Go Royals!!!

The Royals swept the Orioles this afternoon and for the first time since I got married, they will make an appearance in the World Series. The last time they were in the series, it was 1985 and they won.

So all I have to say is, Go Royals!

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I finished the fifth and final knife today.

I've already posted a picture of a completed knife but here's what I start with:

In that picture, I've cut the rivets and removed the old handle, exposing the tang of the blade. As you can see, it's not a straight line and it's in kinda tough shape. The "not a straight line" part required that I create a filler to fill in that part and the "tough shape" part requires that I sand it to remove the old gerb or whatever it is.

Here's a picture showing the filler and the tang after I apply the epoxy and clamp them to the first piece of wood:

Here's a close up of the tang and the filler with the epoxy:

After it dries, I sand the filler down to the same thickness as the tang. Then it's just a matter of gluing the other piece of wood on and waiting for it to dry.

Once it's good and dry, I take the scroll saw to it and give it the initial shape. Then it's time for a lot of sanding (mahogany is damned hard wood) to finalize the shape and smooth it so a human can use it without getting slivers.

The last step is a liberal application of mineral oil to make the wood waterproof and give it a little depth.

As I said to my wife, they look homemade and no two of them look the same but they look a hell of a lot better than they did before.

She thinks they look pretty good and won't let me put them in the dishwashers. That means I have created something I have to wash by hand.

And I'm okay with that.

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Enough about knives, let's go look at some links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminals of the Month.



• As I said back on October 8th, anytime the government tells us to remain calm, it's time to become very concerned and prepare for the worst.



• Key phrase in this story: "But as they tried, Seybold awoke, slammed on the gas and struck the police vehicle stationed in front of her car."



• Only in Florida.



• Is that a sausage in your pants or are you just glad to see me?



• Is that a felony or a misdemeanor?



• Only in a Walmart in Florida.