Knife Making
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Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 5 Sep 2014 22:57
Knife Making, Barrytown
![]() Although we did a fair amount of
research of what we wanted to see and do, along the way people have said bits we
shouldn’t miss, we have found pamphlets in shops and information centres, found
things on the internet and come across things by accident. Bear picked up a brochure for knife making whilst we were in
Greymouth, a new one on both of us. I would very much like to do this, what do you think.
Book us in then, sounds brilliant. Looking it up on Trip Advisor was a first too
– everyone but everyone gave rave reviews, even girlfriends going to keep
boyfriends happy, young and old alike.
![]() ![]() ![]() We jumped up this morning, drove
ten minutes to Barrytown and were warmly welcomed by Steven and Robyn.
Safety glasses, gloves and overshirts on, Bear had
time to read the 10 Commandments – Smithy
Style.
![]() ![]() ![]() While we waited for the rest of the
days ‘forgers’ I had time to look at the flowers and
scratch Sam's head.
![]() ![]() ![]() After our safety briefing we listened
as Steven told us how to heat our carbon steel. Three
times we would heat to orange, never banging the tip against the edge of the
forge and not to blue hot. Bear shows how his ‘knife’ began the day and getting
going.
![]() ![]() Bear on his final
heat before plunging in bucket – important stage. Mine on final cooling down.
![]() ![]() ![]() Bear hack
sawing the unwanted end off. Me on third
grind. Bear getting a shiny
middle.
![]() ![]() ![]() Bear on final
grind. Me drilling my bolster or guard, pins in and off to hammer flat.
![]() ![]() Bear cutting his
handle. Both beasts with handles glued and
pinned.
![]() ![]() ![]() Our last job before lunch was to
masking tape our index finger, get a dollop of three-part epoxy filler and
squidge it all round our handle joins and into our bolster joins, that done it
was hands wash. Bear went to say ‘hello’ to Sam. Our
knives by lunchtime. I went to throw an axe. During our lunch break we
had to consider what we wanted our final blade shape to be. That was easy for me
as I had arrived picturing a machete shape. My last one I had put to a tunas
head and whacked with a hammer and it fell to pieces. I didn’t want anything
fancy to be put away and not used, mine is to live in the cockpit, oiled and
protected of course, kept razor sharp and ready for ‘the catch of the day’.
Easy for me too, I fancied a Bowie
knife.
![]() During our lunch
of toasties and tea Steven worked on. On the beast –
an unforgiving grinder that even he had to wear ear defenders, mask and gloves
for. He would take our knives to first pass. Getting the handles to rough shape,
the blades to the point of ready for sharpening and most important to get rid of
any unwanted epoxy.
![]() ![]() ![]() After lunch we all
followed Robyn to let the big horses out into their field and the Shetlands for
a bit of a run, jump and fun time. Jess volunteered
to be our runner.
![]() ![]() ![]() Little One
had a turn but as he was a little lame, just twice. Back we
went – a merry troop chatting. The group of eleven was made up of us, a
helicopter pilot, a sky diver, an anaesthetist, a builder, a school lad, an
engineer and three we didn’t catch. Robyn then was in
charge of getting the swing going.........
![]() ![]() ![]() Everyone pulled
back, each in turn had the same _expression_, each first words were
different – some unprintable. It is Emma’s birthday
and Lucinda is only six weeks before baby
due.
![]() Bear’s face a
classic. Who would think an ordinary garden swing set much higher off the
ground could be such a short, sharp shock before the rhythm of the swinging took
over.
![]() The Master had done a wonderful job,
our knives were really beginning to look the part.
Now we had to draw felt tip squiggles on each side of our blade and go down in
grinding size three times. Then a piece of masking tap one mil from our bolster
on the handle side. Then we trooped around to the front of the house with
wonderful sea view, flat calm. Robyn took us through 400 and 800 wet sanding, a
1200 dry sand and a metal polish on our blades.
![]() Shy Otto
came out to show off his magnificent hair-do.
![]() ![]() ![]() The beast was tamed with a smoother belt, taken from the small
selection and Steven put the cutting edge to our
knives.
![]() The final, final
polish.
![]() After we had wood-dyed our handles,
we put them on the numbered newspaper on the draining board. Our lovely line up,
ours are on six and seven. We stood in the kitchen
drinking Robyn’s smashing home-made champagne and watched as Steven put a
protective layer of Kiwi polish on the handles whilst he told us how to care
long-term for our beautiful creations. What is amazing is that ten people began
at the exact same beginning at half past nine this morning and here we were at
five o’clock all with a different finished product – all chuffed to bits. What
an incredible journey of learning, laughter and camaraderie. Not a cross word,
if someone was on a machine someone else wanted, we just lined up and chatted
happily. Robyn and Steven worked flat out ALL day, keeping us busy, safe and
productive. In the morning Robyn came round with a sugar fix of a marshmallow.
In the afternoon with a spoonful of jelly beans. We went from tourists to house
guests and left as friends. A day to remember. We cannot thank Steven and Robyn
enough and hope one day soon they will retire and enjoy some easier days as
twenty three years and thousands of knives is a wonderful career making so many
people very delighted.
![]() Lucinda just made this picture, well her hand and new knife did.
![]() What a fantastic
day. A
brilliant day
ALL IN ALL THE FULLEST, FUN
DAY EVER
A UNIQUE AND TERRIFIC
DAY |