Damascus is Beautiful

After talking with many people, I realized that most do not understand what damascus steel is. I know that I explained what it is in an earlier post, but it doesn't fully makes sense until you see it. So I decided to put up a picture of my first ever completed damascus project: a 2-inch blade wood carving knife. This was made from a piece that we had to cut off of my larger billet because it wasn't welding right. It only has 17 layers as opposed to my large billet which will have over 500 layers when it is finished. I forged it using a hammer, tongs and anvil (good thing I took that blacksmithing class last year). With the help of my teacher, we ground it down to shape and put in the main bevel. Then I hardened it, which requires heating the knife until its non-magnetic and then quenching it in oil. In our case we used cooking oil, so the forge smelt like popcorn. I then put it in a toaster oven at 425 for two hours (sounds like I'm giving tips for a recipe). The last steps involved sanding the knife using different grits up to 1500 grit and then etching it in acid. I used muriatic acid that my aunt had. The acid eats away the metals at different rates and causes the pattern to emerge. This part was not fun; the fumes coming off the acid were so potent that I could barely breathe. I should have worn a mask over my nose and mouth instead of just using my hand. After the etching, I put on the final edge and presto! a brand new knife ready to be used, well after I get a handle on it.

Fish Creek Canyon

This morning my friends and I went on another hike out in the Superstition Mountains. We headed for a canyon that none of us had ever hiked before. I love those kind of hikes because it trully is an adventure! There was no trail so we got to route find our way over and around huge boulders. The walls were hundreds of feet above us with saguaro cactus dotting them while in the creek bottom were clear pools and lush trees. Because of the rock scrambling and route finding we did not go very fast and only got about 5 miles in 5 hours but I loved every minute of it. I would love to go there again and get even farther back into the canyon.

A Trail Ride for my Birthday

So my aunt won a two hour trail ride last fall. She wasn't able to use it last year as she was recovering from hip surgery. She called me up last week and asked if I wanted to go with her as my birthday present. Of course I said yes (who would pass up this opportunity). We headed way out to a ranch in Tonapah, AZ for the the ride. It was a perfect day. A storm was blowing in so we had cloud cover to keep the sun off and the temperature was in the low 70s. The ranch was situated on the edge of the Eagletail Wilderness; we had a gorgeous view of the mountains during the entire ride. While we waited for the horses to get saddled the owner gave us a tour of their ranch house which is quite unique. It is 100% solar powered and they have an amazing system of cooling the house during the summer using a cooling tower and the simple science of hot air rising and air currents. If only every house down here could have one we would save a lot on electric bills.

My horse was named swayback and Marilyn's was spot. They were your typical Trail horses: gentle, older, knew the area so well that you didn't have to do much leading and of course they walked faster when we turned around to head back. Our guides took us through desert next to the ranch and it was relaxing wandering among the chaparral and ironwood. I enjoyed maneuvering the washes that frequently crossed our paths. On the way back in, my horse did speed up to a trot every now and then and I loved it; I wished I could have gone faster.

What was really amazing is that later that day and the next, I was not sore. When I first got off the horse, my legs hurt from being stretched for so long but later on I had no problems whatsoever. I think it has to do with all the hiking I've been doing, but what do I know.

Happy Day Its Finished

This is my most recently completed sewing project and it couldn't have been done sooner. I say that because this bag was incredibly frustrating to make. It was my first time working with buckram, fusible fleece and zippers. Plus the pattern was not very clear in spots. My sewing machine has also developed a nasty habit of pulling the fabric in odd ways. Putting the side pockets and straps on took me three tries each because the fabric keep getting stitched on crooked. The worst part was putting on the ends and the binding around the ends. That buckram made it so thick to try and maneuver and then trying to get all those layers through plus keep a sraight stitch for the binding was a challenge. Thankfully it turned out well enough that I didn't have to resew it. The inside is lined with the same blue you see on the outside band and pocket.
You might be wondering what I am going to use it for and I did make it with a purpose in mind. It is going to be my new temple bag. There are two good sized pockets inside, made out of the white material from the outside, to help keep everything organized. I modified both of them from the what the pattern directed; one is two inches wider and the other is sewn in half to create two smaller pockets. Its just the perfect size for everything I need. Now I have a unique bag instead of the one that looks like everybody else.

Lots of great hiking

I realized I did not write anything about last weekend on the Trail. I won't say much other than it was terrific. My young walker was amazing and fun. We did have to battle two lightening/rainstorms, one on saturday night and the other on monday. Saturday's storm came in as the sun was setting, so we got an amazing sunset complete with a double rainbow. We were able to build shelters, and I spent the evening watching the lightening light up the trees around me and listen to the rain. Monday was not quite as great because I was waiting to be switched out which means I did not build a shelter. I still stayed dry by putting my poncho tarp over me and my basket pack. It got a little old sitting there in the rain watching the fire struggle to stay going through the downpour. Once it stopped, I was more than happy to get out and stand next to the fire, which did survive the rain thanks to some pitch wood my young walker found.

Today I hiked Roger's Canyon in the Superstition Mountains with great friends. We went at a pretty good clip making it 9 miles in 5 hours. You start at the top of the canyon and hike down it. At the bottom are 600 year old Salado Indian ruins that are still in pretty amazing shape. One of the rooms still has the roof with its log poles, thatch and adobe. The canyon was beautiful as the leaves were just beginning to change color. The temperature was in the 60s when we started and only got to the mid-70s by the time we finished. All in all a perfect morning to go on a hike.

I love fall. Being on the Trail last weekend and hiking today made me realize how much I love this time of year. I think its my favorite season. There is just something about the smell and feel of the air that excites my soul. I wish it wasn't such a short season, but I guess having to go through the other seasons makes me appreciate when it comes again much more than if it was always autumn.

I didn't take any photos during our hike today and I can't take pictures while I'm with young walkers on the Trail, so I decided to post this one from a hike a few weeks ago. But thats pretty much how I always look when I'm hiking. I am standing on the top of Four Peaks Mountain with Roosevelt Lake and the Sierra Ancha Wilderness in the background.