Knife Making Part Three / Happy Easter

Today I continued some work on my knife. I sanded down the blade so that most blemishes are gone. Honestly, I believe a few blemishes give it a unique look...so some are staying. I have plenty of sand paper...but it should have the "homemade" look. We went to town and I bought a stone and some oil to finish the edge on it. I think it is in pretty good shape to temper! I got a fire going in the furnace tonight...so hopefully tomorrow I will have a chance to stick the knife in.

I am running into some trouble trying to think of what I want to do with the handle...and also for a sheath. The knife overall is probably about nine inches long with the blade being about four of that. Once I design the handle I should be able to whip up a sheath fairly easily. I have some pictures from today but my camera is not hooked up right now...those will come later...probably on Picasa. (http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding)

There was no snowmobiling over the weekend. It would have been PERFECT up here for it. Plenty of snow on the ground. The trouble spots that I saw while driving around were down in Alanson. The trail heading into town from Harbor looked fairly rough...there was not very much snow there all winter anyway. Most sleds that were out had to drive on bare ground. That means getting to gas is virtually impossible from my house. I guess that means carting it up here again in the cans. Dang it. I should have gone out and bought gas while I could still ride.

Well, it is getting mighty late and other that the knife I do not have much relevent content to add tonight. It has been a very slow day! I do want to add...congratulations to my Grandma who became cancer free the other day. I know it has been a long trip for her...but she made it through. We celebrated Easter and her success at breakfast this morning...it was just after Christmas the last time we got to see her...we kept our distance due to the weakening of her immune system as the treatments got started. Congratulations again Grandma! We are glad you are better!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan.

-Derek

Knife Making Part Two

So today we actually started making the knives! It was a much easier ordeal than I expected. Being that there was no forging involved...the process was quick. (Unless you use a Dremel tool....do not use a Dremel tool unless you are doing finishing touches.) I cut my knife out of steel with a Dremel tool. It was a miserable experience. I would have been much better suited using the jig saw with a high speed blade as I had first anticipated doing. Once it was cut out and I got back home to grind it out...everything started taking shape very quickly. The worst part was putting the grinder together!

So here is the whole process...I missed taking pictures of the cutting process. I was too dirty to mess with the camera. I went to a friend's parents house to use the torch to cut the metal into a few different pieces. Then it was time for the Dremel...I cut the shape of the knife out (after my friend drew a design...I am not good at that) and took off for home. I got the grinder put together in the garage and started putting an edge on the knife. This only took a few minutes. My grinding resulted in something that resembles an actual knife that would cut something! Not just a chunk of metal.

The next step will be filing and sanding it down to exactly what I want it to look like when it is finalized...including drilling holes into the handle so I can mount a wood handle onto it. Then it is into the fire and oil to finish it up. I read that at point I should put it into the kitchen oven at around 400 degrees for say 30 minutes...repeat step 3 or 4 times. This will temper the knife and make it a little less brittle.

Good stuff eh? If you have any knife making tips go ahead and leave a comment. I would appreciate any help! Also, if you have any design ideas, please send them to me. I want to have a whole arsenal by summer time! :)

There is a chance of snow for the rest of the weekend and into next week. It sure looks like Monday and Monday night will give us the best chance. Other than that...temperatures will stay into the low to mid 30s during the day and COLD at night during the rest of the weekend...warming into the 20s for the remainder. Plenty of snowmobiling to do up on this hill yet. Just too bad wife said I cannot buy any more gas. Doh!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Knife Making

I have done a bit of research today on knife making. I believe that might be a hobby for this summer. It sure seems like it would be cheap enough to do...but also possibly be a money maker. If you can get good...and sell your wares...that is cool. I need to hurry up and learn though! ;) Between that and hopefully getting a bit more survival experience under my belt...I should be able to keep myself entertained for the spring and summer.

To make a knife...you need a metal. I have read that 1095 carbon steel is very good for making knives. You can order it online...but apparently you can get it at scrap yards. I was thinking I might check out Home Depot or Lowe's to see what they have in the way of steel. Even if it is just a small piece for starting to learn...it should work out. I have most of the tools needed...I just need the supplies.

On a completely different note...I loosened the track on my sled a bit more today. I get really good response on spinning it now. Whoo! I will give it the full test this weekend when it is a bit cooler and the snow has had a chance to harden up. Today everything was starting to get a bit soft.

We are looking to pick up a very small amount of snow tonight and into tomorrow morning. It is going to get COLD again! Thursday night is supposed to see around 9 degrees. Friday night is all the way down to 7 degrees! WOW! This is March people! :P The week highs look to stay in the mid to low 30s. After Thursday morning the snow looks to go away and we will see snow for the rest of the week. I have not posted much on weather lately because there really has not been much to post. We have seen a few rains and a few ice events...but nothing major and nothing worth writing about.

Wife just read about my wanting to make a knife...and all she said was "Have you ever made a knife?" in a sarcastic tone. SO...I probably will not get much support. ;)

That is it for tonight.

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

The transition from Winter to Spring at its prime...

For those who do not have any snow...I feel sorry for you. In my neck of the woods we are still on the 16-18 inch mark. Sunday was incredible for riding. I did not do much...but I got into the woods during the late afternoon and tore up some snow. I have just a couple pictures to share from the weekend.

First, I had to figure out what on earth was going wrong with my sled. I have been complaining, as you know, that the throttle response just did not seem to be there. So part of it was the location of the throttle lever...but after discussing with a few people I decided to loosen the track up a bit. WOW! I actually can bring the front of my sled up off the ground for a distance now. I was getting some air off small snowbanks. That is exciting to me...being that I was so disappointed in how it was running. Unfortunately, I have to replace my slides again next fall because the track was so tight that it melted them. Doh!

I found the state land markers that I want to explore over the weekend. It is VERY close to the house and should lead to some decent hiking...possibly camping. I have already requested the camp registration cards through the DNR. It will be a good time. I have some pictures of the features...but I do not want to share them because of the lense smudge that is marking all of them.

Sunday was beautiful so I got the grill out of the garage and did some burger flipping in the driveway. I had a perfect combination going (aside from the smudge mark on my lens...dang it) that day...between awesome weather, snowmobiling, and grilling. It does not get much better for a man. The only thing that could have made it better...would be a big ol' cigar, a beer, and about 70 degrees...and of course a chair to lean back in on the porch. ;)

I also took some pictures of the moon. Those actually turned out okay for just me zooming in on it. There is a little bit of detail that you can actually make out. Sorry for crowding the pictures a little.

I did not realize how late it was when I started to write. I will post more tomorrow. I have the afternoon off...so I should have plenty of time to dedicate to updating the site and posting some more pictures. :)

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

Holland, Swamp, and More

Well, I finally have some time to sit down and write! I know it has been a while since anything worthwhile has been posted...that will hopefully not happen again. I will try as best as I can to catch you up on everything that has gone on...atleast for the last week.


First I must make note that no big changes are in store for me as I had indicated a couple weeks ago. There will always be next time.


Last weekend we drove to Holland, MI to stay with my parents. It was nice just to get out of here for a bit. Between the warming temperatures, no new snow, and work I really needed a break. Holland proved to be a decent one! We really did not do incredibly much. The time change on Saturday night kind of threw everything off. We did get to go to the beach Saturday morning though! Wait, did I just say the beach? In March? Why yes I did! We drove out to see the ice caves that formed on the lake. I always thought the ice caves in Petoskey were big. The caves on Lake Michigan outside of the bay are HUGE. Look at the people. They are tiny! The largest of the ice caves probably come close to as tall as the breakwall lights that lead you into Lake Makatawa. I will have to check my spelling but I am fairly certain that is correct. The beach was completely barren less the few people brave enough to work their way out onto the ice. It was one of the colder and windier days in Holland while we did this...so I understand completely. I did not dress appropriately. ;) I had a hooded sweatshirt and no gloves. It was cold. :P The walk along the beach was the worst. It was a long walk...tough to do on sand...and the wind was blowing so hard that it honestly felt like my skin was going to snap. But we survived and got to take a couple more pictures out on the ice. We headed back to the apartment shortly after.


I do need to bring up a local restaurant down in Holland called Bravo. From what I can tell, the owner is Greek. On their menu there is a Greek influence...and the last time I was there it was more of a breakfast/lunch type place. This time...they had taken the back part of the restaurant and turned it into a lounge. The had a great band playing and the atmosphere was nice. It started off a bit stiff but as people started showing up it slowly became a bit more lively. We did not stay for an incredibly long time...it was starting to get a bit crowded. Nice place though. If you are ever in the Holland area check it out during the evening. (Or in the AM for a five egg omelet.) That was last weekend in a nutshell.


I went out into the swamp (as I mentioned in my last post) on Wednesday evening. My buddy from high school was trying to collect moss for a poison dart frog tank where he works. So we tromped through some snow and found the bog that he wanted to get the moss from. The first part was the hardest part because the snow was so deep and I kept sinking through. The bog had a nice layer of ice over the top. I would say in the range of 4-5 inches. (picture to the right) Pretty impressive for a swamp I guess. I must note that the water that splashed up out of there...was nearly the worst thing I have ever smelled. We ended up finding the moss he was looking for and progressed further into the woods. He wanted to take me a spot that he found some kind of minnow. He has bred them and everything so far. From what I understand they have adapted to needing nearly no water to live. Pretty impressive. So we got back to the mud minnow spot and he broke through the ice accidentally...up to his knee. ;) It gave him a good start to uncovering the water hole though. It was a flowing creek that apparently has no name...but was actually flowing at a decent rate for how cold it has been. The picture below is where he went in and then tore the ice away. He dug around in there looking for signs of life for a bit and then we took off. It was starting to get late and I had to work in the AM.

Being that I need to get the day going today...I am going to wrap up my AM post and will finish up with a PM post later this evening. Stay tuned!

-Derek

Sorry...

I apologize for not having written in nearly two weeks. It is entirely my fault...primarily I have had nothing exciting to talk about. The weather has remained the same...fairly cold with no new snows. My sled has been working fine in the woods behind the house...so I think I am in pretty good shape to wrap up the winter now.

I did go for a hike in the swamp tonight...but I will post pictures and talk about that hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks for staying tuned...I promise there will be more very soon!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek