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Norse Woodsmith has been a great experience for me.  I've learned more putting together this blog over the years about woodworking and hand tools, and met more people because of its existence than I dreamed possible.  It's been an exciting journey - to quote the Dead... 

In other words - a lot of fun! 

Scratch Built Electric Guitars Project

I've not had a lot of time for woodworking for the last few years, at least until just recently, thanks to the economy...  Now that I do, I found that the thrill of it had gotten a bit tarnished.  It all seemed a bit mundane to me - nothing seemed like much fun - so the tools languished while I pondered what I could do to re-inspire myself. 

In the meantime, I turned to another hobby of mine, guitars (and playing them - I'm not that good, but it's something I enjoy).  For most of the last 20 years I've played an acoustic guitar - the guitar-world's version of a hand tool.  Even that seemed a bit stale to me, and it was obvious I needed to shake things up a bit.

Last summer, my wonderful wife gave me an anniversary present of a Gretsch 5120 ElectroMatic and a Vox VT30.  My old Fender (a 1996 50th Anniversary MIM Tex Mex - the forerunner of the Jimmie Vaughan signature guitar) also benefitted from replacing that old scratchy junk amp I had before, and I found that each one was now speaking to me like never before.  They've both been calling me for a while now - so, it's time to go electric, I reckon. 

Any reader of this site knows I am a fan of oil stones... One of the finest quality oil stones out there are by the Norton company are known as "Lily White Washita" stones.  These are the type of stones I learned how to sharpen on - I had one of these stones for many years, and lost it through a mishap 10 or 12 years ago now - and I have missed it. They had gone out of production many years ago and were no longer available, but still command a hefty price for a vintage one on ebay and the like when you found a used one.