tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48063574184941732662024-03-19T14:37:55.949-07:00Many Talents in AlaskaMan of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-2888055716455116842023-02-12T18:04:00.000-08:002023-02-12T18:04:34.108-08:00Some Thoughts on Burnout and Largesse in the SCA<p> It has been almost a full year since I last posted. But since nobody reads this blog anyway, that's okay, right? I've been making things and doing things and I hope to share a few pictures of my things before long, but for now I just want to vent a little bit and I really don't think my family needs to hear any more of this particular beef.</p><p>I don't think it is a secret that I used to be active in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). My medieval interests have inspired a lot of the material I've shared on this blog already. I don't want to get into a long story, though, just share a few thoughts.</p><p>The most recent princess in Oertha (Alaska) put out a request on social media a couple of weeks ago for donations of largesse. That got me thinking and grumbling about how things have changed.</p><p>If you are not in the SCA (and actually care about what this is all about), largesse is a term for gifts given within the SCA. When I started, back in the 1990s, how it worked was that if I made something that I wanted to give as a gift, I simply gave it to the person who I wanted to give it to. Elsewhere on this blog is an example of a Viking necklace, based on the one from the Hon hoard, that my wife and I gave to a friend who recognized the work and skill in it. That was largesse back then. We also gave other things to other people, from hand-sewn clothing to beads to armor. It was all largesse, as we used the term back then.</p><p>And then I quit doing SCA stuff for a long while, mostly because I have a real life that needs my focus and attention. Raising kids, building a house, going back to school, getting a professional job, all those things that are wonderfully meaningful to me and totally boring for anyone else to read about. And the last few years, I've started paying attention to the SCA again. Which brings us to the recent request for largesse.</p><p>It turns out that a new concept of largesse has become the norm. Now, when a person who is good with a stick wins a tournament and becomes royalty (which makes sense only to people who know how the SCA works, so don't ask me to explain it here), that person and his/her consort (the prince and princess, in this case) want to be the ones to give out the gifts. They want to look like generous people, bestowing gifts upon those who they want to recognize or reward. </p><p>But, and here's the really odd thing, they don't want to put in any effort to make anything themselves. So they ask everyone else to make a bunch of things they can give away. In other words, largesse has become the province of the people who are good at fighting and functions as a tax on the artisans of the group. </p><p>Yeah. </p><p>Another digression. There are a lot of things people do in the SCA. But fighting is a bit different from most of the activities. If I play music, perform magic tricks, or tell stories, I'm directly entertaining other people. My fun is for the benefit of others. If I teach people to play a lyre, make a bead, or carve a spoon, my fun again benefits others. If I sew really nice clothes, it at least makes the standard of appearance in the group a bit nicer. And then everyone can benefit from the better looking group and perhaps feel a bit more medieval themselves. But fighting is one of the things that benefits the individual doing it, rather than the group as a whole. </p><p>So, my summation is that now the people who do the least to contribute to the enjoyment of the group as a whole want everyone else to make gifts that these fighters can have the fun of giving away. The least creative element wants to get the credit for being generous with the work of the creative people. </p><p>Why does this make sense to anyone?</p><p><br /></p><p><b>HOW TO INSPIRE ARTISANS LIKE ME AND GET COOL LARGESSE</b></p><p>So, what's a better way to get the largesse? I've already noted that the fighters who win the tournaments generally are not the same as the craftsfolk who make the cool things. </p><p>A very authentic way to get the largesse would be to actually go pay money to artisans for their work. If Hrothgar gave a gold arm ring to a warrior he wanted to honor, he would have paid the goldsmith, not said "I want to give some arm rings to people. Please make me a dozen at your own expense. Oh, and deliver them to me by this weekend because I'm in a hurry."</p><p>I do acknowledge that in a hobby group we can't really expect the folks playing the part of royalty to spend thousands of dollars on the gifts they want to give. So, that leaves us with three options. First, keep on as it is (which is going to burn out your artisans pretty darned fast - more on burnout shortly). Second, quit giving out so many gifts (but there seems to be a current culture of trying to keep up with the other royals, which includes having a lot of things to give away). And then, my idea for a third route.</p><p>If you were to come to me and say "you are a skilled bladesmith and bead maker and I want to give away a bunch of your knives and beads," I'm going to start by telling you a price for my work. Then I'll tell you how long it would take to deliver such an order. (If you're wondering, my simplest blacksmith knives start at $75. A nice hunting knife is anywhere from $300 to $400, depending on details and options. Individual beads hover around the $10 mark.) And then you get sticker shock and revert to option one, expecting me to donate a dozen knives so you can feel special giving them away.</p><p>In other words, in my shop, the answer is a resounding NO.</p><p>But if you really want the products of my workshop, there is a very good way to get them. This is the third route, that I'm not aware of actually being used. Come talk to me in person. Say something like "you are a talented bladesmith and bead maker. Will you please teach me to make a basic knife or beads I can give away as largesse?" Because you are not an oaf, you'll offer to pay for the material involved. And because you know how to motivate me, you'll also order a pizza during the day so we don't have to stop to cook a meal.</p><p>Aha! You just discovered the key to my workshop! You asked me to teach you how to put some of your own skin in the game! </p><p>Because posting a Facebook message asking people to make a bunch of gifts for you to give is going to get you absolutely nothing from my workbench. Nothing. </p><p>But asking me to teach you so YOU can make things to give will be a very successful way to get my expertise involved. </p><p>If you want beads, I'll set you to cranking out basic seed beads. The simple round spacer beads that are not very sexy to make, but are so important to an actual piece. I'll start knocking out bigger focal beads. And at the end of a couple of weekends, you'll have all the beads you wanted for these gifts. You'll have made a whole lot of them, too. And you'll think carefully about how you hand them out because you will know just how much time and effort is involved.</p><p>Or if you want a knife to give, I'll teach you do to the rough forging to get the blades forged to shape. Once you've done two or three while I watch, you can bang them out while I do grinding and get them ready for heat treating. See where this is going? You'll do the part that takes more muscle, I'll do the part that takes more finesse, and together we will end up with a bunch of knives. And when you give them away later, you'll know that you put at least an hour into each of them. And you'll know that these are something special. This is important when giving a gift. YOU, the imaginary royalty, will have some skin in the gift game. </p><p>If you expect me to set aside my weekend to help you and then tell me you only have two hours for some reason (fighter practice, hangover, other people you want to hang out with), don't even ask in the first place. That's not putting skin in the game. That's insulting me. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>BURNOUT</b></p><p>I know this is getting really long, but I want to talk about one more thing. In the SCA, burnout is very common. People burn out on doing the things this group does, then they struggle to put words to their reasons. It took me a lot of years to finally figure it out for myself, but I think this is true of everyone.</p><p>People do not burn out on doing the things they love and enjoy.</p><p>But people absolutely do burn out on imposed obligations. </p><p>Do you see the connection to the expectation of largesse? The artisans who keep making things at their own expense, who pour their work and money into gifts to be given away so the pipe-hitting thug at the top can feel generous... Those artisans are going to be burned out and sick and tired of the SCA a lot faster than if the same thugs offered their muscle and focus to make the gifties, only asking for some tutelage to make it happen. </p><p>Does the SCA as a whole really not see how this expectation will ruin the experience for the very best crafters? Or do they really want to drive away the 20% of the group who actually make and do 80% of the things that get made and done? Because those expectations of donated largesse are imposed obligations. And will absolutely burn out the best people. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>AND THEN...</b></p><p>Today on Facebook, the princess put out another request. Seems they gave away all the gifties and now want more. Because they like to travel and take the nice things to other places to show off with. As if they somehow deserve the credit for the skill and generosity of the people in Alaska who make these nice things. </p><p>Not one word about remuneration. No offer of putting in some effort of their own. Just this:</p><p><i>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">His Highness has returned from An Tir well-pleased with the generosity of His subjects, who have allowed Him to give largesse and enhance the reputation of all Oertha. Next week, Her Highness journeys to the far lands of Atlantia, and again your generosity will make her luggage heavier while her heart is happy and proud of Her subjects."</span></i></p><p>Yep, that's going to get me ready to hand over my work real fast. Sure. Good leadership, there.</p>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-4532564979236512992022-02-21T11:27:00.000-08:002022-02-21T11:27:25.963-08:00Jouhikko Practice<p> Keep in mind that I'm still very new. My poor playing quality is not a reflection on my teacher! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GDaseGlEBA0" width="320" youtube-src-id="GDaseGlEBA0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCl2oYEvDAY" width="320" youtube-src-id="qCl2oYEvDAY"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>If you look around on YouTube, you will find a lot of people who play essentially the same instrument, but without the benefit of a teacher. They saw those strings like they are sawing wood and they noodle 3 notes over and over. And over.<div><br /></div><div>And over.</div><div><br /></div><div>And at first it sounds kind of cool! Because that's a different instrument and a sound folks don't already know well. But before long it gets really grating. And then it turns into just a bunch of awful noise. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's the result of self teaching when folks have no clue about the musical potential on this instrument. I know of no other instrument in the world that people will unbox and proudly upload a video of their first efforts, as if they are making music and want to share with the world. </div><div><br /></div><div>The other thing is that a disturbing number of people who do this are also playing instruments with extra-long scales and very low tuning. They struggle to play notes in tune because the scale is so far outside the reach of a normal human hand. But they are having fun, showing their stern faces, and imagining themselves as Vikings with instruments that don't have any evidence in a Viking context, so at least they are happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Find the really good players and you suddenly realize just how different they are from the "look at me with my new thing" crowd. (And the good players don't have a bunch of runes and norse pagan symbols added to their instruments. Just sayin.')</div><div><br /></div><div>I intend to build a few more in the coming months. I'll try to document a build and share it here. In particular, I want to make one based on my interpretation of the bowed lyre in the carving at the cathedral in Trondheim. It is dated to the early 14th century. It isn't the oldest depiction of a bowed lyre, but is the oldest I've found that uses the small handhole, rather than a symmetrical yoke. <br /><p><br /></p></div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-66800854125933304072021-12-29T00:57:00.001-08:002021-12-29T00:57:54.662-08:00New Passion - Jouhikko!<p> I've actually wanted to play the jouhikko for a decade or so, but only recently actually got started learning. I found a player on YouTube who is skilled, musical, and has a long history of playing the instrument and I contacted him to ask about lessons. And he agreed to take me on as a student! I've had 6 lessons so far and it is well worth getting the formal teaching. We have to communicate over Skype and since he lives in Norway, our time zones are 10 hours different. Which means I have a lesson at 10:30 pm and he's teaching me at 8:30 am the next day. </p><p><br /></p><p>Jouhikko is pronounced approximately as "YO-hee-ko." The emphasis is strongly on the first syllable, not on the second, as most English speakers would be more comfortable with.</p><p><br /></p><p>This instrument is a bowed lyre. It has a gently arched bridge, so two strings are played at a time. The center string is normally played as a drone. Notes are played with the back of the fingers gently touching the horsehair strings. The bow is tensioned with the fingers of the bowing hand. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA6_hhK99VXFSd6LjsFCTww3kI9WqmRCXiitAcyK7HkSVpuj_Ar_Z8agR-QnvFrsBpZGBShFRdBLIQk7hRDrZQPy7ZhlOZlCxVp6dsLnwP0FDpzkNT5s-FlTXAUVNp7DPWhKb2h0a8W_FnAZUMh9SYp0GvdIpxc7PfSHi2Vo-ZuW9kC8i_LqcnmYlT7w=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA6_hhK99VXFSd6LjsFCTww3kI9WqmRCXiitAcyK7HkSVpuj_Ar_Z8agR-QnvFrsBpZGBShFRdBLIQk7hRDrZQPy7ZhlOZlCxVp6dsLnwP0FDpzkNT5s-FlTXAUVNp7DPWhKb2h0a8W_FnAZUMh9SYp0GvdIpxc7PfSHi2Vo-ZuW9kC8i_LqcnmYlT7w=s320" width="163" /></a></div><br /><div>I made the body out of yellow birch, the soundboard out of cedar. Overall length is about 25", the vibrating string length is 13.5" and the width is 5.5" because that is how wide the cedar was. The bow is just some poplar I had in the shop. The strings are twisted horsehair. Next iteration will have sound holes a different shape from just round drilled holes, but I was playing with a lot of stuff on this one. The size, the hand hole, the bridge design, the bow, and the tailpiece are all new efforts for me. In the future, I will keep the size the same, but perhaps make the body a little nicer looking. And I want to try a sound post under the bridge. If I manage to get some wider soundboard material, I will try for a 6.5" wide instrument to get a bit more resonance out of the soundboard.</div><div><br /></div><div>I make no claims about being any good with it, but I love playing it and I hope to eventually be able to consider the sounds I make musical. I'll add a couple of videos of my (very beginner) playing once they are uploaded. My connection is slow, so this can take a while.</div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-58684601449840752682020-12-16T20:56:00.002-08:002020-12-16T20:56:34.460-08:00Sloyd Knife Video<p> Here we go! If you don't see the video window, click this link: <a class="style-scope ytcp-video-info" href="https://youtu.be/cPExoNYlvi4" style="background-color: #f4f4f4; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/cPExoNYlvi4</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cPExoNYlvi4" width="320" youtube-src-id="cPExoNYlvi4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-33216706934671455012020-12-15T21:06:00.000-08:002020-12-15T21:06:02.776-08:00Sloyd Knives<p> If you look over my blog, you'll see that I carve spoons. My primary tools are a hook knife and a sloyd knife. Sloyd is a Swedish word for wood crafting. Essentially, by saying "sloyd knife," I'm saying "wood working knife." But it is fun to use a foreign word. </p><p><br /></p><p>I found out that a teacher and student teacher at my daughter's school are both spoon carvers, too. Because I want to be extra supportive of teachers right now, I thought it would be good to give them each a new sloyd knife. (I don't want to get into the whole concern about knives in schools. There are no students in that school right now, so it isn't a big thing to leave a knife in a wrapped package.)</p><p><br /></p><p>I made the handles of Alaska birch. Blades are my usual repurposed spring steel. It is a good steel and I've been very happy with how it performs in my blades so far. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here's a picture of the two knives just before I did the sharpening and stropping. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaNr5oVv9Zpi1W0kjfoMBACSotId-8jh32bmu6X2oUyWj5-cV3qEc8lVRYy_dohCNbV3ynlq98xpzY_9tNVqhbSsQDqCfHMrgq9M8PVlJDF__jeORuaG5Iw9k4K32gxaB-htKD99rnqcI/s1913/sloyds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1913" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaNr5oVv9Zpi1W0kjfoMBACSotId-8jh32bmu6X2oUyWj5-cV3qEc8lVRYy_dohCNbV3ynlq98xpzY_9tNVqhbSsQDqCfHMrgq9M8PVlJDF__jeORuaG5Iw9k4K32gxaB-htKD99rnqcI/s320/sloyds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>As usual, my mark is the rune Wyn/Wunjo (depending on if you use the Anglo Saxon or the Norse name for it). It looks like an angular P and it makes the sound of a W, so both my initials are there in one mark. Sort of fun!</p><p><br /></p><p>Video of the process is also on the way. As with the blacksmith mini-seaxes, I chose to just make it a music video and play random tunes on my banjo. If I ever get any feedback from my videos, I'll get some idea of what people like in my YouTube channel. </p><p><br /></p><p>Look for the video link tomorrow.</p>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-64993622284010515912020-12-15T10:30:00.001-08:002020-12-15T20:55:47.022-08:00A New Video!<p> I know I haven't posted anything in months, but here's something, at least! </p><p><br /></p><p>I made these two little blacksmith knives because I found a sketch in one of my old sketchbooks and realized that would be a fun little knife to bang out. Nothing profound, just a case of "why didn't I make this before?"</p><p><br /></p><p>They are deliberately rustic and rough. But they are still comfortable and would fit the role of the non-folding pocket knife. I actually plan to make neck sheaths for them and have them hung like a necklace.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-ZXy8t3CsiM-wPyzpqC_P2wbJ_RxZK0p9R-4EwsdT25QJEhj1EJfxM_RhrSeqLHHzjK9OAhzeIVp37p7FkVTmWwTvoWnj2eP4Gd7iS7F7vUyS87d3TPMPvAZY6IIL8eQHnrCgbwIqNz9/s2016/IMG_8605.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-ZXy8t3CsiM-wPyzpqC_P2wbJ_RxZK0p9R-4EwsdT25QJEhj1EJfxM_RhrSeqLHHzjK9OAhzeIVp37p7FkVTmWwTvoWnj2eP4Gd7iS7F7vUyS87d3TPMPvAZY6IIL8eQHnrCgbwIqNz9/s320/IMG_8605.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I also took a video of the whole process of forging them. Here are the highlights. I am trying something new, here. Instead of narrating my process, I decided to just play the banjo in the background.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b05JYJynG84" width="320" youtube-src-id="b05JYJynG84"></iframe></div>Enjoy!<div><br /></div><div>Edit: this video isn't showing up when I look at the blog on my phone, so if you don't see the video window, just click this link: <a class="style-scope ytcp-video-info" href="https://youtu.be/b05JYJynG84" style="background-color: #f4f4f4; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/b05JYJynG84</a><br /><p><br /></p></div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-83156985956732148972020-09-15T12:14:00.002-07:002020-09-15T12:14:52.482-07:00Viking Whetstones<div>One of my favorite items from Viking graves is a whetstone necklace. At least some of them were made of slate. Many don't appear to have the stone type identified, at least in resources I've found so far. However, many are similar in shape. The 3-4" long tapered shape seems to be a normal shape for these utilitarian items. I never have had a really good explanation as to why anyone would go to the effort to shape them just so, but I assumed there was some practical reason I didn't know.</div><div><br /></div><div>A really good selection of photos can be found on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/cathyr19355/viking-whetstones/ if you want to see the variations in size and shape. The next four photos are taken from there. Note that where stone is identified, it is more often slate than anything else. And there are some examples of beautiful banded slate here.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaL-JRMp3CMQJA0VQV-uwmUqlJdiWHYwEt-euNYIQIaT1vLC2eDBslW_QySk-_fbgzSfKPJvI936ylOEZ3bFjoays6rveHAc3DIn9BpGx3b4Sz1xdpHwODz_ILkzfROiKB7A3cg0ZOXMX/s355/Bjorko+whetstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaL-JRMp3CMQJA0VQV-uwmUqlJdiWHYwEt-euNYIQIaT1vLC2eDBslW_QySk-_fbgzSfKPJvI936ylOEZ3bFjoays6rveHAc3DIn9BpGx3b4Sz1xdpHwODz_ILkzfROiKB7A3cg0ZOXMX/s320/Bjorko+whetstone.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvCu5RLgfLIdyHVPBbYz9F3kqt0nQSFNgQo5BoOzg5tS8Ld1Vu8b3MA1WnXJ4QjbPxBSudTI72QXs0IOzJlBHu_r6rqXBVZU_p8qVwyvTYl27wIkaaQPfLOD9C4muThG4B53yJfX4mrCt/s285/medieval+whetstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvCu5RLgfLIdyHVPBbYz9F3kqt0nQSFNgQo5BoOzg5tS8Ld1Vu8b3MA1WnXJ4QjbPxBSudTI72QXs0IOzJlBHu_r6rqXBVZU_p8qVwyvTYl27wIkaaQPfLOD9C4muThG4B53yJfX4mrCt/s0/medieval+whetstone.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5SfTNZndfVrhInuxsARpzpvP3584g5Wvhgwo-5Xv0k152gz6NKgyk-Z26S1b7PTtaNaLFh_xp3_bN69E1llyRVR1OXTU69_8XwfUNTHttQHFm7GK_P-ZDDhadg9qEB2obbAvhWxxaYzg/s418/norwegian+whetstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5SfTNZndfVrhInuxsARpzpvP3584g5Wvhgwo-5Xv0k152gz6NKgyk-Z26S1b7PTtaNaLFh_xp3_bN69E1llyRVR1OXTU69_8XwfUNTHttQHFm7GK_P-ZDDhadg9qEB2obbAvhWxxaYzg/s320/norwegian+whetstone.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqa3sd_k3bzdiDFEfLnTzyq-YSX9jq2O_aK0wwHqod5cD9xhAJ9rT-fBv8zbS93sBDJndBVaFwDzLUjvhL89dM7E7YIL6gE_V8UxmPqlg5_BryWFMStnULMSgEa1Q_IxKQiZgqyZ9MuXK/s351/many+whetstones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="235" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqa3sd_k3bzdiDFEfLnTzyq-YSX9jq2O_aK0wwHqod5cD9xhAJ9rT-fBv8zbS93sBDJndBVaFwDzLUjvhL89dM7E7YIL6gE_V8UxmPqlg5_BryWFMStnULMSgEa1Q_IxKQiZgqyZ9MuXK/s320/many+whetstones.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Still, I have wanted one for years and years. So, when I saw reproduction Viking whetstones available from Ragnar's Ragweed Forge, I was delighted. I now own a jasper whetstone necklace and love it. You can see it in the photo below. It is the red one with a leather thong on it. The surface is quite smooth, so better for final edge polishing than for working out nicks and establishing an edge on a blade. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some time later, my wife noticed something interesting when we were at a local river. There were a lot of pieces of slate there, many of which made good skipping rocks. However, there were also quite a few with a familiar shape to them!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbz7wh3Qcwk2MY9E8Hd9mQpFhX-WSJGvjWFe0shyphenhyphenjs5dbgtEY_inAKxmyXxxsMBOnKTOhxKJJXQCmiC_gQ8lgikakahy6gBzrFDOkE9gAAa36JB_PwPHNlOBRD6Wr43cA9IjubQjaQY1ap/s638/whetstones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbz7wh3Qcwk2MY9E8Hd9mQpFhX-WSJGvjWFe0shyphenhyphenjs5dbgtEY_inAKxmyXxxsMBOnKTOhxKJJXQCmiC_gQ8lgikakahy6gBzrFDOkE9gAAa36JB_PwPHNlOBRD6Wr43cA9IjubQjaQY1ap/s320/whetstones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>Is it possible that many or most of the historical Viking whetstones were just found in the shape of a whetstone and used in that shape? Yeah, I think it is possible. </div><div><br /></div><div>The slate stones are noticeably coarser than the jasper. These river rocks would work fine for establishing the edge of a blade. </div><div><br /></div><div>I love finding answers, even if only speculative answers, to questions like "why this shape?" Answer: maybe because that is a common shape to find the stones already in. </div><div><br /></div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-69738013763247243842020-09-15T11:22:00.004-07:002020-09-15T11:22:44.636-07:00A Piccolo Practice Kantele<div>My youngest child decided that she wanted a solid body kantele like Dad's. Project time!</div><div><br /></div><div>First step is selecting the wood. Here's a fairly hard piece of poplar with a pattern drawn on it. I don't think it is the ideal wood for this sort of instrument, but it works fine and I had it in my shop already. The pattern is actually drawn on what will be the underside of the wood. No particular reason, I just managed to draw it reversed from what it will be. At this stage, it really doesn't matter to the process.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5gDYZ0Evshy0vU_oG0kCyWzFucu09b3fj6bw1wj-1s_k9izqy1nYVxxFq60JPkGtzBXhj34l7YGCWvOGoll_PqXEys1iN2WtZiUU6E6AnJbMu62fZPcatFfligzsNyCj4P1_sOJS9hXw/s640/IMG_8100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5gDYZ0Evshy0vU_oG0kCyWzFucu09b3fj6bw1wj-1s_k9izqy1nYVxxFq60JPkGtzBXhj34l7YGCWvOGoll_PqXEys1iN2WtZiUU6E6AnJbMu62fZPcatFfligzsNyCj4P1_sOJS9hXw/s320/IMG_8100.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A brief session with the jigsaw and I have the body cut from the board.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nL9eapgBiWJ7gxMowjmxrRyuid3Oz6ic6ZVPFz3gi9ICfm2Li3yveh0ArUAI1GUSpLNo22qs7_cTIVGqBNc9uXVI0nmK-ylXZVqUmFXCXSE1R2vEECpaLeOdQ8bU8aWidTRKjqrOg7FG/s573/IMG_8101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nL9eapgBiWJ7gxMowjmxrRyuid3Oz6ic6ZVPFz3gi9ICfm2Li3yveh0ArUAI1GUSpLNo22qs7_cTIVGqBNc9uXVI0nmK-ylXZVqUmFXCXSE1R2vEECpaLeOdQ8bU8aWidTRKjqrOg7FG/s320/IMG_8101.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I love my belt sander. I use it for so many things. Here, it was vital for refining the edges of the kantele. I really like the graceful bird head shape at the top. It is whimsical and elegant. I think the look of the kantele was the first thing that attracted me. The sound was next. I know my young customer was very intent on having that shape at the top. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicT9GD9-sqsougmGJY5GGBQrdWIAS2ZsgsKz_jdODW4UJKGJSb-ZC2XkQCZeiazS8G7vGGiFjO2DVoIFdjCe_05Mhh3JjYhmnzQtxcFIV9VteQx4r_sTg9ZcknS8Ye1dY24tg2lcBUsB6H/s476/IMG_8102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="323" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicT9GD9-sqsougmGJY5GGBQrdWIAS2ZsgsKz_jdODW4UJKGJSb-ZC2XkQCZeiazS8G7vGGiFjO2DVoIFdjCe_05Mhh3JjYhmnzQtxcFIV9VteQx4r_sTg9ZcknS8Ye1dY24tg2lcBUsB6H/s320/IMG_8102.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A little scrap turned into a simple bridge. Five holes for zither pins. A spritz of spray lacquer. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6feIPvgRWDG-tNMPQiq82z6sj59p2Wl8VoXZeucJElIRFb8NZhsDHNjOClg01g7ZTexafSEmCXEcjtvDb_coSqB9dywVuEv4b6dBe6JE7vmlUbuNJJTaNnuIRTa5uiuOnJsR6KCGVWt9/s564/IMG_8105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6feIPvgRWDG-tNMPQiq82z6sj59p2Wl8VoXZeucJElIRFb8NZhsDHNjOClg01g7ZTexafSEmCXEcjtvDb_coSqB9dywVuEv4b6dBe6JE7vmlUbuNJJTaNnuIRTa5uiuOnJsR6KCGVWt9/s320/IMG_8105.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>She wanted wood burned decorations. She was kind enough to pronounce them perfect, though I can see the skill level of my pyrography just isn't up to what I would consider Third Grader artwork.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQvvWsfuDyBE5fo2ZDsNmTEFv3OGluHilTM5Pzeuz64dyVh73qn8p3oW3K2isgJYxoChCPPfXBLpzGncqkk4ywM-UZ_ydOWOuKe5bEejfxU4fjrECLF1Edqr6m_K6zn7_HfuB4cDEj7Gn/s420/IMG_8106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQvvWsfuDyBE5fo2ZDsNmTEFv3OGluHilTM5Pzeuz64dyVh73qn8p3oW3K2isgJYxoChCPPfXBLpzGncqkk4ywM-UZ_ydOWOuKe5bEejfxU4fjrECLF1Edqr6m_K6zn7_HfuB4cDEj7Gn/s320/IMG_8106.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Linoleum nails make good hitch pins to anchor the strings.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkOmJUfspSP3VF-GoptmLC144J7b8TiQU8eikLqACBcGNAKklPVICShDN5EZxX79kSuuYXqg60rXmfkbl4Zu8uNQNv8eZapNmwszmzCaqVq405miRICsEjEG_TQinJUr0JSPoL8-hEXlR/s364/IMG_8107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkOmJUfspSP3VF-GoptmLC144J7b8TiQU8eikLqACBcGNAKklPVICShDN5EZxX79kSuuYXqg60rXmfkbl4Zu8uNQNv8eZapNmwszmzCaqVq405miRICsEjEG_TQinJUr0JSPoL8-hEXlR/s320/IMG_8107.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I start the zither pins with a hammer, tapping them in until they stay put, then I can screw them in with the tuning wrench.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFd6GwiAlid_TCtiLErrKq7fRNuKMqg3zneBTuG2JjIrP-jd2XEkp37kktCfAg4LGF1z1dkiSIq2l1HNZv22pfcTfHYcW08aoUo9wJXc8apoXNtbZP1Uua9sHqdLBdtpRfc5qx9eBly7n/s508/IMG_8108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFd6GwiAlid_TCtiLErrKq7fRNuKMqg3zneBTuG2JjIrP-jd2XEkp37kktCfAg4LGF1z1dkiSIq2l1HNZv22pfcTfHYcW08aoUo9wJXc8apoXNtbZP1Uua9sHqdLBdtpRfc5qx9eBly7n/s320/IMG_8108.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>And there we have it! A finished practice kantele for an 8 year old. This one is tuned in G. Super simple, fun little project. Now I just have to get her interested in learning to play it!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2dqmxnKCpU-zAq2fr-57YOUus6hoLv5nJ6x6mwqBLN0Pp_J1_qETpm8fMfOqAT6-nhp5mTkaWsHVf4JWzPGdZm-sOjSg6rJLH0zQdHBdCATmf3HBxVKMARaf0J55B4usM9FvD5lWd51s/s640/IMG_8109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2dqmxnKCpU-zAq2fr-57YOUus6hoLv5nJ6x6mwqBLN0Pp_J1_qETpm8fMfOqAT6-nhp5mTkaWsHVf4JWzPGdZm-sOjSg6rJLH0zQdHBdCATmf3HBxVKMARaf0J55B4usM9FvD5lWd51s/s320/IMG_8109.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-30975010114709970712020-08-05T19:20:00.000-07:002020-08-05T19:20:00.369-07:00Pics for BrettA couple knives I’ve been working on today. <div><br /></div><div>Rough forged, next to the spring steel I made them from. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQQxEnFwB8OffJVkza2wKXoV_15xWHU-Q9MFzvMGtFpptvyDB5ik5kvh6qHYd0DdZDVzMfXHNOiEBBmmcd6jDgbCQxe28cg6qfSMl3HHH9vzo7VzaQtAcVOW9CbgL8zgZT1MzxEV0uriL/s640/161E552B-C798-4161-A779-230E74B41116.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQQxEnFwB8OffJVkza2wKXoV_15xWHU-Q9MFzvMGtFpptvyDB5ik5kvh6qHYd0DdZDVzMfXHNOiEBBmmcd6jDgbCQxe28cg6qfSMl3HHH9vzo7VzaQtAcVOW9CbgL8zgZT1MzxEV0uriL/s0/161E552B-C798-4161-A779-230E74B41116.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Rough ground, ready for heat treat. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEdKEkXvKiVOX9j4RvJwwNBtLHrd5c_lL3e4GxVbJscHc6ohMm8u2jSZ0JvRgxfRMjo6os6dyCBg43ahHAftaZQNO7dD89UOl4IkDQNCnx_nf1336qwR_PONhrLyT9JIi7XVYxXxwA-re/s640/E5A171EF-BA13-42D5-87E9-DF6C85405807.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEdKEkXvKiVOX9j4RvJwwNBtLHrd5c_lL3e4GxVbJscHc6ohMm8u2jSZ0JvRgxfRMjo6os6dyCBg43ahHAftaZQNO7dD89UOl4IkDQNCnx_nf1336qwR_PONhrLyT9JIi7XVYxXxwA-re/s0/E5A171EF-BA13-42D5-87E9-DF6C85405807.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>My forge stand. I don’t know why the phone turns the picture sideways. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZQAAomcFDECIwZagWsf1xGSsK-9xxhuhFLF6Cikmt7_3xrhI5ENJiZtpA_IQmS9p_nseo1h5lrdoMARpk4Rr4u8d9Y_l2TsgBGv0d44Hv2YUMK7_uCkaObw9_PixcKtbySfYvt0uQU9F/s640/E74AE5C7-77EE-4702-819A-ABAB96D6F61D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZQAAomcFDECIwZagWsf1xGSsK-9xxhuhFLF6Cikmt7_3xrhI5ENJiZtpA_IQmS9p_nseo1h5lrdoMARpk4Rr4u8d9Y_l2TsgBGv0d44Hv2YUMK7_uCkaObw9_PixcKtbySfYvt0uQU9F/s0/E74AE5C7-77EE-4702-819A-ABAB96D6F61D.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div>Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-23467898772019330502020-06-13T03:16:00.002-07:002020-06-13T03:16:29.849-07:00The Simplest SCA Helm<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I don't think it is news to either of the people who read this blog that I used to be into SCA fighting. A lot of my hobbies and interests are still very in line with the historical side of the SCA. I still fight when my knee and back allow. And when I'm not quarantined because of a pandemic...</div>
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If you just stumbled across this blog, the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is a non-profit organization that attempts to recreate some of the material culture of the middle ages. And holds tournaments where people in armor beat each other with wooden clubs. </div>
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Which is a lot of fun. </div>
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But does require armor. </div>
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This is the simplest helmet I know how to make. I learned this from an old publication (very pre-internet) called Best of the Hammer. The Hammer was a periodical devoted to SCA efforts to make armor and related items (there are articles about making swords, for example). Nowadays, we have blogs and YouTube. Back then, folks had printed material that was mailed from one person to another. With stamps. For real. The Best of the Hammer books are 4 volumes of what claimed to be the best of what was printed in that periodical. Volume 1 has the pattern for this 13th century pot helm. </div>
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The whole thing is made of 3 pieces of 14 gauge sheet steel. I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it today. Spare time build all the way. </div>
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It looks a lot like the helmet worn by the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Which should actually get it a little SCA cred. But won't.</div>
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Just for fun, and to make it a little more blacksmithy, I forged the nasal with a critter head and curly tail. Nothing really impressive, just a little bit of whimsy. Authentic versions would have a cross on the face. I'm not being authentic, I'm having fun. Although this is made to SCA spec, I don't know if I will ever fight in it. </div>
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Some discussion:</div>
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This project is meant to illustrate the fact that it isn't really all that hard or expensive to get started with SCA armor. I could make 9 of these from one sheet of 14 gauge steel, actually. I used 1/9 of a sheet to make it. I don't know what a sheet of steel costs today, but most steel sellers will have odds and ends on a fairly regular basis, so you might be able to pick up enough steel for one helmet for only a few bucks if you get lucky. </div>
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For illustrative purposes, I used only simple tools. A hand drill and a jigsaw were my only power tools. A couple of hammers. I did use my anvil, but I made several helms in the past before I ever owned an anvil. I had a scrap of railroad track and that worked just fine. In fact, I used that scrap of track for setting the rivets at the top of this helm because the shape of the anvil wouldn't allow the horn all the way up to that point. You can also set the rivets on the inside of the helm instead of the outside and then you only need a flat surface to pound on. I did it this way because I prefer the look of the peened over rivet instead of the machine-shaped head. </div>
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I started in the SCA as a broke college student about 23 years ago. At that time, the norm was still that we would look in the library at books that purported to detail information about the middle ages. We would share what bits and pieces we could find or figure out with others. If you had a decent set of patterns for an item of armor, you treasured those patterns and shared them whenever someone wanted them. I still have patterns I traced from other folks' tracings. We didn't have the internet as it exists today. </div>
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We also didn't have the businesses that now provide armor, clothing, and assorted reenactment goods. Back then, we had lower standards of authenticity, but we made most of our own gear. My first suit of armor took me close to a year to make because I had no clue how to do it when I started. I had to figure out how to make armor on my own. I did figure it out and I eventually got decent at it, though nowhere near the level of the professional armorers out there today. By "decent" I mean I figured out how to make a suit of armor that was protective, met SCA combat standards, and didn't look<i> too</i> terrible. </div>
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Why is this relevant? Well, look around an SCA fighter practice today. Or wait until the Covid 19 social distancing ends and look around at that time. How many helms do you see that are built by the fighters wearing them? Not many, if any at all. Now, how many helms do you see that are not a bar-grilled bascinet or similar piece of very obvious sports equipment? Again, not too many, though there are a couple of looks that have become popular among the fighters willing to pay for them. One is the full mail drape and occulars. Very nice look. With maybe one historical helmet to serve as the model that they all follow, but who cares about that, right?</div>
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It is really hard for a broke college student to get into SCA fighting these days, just because the equipment he is expected to buy costs so darned much! If my only options had been buying a helm that cost $250 (minimum) or else do something non-combative, I would have quit the SCA before I started. Seriously. I didn't have the money. </div>
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If you are in the SCA, you know about the Known World Handbook. But if you are only recently in the SCA, you may not have seen the older editions. The first 3 editions had articles about building helms that were good, solid, historical helms. The newest edition does not have those. The newest edition talks about padding the helm you bought. Oh, and using plastic barrels to make leg armor. Can't leave those plastic barrels off the field of valor, now, can we? Because nothing says Medieval quite like bright blue plastic on your arms and legs to go with that welded bar grill on your face, right?</div>
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Okay, you can tell where I'm going, here. </div>
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If your idea of fun is the sports equipment and you find history a drag, that's not unusual in the SCA anymore. If you are one of the holdouts who still wants to feel like a medieval warrior in armor, it may get discouraging to have the guys at practice keep telling you to ditch the authentic looking gear and spend a couple of thousand bucks on a suit that will make it easier for you to be more competitive. </div>
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If you wear the helm I just finished, you will get told "that's nothing but a landing pad for some dude's mace." You will get called Bucket Head. You will have to deal with (more authentic) reduced visibility and air flow, compared to the guys with fully ventilated helms. </div>
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But you will have a helm you could build yourself. You will have a helm that looks like a sinister warrior from 750 years ago. And when you retire, you will have the most awesome wastebasket anyone has ever seen. </div>
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I shot video of every step of building this helm and when I get the chance, I will edit it to a viewable form and post it on the blog. </div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-19854392823500906422020-05-25T01:55:00.000-07:002020-05-25T01:55:46.077-07:00Kantele volumeThe little kanteles I made recently are fairly quiet. But not as quiet as the practice board I started with. <br />
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Just in case anyone reading this is curious about relative volume, here's a simple video. Please remember that I am not, at this time, a kantele player. I hope to be able to consider myself a player before long, but I am only as far as being able to tune and sort of form a couple of chords. A good player can get a lifetime of music out of those 5 notes, but I'm not even close to there yet. <br />
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Still, if you just want to hear the volume difference, the video will illustrate.<br />
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The strings are the same between the two instruments. Vibrating string length is very close, and I tried to use the same amount of force in strumming the two instruments. The volume difference should purely be due to the different construction. <br />
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I actually suspect that the new kanteles would be a little louder if I used metal tuning pegs like with the practice board. The wooden pegs may have a slight dampening effect on the strings. I could be wrong about this, though. I'd have to make another with the tuning pins to find out.Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-15771034949346556732020-05-19T11:00:00.002-07:002020-05-25T01:45:45.801-07:002 New KantelesThe practice board from the last post is a nice quiet way to noodle around, but can hardly be heard a few feet away unless everyone is silent. I wanted a nicer one that actually has a hollow body and more authentic look. So I made two.<br />
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I like to make two of anything when I am working. Part of that is because I can correct a process if I mess up on the first one, part of it is just because if I really like what I make, I can share it with someone else and still have one for myself. Also, there's a search for efficient use of materials that appeals to me. <br />
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These were made with wood I had on hand, using the tools I have in the shop. The video tells the whole story, really. <br />
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The body is maple, the soundboard comes from cedar siding that was scrap from refurbishing a local church. Hollowing the body was done with a forstner bit, which drills a flat bottom hole. By setting the drill press table at a height of 3/32" below the lowest point the bit can reach, I knew I wouldn't drill through the wood all the way.<br />
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It is much louder than the little practice board. I like it. <br />
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<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-73147972002840764962020-05-15T00:05:00.000-07:002020-05-15T00:05:46.613-07:00Super Simple KanteleI love music. I love odd, quirky, obscure ethnic instruments. Some years ago, I got interested in the Finnish instrument called the kantele. It is a zither and comes in many different sizes. However, the basic small kantele has 5 strings, tuned to the first 5 notes of a diatonic scale, usually. <br />
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This is a practice instrument I made back when I first got interested. It is nothing more than a piece of Alaska birch with 5 zither pins and a simple bridge. The proper instrument is a more elegant piece of work, but this lets me practice without being annoying, as the volume is very low. <br />
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The picture honestly shows all that you need to know to build one. The notebook is there for size reference. </div>
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I plan to make a more "proper" kantele soon. It will be 10 sttrings and have a soundbox, so should have enough volume to be heard when played. My wonderful wife bought me a book to learn from and it should be here in less than a week. I'll report back after I learn to actually make some music with the instrument!</div>
<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-36001386466445550502020-05-14T02:20:00.000-07:002020-05-14T02:20:07.455-07:00Throwing TargetWe wanted a bigger target for the throwing implements. So I made one. The youngest, at age almost-8 was actually a big help with placing all these end-grain sections of 2x3 lumber. <br />
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There are about 250 pieces of wood, each glued together. The target area measures 33" x 34.5"</div>
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What doesn't show is the two hinged legs in the back. They are braced against the hillside behind the target. </div>
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I'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow!</div>
<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-46292945291040008572020-05-04T00:14:00.002-07:002020-05-04T00:14:41.681-07:00Sunday ProjectHooray! No school work to do today! Time to fire up the forge!<br />
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Lots of folks are deprived of social contact right now and after a long winter, we are looking for outdoor things to do. The daughter of a friend has expressed an interest in learning to throw knives, which always gets me smiling. So, today's project was making some throwing spikes for her. <br />
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I don't have any process pictures, but there's not much to show, actually. I straighten some spring steel, forge a point at one end, and grind the surface smooth. Then heat treat. That's it.<br />
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Here's a picture of the 20 spikes I made today, fresh from the tempering oven:<br />
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And here's a closer look at the tempering colors:</div>
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Aren't those pretty? I love those oxide colors. I think I'll leave these as-is and maybe add a clear coat of lacquer on top to keep those colors a little longer. </div>
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I prefer spikes over knives for throwing for just plain fun. I may eventually make some more flat knives for throwing, but these spikes are fast to make, tough, and easy to throw. They are a little "rough and ready," but I've been throwing a set of these spikes for about 4 years and never had a problem with them. You can scroll through some of my older posts to see mine. </div>
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<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-18891206290429148922020-05-01T22:10:00.000-07:002020-05-01T22:10:03.780-07:00New SpoonThis is one of my normal medieval spoons. I left it a little thicker than usual in the handle. The best part is the interesting color in the wood. There is a wonderful dark stripe down the middle of the whole spoon and one side is slightly darker than the other. Just Alaska birch, but a really nice piece of it. I'm going to enjoy this one.<br />
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Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-25963228009538147672020-04-21T23:29:00.000-07:002020-04-21T23:29:04.678-07:00Another SeaxMost of the knives from two posts down are in new homes, now. I decided to offer them to folks in the local SCA in exchange for their Covid crafts. Essentially, I'm trying to give folks a reason to make things. I give them a knife, they have to send me something they made. <br />
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Right at the end of the trade, I got a contact from a very old friend who wanted any of them that I cared to send. In this case, I wanted to send something special, so I made one just for him.<br />
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This is the blade as forged and still hot. The length of the blade is about 7".</div>
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The "brut de forge" look is one I am really getting into, nowadays. It leaves no place to hide shoddy smithwork. I don't claim to be the best bladesmith you will ever encounter, but I do say that very few have more fun at it than I do! I really like trying to push the extreme of how much knife I can get from a piece of the coil spring. And forging to nearly finished dimensions is part of getting that maximum knife from minimum material.</div>
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Next, a picture of the handle glued up:</div>
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And after shaping it, I oiled the wood. <br />
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The spacer between the antler bit and the birdseye maple is two layers of birch bark. <br />
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This knife is a cutter, but not a chopper. I was taking some inspiration from the Aachen Seax, also known as the Hunting Knife of Charlemagne. The handle is very comfortable on this one, too. Once the oil cures, I'll wax it, then deliver it. Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-43250628765033784272020-04-17T23:34:00.002-07:002020-04-17T23:34:56.553-07:00A Viking GameI first heard of Hnefatafl over 20 years ago. At the time, the internet was a lot less of a resource than it is today. I had the idea that I'd like to learn to play the game, but never did anything with that idea.<br />
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So, looking for something to do, as many of us are while being socially isolated, I decided to look for information about Hnefatafl. Just put that word into your favorite search engine and you'll get more than you might expect. It seems to have experienced something of a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Not too surprising, considering the interest in Vikings that's going around. <br />
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In short, Hnefatafl is a game from a thousand years ago. It is sometimes called Viking Chess. The sides are mis-matched, with the larger side being the attackers and the smaller side being the defenders. <br />
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I made my board by running a piece of pine lumber over a table saw several times, cutting grooves about 1/8" deep to divide the board into a grid of squares. Playing pieces are just glass decorative "stones." Except the king, which I made, using standard lampworking techniques. The defenders are blue, the attackers red. A little paint and a quick spray of semi-gloss wood finish and it was done. <br />
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I played a couple of games with my 7 year old today. The rules are very easy to learn, but there is a need for strategy no matter which side you play. I can see this becoming a favorite game in the house. <br />
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<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-54833045015328958992020-04-07T00:52:00.000-07:002020-04-07T00:52:11.579-07:00Bunch of KnivesSome of these are from the most recent batch, others are as much as 2 years old. I finally got around to finishing the handles, sharpening the blades, and taking pictures. <br />
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But what am I going to do with all of these?<br />
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I should explain that I don't work to particular patterns. I normally make two of any knife I am making because I work two irons in the fire most of the time. One piece of steel is heating while the other is being forged. It is efficient use of fuel and time. Several of these knives, as you can see, are either duplicates or close cousins. That's just because of how I work.<br />
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There are a lot of knives represented here. Some are experiments, some are just knives I like to make. I'll tell you about them all. Don't worry. You can skip the words and just look at the pictures if you like. <br />
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1. A basic drop point all-purpose knife. Hand-filling birch handle. Blade about 4" long.<br />
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2. Clip point with birch and caribou antler handle. This one is very comfortable.<br />
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3. Smaller brut de forge blade, about 3.25", birch and caribou again. This one was inspired by a Norwegian knife I saw, so the bevel is rather abrupt, but there is no secondary bevel at the edge. Good wood working edge.<br />
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4. and 5. Efforts at simple seax blades from a couple of years ago. Maple and caribou antler. These are very pointy and the handles are just a little small for my hand. I like them, but not as much as I want to like them.<br />
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6. Small seax with octagonal handle. This one feels really good. When I stamped my touchmark, the hammer bounced and there's a slight double-stamping. Too bad, because I really like this blade a lot. 4" blade.<br />
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7. Forged in the same day as the above. Very similar, but without the double-stamping. Both have chokecherry handles.<br />
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8. 3.5" blade and a lathe-turned handle. I was inspired to do this when I saw a medieval knife in one of my favorite books (Knives and Scabbards from the British Museum) with a lathe-turned handle. This one is my first such handle. Possibly my last. Being completely round, it is hard to index where the edge is just by feel. I don't like that loss of control.<br />
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9. Smaller puukko-inspired knife, using smaller steel stock than the previous knives. Slender birch handle. This would make a pretty good carving knife for spoons or similar projects.<br />
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10. Almost the same as above, but the handle is a little different. This one offers a little more variety of gripping options, but slightly less control. You sort of have to take a choice with carving knives as to whether you want great control in one position or good control in several positions. <br />
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11. Detail carving knife. I've done several spoons with smaller blades than this one, but it is sort of a hassle. This is better for carving small figures and projects. I like this one.<br />
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My "Alaskan Puukkos" are not truly puukkos. I wouldn't claim to make a perfect representation of a particular knife from a different culture. I love the "blacksmith puukko" and these are some of my recent efforts inspired by this knife form. Blades are from 3.5 to 3.75 inches. <br />
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12. Amur cherry handle<br />
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13. Birch<br />
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14. Chokecherry<br />
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15. Birch<br />
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16. Amur cherry<br />
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17. Amur cherry<br />
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18. 3" blade, Amur cherry. I don't recall where I saw this blade shape, but I liked the look and wanted to try it out. <br />
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19. The mate of the above. <br />
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20. 5.5" blade, slim, pointy. I don't remember why I made this one, but it was a fun one. The slim handle feels really good and that Amur cherry is just pretty.<br />
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21. Chokecherry handle, octagonal, 3" blade. This one feels like a nice little "getting things done" knife. I really like it.<br />
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22. Paring knife. Forged thin, birch handle. Nothing fancy, but it will work hard in a kitchen. As if I needed another paring knife, right?<br />
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23. I'm calling this a Peasant Knife. Blade just over 4". I don't know if I like it or dislike it. It feels good, it is very sharp, and the chokecherry handle is really rather pretty. But the blade is so primitive that I'm not sure whether I love it or want to hide it. This was me trying out a particular technique that seemed to make more sense in my head than it did when I was at the anvil. Yesterday's post showed this blade with its mate, which is not shown here. The mate is actually just bad looking. I slapped a cruddy handle on it and will destroy it testing for performance. If I get to that soon, I'll update the blog with what I do to test blades periodically. <br />
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For all of these knives, I used salvaged spring steel and almost all of them have handles made of free wood. The wood all comes from branches or saplings that have been cleared or trimmed and would not make good firewood. I just love transforming the stuff that would otherwise be thrown away into knives that will last for years and make wonderful tools. <br />
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I have not made sheaths for any of these knives. Don't know if I will keep any. I might keep one of the seaxes. I love that blade form. If I do, I will make a sheath, of course. I just don't enjoy leather working very much. I make a very good sheath, I just don't smile while doing it. But it is an important part of the knife maker's skill set. Thing is, someone who will pay $100 for a knife without a sheath won't pay the $40 more that the sheath is worth, in terms of time and effort. The expectation is that the sheath is a freebie along with the knife. If I were making something that I enjoy, I wouldn't mind that so much. But I'd rather spend that time and effort working on another knife. <br />
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Well, that's a look at some of my recent work in the shop. Tomorrow I'll be working on homework and trying to get an assignment done that I've been putting off. Less than a month to go until graduation. Whee.Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-68701659916351032372020-04-05T23:32:00.000-07:002020-04-05T23:32:12.045-07:00Knives in the WorksWith the current quarantine, I thought I'd find plenty of time to get things done for fun. Ha! The kids are home, too! What time I have for projects is stolen in bits and drabs where I can sneak it. <br />
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However, I am working on getting a few knives finished up. I recently made a batch of blades. Here they are right after heat treatment:<br />
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The top two were me trying a forging technique that I'm not really happy with. One of these will be a test blade. The other, I don't know if I'll do much with it, but I'll get a handle on it, at least.<br />
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In the middle, a pair of small seaxes. I love this blade shape. I can't really justify it, I just do.<br />
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At the bottom, a pair of puukkos. This is perhaps the most practical all-purpose blade form I make. It is the Finnish all-around knife and the edge is very good for woodworking, though a puukko is good at a lot of cutting. It isn't a prybar or a chopper, but just about everything else you could ask of a tool it does well. <br />
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I'm not claiming to make actual Finnish knives. I know the puukko has become very popular lately, with some rather odd examples of non-Finnish made knives calling themselves puukkos. I'm just going to say that these are inspired by one of my favorite knife forms and leave it there. <br />
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I had a few other blades waiting for finish grinding and handles. I actually added a couple more after taking this picture. Also shown are some crooked knives, a couple of gouges, and a kiridashi (wood marking knife) that will be worked on in the future. I just put them in this batch for finish grinding.<br />
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For handle stock, I really like to use branch and sapling wood. All of these knives have wedge construction, which involves drilling out the handle a little oversize and pounding in carefully-fit wedges beside the tangs to fill the holes. And plenty of epoxy, of course. The wedges give a nice strong fit and the epoxy makes it waterproof. What more could you ask?<br />
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All of the wood was harvested locally. It is birch (from saplings that were cleared off some garden space), chokecherry (which was being cleared from an area where it is considered invasive), and Amur cherry (branches trimmed from ornamental trees). Part of the enjoyment for me in these knives is using free and found materials. There's something really fun about knowing that there are beautiful handles hiding in wood that other folks throw in the garbage.<br />
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Once the epoxy has cured, I'll shape the handles, oil them, then wax them. Then it is time for a final sharpening and they'll be ready for new homes. <br />
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This batch, I plan to just play around and experiment with the handle shapes I can get from a round stick. Not shown is the one I turned on my dad's lathe. A fully-round handle isn't the most practical because you can't tell where the edge is oriented without looking at it, but it can be pretty. I'll include a picture of it with the next installment. At that time, I should be done with the knives and ready to find them new homes.Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-35073031059394488732020-03-22T01:10:00.002-07:002020-03-22T01:10:47.297-07:00Entertaining the little oneAnd the Castle Blocks make a reappearance.<br />
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This is just a fun little video from yesterday. The enforced social isolation probably hits children the hardest, to be honest. Adults can retreat into books and projects. Kids need that interaction with other people. And they need the play time. <br />
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So, because my youngest has recently started wanting to make YouTube videos (she gets to watch a lot of them when visiting my dad - though very few here at home), I offered her a chance to make one with me.<br />
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Here it is.<br />
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<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-73099787481409997472020-03-21T22:25:00.002-07:002020-03-21T22:25:38.836-07:00Spring?March 21. Spring, right? <br />
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Well, here's what it looked like today.<br />
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Walking the dog.<br />
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Approaching home.<br />
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The view from the top of our driveway.<br />
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I'm about ready for things to warm up and thaw. We are supposed to see lows below zero next week. Imagine my disgust.<br />
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Seriously, this winter has had more actual cold in terms of freezing degree days than we've had in a long time. As a result, we've been going through the firewood and the wood pellets at a faster rate than anticipated. We may need to restock sooner than normal, just to make it through the rest of winter. <br />
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Nothing profound today, just me feeling a bit cooped up and grumpy. <br />
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Stay well and stay warm, everyone.Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-53911233140509714652020-03-06T14:58:00.000-08:002020-03-06T14:58:13.296-08:00Cold OutsideYesterday, I woke up and checked the temperature. Here's what I saw:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNTNgX9hv63sKErDDp2fmO9kIGfer6fAYwBZ8lG3ErjJzAQ_sgGUIaNpajw3EZ83wW61kaVqSoHaBHV6WfhdhLypQlINQzK9MVnb7aSEpqKlfgSjB5jfmUmgjCiSKea5_Kvx2G67xefom/s1600/IMG_6854.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNTNgX9hv63sKErDDp2fmO9kIGfer6fAYwBZ8lG3ErjJzAQ_sgGUIaNpajw3EZ83wW61kaVqSoHaBHV6WfhdhLypQlINQzK9MVnb7aSEpqKlfgSjB5jfmUmgjCiSKea5_Kvx2G67xefom/s320/IMG_6854.PNG" width="179" /></a></div>
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On March 5th.</div>
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This is getting old. Really old. I'm tired of the oppressive weather. So much of what I do for enjoyment has to have the garage door up for ventilation. That means the inside temperature is very soon the same as outside. And that's not much fun. </div>
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Last year at this time, my older girl and I were out in the shop making her first knife. Now, the temperatures are just too cold for that. </div>
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Ah, well, at least the cold temperatures are good for the receding permafrost. There's some silver lining, I guess.</div>
<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-26660770583150144542020-02-26T23:05:00.001-08:002020-02-26T23:05:17.355-08:00Forging NailsWhen I first learned blacksmithing, I took a class through the local Folk School. I spent two hours with 3 other students and we each left with 3 nails and a hook. It was worth the $150. Not for the nails. But for the empowerment of knowing that I can actually do this. <br />
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Historically, before there were machines that make nails out of wire, every nail that was used to put a house together had to be made by hand. This is really something amazing to consider. Blacksmiths with no other jobs to do would be banging out nails. All day. <br />
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I once decided I wanted to see how many nails I could make in an hour. 31. I can make 31 hand-forged nails in an hour. Just under 2 minutes per nail. That's actually pretty good. Search YouTube for hand forged nail and see how many people there are who proudly show how they can bang one out in 3-4 minutes. I was really moving fast, I figured. There are rumors I've heard of smiths being able to make a nail a minute. That seemed like the upper limit to me, though. I know I was working fast and really in the zone when I did my 31 nails. <br />
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Then I found this video:<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ccp_bgSkcOQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ccp_bgSkcOQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Just skip forward a bit if you don't want to watch the smith walk out to his shed and light the forge. Now watch him make a nail. One heat, no wasted motion, precise work, and he makes these things in under 30 seconds! I think he really could be knocking out 100 or more in an hour, even taking into account the time he has to spend maintaining his fire and taking a stretch break now and then. Economy of motion is something truly elegant. <br />
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This man sets a bar I might never even approach, let alone beat. Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806357418494173266.post-21846313299217936032020-02-08T00:49:00.001-08:002020-02-08T00:49:11.043-08:00And a forge projectOnce we were home from our little icicle-hanging outing, it was time to make some supper. The youngest suggested kabobs. That sounded great to all of us. But we didn't have enough bamboo skewers! Oh, no! I'm not driving 20 minutes to the store and 20 back. That sets supper back by a whole hour (including the time I'm in the store finding the skewers and probably seven other things we didn't really need, but I would pick up anyway, more like an hour and a half).<br />
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So I made some.<br />
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Remember, the weather is warmer! I can roll up that garage door and run the small forge! I didn't have time for any really involved projects, but I made four nice, long kabob skewers. They have an oval cross section (the food can be turned without it simply rotating on the rod like it will with a round poker), they are long enough to hold plenty of food. <br />
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Here are the skewers, including what we couldn't eat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6V0eY3x6fEz4ovM8bCPYIse0n7l420k_1qxHBTcHzhDzrqxFHHBFv3snk6CgrP80WZItPoiJk63scx4fh0_mCEfZ-vHW9x-vFi9gaJU-Ktrr9_FUsZlc-sC66JJe45qQmtwp7ijKeC5j/s1600/IMG_6697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6V0eY3x6fEz4ovM8bCPYIse0n7l420k_1qxHBTcHzhDzrqxFHHBFv3snk6CgrP80WZItPoiJk63scx4fh0_mCEfZ-vHW9x-vFi9gaJU-Ktrr9_FUsZlc-sC66JJe45qQmtwp7ijKeC5j/s320/IMG_6697.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Nothing profound, but a fun little forge project that made it easier to feed the family this evening.<br />Man of Many Talentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787426349164500587noreply@blogger.com1