Spiral of Theodorus

Spiral of Theodorus

First constructed by Theodorus of Cyrene, the spiral (also called the square root spiral, Einstein spiral or Pythagorean spiral) is composed of contiguous right triangles. It is begun with an isosceles right triangle with each leg having a length of 1 - then another right triangle is formed next to it with one leg being the hypotenuse of the prior triangle and the other leg having a length of 1.Thus, each successive nth triangle has side lengths √n and 1, with a hypotenuse of √(n + 1).

How To Build An Igloo

Another great short film from the treasure that is the National Film Board of Canada.

From 1949, this ten minute film directed by Douglas Wilkinson shows how two Inuit men build a shelter in an hour and a half. I’ve expressed my admiration for the Inuit’s ability to harness what’s around them and use it in a harmonious way. And it also shows how magical the spiral is.

I’ve always harboured a dream about wanting to build an igloo and spend some time in one. But I’ve never lived anywhere that had the type of snow this requires. 

Labyrinth pt. 3

I played no part in this phase of it, but I wanted to show the finished results.

Originally the idea was to paint this with cans and brushes, but lines on the road, and markings in parking lots are all done with spray paint. Much faster, easier application, quicker drying time, and it will last just as long.

Labyrinth pt. 2

Labyrinth painted with white spraypaint to more permanently mark the lines.

Labyrinth pt. 1

Helped a friend do a preliminary layout for a 40 foot labyrinth at his son’s school yesterday.

The very classical labyrinth design we’re going with. There are many, many variations, but we opted for this one.

Even with my height it’s tough to get a good overall view of it. Once it’s been painted I’ll make a more concerted effort to get a good overview shot.

By the time this is ready to be painted all these marks will be gone, but as the old adage goes, measure twice, cut once. Or paint, in this instance. It was essentially just a practice run, a rehearsal. We made a slight booboo, in that we figured out curves and that crossing point after that. Should have done the crossing first, and then everything else. We know now for the next time, and figured out some techniques for how to most effectively lay it and mark it out for painting.

Looking forward to doing this. I know there are all sorts of spiritual aspects to labyrinths, that they are used as contemplative, meditative exercises. But I’m just a geometry geek who likes spirals.

Some more info about labyrinths.
http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/

Spyderco Kris

A friend really likes Kris style blades, so I got her this Spyderco Ed Schempp Kris as a Yule gift.

The Kris is a knife that commonly hails from the southern Philippine and north eastern Indonesian archipelago, although it’s found as far north and west as Thailand. Many cultures have blades that were largely utilitarian tools in nature, but that could also serve as weapons. The Kris was never anything other than a weapon. Blades were anywhere between 30 cm to 60 cm (1' to 2') in length, and with handles made of hardwood or buffalo horn.

Just like the shape and design of canoes or snowshoes or arrows would identify different tribes in North America, the number of waves and the notches in the blade near the handle, could identify the tribe, village or island where the Kris was constructed.

The Kris was used with fearsome effect in intertribal warfare, and, of course, against the United States in the early 20th century. The Moros (Filipino Moslems) fought against the presence of the U.S. armed forces in the Philippines following the expulsion of the Spanish after the Spanish American War for almost fifteen years.They used the Kris to fearsome effect. (One of the main reason why the .45 M1911 became the sidearm of the U.S. was that the .38 revolver was largely ineffectual at stopping determined Moros, who would often take multiple hits and still savage US troops with their blades.) 

The design of the blade makes for a much wider wound channel when stabbed, and it’s effective as both a slashing and stabbing weapon. The tip is also less prone to be damaged when encountering resistance, than a straight dagger would be. It’s obviously a more difficult blade to forge though, compared to a straight blade.

Ed Schempp (who besides being a knife maker and metallurgist, is also a wheat farmer - the logo etched into the blade reflects that) has produced a whole series of knives for Spyderco based on traditional ethnic knife designs, including a Barong, Persian and Khukuri, but as folders rather than the usual fixed blades. This time he tackled a Kris style blade.

I reckon this might be the first and so far only folding Kris, and as usual Spyderco has done a really nice job of it. It will certainly appeal to practitioners of Filipino martial arts like Escrima or Kali (it’s been selected as the official knife of Albo Kali Silat, endorsed and recommended by its Grandmaster (Apo Hon Tuhon) Hasting Albo), but it can also be used for very utilitarian purposes. Originally Kris’ had an angled, almost pistol grip like handle, and it shows up here as well.

The steel bolsters not only strengthen the knife at a weak point (the fold), but they’re also good when using it as a striking tool or applying pressure to pressure points.

The edges are nicely rounded, meaning it’s both comfortable when holding it and won’t damage pockets as much.

The weight is 165 grams (5.8 oz.). A bit heavy, but very nicely balanced in the hand.

The overall length is 219 mm (8.625")

The closed length is 124 mm (4.875")

The VG-10 steel blade comes hollow-ground, with a pronounced swedge grind running from mid-blade to the spine and is PlainEdged. And of course, the back edge is not sharpened, for both practical and legal reasons.

The pocket clip (embellished with a gold colored Spyderco logo) positions the folder right-handed, tip-up.

Milled Micarta handle scales are capped with polished steel bolsters.

The locking bar is equipped with a “David Boye Dent”.(This is a small arc or dent of metal removed from the lock bar lever, which lessens the possibility of gripping the handle hard enough to depress the lock and accidentally unlock the blade while using the knife.)

The length of the blade is 95 mm (3.75"), with a cutting length of 78 mm (3.0625"). The thickness of the blade is 3 mm (0.125").

The diameter of the hole is 12 mm (0.46875").

And of course, I had to adorn it with a paracord fob with a skull bead.

It’s likely a bit big and heavy for some folks to consider carrying it every day. But for someone trained in Philippino martial arts, it may be a perfect knife for them. Not to mention anyone else who might want something a little out of the ordinary, but still of excellent quality.

Left Forearm Tattoo

I’ve had this design drawn up for several years now. Just waiting on Jarkko to do it. I’m currently working on one for my right forearm that is in a similar vein, but different.

I did this by plotting out my forearm, taping tissue to it, and drawing on roughly where I wanted the elements to go. Then I scanned that rough sketch and rendered it in Illustrator. It changed a fair bit as I worked on it, from where the initial sketch went. Time consuming yes, but I think trying to do this by hand would have been near on impossible.

Hitchcraft - Victorinox Huntsman

I put a fob on my beloved Victorinox Huntsman and even went so far as to have it be colour coordinated. 

I also attached a Light My Fire FireSteel to it. It’s the standard model, but I put it in a lathe and turned the handle down, to reduce the bulk. I also put a piece of shrink tubing over it to prevent oxidization of the ferrocerium. The only drawback to the firesteel is that as soon as you use it, it begins to corrode. I took the shrink tubing off since that photo was taken and as I suspected, it did oxidize. It was coated in a fine grey dust and was quite pitted. I cleaned it off as best I could, tested it again (it does still spark) and this time coated it in nail polish, and then put some more shrink tubing over it.  

Hitchcraft – Griptillian

Once I discovered how to tie a variety of sinnets, virtually anything that I could tie one to, got one.

One of the applications – fobs on knives. Mainly just as decoration, but they can be handy to help pull it loose from a pocket.

This is the Benchmade Griptillian, which is a really fantastic knife. Love the roller lock mechanism. Very elegant and very secure.