Pate Knives, 3 dozen

36 pate knives for Pavlo Pottery

   I was lucky enough to find a local potter that needs small spreaders (e.g. pate knives).  This is a good fit since Pavlo the Potter doesn't want them to all look the same and I don't ever made two things the same.
   I was able to use up a variety of little pieces that I had saved from other tasks for this batch of knives.  The  next order is going to require that I use new wood.  The grain in the oak and the elm make for a much more interesting knife that maple.
   Maple is hard, straight grained and mostly boring.
   Elm is tough, stringy and filled with crazy grain patterns.
   Oak, at least the oak I have is interesting to look at and not too bad to work with.  Ash would make a good little knife too I think.
   This was an interesting learning experience, I spent lots of personal time with my various bench sanding tools.  It was a noisey work environment but since it was a production situation I just stuffed ear plugs in and went to work.
   It appears that I will have to make 4 or 5 dozen knives a few times a year for Pavlo.  I don't think it will be a hardship.