Hobby thread? Hobby thread.

[Hammerskjold]

Do any lurkers here have hobbies\other passion they like to share. Please do tell what it is, what you like about it, and any tips. K, I'll start.

Mine is amateur knife making. What I like about it, it's one of those 'easy to learn and a lifetime to master' things. It's not that hard to make a serviceable enough knife. But to make one that is seamless, well balanced, strong and beautiful of heirloom quality, yeah that can take literally years. I'm not at that stage, and I seriously doubt I'll ever ding that skill level. But it's still fun.

I've worked mostly with mild steel for basic practice, and only starting to get into higher carbon\better steels. Modern mild steel is slightly better than the ancient world's iron. It's strong, fairly cheap and readily available at most hardware stores in N. America. I've made small mild steel knives with all the different grind types that are literally, razor sharp. Problem is, it won't hold that edge for long. But hey you get an appreciation of what people used before the age of modern steel came to being.

Tips. Aside from basic safety like wear eye protection and dust masks etc. All the noobish mistakes I thought I'd avoid because in theory I read and knew about it. I still made them when it came to actual practice.

The handles being too short, overly boxy and not enough nicely rounded corners and edges. Hey at least I avoided the 'for my first project, I'm making a katana sword!'. :p Seriously, IMO it's better and you learn more by making a small letter opener for a first project over a 12 inch Bowie knife.

I thought I was learning fairly well, then I found this professional bladesmith website. I'm still just learning the ABCs compared to this guy.

http://www.jayfisher.com/Khukris_Fine_Combat_Custom.htm

Also, khukris are awesome.

[shoju]

First. knife / sword making is awesome. I would love to see some examples of your work!

For me, my hobby isn't nearly as... "cool". I'm a Photography / Digital Media junkie. I'm not talking about the garbage meme kind of stuff. I love photography, and I love Photo Manipulation. Here are some of the types of things that I have done.

This is a Darkfield Illumination Project I did in College. It is still to this day one of my absolute favorite Photos I have ever taken. There is no manipulation to this image. Just 4 props and a camera.


This is a Still Life that I did. Vintage Instruments (I'm a musician, that is my 1956 Danelectro, and my very first Bass Guitar ever)


This was a shot that I talked the Bride and Groom into.


This is a Photo Manip I did of a montage of shots I took over a summer. If I were to do this again, I would probably change out the pic I used in the back, and try and find something a little closer to the foreground subject matter.


This is a Digital Piece I did. It's a based on my music room in the basement. I took photos of all the pieces in the picture (except for the outside) and re-created them digitally, and gave it an off kilter perspective. It started out as an accident, but then I really liked the perspective being off, and just went with it.


I also do advertising, and logo work for my employer, so sometimes I get to mix my hobby with my business. I'm also a Musician, I was in a band that achieved marginal regional success, and released a studio album before we sort of... disbanded during the second album. I love music.

[Hammerskjold]

I would love to see some examples of your work!

I still got a lot to learn before it's ready for pics. Though with your photog skills, I wouldn't be surprised if one or two would look good. But that'll be thanks to your skill at the camera, and not my crafting.

Seriously, those are nice pics there. My favourite is the wedding shot. Great composition.

I finally found a supplier of precision ground tool steel near my area. Just got a nice piece of flatstock this afternoon, and it's like night and day compared to the mild steel stock I've been using. Laser straight.

I'll probably still be using some mild steel, if nothing else for non blade parts, and maybe some prototyping. That flatstock piece is making me so giddy that I made a quick wooden prototype, simply because I don't want to fuuhhdge it up when it's time to do it in 'real steel'.

Again, great pics and thanks for sharing them.

[ShadowHM]

I admire those who have hobbies that produce visible results.

My hobby of slaying all evil inside computer games just doesn't compare. For years, to take a break after a day of mostly solitary work, I would get together with online friends of an evening to slay some demons. It had the added benefit of allowing me to stay home while 'going out', so I didn't need babysitters and I didn't need to drive or find parking in inclement weather.

During that time, my husband's hobby was making stained glass pieces. His work involved fine motor skills and a lot of seeking cooperation from others. His solitary time creating stained pieces required the same fine motor skills but nobody had to cooperate. He could show exasperation if things didn't go right. And he made some very beautiful pieces.

My life is still full of the results of his hobby. Unfortunately, I have nothing to show for mine.

I do garden, but that is an incredibly desultory form of creativity, coaxing the plants to grow where I want them to and starting over again on a regular basis on the same 'canvas' when Mother Nature intervenes with my work. (An ice storm in 2005 and a wind storm in 2008 made for huge changes in my garden space.)

Thanks for sharing the hobbies that give you pleasure.

[FireIceTalon]

[swirly]

I would get together with online friends of an evening to slay some demons.

...

My life is still full of the results of his hobby. Unfortunately, I have nothing to show for mine.

Have none of those online friends transitioned from gaming friends to actual friends? If they were more than that beforehand then was their no added closeness gained? It just seems to me that their should be something to show for your hobby in those relationships. Even if it is a less tangible something. Though I too find myself struggling with the transfer from gaming friends to actual friends. It sucks when a game goes away and you suddenly realize that all those friends went with it. Hopefully some have stayed though and are the results of your hobby.

[ShadowHM]

Have none of those online friends transitioned from gaming friends to actual friends? If they were more than that beforehand then was their no added closeness gained? It just seems to me that their should be something to show for your hobby in those relationships. Even if it is a less tangible something. Though I too find myself struggling with the transfer from gaming friends to actual friends. It sucks when a game goes away and you suddenly realize that all those friends went with it. Hopefully some have stayed though and are the results of your hobby.

Hello swirly,

I really should have said "I have nothing tangible to show for mine."

Yes, some of those gaming companions have become friends.

And yes, when new games came along, some of the companions were lost. For example, when Guild Wars came along, I lost the company of some very fine companions when I declined to play too.

However, I am still in contact with some of the companions of Diablo 1. I remain in contact with others as well, some of whom I met through this forum as well as those I met through game play.

The evolution of the Internet has made that contact easier to maintain, I would submit. We can literally talk to each other now, instead of typing at each other in-game. This allows for much more intimacy, in the sense that we can enquire about how each other's children/spouses/jobs/etc. are going at the same time as communication on in-game tactics.

[Alram]

Square dancing. Several nights a week. Tremendous fun.

[swirly]

Square dancing. Several nights a week. Tremendous fun.

Do you still do the pun stuff? Does that count as a hobby? I think of you anytime I hear a pun. Which is often. : )

[Jabberwolky]

Aquariums. I've been keeping fish for 21 years now. One year ago I started my first marine fish tank and I'm proud to say that today I have not killed a single fish and I have 4 species of corals growing strong. The fact that I was able to do it on a shoe string budget makes me very proud. I have gotten alot of advice in game from Glaur about the marine tank.

I also do mountain biking, swimming, cross fit, wieght lifting, and generally staying active. I still love to game I just don't as much anymore. Right now I'm playing through Crysis 2.

[Alram]

Square dancing. Several nights a week. Tremendous fun.

Do you still do the pun stuff?

Constantly.

Square dancing. Several nights a week. Tremendous fun.

Does that count as a hobby?

Hobby or not hobby. That is the question.

Square dancing. Several nights a week. Tremendous fun.

I think of you anytime I hear a pun. Which is often. : )

I'm honored. Thank you.

[Hammerskjold]

/cast raise skeleton on thread


Allright, here's one semi finished knife. I say that because it still needs a sheath\scabbard. And it's still fairly crude in some of the fit and finish. The bevel part of the cutting edge needs more polishing to at least satin finish level.

The prybar itself is not perfectly flat, so I had to fill some of the gaps between the handle scales with epoxy. Things need to be ground or forged flat so mating parts fits nicely. That or buying flat ground stock to begin with will probably save precious time and prevent headaches.

This is not re-heat treated so it has the original spring temper of a prybar. Good news is, it's probably a tough blade to break, and easy to sharpen. The bad news is, it's soft by cutlery standard, and looking back I think heat treating to produce a harder blade than the original spring temper is a good trade off.

It's an ok slicer, though it can push cut newspaper no problem. Can cut potatoes but awkwardly and on an angle due to the 1/4 inch thickness. Acts like a cleaver vs raw chicken. It has chopped ice to defrost a freezer. Originally it was designed to see if it can do the duty of a small hatchet for a camping trip.

Camping trip unfortunately got cancelled, and after backyard testing the blade might be too short to serve as hatchet duty.

But I learned a lot, and the next one I'm going
to improve on what I learned.

Forgive the pic quality, I'm not a pro-tographer like Shoju.



The bamboo is from a free home depot flooring sample.
Strand woven, carbonized bamboo.
Interesting material, similar to oak.

Though I'm probably not going to use this particular brand
if I use bamboo composites for handles again.