Hide the Women and the Liquor..I'm BAAAAAACK!!

[JPH]

Howdy!  The rumors of my demise are unfounded,,,I am still here to the chagrin of my enemies and the delight  of my friends...what a ride we had..All started out with getting rear ended by a drunk driver...well that gave me some soft tissue damage in my neck, shoulders and upper back..No fun.. and as the weeks passed I couldn't feel my hands..I mean at all..Well the Drs at the VA did some x-rays and it seems that the impact of the accident moved some shell fragments that were in my neck and things went downhill from there..They were pressing right on my spinal cord and well several surgeries and infections later..I ended up being  laid low and not being able to do much of anything for way too long.  As Mr Baggins asked : "Don't adventures ever end"??.

 

No heavy work..no real light work either at times while I was trying to beat the infections (that kept on coming back and that means another surgery and starting back at square one...)..and rest and not do any more damage.  However..I am on my last few days on these new meds and they are kicking arse on the infection and I am now able to  get back to work on a limited basis for now..Still no heavy lifting or hammer swinging yet...but in two/three weeks I should be able to get back into this hammer and tongs..FINALLY..

 

So all in all you will see my cantankerous self popping in from time to time...

 

I'm BACK!!

 

JPH

[Geoff Keyes]

It's great to see you back.  Be well and don't push too hard.

 

Geoff

[Alan Longmire]

Welcome back, Jim!  

[Conan Dunlap]

Jim, I don't know you but your books were a major inspiration for me to get into this madness.  I am glad you will be back into the shop soon and I look forward to seeing more of your incredible creations!

[John Page]

What a wild ride! Glad to hear things are back on the up and up, and hoping they stay that way. Compounding injuries are a nightmare especially when there is no clear end in sight. 

[Doug Lester]

Best of health to you, Jim.  Though at our age that's relative.

 

Doug

[Charles dP]

Hey @JPH. Funny, I was just wondering the other day what you were up to. Sorry to hear about all the sh.. you were dealt but glad you’re on the mend. I’m still waiting for that next book of yours .

[Dick Sexstone]

Like Charles said….. “i was wondering “ about you…… I have been away from the forum for a long time and lots of people I remember from back then are not posting now… So it is good to see you here and  still standing ….. Infections are insidious , it is  good to hear the new meds are working for you….

 

[JPH]

Hello: Thank you all for the sentiments..It is appreciated. 

 

Yeah it's been rough and boy being laid up for that long took a huge bite out of the finances and things are really tight but we are still surviving. I have so many things laying on my bench that are in various stages of being done and well..not being able to do much really is frustrating beyond belief... however.. I have been able to get a bunch of writing done on book IV and that is progress..so not all was completely lost time wise.

 

I really delved into the temperline/Hamon  and the Japanese blades sections..I owe that to the late Bob Engnath as I have all our notes from when we were starting out doing that back in the early 1980s..we burned up a lot of steel and heard many... far too many "Tinks of Death".. as we called them.. He and I..and our wives... use to get into all sorts of mischief at knife shows..  I pitied the public that got caught between our tables..In other words we had a helluva lotta fun..Got thrown out of a few restaurants as well for our antics..Usually that was due to a lack of a sense of humor on the side of the restaurant's manager..I still miss that man. He was the greatest traditional scrimshander in the world when he was alive.. His work looked like a black and white photograph. He was THAT good... 

 

So...back to doing what I am ALLOWED to do..

 

JPH