@pwkarch Sounds like it, although Felix has some dark toes. Unless you are talking about Scrat, my other kitty? Scrat had blue eyes. Felix (the new kitten) has olive eyes, otherwise they look very similar, it was not my intent when I got Felix after Scrat passed, I was looking for a black or gray or some “exotic” kitty, but some friends of friends had a few too many kittens, so I got Felix. He is a character and a great cat.
I just looked back at the recent post, Felix is the kitty in the picture of the Diamond Willow sticks. Interestingly, he has a light white blaze (fur tips only) diagonally across his right side...weirdest thing. It looks like someone was painting something white and accidentally made a light brush stroke on his side. It is not inline with his other stripes either. I will have to get a pic of his right side..it’s very strange....at least, I have never seen such markings....that I can remember.
Rocky I LOVE me some pussy cats......always had them. We adopted a Momma and 3 kittens almost 4 years ago. The little female died last spring (for unknown reasons, they are indoor pussy cats) and now we have 3. We also have 6 grandchildren, and truth be known I often prefer the Pussy Cats......they are all so loving (ah hell, who am I kidding I prefer them most of the time).
@pwkarch Yep, I love my cats. I’ve had a couple of dogs in my lifetime, I like dogs too, but cats are so much less needy. I’m not a control freak, so “snobby” cats that do what they want don’t bother me. I’m a live and let live kinda guy. I had a ferret too once, he was great fun after we warmed to each other. I got him (free) as an adult not a kit, so I was unsure of his temperament at first. Sadly, he got cancer and did not live long. I might have had him for a year🙁. He was great fun during that time though. I toyed with the idea of getting another ferret after Scrat passed, but ferrets are tougher to find...and more expensive. So Felix The Cat it is😀
@RockyMountainBriar Here is a photo of our Budford (Buddy) Aloyishus K........I think the most physically beautiful pussy cats we have ever had. After almost 4 years he is finally becoming more sociable.
“The Stick” after I heated it a bit with a hot-air gun and applied the first coat of butcher block preservative. It is a mix of mineral oil, beeswax and carnauba wax. The preservative really made the colors pop. The dark areas are not burned, just a different layer of wood.
RockyMountainBriar that looks great. I've made a couple of canes and used a piece of copper pipe on the tip to make sure it never split. I'm still working on a cane that I mounted a bear that I carved on top for a handle.
RockyMountainBriar; I'll take a photo or two and post it. Keep in mind I have only done a few and I make no claim as to my cane making ability. I do appreciate your interest.
@opipeman Well, that was my first Walking Stick. I did carve a short piece of Diamond Willow I found and carved while fishing for catfish 30 years ago. I use it to retrieve cat toys and other items from under couches, credenzas, stoves, refrigerators and the like.
Here is a couple of pics of the stick I carved and oiled/waxed yesterday. It is much smaller and does not contain as many diamonds. I did not carve the diamonds to stand proud on this one and I also sanded it fairly smooth. It glides through the hands a bit better. With a nice heavy knob or lead filled ends, it might make a good impromptu self defense “wacker”😬
Here are the three that I kept. The one that has the unfinished bear is on a birds eye willow that my high school football and track coach gave me which he brought back from a fishing trip in Minnesota. About a year later he was killed in a private plane crash on their way to fish in Canada. The middle one is made from a fallen limb off the Locust Tree in my back yard. The bottom one is from a giant Oak Tree in the yard of my former neighbor across the street. He passed away several years back. You can see the Oak in my pictures of the street work.
A few year ago my baby sister sent me an Oak Knob (aka Shillelagh) for Christmas, even though my broken ankle had healed at least a couple years before that. It's still handy since my left knee likes to give me trouble.
More recently, it was quite a surprise to me that just after I had ordered the book Stickmaking Handbook by Andrew Jones & Clive George, which arrived yesterday, these pictures and account were posted here!
I wonder if Apple is a good stick wood. One of the trees out back (a hollow apple tree) blew down over the winter. I also have a large-ish branch from the maple tree in the side-yard to look over for possibilities.
@AnantaAndroscoggin The maple should be awesome. I think the Apple would be great too. It is a hardwood, but it does not have much visually appealing grain, which would not matter for a walking stick/cane. It should make a plenty strong walking stick/cane. You could carve faces or animals or whatever to make them more visually appealing. I am not an artist when it comes to those kinds of skills. If I drew a horse, you might see a blob with four legs, a longish neck and head/nose, and a tail, but you would have to guess on what it was suppose to be. I’ve seen cave drawings that were more recognizable.
@Londy3 Yes, Diamond Willow has lots of layers. The colors are all natural except it is overall a bit darker from the Butcher Block Wax/Oil which is a just a tiny bit yellowish from the natural carnauba and beeswax in it. The separate layers expose themselves when carving down through them.
I have been a classic car buff for the last 25 years. I sold a few but, I still own 4 of them. I used to love hunting, fishing and breeding field bred English Springer Spaniels puppies but, I am a bit disabled and those areas of my life needed to get thinned out. I still have a desire to fish though so, buying another boat would not surprise me too much. Oh yea, I'm a pipe collector, too.
@motie2 Sounds good. let me know if either of you have any questions. Aside from myself, I know of two others that collect heads and one of them has had a stroke and is in a Nursing home.
@opipeman I have heard of people collecting heads, but they shrunk them and wore them around their waist on a belt😬 Others that have collections of heads are generally on the fringes of society😬
If you are in a museum, it seems you can get away with it though😬
@opipeman Awesome collection of tins. I' just started my collection, and with the odd exception of a few vintage tins I located at antique stores or flea markets, the majority are tins of tobacco I smoked. I'm hoping to find a few more rarities when they finally lift the restriction here in Northwest Indiana, and I can start scouring the antique stores again. My favorites are the pocket tins because they take up less space than the large cans.
I have mine hanging from a peg board in my man cave/garage, attached by magnets. An old timer I worked with used a peg board as well - but screwed the tins into the board, damaging the backside of the tin. Sticking them on with magnets doesn't harm them in any way.
ghostsofpompeii Your display idea is very cleaver. I approached collecting the pocket tins the same way that you are, but they started to become harder to find with the popularity of eBay. I haven't bought one in several years. They are still out there I'm sure, but getting scarce. I don't mean to discourage you. there is always the eBay auctions.
@opipeman Sadly now that the newer tins have nearly half the surface area desecrated with the tobacco warning label I doubt that I'll be adding many more of the newer tins to my collection. That beautiful artwork which went into the design is now completely ruined.
Comments
Hey Rocky......your Pussy Cat looks like my Pussy Cat "Buddy"......they could damn near be twins (pink nose?, pink toe beans?).
Sounds like it, although Felix has some dark toes. Unless you are talking about Scrat, my other kitty? Scrat had blue eyes. Felix (the new kitten) has olive eyes, otherwise they look very similar, it was not my intent when I got Felix after Scrat passed, I was looking for a black or gray or some “exotic” kitty, but some friends of friends had a few too many kittens, so I got Felix. He is a character and a great cat.
I just looked back at the recent post, Felix is the kitty in the picture of the Diamond Willow sticks. Interestingly, he has a light white blaze (fur tips only) diagonally across his right side...weirdest thing. It looks like someone was painting something white and accidentally made a light brush stroke on his side. It is not inline with his other stripes either. I will have to get a pic of his right side..it’s very strange....at least, I have never seen such markings....that I can remember.
I LOVE me some pussy cats......always had them. We adopted a Momma and 3 kittens almost 4 years ago. The little female died last spring (for unknown reasons, they are indoor pussy cats)
and now we have 3. We also have 6 grandchildren, and truth be known I often prefer the Pussy Cats......they are all so loving (ah hell, who am I kidding I prefer them most of the time).
Yep, I love my cats. I’ve had a couple of dogs in my lifetime, I like dogs too, but cats are so much less needy. I’m not a control freak, so “snobby” cats that do what they want don’t bother me. I’m a live and let live kinda guy. I had a ferret too once, he was great fun after we warmed to each other. I got him (free) as an adult not a kit, so I was unsure of his temperament at first. Sadly, he got cancer and did not live long. I might have had him for a year🙁. He was great fun during that time though. I toyed with the idea of getting another ferret after Scrat passed, but ferrets are tougher to find...and more expensive. So Felix The Cat it is😀
Here is a photo of our Budford (Buddy) Aloyishus K........I think the most physically beautiful pussy cats we have ever had. After almost 4 years he is finally becoming more sociable.
Sounds great. I would love to see your work, along with some others here as well I’m sure.👍🏻
I'll take a photo or two and post it. Keep in mind I have only done a few and I make no claim as to my cane making ability.
I do appreciate your interest.
Well, that was my first Walking Stick. I did carve a short piece of Diamond Willow I found and carved while fishing for catfish 30 years ago. I use it to retrieve cat toys and other items from under couches, credenzas, stoves, refrigerators and the like.
The maple should be awesome. I think the Apple would be great too. It is a hardwood, but it does not have much visually appealing grain, which would not matter for a walking stick/cane. It should make a plenty strong walking stick/cane. You could carve faces or animals or whatever to make them more visually appealing. I am not an artist when it comes to those kinds of skills. If I drew a horse, you might see a blob with four legs, a longish neck and head/nose, and a tail, but you would have to guess on what it was suppose to be. I’ve seen cave drawings that were more recognizable.
Yes, Diamond Willow has lots of layers. The colors are all natural except it is overall a bit darker from the Butcher Block Wax/Oil which is a just a tiny bit yellowish from the natural carnauba and beeswax in it. The separate layers expose themselves when carving down through them.
My nexttdoor neighbor is the former fire chief. I’ll show him your picture....
Sounds good. let me know if either of you have any questions. Aside from myself, I know of two others that collect heads and one of them has had a stroke and is in a Nursing home.
I have heard of people collecting heads, but they shrunk them and wore them around their waist on a belt😬
Others that have collections of heads are generally on the fringes of society😬
Your display idea is very cleaver. I approached collecting the pocket tins the same way that you are, but they started to become harder to find with the popularity of eBay. I haven't bought one in several years. They are still out there I'm sure, but getting scarce. I don't mean to discourage you. there is always the eBay auctions.
Check out http://mygerardinc.com/ for a great resource on pocket tins.
I agree. I like the vintage tins best anyway. Good hunting!