Show me your Stiddy (Steady, Steady Rest, Cutler's Anvil)

B

BradleySmall

Joined
Mar 6, 2022
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317
If you are following me in the other thread you know I am slowly grinding out a few of these. In playing show-and-tell there is lots of advice coming in, especially about the "short horn" side of it. In the two CAD designs I did for this, one of them is about 1/8 thick x 1/2 deep. I have been told this is both too thick (I would definitely agree) but also too short. Since I am slowly grinding it to shape, I have plenty of opportunity now to resize/reshape it to my heart's content.

So, if you have one, and use it, please share a picture of it. And, if you use that side for tasks besides peening back on new scale or shields with the knife already assembled let me know. Also, if there is anything you love or hate about a current design you use tell me that too.
I noticed that in Luke Swenson's video he uses one, but it doesn't seem to have the tongue at all. The two designs I am familiar with now are the one from Ben Kelley Jr.'s book, and the one from Adrien Harris' book. The one I am currently grinding out is from Harris' book.

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This is the one from Haris's book.
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This is the one from Kelley's book.
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This is my current WIP.

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This is a better picture of the pattern glued in place.
 
Sean Yaw said:
I keep thinking about getting one of those hammers.
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I had my wife buy it for me for Xmas. I am to cheap to spend that kind of money on myself for a hammer.
I really like it, but I did not like the pointiness on one side and ground it down to where you see. It is much better for me this way.
 
AVigil said:
I had my wife buy it for me for Xmas. I am to cheap to spend that kind of money on myself for a hammer.
I really like it, but I did not like the pointiness on one side and ground it down to where you see. It is much better for me this way.
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Christmas is coming up and my wife might want to get one for me. Where would she look to find one like it?
 
Here are my anvils. The black one is made of Delrin, and it has various sized slots and holes. This one is used for disassembling knives. These can also be made of hardwood, but Delrin is superior.
The small square one has holes and a couple of depressions that I use along with punches to make switchblade buttons. This one is mild steel and was quite a bit larger. Occasionally, I clean it up on the belt grinder. I have been using it for 55 years- mostly for peening pins, but occasionally for disassembly.
The real stiddy is great for tightening pins and peening.IMG_4764.JPGIMG_4767.JPGIMG_4768.JPG
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Here are my anvils. The black one is made of Delrin, and it has various sized slots and holes. This one is used for disassembling knives. These can also be made of hardwood, but Delrin is superior.
The small square one has holes and a couple of depressions that I use along with punches to make switchblade buttons. This one is mild steel and was quite a bit larger. Occasionally, I clean it up on the belt grinder. I have been using it for 55 years- mostly for peening pins, but occasionally for disassembly.
The real stiddy is great for tightening pins and peening.View attachment 1957145View attachment 1957146View attachment 1957147
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Okay!! So the waffle thing is the one made of delrin. How is that used to disassemble knives? I assume the holes allow you to punch a pin through, and the slots provide clearance for springs or blades depending on which side you want to do stuff on. The little block, I have seen and there is a specific name for them I can't remember something like dapping or doming, am I thinking correctly? My stiddy is starting to look like yours. Your particular design would have been much easier to cut out on the band saw. But I have some curves now. I will deepen the radius whenever I get a chance to get back on the grinder. Then when I have the mill setup, I will flatten the top and make it parallel with the bottom so it will sit nicely. I am not sure if I will attach a big foot to it like yours, but the time is early yet. What is the horizontal hole in it for?
 
I cleaned it up some to take photos. The D2 base is 3.5X3.5X3". The top is 2" high with a face of 1"X3.5". Weighs about 5#. Stands about 5" tall. The fork is sharp enough to cut you if you are careless.
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great pictures, thanks! Looks like your tines are sharp, but otherwise pretty fat. Can you fit them in a single blade knife to peen the handles without taking it apart?
 
AVigil said:
why would you need to do that?
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The purpose of the design of this tool is meant to allow a technician to be able to remove and replace handle scales without having to remove the pivot pins and such. In that way, you can put the open knife over these tongues and peen a handle scale pin against them. Most of the designs I have seen place that part at about 1/8". For smaller knives that are multibladed, this would fit okay, unless there is a tall center liner. However, single blade knives built with 3/32" knife steel will not fit.
 
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