by raimundo » 26 Jan 2010 8:22
Your best picks will always be the handmade ones, even commercial stampings can be improved with some sanding work.
I have found that the falle deep curves can be made easily with a spinning grinding disc on a dremel type tool, the disc makes the deep interior curve naturally as you waste out material and you keep the disc moving a bit, not trying to reproduce the exact radius of the grinding tool, then after cutting this interior curve, you can waste off the back side to compliment the interior curve.
but if you really think about a straight keyway, there is not so much reason to have the part of the curve that is the shaft near the handle quite so up curved, the curve will rock and raise the deeper pins without that and as to the first three pins in line, the curve is almost meaningless,
Look at some of squelchtones hooks, he has been working with the curves on a different level, some of the lines of what he makes remind me of some very ancient middle eastern sword blades, with a curved part halfway and a straight part near the hilt. Ive forgotten the name of these swords, but they are from a few thousand years BC egyptian and israeli and some other ME areas.
Wake up and smell the Kafka!!!