Chris Clinton

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since Oct 14, 2024
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Biography
Georgia native. semi feral neo-peasant animist skill collector. Founder with my wife, Isia, of Crack in the Sidewalk Farmlet located on the edge of Atlanta in 2008. Been growing an expansive diversity of produce and more recently flowers for local farmer's markets as well as offering many foraged edible plants and mushrooms continually full time since. Turned on by traditional and primitive skills, natural building, bioregioning, community, the outdoors, old tools and machines, books, etc etc blah blah blah
Looking for a larger landbase to steward in lower Appalachia, generally near where Ga, TN, and NC meet. might start a village.
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Recent posts by Chris Clinton

I think I have more than a dozen splitting wedges but this one is my go-to for starting splits. It is the best for that due to the camber to the edge and being generally sharper than all my others. This makes it stick better and much less likely to jump out of the log when starting out. It's wasn't as mushroomed as some others but is still due for a dressing. This took a lot longer than I expected with this little grinder. I started to reshape another one at the same time, alternately cooling them off in a bucket of water. I'll have to work out a faster method before I continue with this one and others. I'm definitely going to go with a cutting disc to do the bulk removal in the future.
4 days ago
This spoon was carved from a piece of wild plum. It came from a branch off a tree I planted myself more than a decade ago. I had the chunk of wood submerged in water for storage for a year or two before carving. Storing wood like that keeps it green and in some cases supposedly improves it. I've heard that once for apple wood at least. First photos are the roughing out of a blank. Second strip is the progression of carving starting with knives and finishing with a scraper and bits of broken glass. Broken glass is the best, save broken wine glasses in particular if you carve spoons. Next is burnishing with a smooth stone, followed by kohlrosing a simple design using cinnamon powder and walnut oil. The little sprout motif is my makers mark. Not my absolute favorite but its one I'll keep for sentimental reasons. I was really hoping more of the original red color of the wood would remain. Threw in some other recent work cause why not. I think the one with the kohlrosed arrow was the continuation of the spoon from the first BB.
I have the Nature of Order volumes on my shelf and have been meaning to tackle it for a couple years. I enjoy dipping into it and feel confident in it's value as the magnum opus of his matured thoughts on design and Life. He did think those earlier books failed to lead to the kinds of built environs he wished for. These newer works are wiser, more philosophically bent. There is a focus on Wholes rather than assemblages of parts or patterns. Amongst a bunch of Alexander goodness in one place you can get some quotes from N.o.O here: https://makingpermaculturestronger.net/christopheralexander/
1 week ago
I pick up these dividers at an estate sale this week. Nice that it had the thumb screw that's missing half the time. In working order but stiff, rusty , and worthy of some attention. I thought some steel wool and a sanding block would do the job but found some thicker spots of rust and switched to the wire wheel on my grinder. I am fond of patina so don't really like going all the way to bright metal but the results were still rather satisfying. It still shows some character too.  Worked the hinge back and forth with some 3-in-1 oil from the ancient bottle I've had for years. Worked it until it loosened up and stopped exuding rusty oil then gave the whole tool a light coat. Good as new...
1 week ago
Making more charcoal for the gardens and the hugel. Didn't get any pictures once the fire was really cooking as it was my birthday party and I didn't remember to get any. You gotta have a big fire to get people to come to your midwinter parties. Probably 500-600 gallons of charcoal made, 8 hours from lighting to extinguished.
2 weeks ago
just a quick sharpening. Wasn't necessarily completely dulled but I hit the dirt a little cutting up some logs for the hugel project that had been on the ground a while. Always faster to take a break and sharpen than to keep trudging with a slow cutting chainsaw.
2 weeks ago
darn this, darn that. I didn't think this pair of socks was that bad off but it sure doesn't look that way now that I'm finished with repairs. 100% wool socks, %100 wool yarn.
3 weeks ago
thanks again for the above. Got another query for yall.

I picked up an extra large post drill this week that was locked up. Over the course of a few days I eventually got it dismantled, cleaned to my satisfaction, and put back together ready for action. Looking at the potential BBs under tool care to submit this for there is one for "clean and oil a stationary power tool" and one for "remove rust, clean and oil a hand tool". The power tool one specifically references drill press but my machine is strictly hand cranked though many models of these were made or modified to be belt driven by a dedicated motor or line shaft. The hand tool BB is much more for simple tools not really machines like this.  It was likely more work to free up, clean, and grease this thing then a more modern drill press would require. I'd argue this fits more in the stationary power tool BB but am unsure if the lack of motor is a deal breaker. What say ye?
thanks for the feedback Mike and David. I concur that is a rather rudimentary and unrefined execution of the technique, especially as it was my first time trying it and agree with your points assessment. More sand level than straw, I'm reminded of the sand/straw levels for spoon carving. I haven't been doing skip long and there is an extra appeal to attempting some of the "unclaimed" BBs but I see this is very much your wheelhouse David and I'm happy to let you go first and follow your lead. Given the high artistry of your work I'm rather keen to see what you think just meets the criteria to warrant 2 points. I hope to play more with copper in the future anyway. Also when you do your submission I'd love it if you could highlight sinking vs raising a bit. cheers
Hi, I just completed a little project with some scrap copper making a "ring thimble" and was wondering if it would work for  the Sink a small bowl or spoon - metalworking.straw.sink PEP BB. It's the same methodology except the end result has a different purpose, but is basically a spoon ring. No big deal if not. If yes I'll do a proper write up with pics of the process. thanks.