Profile of master bladesmith Bob Kramer
Jerry Bowen, of CBS’s Sunday Morning, visits master bladesmith Bob Kramer. Kramer is one of allegedly only 114 master bladesmiths in the world. Kramer Knives More: Toolbox: Knives out!
Tools
Cool Tool’s “Enthusiast Sources Contest”
Our pals over at Cool Tools are running a contest: I am looking for the best sources for enthusiasts. These online sources would be the best website that offers a deep selection in a very narrow field, with fair prices and service. Often (but not always) these specialty stores are also valuable sources for information, […]
Cloak camera bag
Here’s an interesting design for a camera bag where you don’t have to take the camera from the bag to shoot. I’m not really a photographer, so I’d like to hear what others think of this idea. Cloak Bag
In the Makers Market: Stegosaurus Tinysaur kit
Bored with those die-cut plywood dinosaur kits? Try building one with tweezers! Maybe in a bottle, like a model ship, for added challenge? Seller Everything Tiny wants to send you one of these awesome little stegosaurus model kits in a mint tin:
Featured Maker: Sonodrome
Kat and Jim run Sonodrome from Tynesmouth, UK, on the northeast Channel coast. Besides the hardware featured here and in the Makers Market, they also write and distribute music software, including a digital effects rack designed for their Posc kit.
In the Makers Market: Golden ratio calipers
New Zealand-based Weirdsky Industries offers these unusual three-legged calipers which express the golden ratio (Wikipedia), dividing the distance they span into two sections such that
The golden ratio is ubiquitous in the natural world, and in art and architecture at least since ancient Greece.
The calipers are made from laser-cut stainless steel, hand-assembled using brass rivets, and are produced in three standard sizes, with custom sizes available on request.
How-To: Make micarta from blue jeans
“Micarta” (Wikipedia) is a genericized trademark that refers to a rigid composite material made from laminated paper, fiberglass, cloth, or other material impregnated with a plastic resin. It is commonly used as an electrical insulator and as a tool handle, particularly for knives.
Cliff Fendley of Fendley Knives, together with fellow knifemaker Mike Carter of Carter Crafts, set out to make some “micarta” of their own using scrap denim and epoxy resin. Even better, they documented their efforts with a detailed series of photos so others can play along at home. Kudos to both makers for “open-sourcing” a method they could easily have kept under their hats as a trade secret. [Thanks, Alan Dove!]
