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The burrfaction guy has his idiosyncrasies, but he knows what he is talking about.

They look like switches for electric radiators that were probably fixed to and wired through the walls at some point. I am sure one of my relatives had them back in the day.

He says he’s sharpened 15 or 20 knives. Apparently that’s enough to make a tutorial video. Seriously? WAC.

A few things that I don’t like:

• Using a sharpie to find the right angle. He’s basically assuming that the knife has the right angle when you sharpen it. Ok for some new knives depending on how much the manufacturer cares. No good for older knives sharpened by others. How hard is it to halve 90 degrees twice then go a bit further?
  
• Unless your fingertips are super sensitive, you won’t feel a burr off a 1,000 grit plus stone. I can feel one on an 800 stone. Go for the burr at 800 and then polish the edge by feel on a higher grit.
  
• Is finishing on a high grit stone stropping, even? If you want to strop, get a strop. Or glue some thick old belts to a board and make one.
  
  

If you’re worried about ruining your knives get a shit knife and practice practice practice until you’re not shit.

I feel for you. I think with a lot of DIY projects persistence is the often unsung key to success.

I started repairing and painting our communal picket fence at the beginning of December. It quickly became apparent that the only way to make an enduring repair would involve removing every picket and re-paint pickets and rails before re-assembly. The area between pickets and rails hadn’t been painted at all previously, leading to rot in places, which was only going to get worse. Re-painting encompasses wire brushing, wet rot hardening, filling, sanding and painting, as well as replacing rotten pickets with new ones fashioned using saw and rasp from 3x2. There are 160 odd pickets and five gates, all of which are having to be disassembled and re-assembled, with new hinges and spring closers for each. On top of that, some fence posts have rotted from the bottom and have had to be replaced as well. I am about two thirds of the way through, and I stopped enjoying the work as much about a third of the way through.

I have no idea what it would have cost to have a professional repair to the same standard, assuming I could find someone to do it. Replacing the fence would have been north of a couple of grand probably, but The company I approached for a quote had orders through to the summer. Materials cost for me is probably going to hit £300, but time is the killer. There’s also the weather to contend with. Nevertheless, it will be done.

I was blown away about the amount of work involved in this door repair. Also, muntins.

https://youtu.be/w4RW2DHIEGQ

I used to live in a flat that had that stuff going on in the walls. I swear it’s like soil.

What is seen cannot be unseen. If you do need to talk yourself out of it, they are quite heavy.

https://superiorlevel.co.uk/

I would keep the flat side flat and grind a secondary bevel on the chisel edge. Like a chisel.

Oxalic acid will get rid of the rust in minutes but you’ll be left with pitting, which will still need to be polished out. There’s a commercial product called Barkeeper’s Friend that’s mainly Oxalic acid with, I think, a mild abrasive. Hardly worth it for these small bits of rust but might be useful for a rusted cast iron pan from the car boot. I’ve also used HG limescale remover for getting rust off but that is mainly phosphoric acid and stinks.

Can I ask where you got that? I’ve heard great things about the ‘98.

I bought a bottle of Mas de Daumas Gassac (‘MDG’) in Nicolas because that’s what they were drinking at the beginning of Ian McEwan’s ‘Enduring Love’. Except I wasn’t paying attention and got the red instead of the white. Nice drop, though.

The 2001 is past its best IMHO. There is still a lot of it around though. They harvested early and it was well thought of for a while as it was less fruit forward. Now, however, it seems resinous and solventy.

Millard is the track saw king. I think he has about five.

I have a DeWalt cordless. I’d agree it is used more than a jigsaw. As regards workbenches I would recommend one with holes in such as an MFT and clamps that fit in the holes. As others have said, you might find a track saw more generally useful still.

Visited this place today. Kings Cross Goods Yard. Amazing selection of knives and some great sharpening stones, including a full range of Atoma diamond stones in store.

Get one of these.

Very niiiice

The steel does look soft, which is probably what you want if you’re using a cleaver for cleaving. By the same token, if using for cleaving you’d sharpen at about 25 degrees per edge, which is probably steeper than the angle you have there, though it’s difficult to see from the photo. The edge would hold up better at the steeper angle, but it wouldn’t slice as well, if you’re using it for slicing.

Looking good! Good coverage for a first coat. Did you use a primer or paint straight on to the MDF?

The edge is far from sharp, but do the dents appear after sharpening, which would suggest a fault in the steel, or after use?

There must be easier ways to drive yourself insane than this.

I have a heavy duty high end combo padlock I bought for my cellar door that I found didn’t fit. You are welcome to have that if the rental company relents.

Really sorry to hear this. Shocking that they came back again having been spotted once.

Clearly I am being too cautious with mine