All About Pocket Knives

KOOL pics Phil !!!
John

Quick Steel wrote:At one time, in the 90s, I got into coin collecting. I quickly discovered that I was drawn to the Peace dollar. There was, imho, what I would describe as certain softness about it. Even the Eagle had its wings folded. Lady Liberty's expression is far more natural than on other coins. Refined but nothing strident about her. Compare with the Morgan to see what I am talking about. Although I had greater amounts of other coins, the Peace dollar was my favorite by far.

Jerry, congratulations on being connected to such a talent.

Thanks for the kind words Garry. Seeing the much appreciated shared other photos brought me back a bit. Thanks Phil and Ken!

He designed the coin as a "likeness" of Aunt Teresa as we called her. She was a beautiful young Italian gal but from what I have heard/ read, maybe why it appears "softer" as you stated. Was able to visit with her daughter in NY in 2011 with my Dad. Interesting visit.

Jerry

To pick up a Peace dollar and be able to say, 'That is my aunt Teresa." has got to be about the coolest thing in the world.

Quick Steel wrote:To pick up a Peace dollar and be able to say, 'That is my aunt Teresa." has got to be about the coolest thing in the world.

Thanks for the kind words Garry.

Yes, very cool. Amazing legacy of my related Italian immigrants of old. The whole Ellis Island experience for my ancestors that immigrated many years ago to settle in NY. Most of my surviving relatives are still there.

Jerry

Rolled bales done put high school kids right out of a job. You'd play hell buckin' those buggers.

Quick Steel wrote:P1030317 (2).JPG

I heard the cows were protesting over those bales.
Something about not getting a square meal???

Steve Warden wrote:

Quick Steel wrote:P1030317 (2).JPG

I heard the cows were protesting over those bales.
Something about not getting a square meal???

jerryd6818 wrote:Rolled bales done put high school kids right out of a job. You'd play hell buckin' those buggers.

$4.00 an hour was what I remember being paid in the early 90’s for hauling hay. You’d be hard pressed to find a high school
Boy now who’d do it for $10 in these parts. And if you could find him it’d be a sight watching him try to throw those square bales up once they got over head high.

My boys 13&12, got a real small taste of it the other day, only 80 bales. They think round bales are the best thing ever now. Lol

$4.00 an hour, you were spoilt. I did it in the sixties for a couple of sandwiches at lunch break. But then again, i am stupid!!!

Quick Steel wrote:P1030317 (2).JPG

Looks like a rural scene over here. One of THE great smells, is fresh cut hay in Spring Time.

I'm all for the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I totally support providing jobs for the handicapped. But, when I saw this on the back of a van today, I felt perhaps it had gone just a bit too far. I mean seriously...how can a blind man drive a van? I thought that maybe it was some kind of pilot program using self-driving vehicles or something.
And then I raised my eyes and read the printing on the top half of the van and it all made sense.
~Q~

Very witty Q.

I like that Q, but I suspect with the emergence of self driving cars it won't be long before the blind are driving. (And if it works, I guess that it will be a good thing. )

Those square bale pics bring back a lot of memories. Not all of them good.

Back in the late 60s, my dad raised alfalfa hay. My best friend and I got paid 10¢ a bale in the barn or 5¢ each. Putting 25 to 30 bales per pick-up load, we ended up getting about $1.25 to $1.50 @ per load. Candy bars and sodas were both running around 10¢ @. Every time we threw a bale on the truck, one of would say "There's a Baby Ruth" or "There's a Butterfinger" or "There's a Coke".

The yield was about 1000 bales 1st cutting in the spring and 650 for the second cutting in the fall. Not a lot of money, but more than enough to satisfy a coupe of dumb teenagers.

And since this is a knife forum, here's a little cutlery related cartoon.

zzyzzogeton wrote:Those square bale pics bring back a lot of memories. Not all of them good.

Back in the late 60s, my dad raised alfalfa hay. My best friend and I got paid 10¢ a bale in the barn or 5¢ each. Putting 25 to 30 bales per pick-up load, we ended up getting about $1.25 to $1.50 @ per load. Candy bars and sodas were both running around 10¢ @. Every time we threw a bale on the truck, one of would say "There's a Baby Ruth" or "There's a Butterfinger" or "There's a Coke".

The yield was about 1000 bales 1st cutting in the spring and 650 for the second cutting in the fall. Not a lot of money, but more than enough to satisfy a coupe of dumb teenagers.

And since this is a knife forum, here's a little cutlery related cartoon.

Love that cartoon! Lol

Funny cartoon zz!

But if that don’t wake you up, this will!
Ken

Oh Hell No. That would result in a few bullet holes in the wall and door and windows.

Free pet! Ratsnake? I’d give him a good home!

Ann, how manageable is an adult rat snake?

I assume it's better to get them when they are young.

Reptiles exist almost entirely on ingrained instinct, so can they ever be fully domesticated?

Asking for a friend.....

Charlie

I’ll be interested to see Ann’s answer. I don’t keep exotic pets so have no experience to draw from. The one in the picture has a home, right here on the ranch. After photographing it (thought it was interesting where it was) I knocked it down off the windows (note in the picture its tail is up on the frame of the window on the left). Then with the broom on its neck I grabbed it behind its head, picked it up and turned it loose in the pasture. One problem I can see with keeping one as a pet is when excited they can emit a horrible odor. It’s one of their defense mechanisms. They also will strike at you and bite sometimes when threatened (no fangs, not poisonous). I suppose if they got accustomed to being handled those behaviors would stop.

There’s at least one more, a bigger one that I saw behind the air conditioner in the flower bed next to the house a couple of weeks ago. They’re beneficial for killing mice and rats, and other snakes (copperheads ). The only Rat Snake I ever killed was one found inside one of the Bluebird houses. It had already eaten the momma bird and was sitting there in the box, coiled up with the helpless babies in the nest. I killed it and cut it open but the mother bird was dead.

Ken

The only rat snakes (aka chicken snakes) I kill are the ones that have figured out how to get in the house. Once they have found a way in, they will just slither right back in when you chuck them out the door.

On a side note - many snakes (and mice) get into houses by going in through the water heater drain pan drain pipe. Plumbers usually hook up the drain line to the drain pan and just run the pipe out through the wall or down through the floor in a pier and beam house. The mice will crawl up inside the pipe. Then the snakes will follow.

I found this out the hard way. I kept looking for where mice were getting in. I would find and patch one hole only to catch another mouse in a trap. Then one time I happened to look in a water heater closet for something. I looked down and saw a rat snake partially curled around the water heater with about 6 inches of its tail still down the drain pipe.

The fix is simple - take a 2" x 2" square of screen wire and shove it up the end of the drain pipe. Mice, bugs and snakes can't get in, but when you need to drain the water heater, the water flows right through the screen wire.

Our back porch may have a poltergeist! A couple of days ago, the snake. Today it’s spiders!
Anyone know a good exorcist?

Ken

The only wild snakes I’ve handled were Garters and they settle right down after the first day.
The rest have all been captive bred. It depends more on the individual snake. I remember a group of donated boas, about six footers. Most were fine, one was a determined biter. No reason, just cranky. We had a couple of baby cobras that were just insane. They would track you if you walked past their enclosure and bat at the glass open mouthed. Then there were the full grown diamondback and Gaboon Vipers that would probably have just lain there if the glass suddenly evaporated.
The biggest snake I’ve helped to handle was a 17’ Rock Python and he was very easy going. Good thing, too. It took five of us to hold him up for a photo!
Rat snakes are fairly common in the pet trade. I had a Leucitic Texas Rat snake myself. They are white with black eyes. He was pretty cool.
Great little pest control workers!

Mumbleypeg wrote:Our back porch may have a poltergeist! A couple of days ago, the snake. Today it’s spiders!

Anyone know a good exorcist?

Ken

According to Google, "Mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and use it to directly spray any spiders you see. Vinegar contains acetic acid which burns the spider upon contact. Vacuum. To kill one or just a few spiders efficiently, use a vacuum cleaner."