Doug Lester

Yes, I think Charles hit the nail on the head. The grain in course and could have been helped with a couple of normalizations. It may have contributed to the pre-existing cracks. You screw up, you learn. Doug

Truly excellent, Cal. Doug

One person who used to post here held that a commission is an agreement made in hell. Doug

Just remember any mistake that you didn't learn anything from is a perfectly good mistake wasted. Doug

How did you get the Osage Orange to develop a dark patina this quickly? It took a couple of months for a handle with it to develop that deep russet patina. I do have to agree with Joel that the dip in the spine does detract from the knife and I would have put just a tad more belly to the edge to help it rock a little better to chop food. Doug

One of the best warranties that I ever saw was the knife maker warrantied the knife, his or the owner's, whichever came first. Doug

This is going to be interesting. Doug

Nothing wrong with the serpent layer. The horn guard is fantastic. Doug

I would have never considered dove tailing an ax bit, replacement or not, to the body of an ax head. Sort of gives me a headache trying to figure out how to do it. Doug

I will limit my response to cryo, no you cannot fake that with the kitchen freezer. They just don't go low enough. A slurry of dry ice might be iffy, no real experience on my part to say, but reading from those who do cryo they use liquid nitrogen which would require you to get a talwar. Doug

A nice stabby, Pointy looking dagger. After watching Todd Cutler and Matt Easton experiment with rondel daggers against sheet steel I wonder how your dagger would fair. Doug

Go up to Show and Tell above and there's an entry from someone who makes Sqian Dobhs that shows several examples of his work. Doug

That is a seriously neat shawl. Your lady wife does great work. Doug

Hard time saying which ones my favorite, they're all great. Love the silver inlay. Doug

The only thing that I don't care for on that knife is the brut d'forge finish on the flats. It's just me, I've never cared for it. Other than that it's a great looking knife. Doug

Very nice work and I agree with Robert, those scales are fantastic. Doug

Very good work on both the knife and the sheath. Doug

Handsome work. Congratulations. Doug

Hunter, fighter, camp knife. What does it matter. The only thing that looks a little off is that the bone along with the horn makes it look a little busy. Absolutely nothing wrong with the blade. Doug

You do a kindness with other beginners when you leave your mistakes posted. Not only to you leave a solution to those who heave the same problem but you make them feel less stupid. Like when it took me half the day to notice that the POLs have left handed screws. Doug

How controlable is it with that thin an narrow if a handle? I made a couple of knives with small handles like that and found them difficult to control. Doug

That's incredible. A whole landscape on a knife blade. Doug

Can't wait until you put a handle and guard on it. That blade is just so fantastic. Doug

Yum! Doug

Joshua is right. I'm not close to being able to claim to be a Journeyman but I have a drawer full of ruined blades. Doug