It’s an act of hopefulness to make art; the artist is implicitly hoping that something of their creation will survive even if it’s only in memory. When I’m feeling stressed or at loose ends, I try to create something, even if it’s just for myself. I guess it helps cement my existence, to myself.
It’s very relaxing and satisfying to sit, with some music playing in the background, and shape a piece of silver with a file. There is none of the worry associated with rapid metal removal using a grinder; you really can’t screw things up at this speed.
The Habaki, a small copper or other metal collar that goes between the tang and handle of a Japanese blade, is an essential component for managing the force of impact so that the handle does not split when it’s used.
Have you spared a thought for chain, lately?
I never noted down the date when I first lit my forge over at the school building. I think it was about 2 and a half years ago (at the tail end of 6 months of hard work setting up the rest of the shop). But the time has come to move the forge. Which means moving the propane.
Etching blades is a quietly satisfying process. You put the thing in some liquid and some bubbles appear; then you wait. Sometimes you take it out and scrub or rinse it and put it back. What you don’t want to do is take a nap (which turns into a full night’s sleep) while you’ve got a blade in the tank.
This is to help defray FTB’s legal debts from Richard Carrier’s defamation lawsuit. Details and rules are below:
Today it began snowing around 10:30AM and continued on and off.
After a bunch of searching around, I found a bog oak broker (I don’t know what else to call them) who ships in logs from Ukraine and saws them up into boards in a mill in New Jersey.
Deflect! Deflect!