Lachy

yeah basicly, normaly a bolster is found in forged knives inbetween the tang (inside the handle) and the blade. its there for a number of reasons but mainly to give the knife weight, strength and balance but also many bolsters are forged into a "gaurd" to prevent your hand slipping up unto the blade. most globals do not have a bolster being stamped knives (some of them are forged but mostly only the more expensive chefs knives) they get their balance from their very light handles. the same also applys to F d.ick with ergogrip handles and Vitorinox with fibrox handles http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/asian_ki..._of_a_knife.php just as a side note i use my F d.ick 6 inch amarican boning knife hunting. i had a knife roll made up for my knife kit and just got the guy to knock up a sheath, took him 5 minuts and cost me $5

lol....i am a chef mate, sorry to dissapoint

dunno mate, wouldn't like the idea of not haveing a bolster on a hunting knife. i find global knives dont keep their edge for long but you can get a fantastic edge on them.

fan######ingtastic, i have one as i light on my bike, set me back $400 with the baterypack and all but i have been flashed by cars many a time, they seem to think i have my high beams on i was so impressed i bought a torch too, but i went for the cheap $99 special....it lasted a month. but yeah highly recomended it makes the streets light up like the middle of the day-a mate has one too and on a good night with not much trafic on the road we can see each other comeing when we leave our houses to meet up for a ride at night and we live 4km away from each other!

As you said what works for you is best but as I said butchers tend to have a much coarser burr on their knives for meat. I am a chef and such a coarse burr used on hard vegetables ect. Will dissipate quickly. Horses for courses basically. as for ceramic steels i have found mine to be a great investment. it cost me about $160 How are butchers supposed to have nice clean cuts (no bone chips) when boneing out beef then? If they all use this "coarse burr" technique then every time the blade touched even say a big shin bone, you would end up with nice little bone slithers in everthing. I'm with butch on this one mate, practice makes perfect! No need to go out and buy all the flash gear first up, just the right gear i agree. i dont think you understand white i mean by coarse burr. you dont need such a fine edge on knives for meat because it is a lot eaisier on your knifes edge. hence why a coarser steel is used.

Lachy as for the last part of your post in MY pro apinion as abutcher for 15 odd years you are doing it backwards. Hone the edge you want with a stone then the diamond steel then a super fine / fine steel as for the ceramic steel they are expensive for a good one and not worth the time nor money (IMO). But that is what i do and will keep doing if you can sharpen and keep it sharp then i can not argue. Now to the original post get some 6in boning knives from the butcher or king of what eva and a LITTLE BEAR stone go home and destroy them with hours of practice and when you think you have it right do it again as there is nothing worse than using a blunt edge 1S1K As you said what works for you is best but as I said butchers tend to have a much coarser burr on their knives for meat. I am a chef and such a coarse burr used on hard vegetables ect. Will dissipate quickly. Horses for courses basically. as for ceramic steels i have found mine to be a great investment. it cost me about $160

its all in the sharpening, not the knife. you have to be paitient to put a good edge on a new knife, it usualy takes me about 1 1/5-2 hours. you can pick up vitorinox paring knives from king of knives or chef king for around $5 and these will take a edge very easily. in my opinion i would not get a butcher to put a edge on my knives as they generaly use coarser steels and stones to sharpen and hone their knives. same with retail stores. they will feel sharp because of the coarser burr created by the coarser steels and stones but for a knife that will take off hair easily you want a fine burr. to sharpen my knives i put the edge on with a stone. then finish that with a butchers steel. i then put the cutting edge on with my diamond steel and hone it with my steel steel and finish with my ceramic steel. this should only need to be done on a new knife and then about once a year after that. the rest of the time the knife should only be honed.

I was reading the post about hand held UHF radios as i am looking at getting a set and left with more questions than i went in with . so...what am i looking for, i take it i am after a 5watt but what does that mean and whats the difference? what features am i after, what range can be expected and what else do i need to know before i go into dicksmiths and look like a tool? Cheers, Lachy

which is why i said id look into them again. where can you get them besides trims?

thanks guys, yes i do work as a chef and my boots get raped, ill give redbacks or blue steel a go. i have looked at redbacks and they didnt look very good quality but ill look at them again and see how they go.

yeah i was looking at steel blue's i have heard good things about them. all my boots have worn out on the top leather where stuff gets spilt on them; oil, water, acids and alkalines ect. and the soles of some boots get shreaded by the anti-slip floor but the floor hasnt effected my latest blundstones? anyone know what different materiels are in these soles.

just wondering if any of you guys have managed to find a decent pair of boots that are comfortable and will last. i have gone through 6 pairs of boots in just over 2 years. i have had blundstones pull-on steel capped (cost about $140) 3 pairs of rossi trojans ($130) bata lace up steel capped ($80) the best pair i have had are my blundstones mountain masters but they are on their last legs , these cost about $180 and have lasted 6 months. i much prefer lace up boots but nothing i wear at work seems to last. any sugestions?