Kitchen knife

Since everyone has been showing off their sharp and pointys, I figure this is a good time to post a birthday present we all got together for a friend of mine up here.

See, she's a brilliant cook - even translating her own recipies out of a medieval cooking book! A..um... medieval Dutch cooking book if I recall right. Smart cookie.

For years she's been going far out of her way to help everyone with everything, often to great personal cost. So we all figured it was time to make her a little token of appreciation:

The knife is by Blacksmith Chris. Sharp sharp!

The sheath I made - the design I poked out mostly with an awl made by Dear Friend Travis (that man is *such* a handy piece of work). Former SCADians will recognize the device at the bottom. It seemed appropriate.

The finish though is what was fun. I'd been playing with an old finishing technique I was pointed to in some old book or another - a mix of neatfoot oil and beeswax. It's all in the ratio - more oil and you get nice soft supple leather. More wax - especially if you heat it - and you get a stiff piece not unlike modern leather finishes. The neat thing is how that wax just seeps through the leather, so the surface buffs up *nice* and pretty.

Anyhow, off to work. Happy Wednesday all!