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| Friday, January 15th, 2010 | | 5:41 pm |
Comments on ceramic swivel knives
The following comments are from www.leatherworker.net . I posted the question which asked what people thought of the performance of ceramic bladed swivel knives vs. metal ones, and here is my original post & a few of the responses: "I've been curious to know if anyone has experience carving with ceramic bladed swivel knives vs. other popular types. I own the "cheapie standards" that Tandy and Hidecrafters sell, an old Rubyat, and several better-than average steel blades. I find the "cheapies" easiest to put an edge on, but admit that I dislike sharpening my blades because I am not comfortable with a technique yet. I am interested in how those ceramic blades might perform for non-traditional carving work..." Response #1 "I bought one several yars ago and i hate it. It never was sharp and i belive you could strop it all day ever day and it wouldn't help. My vote is save ya money and get a good steel blade or a good knife and blade togeather. Other folks might of had better luck them than me." Response #2 "If you want, I pay the postage and you can just ship that ceramic blade over to me. I have re-beveled the angle on my two ceramic blades and taken them up to 4000 grit. I strop them usually one or twice and they go all night long. Now, I will say for some reason, I switch between my steel blades and my ceramics? I guess, like a good father, I want to give all of my swivel knifes enough visitation. Just kidding....it just depends for me on the feel when cutting." Response #3 "Over the years I have had a chance to use a wide variety of blades. I had one ceramic I used for years and loved it. Then I had purchased a newer one and found it to be junk. You could strop it till the cows come home and it just wouldn't work as I liked. I have since learned to be a lot better at hand sharpening a steel blade and correctly stroping same. My favorite blades now are the Al Stohlman steel blades. When it all comes together and the leather is cased the blade will really glide through the hide! Here is a tip on stropping. First use a business card or my favorite a 3x5 index card. Then apply a liberal ammount of white jewelers rouge. I used a straight pull for stropping but now have found another way. Instead of just pulling it straight toward yourself I strop in an tight wavely line while bringing the blade toward myself. Keeping in mind that my first finger rests on the top of the blade so as to keep it flat on the surface. Two strokes on one side and two on the other. The reason for the card stock is that you do not have the tendency to gently rock the blade back and forth. This messes up your edges. For years I used a polished oak wood strop with and 8oz. strip of leather glued to it. I find now that I get a nicer smoother edge using the card stock on a hard surface. However I might take advantage of King's X's offer to sending him my current blade and see what magic he can perform. Always try to leave your options open." Response #4 "I too have 2 ceramics. One I've had for who knows how long, and the other probably 2-3 years. The Old one has an "OLD" color to it, like and old piece of marble- a little yellow and almost a translucent look to it. . Cuts as smoothly as anything I've ever tried. The new one looks more like a white shiny false tooth. Doesn't cut as well and needs stropping. I just viewed and passed on the Jerimiah Watt video. He uses a steel blade but it is really thin. I have searched the internet and have found that a LOT of sheridan carvers use a really thin knife. I mention this because if there is anything that I would change about the ceramic it would be to make it thinner but due to the ceramic itself, I don't think that they can do it without making it too easy to break. I don't use metal blades because it is too easy to undercut my corners- even with a hollow ground blade. I would need to practice more but I have never undercut my pattern with the ceramic." My conclusion: It seems that there are a few people who really like them... However, they are not (as a few advertisers have tried to claim) "maintenence free". I'm going to do a little research on brands and see what I can find! -Baphometis | | Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 | | 3:04 pm |
Chicken Feathers!
This post has nothing to do with actual plumage. Metaphorically speaking, I feel like "my feathers are being ruffled", but curiously, I am uncertain whether I am irritated by that emotional state, or intrigued. Lots of things are either "in the works" or "about to be in the works". I am hoping to vend at both BIRKA and the FFF (Fetish Fair Fleamarket). I'm about to do my very first saddle repair. It's almost time to start preparing for my Babylon work related gigs too. Then there is a lot of business related paperwork to address (end of year and oh-so-much more!). Some people describe the sensation of assessing their workload as standing at a high point and looking down. I feel more like I'm standing at the base of a pyramid (think Mayan/Aztec, rather than Ancient Egypt) and looking up. This isn't bad from my perspective. Being at the top looking down is much worse than the other way round when you are prone to vertigo! | | Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 | | 3:28 pm |
Custom Collar Sample
Below is a custom collar I made for a male customer this past year. Hand-dyed veg tan leathers, peacock feathers with brass hardware. Posted as a work sample.  | | Friday, December 4th, 2009 | | 10:51 pm |
State of the Dragon Dec. 2009
It's been a somewhat hairy time. Not the worst time, just tricky. Been all too quiet at the shop. I can't help but raise an eyebrow when friends urge other friends not to spend money on gifts this year. I understand how hand-made gifts are more personal and sometimes lower cost when it comes to the greenbacks. However, when people are balls to the walls trying to make ends meet, their time is limited. Their time may very well translate into money, or at the very least time to sleep. Let's face it, in the majority of cases, making things will cost literal money somewhere along the line. Really- it does. When's the last time you made glue from hide & bones, turned sand into beads, or worked by a light fueled by manual labor-cost only power sources? Cripes. I understand not wanting to encourage senseless consumer dronedom, but what comes to mind when I hear this crap is "While you are at it, just take the food out of my mouth directly, why don't you?" Stop paying for redundant cellphones, take-out food, soft drinks, cable television, dollar store items, processed lunchmeat and all the other stuff that you pay for that "consumes you". Leave my living alone! In other news, I had two mind-thumping experiences this week. I've started auditioning for dance job again. One place looked at my ID and tossed me out. The other was fairly scary for other reasons. Let's just say that "dancer" was an inaccurate description of the job the joint was looking to fill. I got out of there with no harsh words and an anecdote that has the potential of disturbing me in new and different ways. In the meanwhile, I have been doing a notable amount of repairs around this place. Somehow, sometimes things don't feel quite as out of whack when I'm doing something demonstrably constructive. Back to the repairs table. | | Friday, November 20th, 2009 | | 4:08 pm |
Shoveling out the Lair.
Recently, I have put all major projects on hold in order to shovel out the contents of "my domain". This includes where I live and where I do business. In the lair, I have processed my way through the kitchen, living room and dormitory. The business spaces are mostly free of items extraneous to their purposes. I have been swapping out fixtures and attempting to make better use of the wall space. The B & B room (Babylon & Baphomet) is the only place I have not tackled section by section. I think I will be addressing all of the boxes on the floor first. The snake enclosure needs to be relocated to make room for the dance pole. I do not enjoy going through all of this stuff ,sorting it and finding new homes for all of the miscellaneous physobs. Organization has never been my strong point. I am, however, determined to summon all of the self-discipline I can towards completing this personal project in a timely fashion. I really need to change a lifetime's worth of poor habits in relationship to my possessions. I am not seeking to become someone I am not, just better at managing the affairs of the person who I *am* and *wish to grow into*. A tandem annoyance: An annoyance has officially grown into a peeve. I do not like it when visitors to my shop come in, look around and ask "is this all there is?" or "is this it"? I have taken to responding with "I don't know what you mean" or "I'm afraid I do not understand what you just said. Could you explain that a bit further?" When my store was physically larger, the visitors were not buying signifcantly more product in the course of a given week (this is not commentary about revenue, by the way, it's about space-to-product ratio. My income has been affected similarly to the rest of America's retailers). Since it would not be to my advantage to smite visitors to my shop with various tools and impliments, I figure I might as well put them on the spot and try and compel them to think a little. | | Saturday, November 7th, 2009 | | 3:43 pm |
Goldie has passed away.
Her passing is very sad. She was very sweet & friendly and seemed to be a generally happy kitty.
She was likely killed by a car between last night and this morning somewhere between the corner of Main St. and Richard, by the Tedechi's (formerly Store 24). One of my neighbors came around 1:30 this afternoon to let me know that her body had been found. Another neighbor seemed to be aware of what was going on, and helped show me where she was. Her body was very clean when I found her in the shelter of a parked pickup very close to the curb. Her skull and ribcage had been crushed. I could see the imprint of a wheel from the base of her tail up to the shoulder on the same side. - it is likely that she died almost immediately after she was struck. I would not be surprised if she was moved after she was killed. I found her collar intact, so I cut it off of Goldie's body as a momento of her. For what it is worth, I have taken it 'round to the other cats in hopes that they might get the idea that it is gone. For some reason, I thought that her son, Scout, should have the opportunity to know with more certainty that she is no longer with us. They have been constant playmates and rivals since he was weaned. I hoped that he would be less inclined to go looking for her, once he noticed that she was no longer around. I saw what my cat Einstein went through when my first cat, Maggie, had passed on. She looked around our home over a period of months, seeming to investigate all the spots that the elderly cat used to prefer. She seemed confused and concerned while she was doing this, and I think it took awhile for it to sink in that Maggie was really gone for good.
I showed him the bag in which Goldie's body is being stored before she is creamated. He sniffed it a little, then looked inside, and sniffed more throughly. He backed up, looked into my face and uttered a single, short cry. I think he might just understand that Goldie isn't going to be around anymore.
| | Friday, October 30th, 2009 | | 1:17 am |
All done with that.... whoops.... where'd this full plate come from?
About two minutes before the customer walked in the door, I finished putting the findings in the plates for his OUIJA Board costume. The sun and moon even had light up shadow boxes behind them! Shame I didn't have time to dig out the digital camera. I asked the customer for photos if he has any taken this weekend. Hey- it was done in time for pick up, right? I'm overtired from being up most of last night and the wee hours this morning. I took a four hour nap in between the darkness of early morning and 9:30 am. One project down and oh... about 3-5 to go. Damn me and my helium hand. | | Sunday, October 18th, 2009 | | 7:49 pm |
| | Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 | | 4:32 pm |
Hasatan....there I go again.
You are The TowerAmbition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin. The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result. The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built. What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out. | | Friday, October 9th, 2009 | | 9:06 pm |
Jinkies.... It's October already.
Black Jack the pointy-eared razor clawed mega-attitudinal kitteh showed up on the radar again today. Haven't seen him around since May. A Clarkie took him in last night, then was advised to call me by another student. Aside from being thinner and kinda sleepy, he seemed ok. I hope a home gets found for him- he's a beautiful animal who has mellowed out considerably since the last time I saw him... he even purrs now! Unfortunately, I am cat-maxxed out, and Jackie seems happiest indoors when he doesn't have to share a living space with other cats. The student is keeping him properly fed, watered and got him a nice cat pan. Unfortunately, this is not plausible as a permanent match. I am sad to think about it. Meanwhile, The reading room in the shop has been cleared out, cleaned, re-furnished and is ready to be touched-up and decorated. The rest of the shop is nearly de-cluttered too. I had a nasty sinus cold for about seven days. I'm finally feeling up to snuff today. I didn't need any cold remedies or cough drops. It's nice to have physical energy again! | | Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 | | 6:40 pm |
X-Posted: Raven Knotwork Bag
This is a large draw pouch I made with buffalo chrome tan 2nds. The top grain was scuffed, so out came the pyrography kit, white leather dye and acrylic copper stain. The beads are wood and glass, the cones are tin and the feathers are from a Chinese pheasant. It's for sale in my shop.  | | Friday, July 24th, 2009 | | 12:19 am |
Tanned deer skins needed- will pay cash
Hey All: I am looking to buy a total of 4 hair-on tanned deerskin "rugs" or "wall hangings" in reasonable condition. If you've got too many whitetail hides that need new homes and pictures available, please send me a message. They need to be stable, able to roll or fold. They don't have to be "Grade A" long as hair is stable and the tanning process is completed. I'm on a budget, but happy to negotiate a little. I'll buy singles or greater quantity, does, bucks... The sooner they can ship the better. Thanks, Baphy | | Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 | | 5:09 pm |
Tornado Warnings for Worcester County & The State of the Lawn Address
Well, that's what the blurb on NPR news was an hour or two ago. I haven't posted for awhile. Things have been mostly ok since Beltane thus far. I've been getting back into projects and work-related problem solving since then. Like the rest of New England, Wormtown has been pretty damp since Summer Solstice. I dislike yard work, so it's a valid excuse to ignore the encroaching green for extended periods of time. However, there is a point where it goes from scruffy to downright unattractive, and I go into fits of non-shirking behavior. Yesterday I got out the loppers and trimmers and pruned the Japanese Weeping Cherry. The Iris greens R. put in last year are thriving- no flowers yet. The mint is going fine, as is the mugwort. There's a bunch of purposefully planted unknowns I can't identify. I'll have to ask my girlfriend to tell me their names, and then I'll tag them with stakes. In back, the lambsquarters are plentiful, but many are riddled with insect holes. I may thin them out. Dun dun dun!!! | | Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | | 8:58 pm |
Having a comfortable day.
I've had a quiet and comfortable day. I spent most of it in the quiet of my living room, assembling my newest line of drinking horns. This is an "economy model". Small horn, simplified strap assembly. The dye mixes came out very nicely... It is so nice to have a really sturdy coffee table and a small yet comfortable couch. Tomorrow I will be approaching Mr. Buffing Machine. (He's a "Mister" 'cos he broke another crafter's fingers *twice* before I bought him... He's got 3/4 horsepower, and does not suffer foolishness at all.) I have a few carved horns to polish. | | Monday, June 8th, 2009 | | 4:54 pm |
| | Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 | | 7:00 pm |
Bak....bin bizy
After closing the shop for the evening, I went out into the parking lot and picked a handful of wild spinach to eat as part of my dinner. I shredded some turkey kilbasa, and ate them with the greens I picked and some mustard with two slices of bread. I might re-heat some baked yam later. I have been in a holding pattern for a few days. I've been thinking about my various minor medical adventures in the past few months, the Babylon's Temple project and wonder where the heck my life is going to go in the next two months. Will I still be doing the same thing for a living (such as I do)? What will my journey with Ms. B bring ? Who will I be by the end of the summer ? I don't know whether I'm better off seeking the company of others outside of my professional life, or mostly keeping to myself. Balance may not be all it's cracked up to be...... | | Monday, April 27th, 2009 | | 6:43 pm |
Slouching up to the Stilletos....
The last few weeks have not been Fabulous. However, there have been breaks in the clouds. The results of my very first cancer screening were negative. I have another month to go from the time I get back from this weekend to see an end to the trouble involving my business and the State. There is hope, slim or otherwise. Two of the cats are ill, but it looks like they will get better. Again, stressful but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel that isn't a train. In two days I will be leaving for FSA Beltane. I will be running a Temple space in honor of Babylon, The Great Mystery. It's time to put aside the worry lines for eyeliner, and kick off the Doc Martens and zip up the go-go boots! See you in the Funny Pages! | | Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | | 9:43 pm |
Geek Out: Calling all Occultists!
'K! I'm looking for a readable translation of the Book of Enoch, or commentary on the story behind the Nephilim. Accompanying commentary is fine. Thanks, Baphy | | 9:40 pm |
I. Feel. Stupid.
I feel stupid. I just checked my friends list, and I realized that two people I was keeping in touch with despite difficulties in the past had unfriended me. In the words of Butthead , "Uhhh... Whoa". I. Feel.
Stupid.
| | Friday, April 10th, 2009 | | 11:47 am |
A Month Colored by Shades of Grey
I woke up this morning at around 8am. This is a perfectly reasonable hour for me. This gives me enough time to kick my brain into gear, eat a nice breakfast, and take care of pre-store hour errands. When I first wake up, I like to stretch my body out a bit in order to see how everything is moving. I have found that checking in with my body first thing is helpful. Then I close my eyes, and for lack of a better way of putting it, take a mental inventory. To continue along this line, I did not care for something I perceived. The easiest way to explain what it was that I found troubling is to "set a metaphor". Let us say that my mind, upon first waking up, is like a bedroom with a window that is large enough to let in a significant amount of sunlight. When I worke up this morning, and visualized this room, I noticed that there was a thin but highly visble layer of what seemed to be fine, grey ash on most of the furniture, and in little piles sporadically portioned in sections over the carpet. Most disturbingly, there was even a narrow grey heap across the foot of my bed. While I could see the light of the sun streaming in through the window, I also noted a fine dry soot meandring among the beams. I woke up with what I and some other people I know call "a case of the greys" or "greyness". Like volcanic ash, it's deceptively fine and at first, insubstantial looking. Utterly silent. Unfortunately, it's insiduous. If left unchecked, it gets everywhere in my "house". It affects my work, my ability to concentrate... how my food tastes, my sese of security in my relationships.
While this is not the first time I have awoken with a "case of the greys" , the grey is not my friend. I need to find a way to vaccum that shit up. It interferes with my ability to take care of myself properly, relate to other people and have a productive life.
The conditions are fairly optimal for the greyness to enter my house and gather.
It's been a difficult months worth of days to process. In the beginning of it, a medical professional sent me a letter and told me that it would be a good idea to come back into his office and get checked out for a form of cancer in the next 8 weeks. If things go well, the suspect cells will not continue to mutate, and minor surgery can be used to remove them from my body before they convince surronding cells that they should defect to Project Mutate as well.
A week ago, I recieved disturbing news that I didn't know what to do with, and I still don't. Everyone makes errors in judgement from time to time. I'm no exception to that- that's why I haven't decided what recieving that news means. The problem was the timing. If I had recieved the unfortunate news right after the information was released, I would feel very differently. I feel like I could have made some small shifts in my thinking and behavior to accomodate it. When I recieved it, a significant period of time had passed. I still can try and accomodate this news, but now it's got this miasma of doubt and uncertainty around it. I haven't figured out what that delay indicates about my value to this other person, and how deeply I can trust that individual. Is it wise to trust someone to serve and protect you, if that person showed reluctance to do right by others that are higher on that individuals priority list?
Two days ago I recieved a call from a State Employee. That State Employee's utterance was short and sharp. He's decided to give me two months to comply with a demand from the state, or I will be out of a job. No, not a job, my career. Even the word "career" seems inadequate. I'm going to do my damndest to not lose this fight, but it's going to take a solution that I haven't come up with yet.
So yeah. My mind is now prime real estate for Grey. It's insiduous, as I mentioned. Without filtration, it gets into car engines and chokes them. It makes food inedible. It can make the air unbreathable. I intellectually understand that things in my sphere could be much, much worse, but I still have enough perspective to know that The Grey is warping my ability to see.
And breathe.
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