The Far-Eastern Wood Butcher: Prime cuts from the far east.

I am fortunate in that I have scraps of Paulownia in excess. Being slightly alkaline it does not promote rust and discourages insects. Cut four pieces to same length. Place the Top and bottom, with the sides glued on to record the chisel's taper. I highly recommend 5 min epoxy. Anything slower takes away the joy, unless you're into dollhouses. The joint should cure and withstand handling in an hour. No need to be square or tidy. We will plane later. Dried epoxy. I then sand the edge end flush and square. Bevel a piece of hard exotic FIRST. Then cut it out. Again flush the mating end on a flat sand paper. No need to be dead flat, as the epoxy will fill the clumsiest gap. Check, then mate Background: #400 sandpaper, steelwool and a little Stanley 101model maker's plane I like to camber the opening end to a slight arc, much like a scrub plane iron. Helps to guide the chisel in the sheath.

A Handsome 4-lb bookend I made from a busted Bailey Type 13 Paperweight in Beech, Steel & Aluminium More Paperweights in Cast Iron ..also, an English made note clip.

      I got this Imperial (USA) "KAMP-KING" boy scout style pocket knife from a bundle of three knives. I bought the bundle not for this knife. I decided to clean it anyway. Make it serviceable again, since it holds an awl ,a screwdriver and a can opener: much more useful than a pretty Stockman. These are called Shell Knives, apparently due to their shell type scale construction. ( c.1956 - 1988 ) I cannot describe how rewarding it is  to collect these knives.They always shed a little history when you pry open their shells. From this specimen, I can roughly tell: The previous owner either has very sweaty palms or he frequented the beach. He had curly black hair (hopefully from his head) and he always carried his knife in his pocket. (note the pocket fluff) On the other hand, drawer or basement dwellers usually includes a retired spider who invariably suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the way the post office. The 2 strips of horse tooth shape...

         I felt tired from my day job on most days.  Really lethargic* these days. I have put my work bench on hold for more than half a year. I am terrified of the tail vice bit. Been playing cat & mouse with myself and the bench construction. *Leth.ar.gy : (noun) A lack of energy,              sleepiness. So I screwed around with my other unhealthy vice: Knives; A Bush Craft Knife in this case. You've seen them in action on  YouTube,   heard the songs of praise. There are no bushes here in Singapore, so how would it perform on dried wood in a shop environment? I was curious.  Shown is the Legendary Mora Kniv Classic Number 1 in Carbon Steel. These are no longer full tang and peened like the old ones were. In place, you find a chuck mark from the lathe at the rear end: (Note the drain hole in the scabbard too, in case the bush crafter gets very wet.) Belt loop, la...

10 things I learned about Arkansas stones Stones should be kept in their own box, or in a segregated box. This keeps out saw dust, and protects from stones knocking on each other, causing chips. 1)  Not for sharpening tools: Not a typing error too. I'm sure everyone has a dull knife or two in the kitchen. The type that will not cut meat or slice bread. You may be able to push-cut an apple, but that's all it'll do. Or that vintage ebay Marples chisel or that plane iron off a vintage Bailey. The edges on these tools will need to be dressed (chips ground-out, skew-edge squared, rolled-edge removed) and re-profiled (irregular and multiple bevel angles corrected) on a bench grinder or a coarse diamond plate, carborundum stones etc. All the above before it even touches an Arkansas stone. I have never met an Arkansas stone that can remove chips or correct bevel in less than 2 hours. Use Arkansas stones for honing and polishing. Old timers call it ...

For people who do not like long winded essays; "I re-sharpened my whittler blades single-beveled at about 20 degrees angle, and it cut better" There. For windbaggery fans: Four score and seven years later, the whittler knife remains mostly unchanged. Abraham Lincoln was a whittler. He used a six bladed ivory scaled Congress made by a Sheffield cutler. My post today is the result of my purchase of 3 whittler pattern knives. I felt that a change is in order. I will attempt to whittle away the logic behind a whittler blade, a sliver at a time. Most Whittlers are made for collectors What makes a whittler a whittler is their ability to cut wood with ease. The type of steel, the heat treatment and the way the steel is shaped / sharpened affects the cutting characteristic of a whittler to a large extent. Unfortunately, many folders sold today have collectors as their primary target, not wood carvers.  As a utility steel for cutting cardboard boxes, string...