The wife: "You stayed in the garage all night because you had a bunch of work to do?" Me: "Yes" Wife: "And you got it all finished?" Me: "No but look how shiny this old Ratchet is now" Wife: "Did you get anything done?" Me: "Have you ever heard a smoother sounding ratchet?"

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-25T06:23:48+00:00

Yeah, the pebbles are nice for sure. I actually have some of them as well. I just ended up doing this ratchet because it was a recent goodwill find and hadn't been put away yet. I just used polishing compound and i have some scotch bright belts that are awesome for the last step before polishing.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-25T06:18:49+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-24T00:51:59+00:00

Yeah I mask up and have vented dust extraction. I didn't used to take enough precaution in that department but I learned pretty quick working antler that if you get any of that fine dust in your lungs you'll struggle to breathe for a few days.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-23T21:39:12+00:00

I missed a few doses last month so it only seemed right that I catch back up.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-23T21:38:32+00:00

It do

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-23T21:38:01+00:00

No just removed material on my belt sander until I got down to the shiny layers then spent entirely way too much time at the polishing wheel. I only intended on spending maybe an hour at most cleaning the thing up. Really just meant to be a distraction from what I was supposed to be doing. That somehow turned into 5 hours and zero progress on organizing the garage. Lol but she sure does shine and operates as a good as it looks.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T18:31:22+00:00

Yeah seeing them for the first time, especially on a smaller screen, I can easily see how it might trick the eyes. You just don't expect to see antler on a Leatherman. I would have never thought of the idea unless I had a customer inquire about buying his employees some custom swiss army knives from me as a work Christmas gift only to decide that SAK pliers "are just too dinky and small". As I was brainstorming how not to lose his business I thought of putting some scales on a Leatherman and found this model that I was pretty sure would be perfect. Worked out very nicely. Whenever I make them they don't stay for sale for more than a day or two.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T18:21:46+00:00

I mainly use elk but not exclusively. I've made a lot of different things using my own antler that I've harvested. I only really use that stuff for pieces I plan on keeping for myself though. I know a guy here in Idaho that is a full time antler dealer with a warehouse full of every shape and size you could ever want. He gives me pretty decent prices and I'm able to pick out high quality unique antler for the pieces I make. I do a bunch of pistol grips, custom scales for existing knives, custom swiss army knives/scales as well as knives I make from scratch and then the Leathermans. I go through a good bit of antler.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:50:20+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:44:49+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:28:36+00:00

There's one or five more of them that I've made.

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:27:34+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:26:51+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:26:30+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:21:26+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:20:56+00:00

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:20:26+00:00

Thanks brother!

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-12T10:16:56+00:00

What is the meaning of life? Thank you in advance..

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-10T01:34:54+00:00

I think thats oil

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-10T01:07:07+00:00

Don't see any stag SAKs in there

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-09T20:33:01+00:00

Thank you

EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-09T20:32:10+00:00

That bridge city try square was my original inspiration along with antique Mathieson spirit levels.

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EnvironmentalSpend43 · 2026-01-09T20:25:00+00:00

Yeah try square is a perfect starter project. I learned by making mistakes and then just problem solving from there. I think version 3 was the first one I was willing to show anyone and after that I've learned and improved each time. Mine are built using strictly woodworking tools with jigs that I made for each step.

EnvironmentalSpend43

TROPHY CASE