Sunday, October 29, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The TT Returns
I finally got around to finishing a couple of these that have been sitting around for way too long. I'm really digging the rubber cord even though the 3/16" diameter stuff was a major pain on the bigger piece. The finished effect is really nice though, offering an incredibly comfortable and secure grip.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Visit with the Engineers
I had the great pleasure of a visit to my shop yesterday by the two top engineers from Norton Abrasives engineered belts division. My cousin happens to be one of them and he has graciously sent me various belts several times over the years for testing. For those that don't know, Norton and 3M are the two major manufacturers for the belts that knifemakers use on their grinders. Although 3M is the big player in the industry, Norton offers some outstanding products as well that often equal and in some cases exceed the high quality of the 3M belts.
Anyway, Norton would like to stay competitive and they are working on ideas for improvements and on ways to better reach the knifemaking market. So they asked if they could come out for a field trip and see how their products are being used by knifemakers. We had a great chat and I demonstrated most of my techniques and operating procedures. They were extremely helpful and gave me all kinds of info on the best uses and proper belt speeds for best results. I learned alot and hopefully I gave them a few ideas and insights into my needs.
We also discussed the needs of other makers who are doing different things than I am and what their requirements are and how they differ. I am optimistic that the mirror polish guys will also benefit from the meeting yesterday.
A good time was had by all and I'm looking forward to their next generation of high tech products.
Anyway, Norton would like to stay competitive and they are working on ideas for improvements and on ways to better reach the knifemaking market. So they asked if they could come out for a field trip and see how their products are being used by knifemakers. We had a great chat and I demonstrated most of my techniques and operating procedures. They were extremely helpful and gave me all kinds of info on the best uses and proper belt speeds for best results. I learned alot and hopefully I gave them a few ideas and insights into my needs.
We also discussed the needs of other makers who are doing different things than I am and what their requirements are and how they differ. I am optimistic that the mirror polish guys will also benefit from the meeting yesterday.
A good time was had by all and I'm looking forward to their next generation of high tech products.
Monday, October 2, 2006
Treading H2O
That's what I feel like I've been doing lately. Waiting for the energy wave of work to come back up. Hopefully I'll be able to take a deep breath and dive back down for some more pearls very soon....
Got a few new ideas that I'm slowly working out. Some of these things take forever and some can happen pretty quickly. It just depends and usually you can't predict how it will go. A lot of it has to do with how busy it is and how much energy I have.
All I can say is stay tuned, more goodies to come. :)
Got a few new ideas that I'm slowly working out. Some of these things take forever and some can happen pretty quickly. It just depends and usually you can't predict how it will go. A lot of it has to do with how busy it is and how much energy I have.
All I can say is stay tuned, more goodies to come. :)
