Other uses for stuff

I'm too lazy to get up right now to shoot the stuff I mentioned in the last post, so in the spirit of the matter, here's something else.

This is my personal sgian dbu, Gaelic for 'black knife', supposedly because the traditional grip was ivy root stained black. It was a Scot's general-purpose cutting tool, good for everything. I once found a book titled- I think- "Knives in Colonial America" that contained a picture of the dirk and sgian dbu of a major in a Highland regiment that had been stationed in North America in the 1770's. The dirk showed signs of wear, but the sgian dbu was only about half as wide as when new; it had been used and sharpened so many times it had been worn back that far. Tells you which one got the most use.

This one has a walnut grip and nickel silver fittings on the knife and sheath. 'Other uses' comes from the blade, which started out as a 5/8" ball bearing. Do you have any idea what it's like trying to hold onto a red-hot ball while you hammer it into a bar? It ain't fun. I just know that someone will see this and say "Why didn't he just weld a handle on?" I didn't have access to a welder, so shut up.

Besides, it's good for your footwork when it jumps out of the tongs...