My non-photographic interests (lots of pics)
bkriete
Registered Users Posts: 168 Major grins
I have two that are reasonably photogenic...
The first is fish, mostly African Cichlids at the moment:
This is a shot of about 1/2 the tank; you can see haps (the dark blue ones), bumblebees (the yellow ones with vertical bars), a yellow lab (the orange-yellow one) and two blue zebras (neither one of which is cooperating for the photo. Here's a little closer look at one of the bumblebees; they are pretty uncooperative for photographs.
The other thing I used to be interested in, but haven't spent much time or money on recently is custom knives; the first one below is a camp bowie type knife made by RW Clark of California. The primary materials are ones that could have been used hundreds of years ago; high-carbon steel (O1 in this case) and a wooden handle (I think ironwood, can't remember for sure). The horizontal line that runs the length of the blade is caused by differential heat treatment; the edge of the blade is hard, so it will hold an edge well, while the spine is soft, making the blade less likely to snap if mistreated.
Here's a detail of the pins inlaid in the handle:
I had trouble getting a decent picture of the sheath; one of things Mr Clark is well-known for is his skill with leather carving:
This is another knife that has something of a special story; the blade was ground by Rob Simonich, a knifemaker from Montana who was killed in a car accident recently. He was known for his use of the material Talonite, a cobalt-based metal that won't rust due to its lack of iron. The handles were created by Darrel Ralph, another well-known knifemaker, out of titanium and anodized a funny, shifting golden purple.
The first is fish, mostly African Cichlids at the moment:
This is a shot of about 1/2 the tank; you can see haps (the dark blue ones), bumblebees (the yellow ones with vertical bars), a yellow lab (the orange-yellow one) and two blue zebras (neither one of which is cooperating for the photo. Here's a little closer look at one of the bumblebees; they are pretty uncooperative for photographs.
The other thing I used to be interested in, but haven't spent much time or money on recently is custom knives; the first one below is a camp bowie type knife made by RW Clark of California. The primary materials are ones that could have been used hundreds of years ago; high-carbon steel (O1 in this case) and a wooden handle (I think ironwood, can't remember for sure). The horizontal line that runs the length of the blade is caused by differential heat treatment; the edge of the blade is hard, so it will hold an edge well, while the spine is soft, making the blade less likely to snap if mistreated.
Here's a detail of the pins inlaid in the handle:
I had trouble getting a decent picture of the sheath; one of things Mr Clark is well-known for is his skill with leather carving:
This is another knife that has something of a special story; the blade was ground by Rob Simonich, a knifemaker from Montana who was killed in a car accident recently. He was known for his use of the material Talonite, a cobalt-based metal that won't rust due to its lack of iron. The handles were created by Darrel Ralph, another well-known knifemaker, out of titanium and anodized a funny, shifting golden purple.
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