[TexasJack]

We could probably fill a book with such stories. "Work" (you know, that real world out there) is too often not fulfilling. You make widgets, the boss wants more widgets for less salary, and eventually you either get laid off or retired. So we find ways to put the kind of heart and soul that we have into an outlet - whether full time or part time. Sometimes it's charity, volunteer fire department, crafting things - sometimes all that and more.

One of the first knives I customized was for a friend at work. His son was born with cerebal palsy. When he got to be a young teen, he wanted to go 'hunting' with Dad and he wanted a real knife. His father asked me if there was a knife made that had a round tip, as he was afraid that his son's lack of muscle control would lead to him sticking himself. I found a blade at Tx Knifemakers - a skinner with a very thick spline - and carefully ground and polished the end so that it was too blunt to ever hurt anyone. I ground the handle down and made deep finger grooves to fit the kid's hands, then added a large polished brass guard and a thong hole in the rear (to tie the knife to his wrist). I seem to recall the slabs being desert ironwood. The end result was a knife that looked nothing like the original. I gave him the knife the day before Christmas. (I couldn't take money for that job!) By the end of Christmas day, they didn't have a bar of soap in the house that hadn't been turned to shavings! The kid turned 21 this year, and still treasures the knife.

Can you stand another? Another guy I worked with had lost his father when he was very young. His mother remarried and got rid of pretty much everything of his father's. The only thing my friend inherited was a large pocket knife. He told me that the plastic sides had been cracked years ago and he'd like to replace them so that he could pass the knife on to his son. He said, "It must be a cheap knife for advertising tractors or lawn mowers." I asked him to explain. He said, "Well, the blade says 'Case'." OK, it's NOT a junk knife, bring it in. He did a lot of woodworking, mostly on a lathe, so I helped him make a set of birdeye maple sides for that knife. Turned out beautifully. When we finished, he told me that words couldn't describe what it meant to him to have a knife from his father - that now had his own loving work added to it - to pass on to his son.

Maybe its true that a little piece of your own soul goes into those things that you make with love.