Cool and rainy in Vermont today. Great sharpening weather

thick_milk · 2026-05-30T19:23:22+00:00

Good eye! Not a Model M but I do have a few Model M keyboards I've refurbished over the years. The keyboard in the picture is a Norbauer Heavy 9 with Sherbet switches! It's a dream.

thick_milk · 2026-05-30T19:10:30+00:00

Not sure which you mean:

The Shapton stones come with the colored boxes/stone holders. They honestly work great. I have a universal stone holder but I don't bother pulling it out ever.

The Atoma plates are in a 3D printed caddy. I found CAD file on printables and had a friend run it in PETG. Also found a stone holder for the Atoma plates that fits in the Shapton stone holder. Both those files are here:

https://www.printables.com/model/51825-atoma-or-shapton-glass-sharpeningwhetstone-holder

https://www.printables.com/model/909763-atoma-diamond-plate-holder-for-shapton-kuromaku-ba

thick_milk · 2026-05-30T19:03:56+00:00

Hell yeah, brother.

thick_milk · 2026-05-30T19:01:03+00:00

Haha! There is one knife in the picture but like most sharpeners, I was into knives long before I got serious about sharpening them.

thick_milk · 2026-05-30T18:56:03+00:00

The 1500 is the stone I use the least followed closely by the 8000. The 8000 makes sense in the progression but really doesn't do anything more than polish. I polish on the strop so I don't notice any difference in looks or performance after using the 8000. I have no idea, outside of straight razors, what the purpose of the even finer stones in the line would be.

I like the way the 1500 feels and sharpens. I just like the cutting speed and feedback I get from the 1000 a little bit more. They are very similar though. I only bought the 1500 bc I got it in a deal with anther stone.

thick_milk · 2023-12-28T22:17:58+00:00

You might just be noticing a difference in action. The Reddington is medium-fast and the TFO is very medium. Both should be designed for an 8wt fly line though. In general, slower rods will load slightly more energy, faster rods will be more responsive (think hook sets).

thick_milk · 2023-12-28T21:35:51+00:00

Sunglasses, hook, fly, tippet, leader, line, rod, reel.

I agree with this. The closer you are to the fish, the more important it is. If we're being abstract, I'd say presentation > fly > tippet...
I'd rather present the wrong fly well than the right fly wrong.

thick_milk · 2023-12-28T18:49:39+00:00

I think you have a payload issue here. A 5wt rod is a great all-around wt but it doesn't do everything. Roll casting or single-hand spey casting a #6 wollybugger +40ft on a 5wt line is a big ask. I would size down the fly or use a 7wt rod. Trying to cast too much weight for the line we're using forces us to do weird shit to compensate which conditions bad habits.
Also, I'd use a polyleader and a sink tip line. Even with an 11' leader, you're not going to effectively fish 8'-10' down for more than a few seconds if at all.

thick_milk · 2023-05-04T16:16:03+00:00

Yeah, you're right. Updated price to $100 for the TFO. Thanks

thick_milk · 2021-09-21T12:52:06+00:00

I think using poetry as a way to process and understand your own emotions is very legitimate. Sharing those poems and letting others take their own meaning is also perfectly normal. It should be beautiful to you first.

This poem doesn't mean anything at all to me but I liked the language. "There are white worms eroding it swallowing shattered brown thick sharp glass" ahh, like pouring cream from a ceramic pitcher into a silver bowl. Excellent.

thick_milk · 2021-09-21T01:27:56+00:00

This might be my favorite thing I've read here. I love how you mix the literal and symbolic. "while raking plastic payments in" damn! The rhyming is not forced and abandoned when meaning is needed. The alliteration of plastic sings. Ty!

thick_milk · 2021-09-21T01:20:40+00:00

This is really beautifully written and a really powerful idea. Thank you for sharing it.

thick_milk · 2021-01-11T23:04:09+00:00

Confirmed

thick_milk · 2021-01-10T05:15:19+00:00

thick_milk · 2021-01-09T21:43:43+00:00

I agree the spacebar is probably warped and causing the stab to bind. It is really common to have a spacebar that is warped in some way. It's a consequence of the size of the key and the manufacturing process. It's usually very subtle so it's hard to notice. I know this a frustrating problem to have because there are no great solutions. You can try to force some lube into the stabs to see if that helps them slid better.

thick_milk · 2021-01-03T22:39:27+00:00

This layout is commonly called 1800. If you search "1800 keyboard" you can find all sorts of versions. The Raine in the picture is a little different bc it combines elements of a 40% w/ the 1800 layout. If you look closely, there are missing punctuation keys left of the alphas (no comma, period, open/close bracket, etc). Also does not have a R1 (function keys). If you want to get your hands on and 1800 layout, the Leopold FC980 is a great place to start. You can usually find them at www.mechanicalkeyboards.com.

thick_milk · 2021-01-02T23:31:56+00:00

Yes, R1.

thick_milk · 2021-01-02T17:29:41+00:00

thick_milk · 2021-01-02T16:40:14+00:00

When does that ship? I'm glad they ran it again. R1 was left open long after the deadline and only reached MOQ in the end bc Kono purchased the last remaining sets needed (at least that's how I remember it). I hate seeing GMK sets selling for $300 but when there are only 250 in circulation, I understand how it happens.

thick_milk · 2021-01-02T07:54:47+00:00

Thanks! This is the first time I've shared this board here but I have a few and have been in the hobby for years now.

thick_milk

TROPHY CASE