The new year

   So in usual fashion nothing ever slows down for me.  It is just layers and layers of being crazy busy.  Unfortunately, over the break my father fell very ill and has been hospitalized.  It is unclear what will happen but for now he is where he needs to be with around the clock attention until he is better and can go home.  It has put me in a funk of sorts which is a bad place to be when you are busy and have deadlines. 

     With the semester looming and multiple commitments to workshops, lectures and everything else life is throwing at me right now I was actually given an incredible gift by a colleague.  He actually forced me to slow down and make something just for fun. It has been a long time since I had just gone into the studio without having to make a piece for a show or crank out 100 little doo dads.  Sadly, as I grow older I actually use the word "fun" less and less.

   I don't think it is a secret that I have found myself doing exactly what I want and I am still not happy.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  I have always thought that when the passion is gone it is time to move on.  This gift that was given to me to just play in the studio is exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.   I really had a blast, and it has given me some hope that I will be able to actually start this year on the good foot.  

   My new years resolution is to remain positive.  I am going to make the fun things more important than the not so fun things.  I am going to take more time for myself and my family.   



  So....for some reason I have been saving the spoil boards from the CNC.  The CNC had a table top that I level using a leveling bit.  Normally you don't want to cut into the table top.  So we lay down a spoil board to cut on.  I have collected about a dozen of them.  One day a fellow technician Dylan MCmanus who happens to be a printmaker said  "We should print those."  I kind of brushed it off at the time.  For some reason I like them as objects and couldn't visualize them "on paper".  Until now.  Here are a few photos documenting what we are doing.  There is much more to come but for now we are starting with two layer then three, then four..  The sky is the limit.  

Rings!

ex-spare-mints

The parts came in for the bangle I have been working on.  I am kind of excited.  I have some re-designing to do.  The holes didn't quite come out and I had to manually clear them with some pin stem wire. The bench jeweler in me loved the monotony.  I also will have to alter the spacers for the knot that will need to be tied unless I use a crimp or a seamless cord. 
It was hard to find stretch cord that would actually stretch and return to its original length.  
Tips?
I also think these parts are a little weak and I am a little worried about the sections snapping when stretched.  I think I can make the entire piece a little more dynamic by applying the same workflow that I use for the laser etched enamel brooches and increasing the thickness on the interior supports.  The shapes could get bigger and smaller and certain areas and be on both sides of the bracelet.  I am hopping to use grasshopper and see what happens.   Learning grasshopper on my own has been like learning a new language without ever hearing it.  
As usual, I have WAY too much to do and not enough time to do it.  I sent off new knife designs to my laser cutter.  Being that it is extremely hard to solve some issues without actually cutting material, I have decided to just go ahead and keep cutting until I find a design that works.  You gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet. 
Anyone need some knives?  Half off? 
 I am looking forward to a little break over thanksgiving.          

knife part II

So I picked up the knife blanks.  

Here is what I learned:

• I used 1/8" 301 304 stainless which may be a little too thick
• 301 304 stainless is not hardened tool steel so I need to experiment with cutting to determine how long the edge will keep. 301 is the same stainless industrial kitchen table tops are made from. 
• My design is not perfect.  I think the handle needs to be longer in order for it to be better balanced and usable.  
• I made two sizes, the larger blade is about eight inches long.   Unfortunately the handle on the larger knife is WAY too small.
• I need to figure out how to stamp or mark the blade.  
• I am also rough grinding the blade as much as I can and then I am actually having the edge ground by a cutlery expert near the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).  I would love to do it myself, but until I can get a hold of some proper tools (Belt grinder etc) I am going to leave it to the experts.  
• I have to alter the design a bit but I would like to make more soon for the holiday season.  
• I should really put a hole in it, either for rivets or for it to hang on something.  

knife research Part ONE

Sooooooo coming off making two cutting boards for friends I have decided to do a limited run of knives.  

On with the research.  

Sometime last year I thought it would be great to make a couple of knives.  I ordered some knife steel and quickly realized..... that I didn't have the right tools to make what I wanted.  I burned up bits,  I snapped sanding belts and melted few things.  Plan B, fast forward to today.  I thought I would laser cut the metal and then all I would have to do it put on an edge and maybe make a handle?

So a little research.  First, I found this website that was incredibly informative.  This website made me realize that I was missing some of the vocabulary and design elements that would be necessary to even attempt making a a knife.  

I have a lot of experience with knives.  Ever since I was a teenager I have always had a knife on me or near me.  It all started with the swiss army knife then later a folding spyderco, then a gerber, saber on and on and on.  When I was older, working on two houses and having a full time job teaching studio classes  I was actually detained at an airport because I forgot to leave my knife at home.  I also love cooking and using knives in the kitchen.  De-boning turkeys, chickens and roasts.  Cutting Soba noodles.  

I have started designing a few things in Rhino and have based the design on a basic vegetable chopping knife/chefs knife hybrid.  I made two sizes thinking that one might make a great bench knife or prep knife.