Mora 163 Hook Knife Modification

I have a Morakniv 163 hook knife, which isn't the best knife but it does work. I thought I'd try to improve it instead of buying or making another. Above and below are pictures of the knife more or less as it came new.

Below, the re-ground blade. It's less prone to catching and more predictable, though the handle is still too short and the blade ought to have a thicker profile. It definitely does the job though, and better than before.

I did the grinding with a Makita 9820-2, a 220 grit aluminum oxide stone, 320 and 600 grit sandpaper, and Metal-glo on a piece of balsa.

To sharpen it and all my carving tools quickly I just use a 1200 grit aluminum oxide stone with sewing machine oil, followed by dia-paste on a strop. A light touch with the stone keeps a large un-strop-able burr from forming. I could (and sometimes do) use finer grits to get a sharper edge, but it seems counter-productive when the edge loses that extra sharpness after 30 sec. of use.

Maple spoon blanks:

Mattock Handle

Shown above with the Rathkamp Tool + Box texture pack.

My dad broke the original mattock handle mining sandstone, and asked me to make a new one. I made it quickly so it's not all symmetrical, but it does the job.

Below, inching the head up the handle. See where it sticks, file away the spots, repeat-

Business Card Cases (drawing)

I've been thinking of business card case designs I could make. I set out to design a wooden one, and this was the simplest idea:

There are many ways to arrange springs, wood or metal, to hold in the cards. A steam bent thin wooden spring would be simple and elegant. It would hold them in by friction.

A wedged lid could also be used to hold in the cards. Without a hinge, the wedge would be easily dropped or lost. This is avoided by putting a pin through it, which slides in grooves machined into the top and bottom plates. Although it's a little bulky compared to the others, it is repairable and looks unique. The top and bottom plates would best be made of sheet brass or stainless, and the rest made of hardwood. The side edges are convex to be gentler on the hand, and the bottom is flat so it can stand on its own.

I think stainless would look good with ebony or black walnut, and brass with cherry. The side pieces and wedge could even be made of micarta, for an especially modern appearance.

The third idea could probably be made the slimmest. For an even lighter design, the hinged lid pictured below could even be removed entirely, and the sprung catch could hook onto the corner of the cards themselves. This design would probably be the most fragile of the three.

Taig Lathe Bar Feed Steady Rest

I didn't know what to call this, but it's basically a pair of steady rests for the Taig lathe. Each has a PTFE bushing with a 5/8" inside diameter. I am about to make a few hundred brass drawer knobs, and normally the bar stock would be fed through the headstock into a collet. The Taig has a tiny spindle bore (5/16") so I had to figure out something different.

Using this set-up, I can part off knob blanks without cutting the bar beforehand. The rests keep the long bar from flapping about, and 'catch' it when it disconnects from the end held in the chuck.

I made sure to oil the bottoms of the rests well, which will hopefully keep the ways from corroding where the wood makes contact.

Here it is in action: