Loving custom orders and quick sales!

I was contacted a few days ago by a lady looking to have a knife made for her husband’s birthday. She was very nice and very specific in what she was looking for. 

She was interested in a Damascus blade kukri, with a brass guard, camel bone handle, with her husband’s initials engraved.

I was super excited with this challenge. I took a few days to forge and shape the blade. Of course, I don’t generally have a camel cadaver laying around, so I ordered the bone for the scales.

I then took a break to work 2 days at my “regular job”. Then I got hopping today to complete the fit and finish. I might be a little biased, but I think this one came out looking FANTASTIC! But you tell me.

Here’s a little short video of the initial heat treat.

This one was a beautiful custom order. We love to hear from people and to see the creativity that others can come up with. The real joy is to take that vision and then for us to make that vision come to life.

Now, this wasn’t the quick sale as it took about a week and several messages back and forth. But, the quick sale came from Maria’s work. She had a fresh bunch of tie dyed aprons and took photos yesterday. She then posted them on our Etsy shop and within an hour one of them had sold! Gotta love a quick turn around!

We hope you all have a great week, and feel free to come check out our shop. Www.noharminfarmin.com

All the best,

Chad

We’ll be headed up to the farm to study the mud within the next few days. We’ll post an update on that mystery then.

Remembering those that have gone before…

On this Memorial Day I want to ask each and every one of you to spend just a few minutes to reflect on the sacrifices made by our folks in the military. Those that spend weeks and months away from home, family, and friends to train, to fight, to protect the very rights that so many these days take for granted. In particular the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice and did not come home.

I am not a combat vet. I wasn’t a SEAL, or a Sniper, or any other high speed, low drag operator. I was a Motor Transport Mechanic (U.S.M.C. MOS 3521). I was capable, as a Sgt, of running an Infantry squad. Each Marine is a rifleman before anything else. I am proud of my service and am saddened each day when I see news of military members who take their own lives because the burden that has been place on them is too great.

So, I ask that if you know a veteran, whether they served in combat or not, just a quick, sincere ” thanks” means more than you know. We don’t need discounts, or perks, or special treatment. That’s not why we did what we did. We did it for you, and most would do it all again at the drop of a hat.

I hope that you take the time to enjoy the freedoms that have been won this weekend, but please, just take a moment to think about where they came from.

Semper Fi,

Chad Hollar

U.S.M.C.

1991-1992, 1995-2001

Taking a break…haha

Lately we have been running wide open, full throttle. Both of us working full time jobs, making things for our etsy shop (for stock and custom orders), and going up to the farm every other weekend has been a rough pace for Maria and I.

We haven’t been staying overnight yet until we get the driveway drivable and the shed/cabin built. Using the tent cuts into work time and we found that we get more work done by driving up in the morning, working til dark and then driving back. That equates to 7 hours total driving and about 6-8 hours of work. Unfortunately that also means one day of work every 2 weeks. That severely slows progress.

This last Thursday I started looking at the weather, and it looked as if there was to be thunderstorms on the day we planned to go. So we made a decision to just stay in town this weekend.

This has proved to be a good decision, even though it turned out not to be much of a break. Since Thursday we’ve gotten a good number of orders in our Etsy shop for both made items and things we had to make. Including one fantastic custom order request for a Damascus steel kukri knife that I’ve been working on between other projects.

I started with 11 layers of 1095 high carbon steel and stainless sheet. I’m going to keep folding to try to get to 200+ layers.

So, even though we haven’t set foot on the farm, the work never ends for homesteaders. It’s a good thing that we love what we do.

We hope you all have a good holiday weekend, and if you need some tools made, or a good working apron for your homestead, feel free to come check out our Etsy shop while you are taking your break. Lol

Www.etsy.com/shop/noharminfarmin

All the best,

Chad

The great mudhole mystery part 2

So, we’ve gotten no closer to solving the mudhole mystery. We had these grand plans to dig a hole in the center to see where the water was coming from. Just one problem…

It rained like crazy the day before and everything was soaking wet. I was able to dig a slight ditch running to the existing swale and a ton of water ran off, but I don’t know if that was collected rain or something else.

This is what we are dealing with. Maybe on the next trip we will be able to figure more out.

The great mudhole mystery…

Since we got back from NYC we had a chance to get up to the farm for some work. We are just about ready to set the footing blocks for the cabin, which is really exciting.

But, we do have a bit of a mystery.

The area where we have cleared and graded for the new driveway is looking really good. Its about ready for the 175 cubic yards of crushed run…yeah a long driveway.

Most of it is cleared, graded, crowned, and looking pretty. But…..there is a very small section (about 10 feet across) that is always wet.

Leading up to it, and beyond that spot it will be dry as a crust. So dry that dust kicks up when you walk on it. Then, in a matter of two steps, you are up to your ankles in mushy mud. The soil doesn’t look any different than the surrounding terrain, there is no stream, ditch, or hole leading to it but it is constantly wet.

It’s not even in a low lying area, its almost at the top of the hill. I don’t know if that soil is packed too tightly and won’t allow rain water to drain, or if we’ve got a hidden spring.

There was no unusual plant growth around it to indicate a a marshy area…the ground is just wet.

I don’t have any photos of it yet because its been such a mystery that I keep forgetting to take some. Lol

The next trip up there will be dedicated to unraveling the mystery. The only solutions I can see are: dig a pond, install drainage tile, or reroute the driveway around it.

Anyway, happy farming and have a great week!

Everything and nothing..

I’ve waited a while to write another post as we’ve had a lot going on and yet nothing really happening.

Confused? Me too.

Maria and I had a great trip to NYC so that I could participate in filming an episode of Forged In Fire. 

I can’t talk about the show much as of now due to it not airing yet. I will let everyone know when it does in case you want to watch. I can say that it was a great experience and I would totally do it again.

We had a few extra days in the city and we were able to do some tourist type of things. Neither of us are big fans of cities, but Maria was sporting around like a local in no time. We did a lot of walking each day, ranging from 5 to 13 miles and saw a lot of cool things.

This is the beautiful view from our hotel room.

We got a great view of Ms Liberty from the Staten Island ferry.

At the 911 memorial we found the reflecting pools very touching and heart wrenching. There was also a couple nearby creating this really cool sand structure.

We also spent a full day at the Met. Marveling over the history, and the craftsmanship of everything displayed there. It was very humbling to know that these things were created long ago with only hand tools. 

I found a lot of inspiration in the armory section. The knives, swords, and firearms were amazing.

Anyway, we are home now. We’ve had one trip to the farm to work since then. That’s a subject for another post. 

Remember to watch Forged In Fire, not just for me, but for all of the talented smiths that participate.