What I'm Up To

Looks great Tom.

 

Nice, is there a copper spacer as well?

 

Thanks, Matt! I know you love shiny polished handles, but this one wasn't meant to be. Haha.

Yup, a copper spacer up front, between the scales and bolster. I hand shaped that, for the most part, with snips and files. I only used the sander when absolutely necessary, to make sure the epoxy didn't get messed up.

 

Nice work Tom! How did you decide the handle shape? Is there one you modeled it after or just your preferred shape?

 

My latest. This is a hidden tang western conversion for a Carter gyuto Murray just sent to me:

Still some work to do, but I'm loving this badboy

 

Almost done. I call this my "test finish". It lets me see what areas need further sanding, etc. as you can see, this one has turned out pretty well....

 

Nice work!

 

Here's a fully custom 245mm Carter Gyuto that Murray and I did together. I knocked out the handle and saya for a great customer. The saya is solid walnut, courtesy of Mark Farley.


Thanks for looking!

 

Looking good Tom

 

Nice job Tom!

 

Another little update, for anyone who is curious/interested.
A couple weeks ago, I was the feature of a National (International, but Canadian-made) ad that will be airing on December 1st, on a television, or computer near you. Ketel One Vodka decided I was an interesting choice as one of five craftsmen for the "One Craft" campaign. It was an absolute honour, and a blast to shoot. They basically followed me around for the day as I made a saya, and made a handle for, and rehandled a Tanaka gyuto. I'm still shocked that they contacted me, then chose me, and I was absolutely humbled by the whole process.
Here are two "sneak peek" pictures of the ad, which will be hitting the air soon:

Here I am inspecting the grind work on the saya.

Fitting up the new handle on the Tanaka.
Also, I've been insanely busy with buying (and hopefully selling) our house(s). This means a brand new, designated workshop for McLean Customs, and a house to grow into with our growing family. We are sad to be leaving our wonderful home, but thrilled at the prospect of what this new one will bring. It is in the area that we have always had our sights set on, and is much better suited for the direction we are going in. Needless to say, we are in love with the new place. I should also thank my good friend Pierre Rodrigue for being an awesome resource throughout the process. You are and likely always will be a terrific sounding board and mentor.
Lastly, I've managed to get some work done, in and around all of this, with these two pieces being my most recent. These two handles are from the same tree, and will be going on some beautiful old Masamotos that were made together, the same day (over 12 years ago). I really like how they turned out.

Thanks for reading. I know that a lot of this craziness is due, in part, to you guys. You rock!

 

Hey Lefty. Please accept my congratulations, both because of new house and tv commercial. I wish you luck with everything you do. Sometimes one needs some kick of luck if you know what I mean, and I can see that you got proper boost of luck/happiness

 

You'll have to let us know when it's on so we can watch.
or where to look online.

Congratulations!

 

That's awesome lefty. And congrats on the new place. As someone who has just moved in the last year, I appreciate fully the stress (both good and bad) that is raised during that process. But the good thing is that you love the place and the other good thing is that you are supporting vodka. I really don't want you to underestimate how important vodka is

k.

 

This is awesome and well deserved. Congrats!

 

Hey guys! A lot of you are likely wondering if I actually do anything anymore, if you don't have Instagram. I figured I'd take a few minutes to let you know that I am still around, but between family life, being the best dad I can be, trying to be a good husband, and then my career that actually allows for me to own a house, etc, I have stepped away from the forums quite a bit. Anywho, here is a peek at what I'be been up to:


This is a restrained, but beautiful saya to go with a drop dead Shig.


A lacing toy for my boy's first birthday. Apparently it will make him super smart and likely as good of a knife maker as Rader....


A solid imbuia saya for a simple and gorgeous Sakai Yusuke.

And most importantly -


Hanging out with this little man as much as I can. Here he is enjoying our backyard swing set.

 

Good looking work top to bottom Tom. I am still struggling to figure out how Instagram works but have caught some pics there too. Glad to hear everything is on the up and up with you.

 

Lookin' good Tom!

 

How did I miss this thread?

No matter, I'm in now!

Beautiful work my friend!

 

Nice work, Tom!