TL-29-ish for my son's graduation gift.
Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 5:27 pm
This never was a TL-29, but rather, a Proto J18535, Stanley/Proto's version of the TL-29 with a cable stripping blade. I picked this up in a $20 batch of knives, and tried selling it...but there were no takers. So, instead of setting aside for future sale, I decided to make something special for my son's graduation next month. The handle material is something someone gave me, claiming that it was stabilized wood that they wanted me to make into a mod for vaping. That was over a year ago, and I've called the guy a number of times to tell him to pick it up, because I couldn't do with it what he wanted done. After a year of not picking it up, I've claimed parts of it for this project.
I believe it was glennbad that turned the screwdriver blade into a bottle opener, which I thought was rather ingenious. I thought about copying him on that, but decided not to, because it's been done. So, I tossed the screwdriver and main blades aside and decided to use the cable stripping blade. It's what I would call a combination of two different blades...the hawkbill pruner and the wharncliffe. It looks like it could be quite useful for him. I wanted something useful for him, something that he could carry while dressed up, or something he could carry to fire calls (he's a full member of our borough's fire department).
Now, a bit of a back story. Back when I worked for a jet engine manufacturer in Utah, I was given permission to use a piece of scrap Titanium to make wedding rings for my wife and me. I wanted to be THAT guy...cheap and romantic. LOL Anyway, I had enough scrap left over to spin up a pair of rings for my daughters. When I they opened them, I told them that each ring was different, just as they are different from each other. One had one groove and the other had two grooves...to signify who the ring belonged to. The one with one groove belonged to my oldest daughter, and the one with two grooves belonged to my second daughter. I also told them to study their rings, and find the minor flaws that I left in them. I told them to list the flaws, and come back to me when they thought that they found them all. I told them also that they should look within themselves, identify their own flaws, and list them for future reference. I explained that just as I created those rings out of scrap, that God created them. Just as the rings I created had minor flaws, they were created with flaws as well...and it was their job to find them and remember them. I reminded them that their flaws should never stop them from succeeding in their life goals.
That same story will be told to my son. The knife I created and altered in my basement shop has flaws...flaws that he should find, identify, and acknowledge, just as he should do within himself. He'll also be told that while the knife may have flaws, that it works perfectly...much like he can manage in life with his own flaws.
Anyway, here's a photo of it prior to first coat of tung oil finish. I have until my surgery to get as many coats of tung oil on it as I can. After I'm worked on, I'll be down for at minimum 3-6 months, and he graduates in June.
I believe it was glennbad that turned the screwdriver blade into a bottle opener, which I thought was rather ingenious. I thought about copying him on that, but decided not to, because it's been done. So, I tossed the screwdriver and main blades aside and decided to use the cable stripping blade. It's what I would call a combination of two different blades...the hawkbill pruner and the wharncliffe. It looks like it could be quite useful for him. I wanted something useful for him, something that he could carry while dressed up, or something he could carry to fire calls (he's a full member of our borough's fire department).
Now, a bit of a back story. Back when I worked for a jet engine manufacturer in Utah, I was given permission to use a piece of scrap Titanium to make wedding rings for my wife and me. I wanted to be THAT guy...cheap and romantic. LOL Anyway, I had enough scrap left over to spin up a pair of rings for my daughters. When I they opened them, I told them that each ring was different, just as they are different from each other. One had one groove and the other had two grooves...to signify who the ring belonged to. The one with one groove belonged to my oldest daughter, and the one with two grooves belonged to my second daughter. I also told them to study their rings, and find the minor flaws that I left in them. I told them to list the flaws, and come back to me when they thought that they found them all. I told them also that they should look within themselves, identify their own flaws, and list them for future reference. I explained that just as I created those rings out of scrap, that God created them. Just as the rings I created had minor flaws, they were created with flaws as well...and it was their job to find them and remember them. I reminded them that their flaws should never stop them from succeeding in their life goals.
That same story will be told to my son. The knife I created and altered in my basement shop has flaws...flaws that he should find, identify, and acknowledge, just as he should do within himself. He'll also be told that while the knife may have flaws, that it works perfectly...much like he can manage in life with his own flaws.
Anyway, here's a photo of it prior to first coat of tung oil finish. I have until my surgery to get as many coats of tung oil on it as I can. After I'm worked on, I'll be down for at minimum 3-6 months, and he graduates in June.
