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  #1  
Old 06-19-2003, 12:04 AM
Neil Ostroff's Avatar
Neil Ostroff Neil Ostroff is offline
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Bench Time with a Master- part 2

OK!!! ?First I grind the blade. Bob has a neat ?jig? to hold the blade in place. Once I got the ?feel? and controlled my ?body language? it went fine. Bob showed me how to etch the lines on the blade to guide me - The general idea is to get the grind lines the same on both sides. Bob said that I did quite well. That meant everything to me. The picture below shows when my blade hit the grinder for the very first time!



After marking the location for the holes for the frame and liners, I drill very carefully- Bob sets up all the machines for me (proper drill bits etc) and I perform the task.



Cutting out the solid Bronze backspacer on the band saw. This made me very nervous. One slip and fingers would be flying.



As you can see, Bob was quite concerned about this procedure also. But he insisted that I do this all by myself.



Certain procedures call for the grinder to be wet- An apron and gloves are required.



We take a break for lunch (15 minutes). At Bob?s house, each sandwich must have the appropriate toothpick.



Here is the MK1 almost ready for assembly (or so I thought). Note how we mark the scales to be sure what goes where. The G10 has an adhesive plastic film on it that remains until the knife is completely built. This is to protect the G10 material from abuse during profiling. Bob was the one who removed the plastic, as he didn?t want to risk me cutting the scale and damaging it.



I assemble my knife- or so I thought. At least 10 times, after putting it together Bob said; ?Neil- looks just great- now?.take it apart!?



My TTF-6- ALL DONE! (Actually, we call it a TTF-5.9 because I messed up the tip and it came out 1/16? short.)




Well?that?s it. An experience to remember forever. Bob shows that not only is he the Knifemaker ?par excellence? that he has proven himself to be- but also a great teacher, a gracious host and an all around genuine great guy.

Thanks, Bob- for the thrill of a lifetime.

Sincerely, Neil Ostroff


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Old 06-19-2003, 08:14 PM
whv whv is offline
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great job, neil.
now see if you can talk him into joining us on ckdf
thanx


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Old 06-29-2003, 01:27 PM
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Keith Montgomery Keith Montgomery is offline
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What a blast you must have had.


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Old 06-29-2003, 01:35 PM
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Did anyone notice how "at home" Neil looked over those tools? Neil, any chance there will be a new "Ostroff" line around the corner?

Guys, I know Neil personally and I can tell you that a finer businessman, gentleman and friend you will never find!

Thanks for the show and tell, Neil!

Alex


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Old 06-29-2003, 01:54 PM
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Neil Ostroff Neil Ostroff is offline
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To Alex and to all who enjoyed this thread......

I wish to sincerely thank all of you who took the time to read this (and the other) thread about my experience on this Forum.

Keith- a BLAST in capital letters. What a guy (Bob) to even let me in to his shop- much less trust me to work with his (very expensive) equipment.

whv- Bob is not a major Internet guy- but I will speak to him at the Guild Show and see if he will sign up.

Alex- thanks for the kind and supportive words. Your comments are especially meaningful and very much appreciated. I may look comfortable behind the machines, but that is only because Bob spent the time to get them set up for me to perform the tasks. Drilling the holes in the liners etc is quite easy, once the "Master" has set up the machine.

BTW- Talk about doing something back-ass-wards- now that I have made 2 Custom knives from scratch, I finally have the nerve to build the knives that you sent me last winter from Knifekits.com?. I already have Coop and Dennis standing by to help me if I get stuck.

Thanks again to all,

Neil


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Neil Ostroff / True North Knives
TrueNorthKnives.com EST 1999
www.TrueNorthKnives.com

Now also offering the coolest FLASHLIGHTS!

AUTHORIZED STRIDER DEALER :: AUTHORIZED CHRIS REEVE DEALER

TRUE NORTH is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.

Follow TNK on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/TrueNorthKnives
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