Some thoughts from Australia

LiamLynch

LiamLynch

Well-Known Member
I have been in Australia now for a week and a half and the first thing I can say is how much respect I have gained for soldiers being deployed. I am here for a month and I can barely sleep for thinking about my beautiful lady friend, to go a year at a time without seeing loved ones is something I can hardly imagine. I guess I will have to deal with it when I join up but damn is it hard, and it's not even been a fortnight yet...

Another thing I have noticed is how much I like WA, the firearms laws are more lax than Scotland so there is fun to be had at the range, there are plenty of machines and farms and space, driving costs nothing compared to Scotland and there is plenty of animals to hunt freely. I would happily live here.

The main thing I have to think about is the fact that I have ben offered stable work and a place to live until I get on my feet. I will probably do it either after school or university if I decide to go. Now I'm just 17 and the amount of work here is ridiculous but I don't really know what to do. I have heard the usuall follow your heart stuff but that doesn't help much. If I continue living in Scotland I stay with the people I have grown up with and I stay with the country I grew up in, if I move to Australia I have a head start for the rest of my life doing something I love with various distant relatives and it wouldnt affect my military career as i would join the australian military. I don't really know what to do here and this forum is definitely full of helpful and unbiased people, so I'm asking what you would do in this situation.

As well as that I have lots of family in Australia and I am a citizen so there isn't a problem there. This is all very confusing.
 
Liam,
I have read that Austrailia is one of the few countrys with western type democracy that has a growing middle class?

It sounds like you really like it there and if you have citizenship It sounds like a great place to set your feet down?
After all, Scotland will still be there and you can always go visit or move back later if you want? As far as what career you should take? only you can awnser that?

Serving in the Aussie Military will get you started and you can build from there with a knife making career on the side for now, of course!
Enjoy your trip.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Australia is a great place and I really don't like Scotland but leaving family is something I don't like much. The family I have here are on the other side of Australia. The job I have been offered is on a sheep farm and bluegum plantation as a roo and parrot controller as well as other farm work on my great uncles farm. Good parrot controllers don't get paid much but it is more than enough for me to get some firearms, a ute and knife making gear as well as food and what not. If I can eat, shoot and make knives I will be happy.

The parrots eat the growing shoots of the bluegum a and the trees grow with a bow in them. You lose 25% of the timber I'm told. Shooting parrots and Roos is fun and I like the people. Housing would be provided for me on the farm and I would build a house in the long run, there is plenty of wood and I have never wanted a large house.

The Aussie military is close and pays well. Moving would basically set me up for the rest of my life but it means leaving my life in Scotland behind. I'm pretty stereotypical as a teenager as well, I'm pretty idle and I don't get outside much so this would be a huge change in the way of life. I am definitely a townie and I would be moving to a rather backwards place in the middle of nowhere. As much as I don't like large amounts of people there is basically no one out here. I have a year to think about it and then it depends on whether I get into university.
 
Liam,
This sounds like a great opportunity for you. Don't make a decision too soon,give it a while,maybe a year or two.
Some of my ancestors left Scottland many years ago (McQueens) and settled in the southeastern United States,I'm glad they did.
 
LiamLynch said:
Australia is a great place and I really don't like Scotland but leaving family is something I don't like much. The family I have here are on the other side of Australia. The job I have been offered is on a sheep farm and bluegum plantation as a roo and parrot controller as well as other farm work on my great uncles farm. Good parrot controllers don't get paid much but it is more than enough for me to get some firearms, a ute and knife making gear as well as food and what not. If I can eat, shoot and make knives I will be happy.

The parrots eat the growing shoots of the bluegum a and the trees grow with a bow in them. You lose 25% of the timber I'm told. Shooting parrots and Roos is fun and I like the people. Housing would be provided for me on the farm and I would build a house in the long run, there is plenty of wood and I have never wanted a large house.

The Aussie military is close and pays well. Moving would basically set me up for the rest of my life but it means leaving my life in Scotland behind. I'm pretty stereotypical as a teenager as well, I'm pretty idle and I don't get outside much so this would be a huge change in the way of life. I am definitely a townie and I would be moving to a rather backwards place in the middle of nowhere. As much as I don't like large amounts of people there is basically no one out here. I have a year to think about it and then it depends on whether I get into university.
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Liam,
I am sure you love and will miss your family but you are at a age where is time to think about starting your own life and someday your own family too.

If the job as a roo & parrot controller will get you started you can always move on to the military or university in a few years. Besides you will be a crack shot real soon with that work. Also I am sure there are some pretty Aussie farm girls around out there for you to get into trouble with. :biggrin:

To have a place with room and board where you can set up a knife shop is great! I am sure your Great uncle knows some blacksmithing or someone else around there does to keep the machinery on the farms running. I bet there is a Anvil at the farm already too.

You will be in good physical shape in no time working on a farm and I am sure there is room for advancement if you like the work until you get into the university or go into the military or find something else you love to do?

Stay in touch with us.

Laurence
www.rhinoknives.com
 
I'm going to finish school first either way and I will go to university in Scotland if I get the grades. I need to learn to drive really before going so I guess all of that gives me some time to think about it. I guess I would be joining the large amount of people leaving Scotland, a few hundred years late. I have decided that if I move I would come back for my sisters teenage years, her father would most likely improperly deal with boyfriends and the like so I would be in Scotland again in a decade. I will need to think about it for a while but it really is a case of moving in the next year or so or at some later stage of my life.

At any rate I will stay on knifedogs, no way I'm going somewhere without you guys.
 
LiamLynch said:
I'm going to finish school first either way and I will go to university in Scotland if I get the grades. I need to learn to drive really before going so I guess all of that gives me some time to think about it. I guess I would be joining the large amount of people leaving Scotland, a few hundred years late. I have decided that if I move I would come back for my sisters teenage years, her father would most likely improperly deal with boyfriends and the like so I would be in Scotland again in a decade. I will need to think about it for a while but it really is a case of moving in the next year or so or at some later stage of my life.

At any rate I will stay on knifedogs, no way I'm going somewhere without you guys.
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Liam,
That is pretty funny, I don't know if any father or brother really knows how to deal with little sister's choice in boy friends. lol.
I know you would do your loving best and I appreciate your resolve on this matter. lol.
I am sure your little sis is going to date who she wants anyway! lol. Just like you are doing.

Well enjoy the land of OZ and stay in touch.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
She won't if I don't like the look of them. Penicuik teenagers are not to be trusted around little sisters.
 
More thoughts, I am being given a huge piece of eucalyptus burl, some curly jarra and something called fiddleback which looks really cool. I'm in Tasmania at the moment and there is lots of wood here, I am going to look for various burls. I have seen enormous ones already but they were too national parky to use, there should be some though. There seems to be many steelworks and there is some kind of belt grinder manufactured here as well. Knife making is very doable here. This is looking rather good. I have decided that if I don't get into uni I will be moving to Western Australia.
 
Liam,
I don't think the Eucalyptus is usable but there are many beautiful and usable woods down under that you can make great knife handles with, I just can remember any of the names right now? Its 7:30 am here.

Go on Ebay there and see the kinds of woods the locals are selling to get the proper & local names. There are a couple of Knife maker websites there too. Google them up.

Have fun!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
The eucalyptus is supposed to be very useable, I will stabilise it anyway. I now have some red-gum and some she-oak on top of the fiddleback and I may get some Blackwood too. What do we think of huon pine? Is it any good, I know some softwoods are pretty hard and stabilising is an option. I want to find some Mallee and York gum as
well. I have been given a mystery wood that came from the middle of the Australian desert and the chap said that there were sparks when he chain sawed it off. I also got a commission from someone who has money to throw away, he also fancies my aunt so I think this one wont be escaping like my last commission.
 
Some good woods there Liam! Be very hard to turn down any of the Australian woods. Yellow Mallee burr is one of my favourites!
 
LiamLynch said:
The eucalyptus is supposed to be very useable, I will stabilise it anyway. I now have some red-gum and some she-oak on top of the fiddleback and I may get some Blackwood too. What do we think of huon pine? Is it any good, I know some softwoods are pretty hard and stabilising is an option. I want to find some Mallee and York gum as
well. I have been given a mystery wood that came from the middle of the Australian desert and the chap said that there were sparks when he chain sawed it off. I also got a commission from someone who has money to throw away, he also fancies my aunt so I think this one wont be escaping like my last commission.
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Liam,
I am sure there are many many different kinds of eucalyptus there in Austrailia. That is where these trees originated.
What we have here it used mostly for wind breaks in agriculture lands and it is so oily that it continually pours out oil and then cracks.

Keep chatting up the locals on good woods for knife handles. I have used the Mallee, York and She-oak with great results.
Also keep this bloke that fancy's your Aunt happy and you can build a client base with him and his pals.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I don't think I'm getting anything fancy but lots of the woods I have already look great. Hopefully I will chop up the burl today and get a look at the inside of it. It will definitely need stabilisation. I have lots of Tasmanian oak back in Scotland already as well, my grandparents house is basically made of the stuff. The guy who wants a knife works on an oyster farm and I'm hoping he will order a shucking knife as well. He is trying to get me some 440C and Blackwood and have the cost taken off his knife, it means I can make myself a stainless knife a well. There seems to be every saw other than a bandsaw here though so I shall be getting creative to cut this wood up.
 
We cut up all the wood. Looking at the inside of the burl we decided it was jarrah which has an "h" apparently. I managed to get 12 blocks from it. I could get more but the rest of the burl is not worth ruining for a few blocks. I think I got 36 all in.
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/8431/xvhh.jpg
Left to right is curly jarrah, huon pine, jarrah burl, fiddleback Tas-oak (two of which are cut across the grain), red-gum and she-oak. I think it is 36 blocks which is good for 18 years at my current rate of knife making. I might sell some I think.
 
I bought a piece of black heart sassafras today, it's enough for one handle but it's one of the best looking woods I have ever seen. It's all going well but I don't like the fact that we have found four white tailed spiders, one of which escaped into the room I sleep in. I don't mind spiders but I don't really want to decompose while I'm still alive.
 
Liam,
Australia has a very high amount of poisonous animals of the insect, spider & snake families compared to Scotland from what I have read, which has no snakes and not much else that is poisonous? So don't decompose while your are there on us.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Scotland has adders which are a type of viper, they can kill you but I have only ever seen one in my life. They can kill you, deer and lynx could probably kill you and that's about it. Here, everything kills you.
 
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