt pretty dumb when I tried to cut 90degree corner and my Swiss army knife snapped shut with my finger between the blade and the handle.
I also felt pretty dumb when I had to ask the drug store girl where I could find the bandages, holding up my hard bleeding, toilet paper wrapped finger.
The look on her face was priceless :p ... "no thank you, I don't need help, I'm fine ... honest ..."
So the dumbes thing I ever did was getting in to knives ánd running out of bandages.
 
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The other day I was putting together a venturi burner, and was about to bore out a 1/2" M -> 1/8" F reducing bushing on the drill press. Wasn't thinking, clamped the threaded male end in my vise, as soon as the drill bit came down the bushing started spinning in the vise, stripping off all the threads. Then, made the same mistake later by clamping a threaded portion of a pipe nipple in a vise, and began wrench tightening something into it. Stripped half the threads off.
 
Mine is from 10 minutes ago, and not the first time I've made the mistake. I tried to drill out a brass pin from a full tang with a bit the size of the pin.
I was lucky, the shattered bit only dinged a finger nail and hit me flat-wise in the belly. Hopefully I've learned that lesson well enough to remember it.
 
One of the few times that I didn't cut myself was when fitting some walnut scales on an old Martindale machete, for some stupid reason, I was drilling the pin holes by eye, yes, by eye! I also drilled from the back to the front and this split the nice bookmatched wood out the front as the drill came through. Ruined some nice panels of wood.
 
while grinding some brass for a bloster. I dropped the peice of brass I was grinding on the floor. Instead of picking it up with the vice grips I had been hoolding it in to grind it, I scooped it up in my bare hand. took a second to figgure out what that odd sizzleing sound was. then the pain explained it for me. Still have a nice bolster shaped burn scar on my left hand.
 
I was grinding away on the profile of one of my first knives. noticed some odd smoke wafting around. looked down and saw that I was on fire! grabbed up my dip bucket and doused the flames. got myself a knee length leather apron now lol
 
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