Okay, so not all failures are met with the same degree of equanimity.  Today, I had nearly completed the manufacture of a new hooked spoon knife when it failed.

I was inspired to try and duplicate a Robin Wood, Woodtools™ hook knife that I recently bought.  The knife is a wonderful tool and has really made carving the bowl of spoons much easier than before.  I used a recycled saw blade as I have for previous knives.  This time I made a sharpening stick jig with which to grind the bevel.  The stick is essentially a temporary handle with a square edge that provides a reference.

The problem occurred while polishing the blade following heat treating for hardness, and before tempering.  The tang of the blade was weakened because of the mounting hole drilled for attaching the blade to the sharpening stick.  Once the blade was hardened it was too brittle to withstand the pressure against the buffing wheel.

I was really looking forward to finishing and using that blade.  It was my best so far.

* an expletive once recommended by my grandmother, in place of the word my father would use in similar circumstances.