Steak Knives Part 1 - Prototype

So I set out to make some steak knives. How hard could it be, right? Cut handle wood to the shape of the tang, epoxy and rivet the handle on, sand it a bit, and voila, no? Yeah. No.

After tracing the shape of the tang onto the handle material (or "knife scale"), I cut it out with a scroll saw, drilled holes for the rivets on a drill press, epoxied it to the knife, and then used a belt sander to contour the handle to the tang. It... uh... did not go super great. So, commence prototype v. 02. This time with less abject failure!

Pyrography

Pyrography, which is an awesome name, is basically using a heat source to burn a pattern into something, often leather or wood. It can vary from pretty straightforward (e.g. some letters) to super intense, like this thing:

Source

Just in case anyone was fooled, that picture is not of my work.

I picked up a Pyrography Pen and decided to give it a shot. My results were less dramatic, but functional:

Lie-Nielsen No. 102 Low Angle Block Plane

Shiny

Hand planes are tools that are easy to overlook in the modern shop. We have jointers for cleaning up and squaring the edge or face of stock, planers to thickness it, these tasks were traditionally done by a stable of planes of different size and shape, each powered exclusively by elbow grease. Can you function without a hand plane? Absolutely, I've managed to do so for essentially my entire woodworking life...

... until this little beauty walked into my life: the Lie-Nielsen No. 102 Low Angle Block Plane.

Rasps Part 2 - Auriou Rasps

I just finished discussing the types of rasp and differences between machine-made and hand-stitched rasps, ultimately to rationalize why I bought the high-quality Auriou rasps that I did. Now let's take a look at what I got. Hopefully I can justify why I chose to spend more for the quality tool I bought. In my defense, the baseline is "life is too short to buy crappy tools" so I ought to be able to say "they're good tools" and meet it. However, I do want to show *why* they're good tools.

Rasps Part 1

So I bought some rasps, which are hand tools a lot like files but instead of rough grooves they have an array of teeth that scrape wood away. I consulted the fine folks at The Dusty Life (who were crazy enough to put me on their podcast) about what to buy. Basically, I asked "If life's too short to buy crappy tools, is it worth getting great rasps?" I ended up getting great rasps.

A discussion on rasps, which is admittedly kind of a woodworking geek subject, follows after the jump. I broke up this post into two parts because it kind of got long. So, the first part is about rasps in general. The second will be more about the rasps that I bought and examples of them in action.

Sharpening Chisels

Sharp.

Hopefully this is a post that I can write with razor sharp wit... okay bad start.

For those (probably few) who are interested in how to prep a chisel from out-of-the-box-new to wood slicing sharpness, read on. For the rest (most) of you, feel free to just ignore this one.

Dozuki - Japanese Hand Saw

Shiny

This, in addition to looking really cool, is a Japanese hand saw known as a dozuki. Specifically, this a dozuki designed to crosscut, to cut across the grain.

Planers

Big machine, eh?

That's my uncle's planer. It's a big BAMF of a tool. It eats up boards in a hurry and without much struggle at all. Talk about planers generally and a comparison to the one I use after the jump...

Oh, also these suckers are loud. Loud enough that they are the only thing we bother using ear protection while using. Loud noises, power tools, pretty sweet, right?

Ludicrously Sharp Radial Arm Saw

Next on the Tour de My Uncle's Shop, is the radial arm saw. It's almost distressing how easily this cuts wood. Seriously, there's no resistance. It doesn't feel like you're cutting anything. It barely even sounds like you're cutting anything.

It's practically impossible not to be struck with a profound respect for the power, capability, and inherent danger of the tools we use when you're using this thing.

Update: Elmo the Altendorf Saw (Now With Humbling Picture of the Saw I Use)

Ever wonder what the most advanced table saw in the world looks like?

That's the Altendorf F45. Altendorf named it Elmo. No, I'm not really sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with Oscar's unwillingness to leave the trash can, Grover being weirdly lanky, and Big Bird being too tall to effectively use it.

You can balance a quarter on it's edge on the table surface with the saw running and it won't topple over. Why would you want to do this? Well, primarily to show off, usually at a trade show trying to sell them to woodworkers I'm told.

But seriously, that's my uncle's table saw. Altendorf is a German company that's been making saws for over a hundred years. The consensus among woodworkers is that they make the best saws in the world, and Elmo is their best. Their price reflects that. Nobody but professionals (or those with more money than brains) can afford Altendorf saws. Realistically, you should be running a high-volume shop to make owning one of these suckers worthwhile.

All that being said, if I'm spending a few days in my uncle's shop, you bet your ass I'm playing with this saw.