Wrestling match

More pictures from Kim Goldsmith.
John got in a wrestling match with a calf and almost lost.

THE VICTOR!

Farming

http://www.worldcrisisnewswatch.com/2012/04/video-war-on-food-sovereignty-continues.html

I am not a doomsdayer, nor am I a conspiracy theorist. However I am a realist. The war on the family farm is real, and I feel like I am the only one that is fighting. So be it, I've got lots of ammunition.
I raised my children to be independent thinkers, ones that think outside the box, and would hate to go against them in either a shooting war or a team roping, they can beat you either way.
The new federal regulations for child labor are a crock of crap. Kyle, Jessica, and Joe have been following me around since they were old enough to sit on a horse, doing a days work, and saving me lots of steps. The proudest I have ever seen any of them is when the neighbors asked for them to be on the cow working crew, and they got paid just like grown people. Now they can't even mow their grand ma's yard.
Pink slime. Made up. If you didn't know what was in your hamburger, shame on you, not me.
Mad cow. The only confirmed cases of mad cow disease have been from cows that came from Canada or England. Pick on them. The dairy industry is so far removed from the beef industry that a comparison can not be made. Get the government out of the dairy business, and things would straighten up.
For the past 10 years or so, about all I've asked is to be left alone. I take no government money, asked for none of their help, and only ask that they leave the free markets open and allow me to succeed or fail. It is all on me. This is a foreign concept I know, but it is the way I want it. Most of my competitors don't feel this way, and that is fine, I am beating them because I don't have anyone to answer too but me.
The government is after private property, and will use any story it can think up to get it. Water is next, when they get control of our water, they have us. Well, they have you, I haven't given up yet, and probably won't.
See you on the front page;
Chad

6 knives

I had sold out of this style knife a good while back, and decided to do a run of them. These are popular regionally as an every day carry. These are tough little knives, and by hand made standards are reasonably priced.

The steel use in these is 5160. They have a 3" cutting edge, 4" handle, and are 7.5" over all length. 1/8" thick at the spine. I get 100.00$ without a sheath, and 165.00$ with one.

All have micarta handles. Micarta is a generic name for a man made product. Basically, it is some kind of material, (canvas, paper, fabric, etc,) layered with epoxy and pressed together. It is some tough stuff.

Finished from friday

I finished the knife blanks I showed on friday.
All are 5160/8670/15n20 damascus steel, with 304 stainless steel bolsters. 4 have Bois d'arc handles, the other 2 have antique paper micarta.

Bois d'arc goes by a lot of different names. Osage orange and horse apple tree are two that I've heard it called. It is an extremely dense and hard wood that will never rot. I cut this wood out of some old fence posts that had been in the ground and holding a fence up since back in the 1930's. The indians used it to make bows, and it is also how khaki clothes got their color until WW 2. It is one of the only woods I like on a knife handle that doesn't need to be figured or burled to be pretty.

Week's work

I manage to accomplish a few things this week.

A start

And two finishes.

We evan got some yearlings weighed. 3 pounds a day isn't bad for this country.

Like a boy scout, John is always prepared.

Rock fence

There are several places around my little part of the world that have remnants of these old rock fences. No one knows for sure who built them. The original settlers claimed they didn't. Some of our local historians claim they where built by the Spanish and used as a way station when transporting gold, silver, and copper back to Mexico. Others claim the comancheros out of New Mexico built them to keep their horses and sheep when trading with the indians. Either way, they are pretty interesting, and lots of old stuff has been found around them.

More dragging

These are some more of Kim Goldsmith's pictures. Glad you are following Kim.

At bat today is Randy.

Randy and I rode to the pens together, and as devious old farts will do, we decided we would rope our calves first, and attempt to catch all the big ones before we had to take our turn on the ground. It worked out well for the most part.

I have shown the knife in a previous post, but got the fork finished yesterday. Both are made using Chad Nichols' stainless damascus, and dyed redwood on the handle. Mr. Nichols puts out an extremely good product, his billets are always consistent as far as welds and heat treating. The stainless damascus is just a little beyond my capabilities right now.

It has been mentioned that I don't put prices on anything. This set sold for 1200.00$. There are a lot of variables in pricing on custom knives, bits, and spurs. The price of steel, handle material, etc. vary quit a bit. I can usually fit anyone's pocket book if they are a little bit flexible.

Dragging wreck, almost

I will show something you probably wouldn't see on any other blog. The gray mare was fresh, I hadn't dragged calves in a long time, and my ground crew had to wake up.

The object of all this is to lessen the stress on or calves, but to still get them cut and vaccinated. I'm working with a really good crew, that puts up with all the camera BS. I tell them I'm gonna make them famous, and everything flows from there.

First mistake, pantyhosed him.

Ole gray turned the wrong way, and got a rope under her tail. 

We are attempting to turn out of a potential wreck.

Things ain't working out so well for us today.

Things are looking up.

Ole gray is now paying attention.

straightening things out. 

Back to making a hand.

Things don't always go as they look in the picture books. Cowboying ain't nothing but hard work divided by two. Had I been riding a lesser horse, you would have seen an old man bucked off, and Joe, Kyle, and John laughing hysterically. Now we can move on and laugh at them. More wrecks to come!

I live for this kind of stuff. Nothing has more appeal, or shows what a person is made of more than this kind of work. The fluid motion between calf, horse, and cowboy is something that can't be staged. Everything you see is real.

Knives

Some I just finished and got in the mail to the sheath maker. All are stainless steel damascus.

Cow bone handle. 3' cutting edge, 4" handle.

Ivory handle. 2.5" cutting edge.

This is dyed redwood. pretty stuff.

Mesquite. 

Paper micarta handle. This is a popular size for hunters, 3/4" wide, 3" cutting edge, 4" handle.

All hardware is stainless steel.

Me and the gray mare actually working. You have to hang around a long time to see that!

Traditional easter holiday

Or maybe it was a traditional redneck holiday.

The victims. These guys endured several thousand rounds.

My mother got in on the action.

My mother's hog-leg.

Next, we moved up the hill for a little long range practice.

Then we all got proficient on the 50 cal.

I think we are all ready for the zombie apocalypse now. I hope they get here soon, or we are all going to go broke practicing.