This contest got me off my tail to make two more of the oil tools I favor. I formerly used laboratoty micro-spatulae, but i don't have any left. So some time ago i taught myself the art of making custom tiny tools from steel wire. Let me tell the tale of these oil handlers ... they are so much more than mere dabbers, if'n I say so myself.
I began with some steel wire and cut two pieces to length, rolled one end into a loop and pounded the other end while red hot into a flat. Here are the rough-wrought tools on an anvil of my own making.
After some time with a file, I heat-treated the blade ends ...
... this put a bit of "spring" in the blades, which were previously too soft to handle.
...then spent a few hours with files and ascending grits of sandpaper. Here are the finished pieces "in the white". They could have stood a bit more polishing, but my fingertips are sore. Only hand tools were used.
I would have liked to blue these, but my bluing setup isn't working at this time. The washer shows the sort of blue color i like to get from steel.
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So here are my two tools, one straight, the other tapered.
I'm showing it off with a generous smidge of "smudge", my solvent extract of oleoresin Cannabis.
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