Girl's Got Toys!!

[Penguinetti]

Typical dwarf... Compensating for something.

Rofl.. yea, height. Not girth.

The company I work for, we are actually more metalworkers ...we figure that crowd's gotta have more money than the LARPers ;D, plus we got stiffed by our last jousting armour order...

Very cool.... I'm planning on tapping into the anime set as well and market to that group of cosplayers...

Heh.. yea, I was that poor LARPer who wanted to buy something but never had the money. In fact, there was one set of people who told me they could make me a throwing knives sheath that could be hidden in my beard (remember; dwarf). I thought that was pretty cool. But I didn't have the money when they were around, and they didn't come back once I had it saved.

From my understanding, anime cosplay is definitely on the rise. At least, that's what it looks like from this angle.

And yea, now that I have (albeit not much) money, I think naughty things would be what I'd buy now, seeing as how my wife might find it strange if I go out to play in the woods for 3 days again...




... But back to mead! What else did people buy / receive recently in terms of mead equipment / paraphernalia / stash / ingredients??

 

[Matrix4b]

To pipe in on the non-mead stuff. I am part of a Shinai club. For those that don't know a Shinai is the 4 slat bamboo sword held together with white leather and with a circular plastic disk for a hilt. The Shinai is used in many Kendo and other martial arts practices. While we are very informal and only a small group that get's together the last saturday of each month. I acutally wield a Shinai Staff or double ended Shinai that I made myself. Unfortunately, I hold it together with masking tape wraped around the important bits. I have been wanting to upgrade into leather like the shinai but don't know how to do leather work. I figure it's going to take gromits and lacing around the bits because I don't have an "end". Anybody know how hard that would be? Oh here's our website, we are having a tournament this month that is open to all fighters, I invite you all to show up and play or just show up.

Tournament details:
4/28/12, Mission Viejo Park 3999 S Mission Pkwy Aurora, Co. 80013
$10 for individual unmodified Shinai
$10 for modified open
$20 to register a team demo.
http://mmshinaiclub.org/tournament_information.php

Good picture of a Shinai
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&...61&start=22&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:22,i:179

Sorry for totaly Hijacking the thread. Back to mead gear:

I had a autosyphon die on me. I took out the pump tube, cut off the ends and drilled 1/4 inch holes all along it and put a string on the end, caped one end with a screen of sorts and then I have a sort of oaking wand that I made that works for glass carboys. I just fill up the wand with oak chips or cubes and drop it in. Makes for easy use for oaking in a glass carboy with the narrow neck.

Matrix

 

[TAKeyser]

... But back to mead! What else did people buy / receive recently in terms of mead equipment / paraphernalia / stash / ingredients??

sadly no new equipment, but an acquaintance who knows of my Mead "Hobby" gave me 3 1/2 lbs of Star Thistle Honey yesterday. Only enough for a gallon batch, but hey it's a gallon of mead. Don't know if I want to do a traditional or a Bochet with it.

 

[ChadK]

From my understanding, anime cosplay is definitely on the rise. At least, that's what it looks like from this angle.

That's cause anime girls are hawt.

Tournament details:
4/28/12, Mission Viejo Park 3999 S Mission Pkwy Aurora, Co. 80013
$10 for individual unmodified Shinai
$10 for modified open
$20 to register a team demo.
http://mmshinaiclub.org/tournament_information.php
Matrix

Hey, that's almost walking distance from my brother's place. I just might stop by--if I remember.

Oh yeah, and this isn't this thread, so I probably oughta say something about mead equipment. After watching a link to this guy making wine in his basement, I've been wanting one of those shake siphons. Is there a reason they aren't more common in homebrewing circles? They seem quite convenient and cheap.

 

[Deacon Aegis]

To pipe in on the non-mead stuff. I am part of a Shinai club. For those that don't know a Shinai is the 4 slat bamboo sword held together with white leather and with a circular plastic disk for a hilt. The Shinai is used in many Kendo and other martial arts practices. While we are very informal and only a small group that get's together the last saturday of each month. I acutally wield a Shinai Staff or double ended Shinai that I made myself. Unfortunately, I hold it together with masking tape wraped around the important bits. I have been wanting to upgrade into leather like the shinai but don't know how to do leather work. I figure it's going to take gromits and lacing around the bits because I don't have an "end". Anybody know how hard that would be? Oh here's our website, we are having a tournament this month that is open to all fighters, I invite you all to show up and play or just show up.

Tournament details:
4/28/12, Mission Viejo Park 3999 S Mission Pkwy Aurora, Co. 80013
$10 for individual unmodified Shinai
$10 for modified open
$20 to register a team demo.
http://mmshinaiclub.org/tournament_information.php

Good picture of a Shinai
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&...61&start=22&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:22,i:179

Sorry for totaly Hijacking the thread. Back to mead gear:

I had a autosyphon die on me. I took out the pump tube, cut off the ends and drilled 1/4 inch holes all along it and put a string on the end, caped one end with a screen of sorts and then I have a sort of oaking wand that I made that works for glass carboys. I just fill up the wand with oak chips or cubes and drop it in. Makes for easy use for oaking in a glass carboy with the narrow neck.

Matrix

Matrix, using leather to bind two shinai swords together in the middle may be doable, but it would be a bit of a pain to do it right and get it solid enough to actually use as sport weapons. One would probably have to splice bamboo shunts across the handles to stiffen the entire joint before wrapping it with leather. The problem with doing that is that the width of the handles would become wider. I suppose it is doable though. The end result would be kinda a Darth Maul Shinai. ;D

 

[HunnyBunz]

Oh yeah, and this isn't this thread, so I probably oughta say something about mead equipment. After watching a link to this guy making wine in his basement, I've been wanting one of those shake siphons. Is there a reason they aren't more common in homebrewing circles? They seem quite convenient and cheap.

I was thinking about getting one of those too, but right now I've been wanting to get a simple hand pump degasser I saw here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z1FMHrX0Bo called a Vacu-Vin. They're made to preserve wine in opened bottles but the video shows it pulling a lot of co2 out of the must in a carboy after using a lees stirrer on a drill.

 

[Chevette Girl]

I had a autosyphon die on me. I took out the pump tube, cut off the ends and drilled 1/4 inch holes all along it and put a string on the end, caped one end with a screen of sorts and then I have a sort of oaking wand that I made that works for glass carboys. I just fill up the wand with oak chips or cubes and drop it in. Makes for easy use for oaking in a glass carboy with the narrow neck.

Now that's a damn good idea, and now I kind of wish I hadn't thrown out my busted one!

 

[Penguinetti]

Now that's a damn good idea, and now I kind of wish I hadn't thrown out my busted one!

Quick! Rummage through the trash and you can count it as a reanimated!

 

[Chevette Girl]

Quick! Rummage through the trash and you can count it as a reanimated!

Oh, no, I tossed it years ago. Unlike most things that end up sitting around in my house that really should have been tossed years ago but I keep because I might find a use for it. And lo and behold, I could have used the thing I pitched, what else is new. (this is why I am an admitted pack rat)

 

[Penguinetti]

:sadpanda:

 

[Matrix4b]

Oh, no, I tossed it years ago. Unlike most things that end up sitting around in my house that really should have been tossed years ago but I keep because I might find a use for it. And lo and behold, I could have used the thing I pitched, what else is new. (this is why I am an admitted pack rat)

Yeah, I hadn't gotten around to throwing it out. I threw out my previous one when the problem of getting oak chips out of the glass carboy came up. A muslin hops bag works, sorta. It takes a bit of work to get it out but less than if I had loose chips. I was initially thinking on a couple of those m&m minis containers that are the slim tube but wasn't sure if it was a good grade of plastic for it. Then I thought, I have something that IS food grade that enjoys contact with the must all the time. Saw off end, sand on the handy belt sander. Drill holes, small ones but many, ended up using a dremel. Then put two holes at my top for a string and fix a screen at the bottom and boom. I suppose if I was going to make one from scratch, I would go with food grade plastic screen with a weighted disk at the bottom. The rigid screen that would roll up well and you can fuse the ends together, opening at the top and make it closeable and string to get it out of the carboy.

I am all for creating something to make something else easier, especially if it is a simple creation. Many of Enginering problems are already done for you, you just need to re-imagine the shape.

Matrix

 

[HunnyBunz]

Wow Chevette Girl, y'all do custom leather work? So do I! I run a company called Aegis Steamcraft LLC. I do leather work for steampunk, renaissance fair, sci-fi, and wild west associated affecianados. Lots of belts and holster rigs, sword scabbards, pouches and that sort of stuff. I'm thinking about getting into moccassin and boot work like the Sod Hoppers sort of stuff. Small world, eh? I tend to avoid doing the naughty things though. And that's what I'll claim publicly. Mwahaha

Deacon -
I was going to ask you if you know of Chuck Dorsett who also does leather work. I think he is also in Marietta, or maybe Atlanta. I've done business with him in the past and he's a super nice guy.

 

[Deacon Aegis]

Deacon -
I was going to ask you if you know of Chuck Dorsett who also does leather work. I think he is also in Marietta, or maybe Atlanta. I've done business with him in the past and he's a super nice guy.

LOL, that is actually pretty amazing that you ask that. Chuck is running the local Tandy Leather Company outlet here in the Atlanta area. I owe quite a bit of thanks to him for helping me get started. There's usually not a month that goes by that I don't see him and his fine crew down there at Tandy. He did, as a matter of fact, live here in Marietta for a while, but he moved about a year ago to be closer to the shop. Now they are talking about moving the shop either late this month or early next month to a much larger location. That's really cool that you know him. The funny thing is this is the first year I've had to do all the business taxes for my little business here and so we decided to hire a CPA to handle it all. The CPA, when learning what I did asked if I knew Chuck by any chance. It seems everyone knows Chuck. He is really a great guy.

If you look for the Tandy Leather here in Atlanta, you can get their contact information and get in touch with him that way. BTW, Chuck is a heck of alot more experienced than I am in the craft and I often ask him about techniques and such. I really wish the man would run a class on crafting leather armor, as the suit he has hanging in the shop is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, he says it would take a month of weekends to teach such a class and the leather alone would be prohibitively expensive for most folks who would be interested.

 

[Penguinetti]

Wow... talk about a small world...

 

[Matrix4b]

Matrix, using leather to bind two shinai swords together in the middle may be doable, but it would be a bit of a pain to do it right and get it solid enough to actually use as sport weapons. One would probably have to splice bamboo shunts across the handles to stiffen the entire joint before wrapping it with leather. The problem with doing that is that the width of the handles would become wider. I suppose it is doable though. The end result would be kinda a Darth Maul Shinai. ;D

Actually, I solved that problem. How I made mine is I I overlaped the two ends to about 6 inches in, sorta like fingers. You do need to sand off the inner rib and smooth it out. I used to tape those too but I found Zip Ties (cut off end and put the fat part inside the bend) both lighter and stronger. What the result is 4 slats that go the full lenght of the Double Shinai. Then the trick is putting it together. I use the same format as the shinai. I did need to improvise and use a tsuba (that's the plastic hilt) to hold it in place and then go from one end to the other to straiten the slats and keep it in line. Then after that I tape the grip on which serves as a grip and a method of keeping it together. I want to replace the tape with leather. Oh, I did make a secondary grip where the nai-iyogi (where the leather strips hold a shinai together at the top between the tip and tsuba). The secondary grip is about a hand length.

So I made the Double Shinai or Shinai Staff but I haven't upgraded to using leather to hold it together. Makes it tough to maintanence. I need to strip the tape off, it wears out eventually. Then sand and oil the slats, then put back together. If the slats aren't in too bad of shape I don't need to take off the zip ties. But it would be nice to not rely on tape to put it together. I can get the leather but I don't know how to gromet or lace it up so that it will be easy to take off. Just loosen the laces and slide off, maintanence and then back together. Also it looks funny and not natural for it to be tape. Leather would look more profesional.

Matrix

 

[HunnyBunz]

I really wish the man would run a class on crafting leather armor, as the suit he has hanging in the shop is pretty amazing.

I think I have seen the suit you are talking about. A couple years ago he had posted on his Dorsett House website pictures of a suit he had made for himself and was putting up for sale. I think it was called "dragon armour" or something like that and it was freaking incredible!

 

[Matrix4b]

To pipe in on the non-mead stuff. I am part of a Shinai club. For those that don't know a Shinai is the 4 slat bamboo sword held together with white leather and with a circular plastic disk for a hilt. The Shinai is used in many Kendo and other martial arts practices. While we are very informal and only a small group that get's together the last saturday of each month. I acutally wield a Shinai Staff or double ended Shinai that I made myself. Unfortunately, I hold it together with masking tape wraped around the important bits. I have been wanting to upgrade into leather like the shinai but don't know how to do leather work. I figure it's going to take gromits and lacing around the bits because I don't have an "end". Anybody know how hard that would be? Oh here's our website, we are having a tournament this month that is open to all fighters, I invite you all to show up and play or just show up.

Tournament details:
4/28/12, Mission Viejo Park 3999 S Mission Pkwy Aurora, Co. 80013
$10 for individual unmodified Shinai
$10 for modified open
$20 to register a team demo.
http://mmshinaiclub.org/tournament_information.php

Good picture of a Shinai
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&...61&start=22&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:22,i:179

Sorry for totaly Hijacking the thread. Back to mead gear:

I had a autosyphon die on me. I took out the pump tube, cut off the ends and drilled 1/4 inch holes all along it and put a string on the end, caped one end with a screen of sorts and then I have a sort of oaking wand that I made that works for glass carboys. I just fill up the wand with oak chips or cubes and drop it in. Makes for easy use for oaking in a glass carboy with the narrow neck.

Matrix

Just FYI for those were planing on attending or participating. The Tournament has been cancled due to the lack of interest and a few other factors. We are going to try again for next year.

Matrix

 

[ChadK]

Just FYI for those were planing on attending or participating. The Tournament has been cancled due to the lack of interest and a few other factors. We are going to try again for next year.

Matrix

That's a shame. I thought it would be fun to attend. Ah well, I think I might have a gig for that day anyhow.

 

[Deacon Aegis]

I think I have seen the suit you are talking about. A couple years ago he had posted on his Dorsett House website pictures of a suit he had made for himself and was putting up for sale. I think it was called "dragon armour" or something like that and it was freaking incredible!

Sorry for the delayed response, I was out vending at a steampunk show this last weekend. Next weekend I'll be out at a Wheel of Time convention, called JordanCon. On the positive side of things, we had an amazing show this past weekend, selling out most of our stock and making a pretty good amount of money. On the negative side of things, I wasn't expecting things to be that wildly successful and now I haven't even got enough stock to fill a single tote and two days left to build more leather items in, which means I'm not going to get much done or out on the table for this show. That is extremely disappointing for me, as I hate not to be able to present my best at a show. Anywho, had to make a run to Tandy today to get some line 21 snaps and told Chuck that someone from Salem, Oregon mentioned his name on a mead-making website. He just chuckled and started trying to guess your name... I figure he probably doesn't know anyone named HunnyBunz... Hehe

Anyway, I'm off to get some rest and nurse a finger I smashed trying to rush some leather stuff out... I need more space, more time, and more mead at the moment... bleh...

 

[ChadK]

Sorry for the delayed response, I was out vending at a steampunk show this last weekend. Next weekend I'll be out at a Wheel of Time convention, called JordanCon. On the positive side of things, we had an amazing show this past weekend, selling out most of our stock and making a pretty good amount of money. On the negative side of things, I wasn't expecting things to be that wildly successful and now I haven't even got enough stock to fill a single tote and two days left to build more leather items in, which means I'm not going to get much done or out on the table for this show. That is extremely disappointing for me, as I hate not to be able to present my best at a show. Anywho, had to make a run to Tandy today to get some line 21 snaps and told Chuck that someone from Salem, Oregon mentioned his name on a mead-making website. He just chuckled and started trying to guess your name... I figure he probably doesn't know anyone named HunnyBunz... Hehe

Anyway, I'm off to get some rest and nurse a finger I smashed trying to rush some leather stuff out... I need more space, more time, and more mead at the moment... bleh...

Reading all these posts from you crafty people makes me wish I could make something marketable with my hands. (I can't count beer cause I can't legally sell it.)