John Bailey's Marking Knife

[John Hart]

John Bailey started a thread over in GWW&PT about marking knives. I looked at one of the links to someone who makes these things and decided to try one m'self. After all the Itty Bitty stuff and tool making, this seemed fairly straight forward. I used some tubes and other parts from a pen kit and came up with this guy. It's Cocobolo finished with my new secret finish. :p 7.5" long

I'd like critiques because this feels like something I'd like to make on a regular basis and give away as gifts to woodworkers.

[Chris Barton]

A. I like the concept of making somthing out of surplus.
B. The combo look of pen and knife is not really "there" for me.
C. great effort, I am always about trying to find the next "it" thing to turn...

[Chris Barton]

Also, nice curl of bong smoke going up next to the knife in the first picture...

[John Hart]

Awww nuts!!! I didn't think about "IT"!!!! grrrr

Bong smoke? where? what?

[Bill Stevener]

I didnt check the other thread, is this like a scribe?
Also I think you are going to have to go a long way to convince the Doc, with the form you have there, that it will ever look like a knife to him :D .

Anyway, I like it. Will there be a cap, like on pens?? Don't forget, I don't do pens :confused: .

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)

[John Hart]

I didnt check the other thread, is this like a scribe?
Also I think you are going to have to go a long way to convince the doc, with the form you have there, that it will ever look like a knife to him :D .

Anyway, I like it. Will there be a cap, like on pens?? Don't forget, I don't do pens :confused: .

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)

Yeah....It's a scribe. I've always used pencils but John was talking about the success he had using a knife instead. Ends up that a Marking Knife is a regular staple for some woodworkers because of the acuracy. Anyway...I thought I'd use pen parts because of their stability. I also bought some brass things at the hardware store to see if I can modify the design a little. I'm going to keep at it until Chris likes it. ;) :D

A cap would probably be a good idea. This thing could hurt!

[David Fried]

I thought the smoke was coming from that metorite!

Nice knife John. It is definately on my to-do list. I
picked up a japanese blade from Woodcrafts bargain
bin at 50 percent off and stashed it away. One of these
days.

[Bill Stevener]

I think it would be more like a long, shiny thin bladed thing before the Doc. would like it. :eek:

There are times when you can see a scribe mark and not a pencil line.

[Bob Noles]

Heck with the marking knife John.... it stinks :p

What I want to know more about is that moon rock it is sitting on :eek:


Seriously... I think the knife turned out well. That "secret finish" looks great. Will it stay a secret long? :cool:

[John Bailey]

John,

The knife's OK, but I love the name you gave it. Seriously, I think it turned out great. I'm sure it beats my old kitchen knife. Just another thing that makes me think I need a lathe. One of these days you folks are gonna' brainwash me and I'm going to find myself standing in a bunch of little curly chips.

John

[John Hart]

Heck with the marking knife John.... it stinks :p
Naw...that's the smoke you smell!:p


What I want to know more about is that moon rock it is sitting on :eek:

That's a Black Cherry burl. It's going to be a bowl someday....if I ever get it to Keith Burns!;) :D



Seriously... I think the knife turned out well. That "secret finish" looks great. Will it stay a secret long? :cool:

Nope...I'm keeping it a secret only because I just developed it. I'll reveal it soon. But I will tell you this...It is the most behaved and most seemingly durable finish that I've worked with so far. This would be wonderful on any piece of furniture and any turned piece. You hand rub it and it dries as you are rubbing into this perfect, even, semigloss finish. I'm really falling in love with it.

[John Hart]

John,

The knife's OK, but I love the name you gave it. Seriously, I think it turned out great. I'm sure it beats my old kitchen knife. Just another thing that makes me think I need a lathe. One of these days you folks are gonna' brainwash me and I'm going to find myself standing in a bunch of little curly chips.

John

Thanks! You're going to have to love the knife though John. I'm sending it to you as a thank you for the idea! I'll need your address. Can you PM me please?

[John Bailey]

John,

Man, you turners are not only crazy, you're generous to boot. I most certainly will PM you, and I'll make sure to get some pictures of how I use it. I guess I can get rid of the old kitchen knife. I'll never make fun of Cleveland again.

Thanks a bunch!

John

[Bayard Murphy]

Very nice, in fact I like the thought of it being in a pen style. maybe include a fancy fountain pen cap to protect the edge and a handy clip to hold in ones breast pocket.

Bayard

[Andy Hoyt]

Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh Maaaaaaaaaannnnnnn!

A bongified scribe.

Faaaaaarr Ouuuuut.

Love the piece John. Has a certain old world look to it.

[Bob Johnson2]

Not to be picky, cause it looks great. But it may, or may not, benefit from a flatened side.

[Keith Burns]

John, you are an amazing guy. You are never afraid to try something new and your ideas almost always turn out great. This one did for sure.:) Oh, I love that moon rock, too.

[Mark Cothren]

Very nice tool, John! Fine work. Great gesture on your part gifting it to John, too. Good on ya!

[John Hart]

Not to be picky, cause it looks great. But it may, or may not, benefit from a flatened side.

I had to sleep on this Bob. Are you saying to turn the handle, then flatten one side of the entire handle? I can see your reasoning here if that's the case. Since there's not much expense to these things, it might be worth a try just to see how it looks. I'd have to rethink the overall design just a tad.


....Oh, I love that moon rock, too.
Good!....I hope you can do something with it!!!;)


Very nice, in fact I like the thought of it being in a pen style. maybe include a fancy fountain pen cap to protect the edge and a handy clip to hold in ones breast pocket..

Thanks Baynard...Welcome to the Creek!! I'm thinking about the pocket clip and cap idea pretty heavily. The only obstacle I can think of is the size. It's rather large for a pocket. I'd have to size it down some. Maybe I could modify a screw-type fountain pen kit to use a blade instead of the pen tip. That would allow the cap to be part of the piece when opened. This could be a very elegant idea!

[Bob Johnson2]

[quote=John Hart]I had to sleep on this Bob. Are you saying to turn the handle, then flatten one side of the entire handle? I can see your reasoning here if that's the case. Since there's not much expense to these things, it might be worth a try just to see how it looks. I'd have to rethink the overall design just a tad.

I was thinking of roll prevention, like they do to chisels and such. Your knife is too nice to have hit the floor. Some are flattened (only a bit) on opposing sides, maybe for symmetry (sp?).

[John Hart]

I was thinking of roll prevention, like they do to chisels and such. Your knife is too nice to have hit the floor. Some are flattened (only a bit) on opposing sides, maybe for symmetry (sp?).

Oh...Ok. At first, I thought you were talking about having trouble getting the blade flush in some cases. Now I get it. yeah...If I really paid attention to the symmetry of the entire piece, that could be worked in quite nicely. Thanks!

[Sparky Paessler]

It looks great John! Love the secret finish also. Any woodworker would be proud to own it!

[David Mueller]

Bob, I like the concept and your outcome seems to fit your idea. The only thing I would do for me is keep it shorter. The knifes I used and liked fit between the thumb and fore finger and were no longer then the middle of my palm. Too long could diminish control IMHO. Secondly I like thinner blades, more control also, but that's just me.

But If I received this as a gift like you say, I'd be honored. Anything made with your intention is the most precious.:)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I knew it! High on breathing wood chips my .......These turners are putting those woodchips in a bong and smoking them to get high!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

[John Bailey]

Sometimes when folks try to thank me for something, I've told them to pass it on and do something for someone else. I was trying to think of something of meaning to thank John for this gift. I teach music part-time at a charter school in my area. Many of our kids are very poor. When I got to school today I found out one of my best 6th graders was going to lose his trumpet because his dad lost his job and would not be able to pay the monthly rent on the trumpet. Since I was going to buy a nice marking knife anyway, I've decided, in John Hart's honor, to pay a couple of months rent on the kids trumpet. It's about the same amount as a nice marking knife. I've talked to some other teachers, and if the father doesn't get a job soon we'll make some calls, raise some funds, and pay the thing off so the family won't have to worry about it. When someone does a generous thing for me, like most folks, I start looking around to see if there's something I can do in return. So, John, thanks for your generosity. Next time you see a 6th grader playing a trumpet, remember how your actions helped. You just never know what affect good deeds have in this world.

John

[John Hart]

...Next time you see a 6th grader playing a trumpet, remember how your actions helped. You just never know what affect good deeds have in this world.

John

I am floored. That is absolutely wonderful John! I was one of those kids. When my Dad was in medical school, we were dirt poor and someone helped us out the exact same way. I played trombone, and it was an old beat-up Bundy.

I am honored. You made my year. :) :)

[Mac McAtee]

What is GWW&PT?

[John Hart]

I knew it! High on breathing wood chips my .......These turners are putting those woodchips in a bong and smoking them to get high!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

The water's fine Ken!!!! Just dip your toe in. ;) :D

[John Hart]

What is GWW&PT? That's the General Woodworking and Power Tools Forum....You know..."upstairs" ;)

[John Hart]

Bob, I like the concept and your outcome seems to fit your idea. The only thing I would do for me is keep it shorter. The knifes I used and liked fit between the thumb and fore finger and were no longer then the middle of my palm. Too long could diminish control IMHO. Secondly I like thinner blades, more control also, but that's just me.

But If I received this as a gift like you say, I'd be honored. Anything made with your intention is the most precious.:)

Thanks David....The shorter version is on the drawing table. I'm going to have a ball with these!!!

[Jason Christenson]

I like it, I like it a lot. Did you make the blade too?

Jason:)

[John Hart]

I like it, I like it a lot. Did you make the blade too?

Jason:)

Thanks Jason! Yeah...I made the blade out of 1/4" round HSS that I picked up during the Itty Bitty thingy. Just ground it down...not very well I might add....got some blueing. I'll do better on the next one.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Nice tool John. That finish is great looking. I started using a marking tool ( when I can find it:rolleyes: ) instead of a pencil a while back. It cuts down on the splinters when my blabes get dull:o .

Ernie

[Dave Anderson NH]

No internet time yesterday, so I just saw this thread today. Very nicely done John.