Something Different

So a lot has changed since my last post.  I won't go into detail except to say that one of the biggest changes is that my wonderful wife has retired and that we went on a 4000 mile camping excursion while driving through about seven states!  What an adventure; complete with beautiful scenery, truck trouble and one evening fraught with a huge swarm of mosquitos that even troubled our dogs.

After that trip I decided to step out and start experimenting with new creations.  I made cedar walking sticks, cheesy signs ( All my friends have paws, etc...) and even started working toward my old indulgence of knife making.  What can I say, I live in the Ozarks and "We Love Knives".

So because I am so new at it I decided that instead of creating knives from scratch that I would repurpose old tools and such to see how I liked it before throwing down a ton of cash on an anvil and other such tools.  I ventured out to our local swap meet looking for old broken pieces or things that looked like blades that I could slap a handle on and sharpen on my belt sanders. 

I found that old grass shears as well as pruning shears have very high quality steel blades ready made for my needs.  Then I found this: (see picture) minus the handle.  This was a very old machete with a 14 inch blade and a handle that was broken into four pieces and held on with electrical tape.  It was a perfect find especially at three bucks...

I took it home and knocked some of the rust off the blade with a wire wheel then I spied an old piece of driftwood that I pick up off the bank of the Mississippi River several years ago.  It was the perfect looking handle to turn the old machete into something new and exciting.  Well, in my mind anyway, my wife had doubts...  The wood is very hard and seasoned so it should hold up well with use.  I fitted the blade into the wood and pinned it in place with three brass pins.  Behold, a 22" "Pirate Cutlass" with a 14 inch, high carbon, spring steel blade.  Insert cliché pirate noise and...  done.