4/1/2007

It’s a fine spring day here today.  It’s a little breezy and cool, but the sun is out and the nice weather has got us started planning spring yard projects.  I had to mow the yard for the first time last Thursday and we had to take cover during our first tornado warning of the season last Friday, so spring is a little early this year.

The Chisholm Trail Gun & Knife show was great for me.  I delivered three custom order knives there, sold three knives off of the table and took orders for five more custom knives.  My next show is the Blade Show in Atlanta, June 8^th through 10^th.  Right now, all of my attention is focused on completing the knives that I need to make for the Mastersmith test in Atlanta.

A few weeks ago, I started working on the knives for the Mastersmith test.  I have completed a hunting knife and am now working on the dagger that I need to make.  I am pushing my skills to the limit on the dagger and am trying some things that I have never done before, but so far, all is going very well.  I hope to have the blade for the dagger finished this week and get started on the guard.  I’m already about two weeks behind where I hoped to be on completing the Mastersmith test knives.  The timeline isn’t a problem yet as I had planned for some “cushion time” to make sure that I had time to complete all of the work by June, but I wish I hadn’t had to use any of my cushion time so early in the process.

I have been telling gunsmithing customers that I will not be able to work on their guns until July or August, but many of them have left their guns for me to work on when I get time.  They are willing to wait on me, but the work is piling up and I think that I will have to start working on some of them in the evenings just to get them out of the shop.  Most of the repairs are small, so it shouldn’t take long to clear them out.

Our son Chris and his fiancée Shanna are getting married in April.  The wedding is in Myrtle Beach, SC, where they have been living.  Right after the wedding, they are loading up their belongings and moving to Kansas City.  Mary and I are flying out to Myrtle Beach for the wedding and then we are going to help them drive the moving truck and their vehicles back to KC.  It should be a fine adventure and we are very happy that they will be living closer to us.

I hope to have some good news on the progress of the Master’s test knives in the May newsletter.  If not, you will probably be able to detect a note of panic in my writings.

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