Homemade Knife: Turn An Old Hand Saw Into A Dozen Knives

By Mike Adams

A homemade knife can be easily made from an old hand saw. With just a few steps you can turn trash into treasure.

Naturally, the first thing you need is an old hand saw. You can still find them in many places like junk shops, old tool markets or flea markets.

Don't go for the well-preserved ones, look for the rusted ones and the ones with broken handles. These will be very cheap and work just as well. Just don't buy the saws with heavy pitting.

Just a few bucks is all you should pay for old hand saws in this condition. You're after the old ones due to the high-carbon steel contained in them. Edges will stay sharp a long time with this kind of steel.

Take the bolts out of what remains of the handle when you get it home and you might want to go ahead and run a piece of fine sandpaper over it to remove the surface rust and clean it up some.

The knives made from saw steel will be thin, tough and flexible, just what you want for great kitchen knives. The tempered steel will create a fine old fashioned knife.

High heat will destroy the temper in saw blade steel so you can't cut the blade out with a torch. You will need to use other mechanical methods to do this. Your old fashioned knife will need the tempering to stay sharp and flexible.

Using a grinder or belt sander to remove the rough cut marks will transform your knife blank into a shiny piece of metal that will now start to look like a homemade knife.

Drill three holes in the handle area of the knife blank to accept the rivets that will hold the wooden handles pieces. Anneal (soften) the steel first at these points with a small propane torch.

Attaching a wooden handle to a homemade knife is not difficult. It just requires some epoxy glue and rivets.

Store-bought rivets are available, but it just seems more correct for a homemade knife to make your own. Brass or copper are best.

Once the handle is on, it's time to finish up by putting an edge on the blade. I use either a bench grinder or belt sander for this. Take your time, check your work often and keep the blade cool by dousing in water every couple of passes. Making a fine homemade knife is a work of patience.

Slow even passes on the machine are what makes for perfect edges. Use very little pressure and try to keep a steady angle all the way across. If you feel the metal getting too hot, douse it in water to cool it.

With the right touch it should be only minutes before you have a homemade knife that should give you good service and last for decades.

About the Author:

Making a homemade knife is an interesting and fun project. You'll be morphing a piece of worthless metal into great tools to use, give as gifts or sell. You can learn all you need to know to get started with this craft at http://www.how-to-make-a-knife.com

Baby Nursery Decoration: Safety Tips For The Newborn's Room

By Harriet A Morris

Baby nursery decoration is a really enjoyable part of preparing for the birth of a child. Make sure your baby's room is as safe as you can make it by following these guidelines:

1. Blackout curtains or blinds are popular these days, because experts say that a darkened room helps newborns sleep better. However, you must be careful that there are no loose cords hanging anywhere near your infant. It is horribly easy for one of these cords to get wound round a baby's neck, causing unthinkable consequences. Cut the cords, or at least tie them back securely.

2. Long items such as curtains that are trailing on the floor are especially dangerous if these curtains have blackout lining, beacause it means a fall in the dark.

3. A rug can be a trip hazard - just think of all those times you will be going to pick your little one up in the dark. If you really want a rug, place it under something so you cannot physically walk on it - a table or feeding chair for example.

4. Plug sockets might be worth having out of view altogether. Socket covers to stop babies sticking their fingers where they should not are commonplace and are very effective. A less well-known problem is that of older, more mobile babies falling and hurting their heads on the corners of floor level sockets. Once your little one starts rolling around, it is best to reposition furniture in front of sockets to prevent this minor injury.

5. SIDS - or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a worry for every parent. Because they are thought to block air flow around the infant, cot bumpers are not advised for the under one's. If your baby hurts their head on the cot bars, try this novel solution: if your cot mattress fits the travel cot, just use that instead. The sides are much softer.

To sum up, safety in the nursery is mostly a question of common sense. If it's your first baby, don't be overwhelmed by worries that will very probably never materialise. When you start to feel anxious, do something positive to make the nursery - and the baby nursery decoration - as safe as possible. A checklist of safe behavior is a good place to start.

About the Author:

Looking to find the best deal on nursery sets, then visit Bo Baby to find the best advice on baby nursery decoration and much more.

Light Weight Strollers are Best for Travel

By Chris Maclaren

If you have young children and you've gone traveling with them in the past, then you no doubt already know just how difficult it can be. Not only does it involve a considerable amount of extra luggage, but of course your kids certainly won't be volunteering to carry any of it. This is why it's so crucial to keep everything light weight wherever possible. The same thing applies to strollers if your kids are still riding in them. Let's face it, you don't want to be rushing about in an Airport carrying luggage and trying to hold on to your kids at the same time, and that's why you should definitely take your stroller with you, but of course you need to have a lightweight stroller such as an umbrella fold stroller.

As I myself have discovered in the past, the vast majority of airlines don't really provide much information about their procedures regarding strollers. In order to avoid any last minute upsets and confusion, here are a few tips which should be able to help you when it's time for boarding and disembarking.

Bear in mind that you can take your stroller all the way to the aircraft because it's not necessary for you to check it in with your other luggage. They will however place a tag on it when you check-in, and when you go through the security check, they'll more than likely want you to put the stroller through the x-ray scanner.

For your convenience, you can wheel your stroller right up to the entrance of the plane. You can't however, bring your stroller on board. There isn't much of a place to store strollers on the plane, and putting them in the overhead compartment is inconvenient and dangerous.

When traveling with your young child, it's important to bring a light weight stroller for the trip. You may want to think about an umbrella fold stroller, or another lightweight stroller in the Maclaren Buggy range.

Most important of all, you need to steer clear of strollers which are full of different attachments and gadgets. After all, the main idea is to have a stroller which is lightweight, strong, and easy to store. As such, you don't want a lightweight stroller which requires you to remove certain parts before you can fold it up for transit. For this reason, you should really avoid the three wheelers and those designed for rugged terrain

Over and above needing to be lightweight, your stroller should also be extremely durable, and once again, an umbrella fold stroller is an outstanding choice. Forget what you've seen or read about airport baggage handlers, because you can be rest assured they don't treat luggage with much respect. Let's face it, you don't want to hand over your lovely new stroller, only to get it back all bent and buckled.

As soon as the plane has landed and taxied to a standstill, you need to make your way to the baggage collection area as soon as possible in order to collect your luggage. However, there's a good chance that your stroller won't appear, and this is why you should always confirm things with the flight attendant with regards to where you'll be able to collect your stroller.

Last but not least, it is always advisable to contact the airline you intend flying with before the actual departure date, in order to verify what their specific rules and regulations are concerning strollers, particularly if your trip is likely to include any connecting flights.

I can assure you, following these few simple tips can go a long way in terms of preventing unnecessary upsets and confusion during your trip. Above all, remember to keep things simple, and as such, a light weight stroller is by far your best choice when it comes to check-In, security check, and storage during transit.

About the Author:

If you are serious about taking the right Lightweight stroller, then visit Chris Maclaren's site on how to choose the best Maclaren Buggy for your needs.

Online Bass Guitar Lessons: Learn With No Weaker Sides

By Kirk Yanda

Are you serious about wanting to improve you bass guitar playing? If you are, then one of the most productive things you can do is work on your scales. It has even been said that the level of your scale playing pretty much determines the level of your bass playing overall! I have designed these exercises to help you to develop a more accurate sense of rhythm and to improve the speed and agility of your bass guitar scales.

Tune all your strings one by one by matching the sound of the strings to the corresponding note on your tuner. Tuning your bass is not hard. But as with any other instrument it involves practice,and of course, practice makes perfect. After a while you may find that you do not even have to rely on an electronic tuner to tune your bass.

It can be played by plucking, slapping, tapping, popping, or by picking the strings with a pick. The bass guitar looks somewhat similar to an electric guitar, but with a larger, heavier body, a longer scale length, and a longer neck. The bass guitar usually has four strings, tuned one octave lower in pitch than the four lower strings of a guitar.

For instance, you've already heard about "slap bass" for sure. Slap is a very common technique and, because of the use in rock situation it has became one of the most popular technique in bass playing nowadays.

Besides, this will give you a chance to expand your instrument sound range, giving it more depth and compression. There are different variations of slapping the string. Slap bass techniques are commonly found in all types of music, but most notably in the funk, Latin and pop styles.

Unfortunately, it turns out to be harder than it looks. Here's why: The muscles that move your hands and fingers across the neck and strings are rarely used for other tasks. The fine motor skills needed to play a stringed instrument require that the small muscles of the hands be strengthened. So when you take up the bass, you're like a baby learning to walk: Not only do you have no idea of what you're doing, you don't even have the muscles to do it.

Imagine a scarecrow in a corn field - that is how your arm should be bent. With your arm bent in this position it will allow your hand to be in the perfect position to allow your wrist to move freely to strike the strings.

With all this is in mind, now you should start for taking your lessons. It don't matter if you hire a private teacher, learn by yourself or get some online lessons, whatever works for you will be the right path to take if you're just beginning.

About the Author:

For the very best prices and selection of free bass lessons online, there is no better place you will find than online bass guitar lessons

Are Sodas with Pure Cane Sugar Really Better for You than High Fructose Corn Syrup?

By David Marcheschi

Most beverages consumed by the average citizen has some sort of added sweetener. This can include products like sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners like Ace-K or aspartame. Although taste is important for most people, the safety of consuming many of these sweeteners is under the debate by food manufacturers and health officials; as well as the FDA. As a result, beverage makers and distributors have come out with new all natural versions of many products. This a good development in light of research that suggests that some sweeteners have led to health problems. However, not all natural sweeteners are as natural as they seem.

Pure Cane Sugar

Pure Cane Sugar is sugar that has undergone less processing and is often more brown in color than Refined Sugar (the white stuff, also known as Table Sugar). You often find Pure Cane Sugar in health food stores and the Natural aisles in your grocery stores. While Pure Cane Sugar (or Dehydrated Cane Juice) can definitely not be described as being good for you because it is a sweetener, on a scale of bad to less bad, Pure Cane Sugar is one of the better sweeteners you can choose. Because of this, Pure Cane Sugar is often included as the sweetener in beverages that carry the label Natural.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup, or HFCS, is used in many products we buy every day. It is a heavily processed sweetener comprised mainly of corn syrup, and is more cost efficient than sugar because it is much sweeter in nature than regular sugar and has a much longer shelf life, a real benefit to manufacturers.

HFCS can be found in everything from soft drinks to canned goods, even if the item is labeled "all natural". For this reason, it is important to check all food labels to be sure that the "natural" product you are purchasing is actually made from natural ingredients. If HFCS is labeled, the product is not entirely natural.

Heated debates regarding the safety of high fructose corn syrup have been waged by many health organizations, primarily because it is believed HFCS may be a huge contributor in the current obesity epidemic. This is because high fructose corn syrup is processed differently by the body than sugar, and due to its unnatural composition, causes the brain to fail to recognize a feeling of fullness. This results in overeating when consuming products which contain HFCS, and because so many products have this sweetener in them, its hard to know which foods are safe. It is also theorized that HFCS may cause the body to produce more fat than usual, resulting in weight gain.

Other conclusions have been drawn that say that HFCS is no less healthy for the body than sugar, and that all sweeteners should be in used in moderation. Even natrual sugar, they say, when consumed in excess of 10% of daily calories can lead to weight gain and obesity. This translates to a mere 50 grams of sugar each day within a diet of 2,000 calories. Of course, even less is better.

Acesulfame Potassium

Ace-K, also known as acesulfame potassium, is an calorie free sweetener that is often found in diet soft drinks and other beverages. Ace-K fits into the same category as other non-calorie sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame. They all contain no calories and no fat, making them appealing for dieters and diabetics.

Normally Ace-K is used in conjunction with other artificial sweeteners. This helps increase the sweetness of each product and enhance the overall flavor, making diet treats more appealing to consumers. Using more than one sweetener together normally results in a more naturally sweet flavor than using Ace-K alone.

Ace-K and similar products are especially beneficial to diabetics because they do not raise blood sugar the way sugar does. They also do not contribute to tooth decay. However, despite these benefits, all artificial sweeteners should be used in moderation.

In the end, while one sweetener may seem to have less negative effects than another, any sweetener is best when consumed sparingly. Most importantly though, read the labels on the products that you buy, so that regardless of the sweetener in the beverage you choose, you can monitor how much sweetener of any kind youre putting in your system.

About the Author:

Imbibe is an industry leader in developing high quality private label beverages. To learn more visit http://www.imbibeinc.com