So cue up "Thus Spak Zarusthra" from the opening scene of 2001?
But if the cats "left on their own.", who would know? 

GENERAL NOTE: been moving people, animals, stuff.  Almost done. 

--kjwagner much thanks and please post more.  Wish I could draw out the lurkers.  I think this story will
meet your/our collective expectations.  Still the same, but very considerably expanded/polished/justified.

--STJ your update or my update?  Please update promptly!!!

--GreenGiant, cats left on their own, very wicked.  Actually lost one of the cats, chronic kidney disease, and very sad:
perhaps the most personable, courteous, dog like cat I have every known.  Not really a cat person, although find
them tolerable--generally they are like moving art, unsympathetic, selfish.  This cat was quite exceptional.  Rest
in Peace, Sid.

--highstepper, appropriate, funny as hell.  I console myself by hoping that when this story is viewed intact, longer
than "Salem's Lot" or a number of other Stephen King novels, it will satisfy.  Most of it is seen here, but it has been
tuned up considerably over the last year.  We shall see.

And a meaningful 4th to all, and may we never need another.

I never thought of it that way, but absolutely.  As I get older I find myself thinking more about why we have our national holidays and less about what to do with the day off.  I am doing my best to help the little ones understand what the holidays are for, as I think it's important and not taught enough in school.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th.

Yes, Rest in Peace Sid.   I too have known "dogish" cats and they are generally the best kind of cat.  I like all animals generally, often more than I like most people.

"And a meaningful 4th to all, and may we never need another." -- I hope that we do never need another, but I suspect that we will have one sooner rather than later.  And it may not be the righteous side that starts things this time!

GENERAL NOTE:  I think everyone here would not be surprised if I had a pretty good idea who is reading this thread/story/
footnotes.  I have mentioned the word/concept "design" many times, and the meaning of "design" is buried/structured
deeply in the text itself: watches, statues, gates, weapons, actions, planning, books and texts as artifacts, the behavior
and history of Gehr Waffenfabrik, the concept of "practice"--and one cannot practice anything
without a design.  Let's say then, for the purpose of this paragraph, that we are ..... seasoned.  And interested in
non-trivial things.  I hesitate to use the word "mature"--but it would be appropriate. 

This would not be an accident, then.  Me writing this, and who reads it.

Moving quickly now, because this paragraph(s), like any other artifact of thought, and design, could be a book:
there are common severe disadvantages to this level/extent of "seasoning"/maturity. 

I choose one here: Rigidity.

Meaning: what has worked before, will work again.  That history only moves so fast.  That because one
has managed before, one can manage again.  That the future will always be some version of the past.

The 4th, for instance.

I'm getting there...

In the context of the 4th, then.

Just passed, and historical:

Very Very Very Unlikely.

Pay the closest possible attention to the now incessant drumbeat on top down structuring
of EVERYTHING:

A.I., and universal income, for instance.

They know.  They knew when they used Chinese labor as robots.  That was thirty years ago.
They know every time Amazon/Google/Tesla codes up another "productivity increase" ( and
I will be trading with this new tool of The Devil, and I loathe it )...They know when they alter
the meaning of common historical words and phrases and phrasing and rhetoric.

They are ratcheting down very hard and quickly now.

Yes, there is a "Them."

Perhaps someday someone should write a book titled "A Traitor To His Class."

Nuff said at this time.

--DFarm, "about our national holidays"--exactly.  "Taught in school"--maybe they are still learning
to count to five.  Not much else.  It is up to you, then.

--GreenGiant, losing Sid very affecting.  Such a good little dude.  Yes, we like them because at their best
they have all the qualities we wish for in humans, beginning with loyalty.  Losing Sid hit a very non-trivial
woman very hard.  She freely admits her other cats are thugs, and GSD/s are angels in disguise.

--GreenGiant, on the 4th, speaking particularly in response to your post.  The cohesion, technology,
geography, and many other things, no longer exist to replicate "a 4th."  We are already too significantly
compromised, and surrendered.  It this sounds defeatist, please read between/beneath the lines.
There are and will be other solutions to keeping a good library, in Some Pllaces, and For A Very Long
Time.

Captain's log, 17th, July

The year of 20 and 17.

Once again, rations have been exhausted.

I boiled and consumed a good portion of my left boot this evening. Though chewy and tasteless, it proved to be an adequate source of sustenance.

I see the echoing reverberations of distant visions. Heroes killing shitbags wholesale. Evildoers conspiring and failing.

I know these visions are based on some past knowledge.

Its been so long, I'm not entirely sure if these visions are of something real or imagined.

A dragon and a spear?

A gate and fire?

An ancient machine gun singing the song of it's people to a deserving audience?

The second boot is steeping. It will soon be ready. I have some off brand steak sauce and a packet of Burger King butter flavored margarine product I've been saving. Tonight is the night.

There was once a creator in this thread. Has the creator abandoned us?

I sometimes hear the chatter and footsteps of others in this wasteland. I have clear memories of posts speaking of FALs, power hammers, and other really cool shit. I'm pretty sure the posts were real. If so, where are the follow up posts about all of that cool shit?

Presently, the halls are abandoned and forlorn. Could these visions be only hopeful and desperate imaginations?

I pray not.

Off to my dinner and the echoes of faded memories.

End of report.

LOL @pfunk

I was planning some forge work yesterday, but ended up spending HOURS installing a winch I got cheap onto the truck.  

The bolt on front hitch did not bolt on.
After taking it on and off 5 times, I eventually chucked it up in the mill and cut new slots where it needed them.
I did have to hack on the bumper a bit.

Maybe later this week I can get some forge time in.

--PFfunk, left boot, awesome!!!!

--greyguy, yes, awesome!!!!!

GENERAL NOTE: Two worlds: 1. Patient readers waiting four years for a book.  2.  Writer trying to figure out how
to negotiate/manage/steer giant slightly off kilter genre twist in competitive fucked up unbelievably corrupt market
dominated by one giant river in South America.

Readers want/deserve their book.  They will get it.  But writer has ONE CHANCE to figure out how to introduce
multi-thousand hour project/future into....this: "Scammers Breaking The Kindle Store"--

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,253302.0.html?PHPSESSID=0oi9fnks70lbk3m7u2u1886482

This shit is a fucking nightmare. 

It affects everything: title, blurb, layout, pricing, hard copy when and how, blah blah blah, how/if to "promote"--
this/the other forum are literally Holy Lands of purest intention/honor/integrity compared to the cesspool this
story will inhabit very shortly.

GENERAL NOTE:  If anyone wants to know how this/these external issues affect promoting/pricing/the future of
this book/books, just ask.  I will be happy to discuss.  But you have to ask.  But as a topic/concern/discussion,
this continuing nightmare is completely unlike/in opposition to, the general holy vibe of "best story I can do,
for the people I want to write for"--

You have no idea.  Just ffffing unreal bullshit out there, once this thing gets off these forum.  I'm not sure you
want to know.  But I HAVE TO KNOW/UNDERSTAND THIS SHIT.

Ok, rant over.

I am literally proofing/formatting the "title" pages this weekend.  Every chapter has a title page/set-up phrases/relevant
quotes.  These pages "do not format" correctly/visually on a Kindle reader/e-book format.  My tech guru says she has a solution.
But it mean EVERY FFFING PAGE has to be adjusted/html'ed INDIVIDUALLY.  Stuff like that.  Tons of stuff like that.

You have no idea how much I loathe/detest the tool I will have to use to get this book out.  Impossible to describe.
Impossible. Impossible.

--STJ!!!!!  "spent hours putting winch on"--yep and about around last Christmas I was planning on publishing
a best version/good enough version/because this story could/should be about oh 650,000 words ( and published
in 2020 ) but then the big river did some Very Radical changes on how books/pages can be promoted/read/paid,
and I made some changes, which made some other changes, and then some other life shit happened, and then
a Very Important Female Person made some changes, and then I stubbed my toe, and so on and so on--

And.

Ok, title pages, this weekend, THIS BOOK WILL GET DONE/PUBLISHED.

It is freaking 165,000 words.  Longer than Salem's Lot, or Firestarter.  It is not going away, and neither am I.

In for an inch in for a mile. 

--BigDam, much thanks.

--Designated/M, and likewise.

Just FFFF the big river, FFFFing mind blowing.

Truth: EVERYONE likes sausage!

Truth: making sausage is MESSY (and sometimes gross depending on what quality of sausage).

Truth: MOST folks DO NOT want to know how you make it OR what's IN it, they just want to fry and EAT it!

Truth: WE are NOT most folk here and we only like the BEST SAUSAGE!

Now, get the VIF (Very Important Female) to kiss your wittle tosey, give her a big hug of understanding for loosing Sid, put the Big Boy Pants back on (as if you still own any other kind! ), and go TURN THE CRANK on the Big River Sausage-O-Matic!

Definitely, "In for an inch, in for a mile!"

Am I reading this correctly? As news of impending publication?


Also, careful in that big river there are piranha in there...

GreenGiant--very seriously considered using sausage analogy--

greyguy--title pages a last step--I make no promises because of sausage making issues, could write 10,000 words right here--
small sample: this/other forum must be edited word count to satisfy amazon TOS, other forum requires co-ordination with
forum moderators--text checking, blah blah blah.  Additional: just found out very recently that formatter/proofer/SO finds
reading text "extremely disturbing/unpleasant/depressing"--she is a realist, has known me a long time, but still prefers
not to wallow in various unpleasant truths.

GENERAL NOTE: on repeat: one week missed on a deadline/pub date is extremely uncool.  But a week here can blow
by with one phone call where I never see this/any computer.

GENERAL NOTE: publication will be announced ONLY AFTER THIS/OTHER FORUM HAVE BEEN 'EDITED'--THIS WILL BE
PRETTY OBVIOUS.  AND WHEN THE FULL TEXT/TITLE PAGES/COVER HAVE BEEN TESTED ON BIG RIVER'S KINDLE
FORMATTING TEMPLATE.

GENERAL NOTE: in other words, it will be announced as "published" within a two three day window of my actual e-publishing
on the big river.  This will be to allow for big river delays: it can take anywhere from twelve hours to one week for Amazon
to process a "publication" document.

GENERAL NOTE: fairly soon, within "weeks/maybe days" of publication, there will be several more UPDATES here on this/other
forum.  THESE UPDATES WILL NOT STAY UP FOR VERY LONG, for obvious reasons.  And they are nothing but spoilers/pay-offs.
I have been holding off on posting these updates for the last two months while I FFF around with titles, formatting, title fonts,
and general life shit.

Good to hear P-Day is nigh.  Can't wait!  When you do dead free versions, will there be an ARF signing by our esteemed author and compatriot?

mnmiv--good questions, worth another general note, sure this will be repeated as pages go back in time--

GENERAL NOTE: Sausage and sausage-making.  Messy messy business:

1.  Hard Copies.  There HAVE TO BE HARD COPIES of this book at some point.  Theme wise, story wise,
my intent, everybody interest.  These are freaking Librarians, yeah.

So, sausage-making--

2.  When this FFFFing monster is published, I have 2 (Two) hand made hard-copies to make, for members here
who stepped way the FFFF out and beyond--one everybody knows is Piddler.  I already have leather, wood, silver
dollars, some brads/grommets/tacks I made by cutting/filing .45 ACp brass.  These hard-copies will be templates
for something I can MAYBE have made somewhere/commercially.  And sell directly/on Big River/I have no FFFing
idea.

2A.  I have no idea how this stuff will 'cost out' per unit/hour/life.  Like most here, I don't have "a lot" of time.
It is inconceivable that hand-making books is/will be economical.  I can't imagine the template hard copies
not taking 10--20 hours a piece.  Have no idea if custom order bulk hard copies price out/for what/when/how.
BUT THAT WOULD BE MY FIRST CHOICE.  How to "sell"/hand off/sign, I have no idea.  But I would very much
like to do so.

2B.  I will have a lot more to say on this and related issues over time.  Stepping way the fuck out of line: I just read
a "very famous" spy/thriller/violence author for the first time.  Name begins with maybe....a "B".  He is worth, according to Fortune,
about 150 million dollars.  I think he sucks.  I think I fucking crush him as a writer, a mind, whatever.  I had a great
deal of trouble reading the first five pages of twenty year old cliches, ridiculous physics, preposterous stunts, and
paper characters.  it is crystal clear the author has never fucking changed a tire in his life.  So, I think this book should
do "real well"==that has many implications.  BUT GUESS WHAT????? It could totally crash and burn, disappear, fade
to nothing.  Famous Rich Author is also deliberate, methodical, predictable, formulaic in the extreme "he is writing
what the readers want", obviously.  I am not any of those things. In fact, I fucking hate those things with every molecule
of my tire changing body.

2C.  Less rant, more clarity: if I do "well enough" I will custom make hard copies at cost and figure out a way to distribute
to forum members/posters.  Pretty much a karma issue.  Have several steps in mind, and so on.

3. If I have to, I will use Big River Createspace, which is another FFFFing monopolistic clusterfuck of globalist fuck.

4.  I also have to figure out how to price this thing.  There are no/zero equivalents in "post apocalyptic fiction" which is
pretty much owned by 2.99 EMP/zombie serial "novels/novellas" of about 60-80,000 words, that can be borrowed
on KU.  This is about 165k words.  And KU is more FFFing monopolistic deceptvie globalist FFF.

4A.  Price high for dedicated careful thoughtful readers?  ( And burn forum members....) Price low for "everybody"--
and get shitty reviews/ranking from "should I grab the Ar15 with the LaRue microdot thermal spasm locator, or the Ak-47
with the pink cerakote unicorn to kill them zombies out chondah there )  Put in KU for borrows, so I stay visible, get
rich, and help Big River fuck the world....

Sausage.  Anybody wanna make some more sausage?

Nice that your still at it D.C.

When I see this pop up in my feed I'm like sweet, D.C. Is still alive.

--z0e17, totally FFFing alive.  Pissed off.  Good to see you, zoe17.  And your boy will need a paper/dead tree/hard copy someday.

Sorry to hear what you've been dealing with, DCB.

Take a deep breath bro.

--(edit)Former/11b, first world problems.  Oh noooo!!!  My custom porch awning is fading!!!  Oh nooooo...!!!

--the functionally "bad" part, as in metaphysical 'pain'/distress, is dealing with Big River, and associated
implications.  Some concern also doing justice to the readers here/for four years.  Will sort it all out.

--I'm generally accustomed to a considerable amount of irritation.  It has been rumored that if I am
insufficiently irritated, I will seek out further, more expansive forms of irritation.  This might even be
a habit.

I'll take a different tack and say...I am heartened to see someone like DC running loose inside the machine with a claw hammer and logical thoughts.

Giant controlling systems like these DESERVE this treatment as often as sufficiently qualified and pissed off people can manage it.

...and remember to swing through.

This paints an awesome picture. Lol

Great analogy.

--STJ, yes, claw hammer, various acids and bases, adhesives, abrasives, and....fire.  Problem is,
no critical mass.  A bunch of us, right here.  Probably do a pretty good job of "taking care of
ourselves."  But the medium in which we live is thoroughly corrupted, and corrupting.  Down
to the dollars we are forced to use, let alone the Big River, which is just one more dude
with no "off" button.

--DFarm I bet there is a whole shitload of stories here: jobs lost, promotions lost, early retirements,
odd career choices, "get the fuck out of Dodge NOW" type stuff because, um, reasons.  Uh-huh.

"Readers want/deserve their book.  They will get it.  But writer has ONE CHANCE to figure out how to introduce
multi-thousand hour project/future into....this: "Scammers Breaking The Kindle Store"--

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,253302.0.html?PHPSESSID=0oi9fnks70lbk3m7u2u1886482

This shit is a fucking nightmare. "

-DC

The solution seems obvious.

Whatever clickfarming is, do that.

There have been no repercussions to those that have employed this practice, and The Great River is apathetic.

I've heard it said many times by some very real-deal, high speed dudes; if you aren't cheating you aren't trying. They make a good point.

You'll play by the rules the house sets up regardless. Apparently clickfarming is within their rules.

The only difference is, when people read your story because of its rank, they'll get what they paid for. You didn't make the rules, you just have to play by them.

Or don't and let the douchebags win...

Keep on

ETA: If enough people game the system, The River will have to respond. Then you'll be playing on a level field once again.

Seems to be a win/win.

Sic semper.  

Clovis point union.

I prefer the lunatics and madmen among us who see the truth.  Hard to find.  Often hard to court.  But worth the effort.

We assume our efforts are pointless because we only look ahead...we rarely understand and usually cannot see what ripples our wakes cause.

Swing away, DC.  I can't see you dancing, but I can hear your laughter.

I fail to see how pricing high to protect your reviews burns any of us here. We have had access to this story FOR FREE for years now and had the chance to watch as it was formed into what it is now. Don't hurt yourself out of a sense of loyalty to this group or the other forum (wherever that is). Most here want to see you be successful with this venture.

i don't understand the "borrowing" economy on The Big River so I can't comment there but my default position is:  Do what it takes to be able to make this your job. Keep your focus on that...

I agree on the pricing.

Spread the cost over the 4(?) Years it's been on here, and the price won't seem as bad.

DCBourone, I don't know how I missed this story for so long, but I just found it last week and read the entire story and most of the thread in a few evenings. Long hours at work and small kids at home so that's saying something! Count me in for buying the first release, whether Kindle, hardback, or paperback. I am far from a pricing strategist but I have read several thousand books in my life.

Price it at a point that it will make the most money for you, I wish I could tell you what that is. I'm buying the first release if it's $20!
You think very highly of your writing. In nearly every other instance of an author, especially survivor-related, saying this it has been massively false. Your writing feels like the magical "detail that doesn't bore" and depth of plot of a Cornwell. You need to write full time and I hope the readers here can help you.

Also, I'd offer my services as a proofreader if you are interested. I know you don't know the real-world me from Adam but the offer is there. I read in the pages-per-minute realm, but spelling and grammar mistakes as well as technical errors pull me right out of the story. It makes me cringe when I find obvious mistakes in published copies, I find them in books all the time regardless of publisher. This includes authors who have told me they "have a great editor, but no thank you".

Keep writing!

Had to do some chiropracty on the spine.  Sort of frustrating.

Here's the hardware roughed out and one of the bone scales.

Attached File

FFF...I thought that bait would take.

Stimpy - just keep slow trolling that and DCB will HAVE to come up for a bite!

DCB - Illegitimi Non Carborundum.  Keep on Swingin', Writin', and Assaultin' the Innards of the Big River! 

PFunkk has it right, game the system and give Big River indigestion!

That is All.....for now!

GENERAL NOTE: free day today, lots of titles/formatting, crawl a few more inches of this mile.

--STJ--"inside the machine"--will say I got a pretty good look.  "pissed off and qualified"--very, and sort of.  "logical thoughts"
yes, and thank you.  Now, imagine this: T.E. Lawrence used to be required reading for "understanding some parts of the world"--
and also many of his contemporaries--of course today one cannot mention his name.

--DFarm, much thanks and STJ as well--I have a few reading lists I will post somewhere at some point, but anyone who has
made it this far has already read them/or equivalents.  My only addition might be to increase a sense of "scale"--how deep,
how long, how far, how "bad" things might really be/have been.  There are a zillion things I/we/us could point to: just one,
forever in our faces: the multi-decade effort to mainstream women into the infantry.  Infantry.  Obviously: insane.  Who
is behind this effort?  And why?  Easy to find, easy to see.  My point here would be "scale"--this is very expensive, organized,
multi-generational campaign.

--PFfunk, understand fully your point of view, and those in support.  But using some available tools would be a karma negative.
Long long subject, more later.

--STJ--clovis point union--exactly.  Ripples/wakes--if I look out ten years--all I can say is, I have a plan!  ( keep making knives STJ....)
...and so on....

--greguy--GENERAL NOTE: yes 'burn' a bit extreme--but I do have an 'off' button, have a list of needs, extreme by some standards,
modest by others, and don't have the instinct to extract every possible dime from my environment, and certainly not my friends.

--DFarm--on pricing over four years, understood and thank you, but outside this thread/forum---pricing/timing has some very specific
and well studied components/requirements/attributes: for instance, people price/compare within categories: I/we/us will be perfectly
happy to risk 40 dollars a person on a new restaurant, accepting some possibility of disappointment--because a decent restaurant is
assumed to cost minimum 20-40 per person, but risking 4-10 dollars on a new writer/indie writer/ebook is/will be compared to other ebooks,
in this genre, which generally float between 2.99-4.99 and and and FREEEEEEEE, which is KU borrowing, so anything over 4.99/FREEEE
is subconsciously very very risky, and so on.  More on this later.  Sausage making, for those who like sausage.

--Cpn/Ron very good to see you, and much appreciated.  I can only ask you/and others, when published, please post a review, tell
a friend, etc. On proofing, much thanks, major issue is that proofing must be done in conjunction with formatting, on this text
even more than most--page layouts/titling/title headings/quotes are not remotely "normal" for this genre, and many etc./s.

--STJ more knives!!!!  And what is material guard/bolsters?

--STJ what bait? ah....madmen and lunatics?  Or the knife?  Lots of good bait here.

--GreenGiant, assume I have a few more decades of swinging.  And dancing.  And laughing.

Ok, free day today, let's see what I can get done.  Will check this thread regularly.

Still trying to decide how to connect everything.  Pinning the bolsters is simple enough, but then also pinning the scales seems too much pinning.  I think I may hide a partial pin behind the scales and then dovetail the bolsters to hold the ends.

OOOOOOOoooo...had a better idea.  Something I haven't seen done before and solves problems while being simpler.

You'll get a review from me, for sure.

I live with a graphic designer so I can understand formatting issues(though zero experience with laying out books, not claiming expertise!) I figured it didn't hurt to offer, no worries. Your "drafts" in this thread have surprisingly few errors anyway!

--STJ understood on choices knife.  You may/probably have seen this article:

https://truewestmagazine.com/fighting-blades-of-the-frontier/

Pics at end include my favorite color pic of Musso.  Several other knives, from
primitive to Sheffield/Tiffany ornate.  The pinned coffin handles have always appealed.
Quite a few pins, there.  But.  Your knife, your design.  Can't wait.

--Cpn/Ron, much thanks.  Normal formatting most books not so big a deal.  Problem with this book
is "pagination"--way pages 'scroll'--lines designed to 'fit' 'one line' for visual effect/reading 'timing'/
and therefore comprehension--setting off chapter title pages--chapter sub-headings--and relevant
historical quotes.  The quotes may not make it, very sad, much work there, but they do not 'fit'
e-book visually.  A consequence might be, that if all goes well, in a print/dead tree book, I can
make it "look" the way I want, include quotes on chapter heading pages, etc.  Some other issues,
but these are the main.

DCB:
Another author who got his start via Internet forums and has published seven (I believe) books appears to be charging $11.99 per installment of his survivalist story. For the Kindle edition...

His work isn't this good, but he's selling lots of copies.

Decided to move the guard forward to get a bit more handle.

--tigglesworth, have I missed you before?  Thank you for your comment, and more as you see fit.
I pay very close attention to the "sci-fic/post-apocalyptic/prepper" genre these last years, and am
not aware of the author you reference.  If you are comfortable doing so, would you please IM me
the author's name/works?  Stepping lightly: 1.) I respect any effort to compose/publish anything.
2.) Specific comparisons could be seen as overly critical. 3.) I am quite sure I am doing something
"very different/unusual."  Nuff said at this time.  Thank you, TG.

--STJ, are you interested in some file work?  Your overall design is looking like a very fine platform
for this kind of guard/choil treatment plus rustic/functional/frontier....

1.  http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7736711710_4417f9f9dc_z.jpg

2. http://www.swordforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50053&stc=1&d=1143587357

3. http://www.svalbardrepublic.org/ebay/notch.jpg

As you wish.

---STJ stepping lightly there I hope, it is your knife.  But length and 'whip' and file and hammer marks
make me think of an 1840's Texas knife and a smith that would have been immersed/surrounded
by the Spanish blades of his era, from swords to poniards.

Not for much longer.  

I hadn't thought of the e-Reader formatting issues with things like quotes, poems, songs, etc. Non-paper devices add text type and sizing, page size, and more to the puzzle. Sounds like a headache!

GENERAL NOTE: The Big River has released version (3) of reading/e-book software.  Watching closely.  Might solve some
problems, might not.

GENERAL NOTE: Everything on track, but slow, obv.

--Cp/Ron, yes, the formatting issue for this book/style/etc. is a giant freaking pain.  Tech guru only intermittently
available, even though she lives here.  Lots of sparks flying when I micromanage over her shoulder.  Funny shit.

--STJ more forging/grinding/shaping/polishing/admiring blade, if you please.

Sure!

Got a little work done today.  Kind of spinning in circles a bit trying to decide how to proceed.   The guard is causing me fits, on the spine side it wants to move even when the bolsters are in place.  So I am going to add the folded piece (not sure what to call it) that the Musso blades always seem to have on their blade spines and use that to hide a piece of weld to have the guard bear against on that side.  This will be steel.

In this pic, you can see the front bolster installed.  I will probably also silver solder those to the guard just to add more strength.  The guard will be rolled forward on the spine and pulled back on the blade side.

You can also see at the back the sketched out rear bolster, which will have a hole for a lanyard.  Halving the width of the front bolsters and moving the rear bolsters back a bit gives much more bone handle, there was not enough of it IMO before.

What isn't shown is the plan I have for attaching the scales so they don't need pins.



Next time I work on it I will clamp, drill, and pin the rear bolsters. Also plan to extend the blade edge back to meet the ricasso and add the cute cut in the choil discussed earlier.

Beveled bolsters and hidden pins on the handle scales, or no pins at all?  This will be interesting to watch either way.

What do you mean about bringing the edge back to the ricasso? It looks like it's there to my very amateur eye.

Thanks for the update!

Looking at it again, I am going to move the ricasso section further forward until I reach the existing blade edge.  It needs more space there anyway or sharpening will be difficult.

I see.  That makes sense.

The way I read it made it sound like you were going the other way. Lol