The Sharpened Axe

Refinishing an Old Western Cutlery Knife for My Brother-in-Law

2014-04-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

Soaking the blade in white vinegar to remove the rust and add a blue patina. After soaking the blade, be sure to wipe it down well and oil immediately.

More Work on the Bus

2014-04-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

We worked on the bus this weekend. I assigned the children to remove the rubber flooring.

I was tasked with grinding off the seat bolts. They were old, rusty and stripped.

I loaded them in Ol' Blue and took them to the dump. It took me two trips.

Seats and rubber flooring removed in the back.

Then the front.

Then I painted the plywood to seal it. We're going to put down self-adhesive carpet.

Stay tuned. The project is moving quickly.

MOH

The Bus for the Land

2014-03-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

We bought a bus to turn into a camper and put on our land. It's a 1988 GMC with a 366ci engine and an Allison transmission.

Making a Rough Sawn Bench, Part 1

2014-03-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Snow & Nealley 3 1/4 lb. Axe Head

2014-03-08T17:53:00.001-08:00

I'm not working as much as I used to. Different job, different hours, better pay. For the first time in over a year, I had the opportunity to go outside and split wood today. I won't use a wood splitter. Too loud, too smelly, too much to go wrong.

Took me about two hours to do this pile. Man, I felt good afterwards.

This is my Snow & Nealley 3 1/4 lb. axe on a 32" haft. It is, by far, my favorite splitting axe. I got it out of my grandfather's garage in Northern Maine a few years ago. It had a few chunks taken out of the face. I filed it down to repair it and it has been my favorite ever since.

According to the markings, I'd say it was made in the 50's or 60's. It goes to show that investing in a good tool can bring you (or, in this case your grandson or great grandson) years of use.

Pax Domini,

MOH

1948 Farmall B

2014-03-02T10:07:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of my grandfather and I from around 1998. He was telling me his plans for the 1948 Farmall B in the picture. It belonged to my great uncle, but he stored it on the family farm. I learned how to run a clutch and a stick on it and it sprouted my love for tractors.

It was eventually restored, complete with shiny red paint and decals. I'm not sure where the tractor is now, but I certainly do miss it.

*edit* Just found a picture of it after it was restored.

MOH

Gaucho Knives

2014-03-01T09:31:00.001-08:00

I'm not working at the dump anymore. I got a better job with better pay in a better environment. However, I have a buddy that still works there and he's picking the pile for me. We split the proceeds. He called me and told me he had some old cutlery. I've never had luck with selling cutlery, unless it's hunting knives.

I was pleased when he brought me the load (other things will be posted soon). I didn't know what they were, so I looked for identifying marks and did an internet search.

These are gaucho daggers . What are gaucho knives?

More information here.

Cedar Carved Spoon

2014-02-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

I found a juniper tree on the lot behind ours a few years ago. It's the only one that I know of in the area, so I'm careful not to take off too many branches. I took off a dead one today and carved my oldest boy a spoon. The spoon is small. It fits about 3/4 of my hand. He used it to eat his yogurt tonight and has declared that it is a good spoon.

Improvised Shelter Built by Children

2014-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

They know what to do, I just cut the boughs.

Make a Holster

2014-02-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Cleaning and Restringing the Tenor Guitar

2014-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

I got this tenor guitar off of the dump a few months ago. I've wanted a tenor guitar for awhile now and to get one that's vintage for free, well, that's a pretty big score. Tenor guitars became popular when tenor banjos became unpopular. Tenor guitars were made so that a banjo player could still play in bands that were decreasingly interested in having a banjo in their group. It is tuned the same as a tenor banjo. While you can tune it to lots of alternate tunings, the most popular for this instrument are CDGA and, like a mandolin and fiddle, GDAE. I decided to restring it and clean it up a bit.

The strings go into the tailpiece, pictured below. I hadn't seen one like it before.

Loop end strings. That's another new one to me. From what I understand, very similar to the tenor banjo. My wife and I had to search a bit to find loop end guitar strings. Ultimately, we had to special order them from England.

As you can see below, it has a cover piece that slides over the loop ends. Took me a minute to figure that out.

Whenever I change the strings, I also scrub the fretboard - especially if I don't know who has been playing the instrument.

The picture below is a good representation of why I always scrub the fretboard.

I noticed a few cracks. Nothing horrible, but I'll have to keep an eye on it.

A bit of cleaner. I used to oil the fretboards of my guitar with bore oil for brass instruments. I need to get more, especially in the dry climate of Colorado.

I usually leave this much play when winding the strings. You want a bit wrapped around the stem of the tuners.

There were lots of options for spacing. It took me a few tries to see what worked best for the guitar and my fingers.

The bridge is a floating bridge. The intonation is a bit out and I'm wondering if the floating bridge is set up incorrectly.

Slight separation where the neck meets the body.

If I want to keep this guitar (I think I do, it plays and sounds great), I'm going to have to sink some money into it. The intonation is out, the tuners need work (falls out of tune) and it has a few separations. I want to find a good luthier in the Denver area and have it fixed right. It's a beautiful guitar. My estimate is that it was made somewhere between 1920 and 1950. There are no markings on or in the guitar.

I'll keep you posted.

MOH

Antique Fishing Gear

2014-01-28T11:58:00.002-08:00

I can't help but see old fishing gear as folk art in the highest form.

Old Postcards

2014-01-19T07:09:00.003-08:00

We also come across a lot of old postcards. My favorites are the old linen cards with artist renditions on them. True American folk art, in my opinion. Here are a few from Colorado. The only place I've been to out of these cards is Garden of the Gods. It truly is spectacular.

Old Photographs

2014-01-19T06:59:00.001-08:00

Slim pickings on the dump lately. Makes me shift gears. I see a lot of old pictures come through on the recycle line. I can't help but think that someone, someday, would be thankful to have these family pictures. Instead, they were discarded.

I think about photo albums often. I'm worried that we'll lose the photographic record of who we are. Why? I probably have 5,000 digital photographs saved on three different old laptops. It's easy to pull up a picture on your laptop until the laptop is dead. We need to print out more pictures, lest we lose them.

WWII Military Bag

2014-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Zenith Shortwave, Bauer Down

2014-01-01T11:07:00.001-08:00

Zenith shortwave. The tubes hum, but I have yet to get it to work.

Eddie Bauer vintage down jacket. I considered selling this, but it's quality. You can't find a down jacket like this anymore unless you shell out a lot of cash. I think I'll hold onto it. It's wonderfully warm.

Summer Exploring

2014-01-01T01:01:00.001-08:00

We bought land last summer. Exploring the central part of Colorado was fun and exciting. This is the journey that we took to a piece we didn't end up buying, but was really, really cool.

Worn Wear, by Patagonia

2013-12-22T10:26:00.003-08:00

I ran across this piece over at forestglenroad.org. Patagonia put it together and it talks about the history of their clothing with the people that wear it. Interesting to me was the fact that they weren't encouraging people to run to a Patagonia store and purchase the latest gear, but to pick it up however you can; second hand stores, discount outlets, hand-me-downs or the like.

I can't afford Patagonia gear fresh from the store. I find it on the pile at work or at the Goodwill outlet. It's nice to see a company promote their product even if you aren't buying it directly from them.

Enjoy the watch. There's some breathtaking videography.

Pax,

Mike

Cross Country Skis & Boots, Karhu Skis, WWII Rucksack, Levi's Fleece Collar, North face Snowsuit, Snowshoe Mukluks, REI Raincoat, Patagonia Coat, Woolrich Shirtjack

2013-12-21T13:44:00.001-08:00

Cross country skis and boots that fit yours truly.

This Levi's coat is in great shape, save some ring-around-the-collar. Going to work on that and see if I can get it white again.

These look like snow shoe mukluks, though I'm not sure. Canvas upper, Leather pad.

Been wanting a goos shirt/Jack for awhile. This one may be added to my personal collection if it fits.

I brought this yolk home awhile ago. The Mrs. turned it into a mantle piece. It looks very nice!

Brass Parrot, Frame Pack, Camera Lens, Live Trap, Flash, Columbia Bike, Schwinn Caliente, Peugeot, Deitz Lantern

2013-12-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Brass Parrot

This one will go to Gordie LaBoom's lady.

Live trap for use at Santa Lucia.

I sell a lot of bikes that need work. The key is pre-1990 obscure or popular brands. Denver has a large bicycling population and every hipster loves having a vintage bike. Walk around LoDo and all you'll see are Treks and old school road bikes.

Schwinn Caliente

Deitz #20

Antique Fishing Reels, Lures, Fighting Knife, Mystery Shelf, Spice Rack

2013-11-30T18:22:00.001-08:00

Japanese fighting knife. Marked Valor. Steel = very hard.

This shelf is a bit of a mystery. The two boards on each side have small dowels in them, equally spaced. Any ideas what it is?

Soda flat spice rack.

Tool Box Table, Flight Helmet and Old Spectacles.

2013-11-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

This box is interesting. Looks like and old tool chest....

....open it up and it has four aluminum legs inside. Turns it into a table. Anyone know anything about it?

Flight helmet. For the Maverick in you.

Some sort of drill. This one will likely hit eBay.

Love these old glasses. If you find the right brand, they can be worth a little bit. This pair, however, are not. Still cool.

Our Shadows Taller Than Our Souls

2013-11-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

The tenting platform is holding up well.

Run, rabbit, run.

Coyote.

Free range cow.

Grandad.

Hey, wabbit.

Java Moose!

Old Glory

2013-11-28T20:37:00.000-08:00

This flag is older. White stripes have turned to a yellow. I believe it's made of cotton.

Disston Saws, Schwinn Unicycle and a Shu-Shine Bank

2013-11-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

Three Disstons, a Superior and an unmarked saw. The big crosscut Disston will be put to use.