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my workshop is very damp and rust is a permanent feature of every single thing in it! Tools that get used frequently have a wipe with oil. The type doesn't seem to matter a great deal; I've tried everything from posh oils like Jade and Balistol to basic 3-in-1 and wd40. Though the heavier...

come on, you know it would be worth the trip down again! :-) I know it's a long treck, but that's just part of a holiday

Lack of power isn't a problem with my little one and I've never had any problem with oil leakage (unlike several of my petrol saws). Keeping it sharp isn't an issue since you should do that anyway, also the chain is short and small gauge so takes very little time to touch up. Only thing to keep...

I use a makita cordless (actually its a Dolmar, which is made by Makita but cheaper branding and takes the same batteries). A pair of 5ahr batteries is enough to tank down and dismantle a 12" diameter ash tree. Over the last few years it's become my preferred saw for coppicing and snedding...

Nicely done sir. I'm not a fan of road pin/re bar myself, aesthetically, but if that's all you have then fair enough. The suggestion of blackening with wax/oil is a good one. It will work better if you let the metal rust a bit first or heat to orange to form scale. It's the scale on forged...

You have to think about the thickness relative to the width as well as shape and texture. A knife handle that is 20mm thick but 30mm wide will be more stable Inthe hand (requiring less grip strength) than one that is 30mm wide and 30mm thick. Flat sides will also require less strength than a...

I don't make weapons, but I do make pattern welded spears (for reenactors to show off with). They are sharp, despite only being display pieces because customers complain if they aren't. I'd not given self defense a thought, but they are quite good at slicing bread when nothing else is to hand.

that's a lovely little thing :) Perhaps an incense burner?

As intimated by my friends above, you might want to just use a knife with a proper geometry and give up on the scandi grind rubbish ;-) Proper knife for general cutting and a separate dedicated carving knife for whittling, even a cheap Mora carving knife. Before St Mears made the 'scandi...

The stuff on the website is just the tip of the iceberg of tools I make! :D

It's not just in the woods that I like bright pink tools (or the forestry standard colours of orange that my Stihl or husky kit comes in). I do it in the workshop too. My chuck keys, spanners and angle grinder spanners are all painted bright pink so they don't vanish into a world of other...

Whereas ALL of my historically accurate (or otherwise) tools are made to modern standards with proper job-appropriate materials and heat treating. Of course, I do charge a bit more than Dennis

All of the tools I use in the woods are painted forestry pink (hot fluorescent pink used to mark trees). I've found orange paint vanishes into the leaflitter and bracken from late summer right through to the spring, which is when I am working outside. I'm not concerned with pretty, I just don't...

I'm in the Victorinox swiss army camp. It may not be such good steel as some of those mentioned above, but they all do an awful lot more than just cut stuff and let's face it you have 'cutting stuff' tools a plenty in your existing kit ;)

Daegrad does make a huge variety of things, but it's worth mentioning that the tools are made for reenactors and not all of the tools work very well ;) For show and tell they are fine, but S275JR structural steel is just mild steel (0.2% carbon) and won't hold an edge. His research is top...

if you want an accurate look, then go wood. Extremely few seaxes exist with metal pommels (I can think of only one off the top of my head), very few have much in the handle other than a single bit of wood really. Of course it's all personal preference with a modern creation, so go with what you...

I was impressed with how well Kasia behaved around my pitch, especially given how bad most adults can be near fire and sharp shiny things! I didn't hear her tearing around the woods either. :)

Yep, these were all that I had planned for the year. I'm still running private courses (1-2-1 or pairs in my workshop, or private groups outside) all through the year by arrangement though :)

I'd take off any loose bits and sharp corners, then clean and oil them. If they are split, i'd dribble thin ca (superglue) in there first. It'll not stand up to much pounding, but will be fine for light hitting and hand pushing. With the rasp, you can sometimes give them a little life by...

That's a good point. I only have one size kit, so hadn't thought about that. I have several sizes of pin and lengths of pto shaft, but tend to leave them attached to the implement in case i lise them!