Covid 19...Playing with Bows & Knives

[tippit]

I've spent a lot of time in my forge/shop since "Say at Home Lockdown." I'm probably forging a couple of knives a week and reducing weight on 1-2 bows per week.  My reduced hunting bows of 40#@28 and practice bows of 35#@ 28 are at least up to 40 bows now.  One bow in particular really stands out not so much in the amount of weight removed (although it was a lot)...but to the way it refinished.  This is an old Leon Stewart Curly Maple Slammer that was 55#.  In grinding the lams and side profile a lot of the beautiful reddish stain that high lights the Curly Maple was also removed.  Curly maple is one of my favorite woods for knife handles and I normally stain it with Fiebing's Leather Dye dark brown.  Amazingly that stain also seemed to penetrate the the glass on the bow too...tippit

Curly Maple on some of my Knife handles...

Stewart Slammer...

[mahantango]

Love Leon's bows. That one is a beauty.

[Bisch]

You make some really great looking knives!!!!

Great work on both the knives and bows!!!!!

Bisch

[awbowman]

Trade you two rolls of toilet paper for one

[tippit]

Naw...I'm holding out for 3 rolls!

[fisherick]

I"ll bid 4 rolls.   Are you still in S.C. or Carlisle?

[tippit]

fisherick,
We are pretty much isolated on our farm in Aiken, SC. I have my forge/shop, dogs to train, horses to ride without seeing anyone, fly rods to cast even though I'm not fishing, and bows to shoot even though I'm not hunting/going to my hog lease in south Georgia for now anyway.  My wife & I feel much safer here than back in the Boston area.  This may be our first summer spent in SC.  If Covid 19 doesn't get us, the SC summer heat just might.  I'll think about your kind offer of 4 rolls of TP...tippit

[Keith Zimmerman]

I love the color of the bottom handle.  Perfect for a flintlock too.

[tippit]

Keith,
Funny you should say that as that Curly Maple came from a few scraps of Jim Kibler's Longrifles. One of my flintlocks is a 36 cal. Kibler Southern Mountain Longrifle...tippit