Dudley's Dagger Dungeon?

Well, this semi-custom knife gig has rolled along quite nicely.  I have a steady stream of knives and sheaths to do and it is a great diversion from building big furniture.  Honestly, sometimes doing furniture gets a little boring and doesn't have the creativity that keeps me whole.  Which is why I come up with all these crazy small projects and products to play with, like concrete table tops and custom knives and fishing lures!  It just makes me happy.  That's all.

So then the question arises, do I develop another company name for the knife thing and another website?  Sort of like the www.woodenammo.com thing?  As a good friend suggested, maybe I call it Dudley's Dagger Dungeon!  With the motto: "Gut, Stab, Cut, and Slash Your Way Through Life..."  Maybe that's a little extreme though and draws away from the focus.  Basically I do hunting knives, survival knives, and kitchen knives.  In that order.  How about Wild Cherry Knife Co.??  That might work.  I do a little restoration work as well.  Someone has an old knife that needs a new handle, like a family heirloom or something.  Gets a bit pricey, but sometimes it is worth it.  Motto: "Make that old knife slice and dice like new again!"  Well, we shall see how this goes.  I am going to try and get one knife made in the different styles that are commonly ordered for Fryeburg next year so people can see and hold them and hopefully order their own.  The key is to order it AT Fryeburg, because I have had numerous folks call the end of November about Christmas delivery.  Already booked!!!  It takes about 3-4wks to get a knife done.  I have to order the knife blanks and supplies that I don't have already, which takes a week, and then it takes a week to get the knife done and sheath as well.  That is assuming I have nothing to do in front of it, so I would say 6-8wks is probably a better thing to say.

Well, regardless, I have been able to invest in new machinery to make the process go smoother and the final product come out better.  I may or may not come up with a new website.  That all costs money and then you need to design the site and all.  Stay tuned on the Wild Cherry Woodworks FaceBook page as that is where the newest pictures show up first...

Washed by the rain...

Did some work on the bathroom renovation tonight and it was HOT up there. We are getting some serious rain here right now so what better way to cool off and get clean? Standing in the rain and under the gutter downspout seemed like a great idea, and it was! So next time it rains hard, head outside with the frogs and birds and get a god soaking!

Went to get lumber yesterday...

So I went to get lumber yesterday and came back with a real haul! Lol! It always amazes me to see pictures like this back when folks REALLY worked hard and did a lot of stuff by hand. I saw a picture recently of a mere child standing with a group of men at work and he was clearly one of the workers. As much as child labor is probably wrong in terms of safety and all, it certainly raises hard workers rather than lazy citizens!

Social Raptor!!

So I overheard my wife talking to her sister and they were discussing our family roles. At one point I was referred to as the "social butterfly" in our relationship. Well I will tell you this, I am a man, and I care not to be referred to as a "butterfly". There is nothing masculine about being a butterfly, that gay little delicate bug that flits around flowers sucking out their nectar. I certainly have no problem crossing gender roles around the house and I think we run a pretty well oiled, albeit delayed sometimes, machine around here. We share in all the duties and try and chose the chores we like better for each of us. I do most of the cooking unless there is an appetizer, fancy breakfast casserole, or cake to make. It's just what we do and we are fine with it. I have no problem also doing things like picking out fabric for a quilt that needs to be made for our bed. I let my lovely wife make the quilt though. I reserve my sewing prowess for more manly things like flyrod sleeves and whatnot. Heck, I will even go bra shopping once every ten yrs or so as long as we get to go out to dinner after!

This brings things all down to this request. When referring to a man as the social person in a relationship, I would like to change the term to something more manly, like the Social Raptor!! Yeh, that's better. I am not sure why the butterfly was chosen in the first place, probably because it flits from flower to flower like a perky gay (the 1930's gay, not the sexual preference) lady chit chatting among party attendees. Well, we are MEN and when we socialize, we do it with raptor like strength. We wear carhartts not kahkis, t-shirts not polo shirts. So I say, let the social raptor reign in the marriage and be the strong balance we can be!!

My prayer:

Lord, let my words be taken as a show of masculine strength, but in love for all those around me. Let them not offend anyone but add a little humor to everyone's day. In your son Jesus' name, AMEN.

Yummy beeswax

I gotta say, there is not a much better smell than melted beeswax. Always amazes me what God's great creatures are able to bless us with. Insect excretions that make sweet smelling wax, or take the Lac Beetle in the far East which excretes some substance that is cooked down and we get delicate flakes which we dissolve into denatured alcohol and make finish for our furniture!!!! Wild stuff God. Thank you!

Welcome to the Curly Maple Chronicles!!

Hello everyone!!  That likely will include about two people, but regardless, welcome to the Curly Maple Chronicles.  I started this blog to post my thoughts on my faith, life, death, hobbies, family, work, etc etc.  Be very careful reading into what I post too much.  That is one of the downfalls of social media.  Far too often people read sarcasm, meanness, and other misunderstood feelings into a post or email and all heck breaks loose with comments!  I have found this time and time again on FB.  I base my posts on my love of Jesus as my Savior, so posts are in love, not hate as many would misconstrue.  More on my faith later and my testament thereof.  Enjoy!

Chris (Darth Woodworker as seen below, haha!)