Blog
RESINEX: Wood Stabilising Resin
RESINEX: Wood Stabilising ResinResinex is a heat-cured resin giving professional-level results with a home stabilising setup. Using a straight-forward process, the resin penetrates deeply and sets solidly using heat.Easy to useDeep penetration in wood and antlerSolid curing - cures at 90 CCan be dyed with solvent-based dyesNon flammableLow odourEasy clean-up using normal household productsAchieve professional results at homeThe advantages of stabilising are well-known to knife makers and woodwor
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31st Jul 2020
Blacksmith Workshop: Making a Chef Knife in a day (Sydney)
Blacksmith Workshop: Making a Chef KnifeWe have been having fun working on the format of the blacksmithing workshop, after feedback from students. Some student wished they had been making chef knives rather than the more blacksmith-looking "herb chopper" or pizza cutter. So we stuck our heads together and got some awesome process advice from Kevin Slattery of Kev's Forge (who hold workshops in Canberra) and changed the workshop to this;
Forge a chef blade from 1084 High-carbon steel b
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29th Jul 2020
Beginners Guide to Grinder Belts: What belts to buy?
Abrasive belts can be a confusing topic, at least if you are not able to pop into a shop for some good advice.So here is a quick guide to get you going. This is not a long, exhaustive list covering lots of specialist belts for specialist makers, but a good middle-of-the-road list of belts that works well for us - and might work well for you.The 10 second summary:
For steel: Ceramic belts in 60 and 120 grits, they just last longerFor handles: Zirconia belts, less grit on the belt stops
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23rd Jul 2020
Hands-on Blacksmithing Experience in Sydney
Sharing some photos from the Blacksmithing Workshop we had with Zoe and Kat last weekend.The blacksmithing workshop is held under roof in the Creative Man back yard, held once a month on a Saturday.We started by covering the tools and safety equipment we would be using, and the forging process of making the knife we would make. Zoe decided to rather than make the normal herb chopper or pizza-cutter, she would make a chef knife blade, and make the handle at a later time as a project with her
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14th Jul 2020
How to Carve a Spoon with simple tools
Spoon Carving InstructionsThe below is a cut down version of what we
go through in our workshops, so you can start making your own spoons at home.Wood: For your first couple of spoons, use
pine from a hardware store like Bunnings. It is easy to carve and makes a nice
looking spoon. The photos below use pine.Tools included in the spoon carving kits we sell:Sloyd knife: Sharp, thin blade
for wood carvingHook knife: Bent blade for hollowing out the
bowl.Chip carving knife: Short blade for
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10th Jul 2020