/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.71769]

What is an item that:

1.) ...is small enough to be carried around, and has a legitimate use beyond decoration.

2.) ...is made of semi-permanent, natural materials, and will therefor still exist thousands of years from now.

3.) ...can be custom made, not simply mass-produced.


Despite how it seems, there really is a point to this. My closest friend, whom I've know since we were babies, will graduate medical school eventually. I'd like to make one of the world's greatest gifts for him.

[Anonymous No.71774]

>2.) ...is made of semi-permanent, natural materials, and will therefor still exist thousands of years from now.
Please note, examples of these materials include: hard rocks and minerals, silver, gold, and possibly glass and bronze

But these are NOT included: copper and steel (because they tarnish / rust), and plastics (artificial / too man-made).


I hope that helps.

[Anonymous No.71773]

keychain

[Anonymous No.71776]

>>71773
Ah, that's one of the one's I thought of. Keychain, wallet, belt, and maybe knife.

But someone pointed out to me that wallets and keychains get lost, get replaced, break, and so forth.

[Radiofag No.71777]

I'd go for a small fixed blade knife.

[Anonymous No.71783]

I'd say knife too, but some people wouldnt be comfortable carrying a knife. If you are set on functional things you use every day and carry with you, there arent a whole lot of options.

[Anonymous No.71784]

>>71777
Yes, yes... indeed. I was considering a specially-knapped glass or stone knife or something.

Maybe with the blade made out of meteoric glass. Yes, that would be fine indeed.

[Kai No.71785]

I'd make a fixed blade knife out of bone. I gave one to my father and one to a girl for Christmas a few years back.

If you can nap flint, you could make a stone knife.

Hmm... You could make a magnifying glass... You'd likely have to buy the lens, but you could make the frame from bronze, horn, bone, or such things.


Are you allowing ceramic? I've made a few very nice pipes out of natural clays.

[Anonymous No.71789]

>>71784
Obsidian knife-pendant?

[Anonymous No.71790]

>>71785
Ah, pipe. That's a good idea. They have meerschaum, which, I'm told, is... something that people make pipes out of. I don't actually think he smokes though, but if he starts it's an idea.

[Anonymous No.71796]

>>71789
Oh, that's a good idea. Although couldn't it potentially cut you as you were walking around?

>>71785
And the glass part could be made of rock crystal! Yes... and it would be mined from some sort of... ancient sacred site or something...

Bear with me here, it's got to be something fucking... mythical in it's scale. It's gotta have some kind of story behind it. Like part of it it from a meteor or from the tomb of an ancient Scythian king or the materials came from a special location or... something. I'm working on it

[Anonymous No.71807]

>>71796
>Bear with me here, it's got to be something fucking... mythical in it's scale. It's gotta have some kind of story behind it. Like part of it it from a meteor or from the tomb of an ancient Scythian king or the materials came from a special location or... something. I'm working on it

you know your friend is just going to throw it in a fucking drawer and never use it, and only dust it off whenever he knows he'll be meeting you, right?

[Anonymous No.71815]

>medical school
Knit him a stethoscope cozy.

[Anonymous No.71817]

One problem is that anything like a knife will get worn out through use. I'd think a musical instrument like a flute would last longer. Maybe some like Rosetta Disk, if you think microscopic writings meant to help ensure the preservation of language is useful.

[Anonymous No.71838]

Rosetta disk of instructions of how to operate a microscope

[Anonymous No.71849]

>>71807
That's where you're wrong. We're sort of engaged in a gift-giving competition. Very important stuff.

>>71817
>>71838
Hmm. That's interesting. I'll look up whatever that is.
.

[Anonymous No.71878]

>>71784
Someone explain how to do this to me.

[Anonymous No.71900]

>>71878
Well that guy's a professional, but there should be instructions online for "knapping". it's mainly for stone, but it should work for natural and man-made glass too (since both have what's called a "conchoidal fracture")

[Radiofag No.71917]

>>71817
I have a 60 year old kabar.

A good knife does not wear out easily.

[Anonymous No.71925]

>>71769
A smoking pipe made from bone

[Anonymous No.71927]

>>71838
Why would he need instructions for how to operate a microscope? He's a med student, not a seventh grader.

[Kai No.71932]

>>71925

As soon as I get a new drill press, this is my next project.

[Anonymous No.71940]

>>71925
Does bone last a lone time? It doesn't deteriorate or anything does it?

[Anonymous No.71946]

Oh! Oh! You don't carry it around with you, but what about a cup? You drink from cups every day. Although that does increase the chances of it breaking...

[Kai No.71958]

>>71940
I own that pipe. That mouth piece and end cap are plastic. I was very disappointed when I discovered that.

Well, that and when I figured out it wasn't a tobacco pipe.

[Anonymous No.71961]

>>71958
That is disappointing. I'd be pissed. It undermines the entire idea of getting a yak bone pipe.

[Anonymous No.72042]

>>71961

Make a human bone pipe.

[Anonymous No.72067]

>>72042
Mmm... yes. From the reliquary of some famous king or something.

[Anonymous No.72084]

it fits two of three and is more useful than about 90% of everything else in the universe

[Anonymous No.72086]

>graduating medical school

Moneybags should be buying YOU something

[Anonymous No.72088]

buy him a handgun

[Anonymous No.72108]

Hey OP,

I'm about to graduate Med School also.

Carrying around a knife in a hospital 24/7, bad idea. If he's a dr he's probably unlikely to be smoking at any time soon,

Its nerdy i know I reckon a custom reflex hammer that fits on a keychain with inbuilt sensation testing kit would be absolutely fucking boss.

did some prelim plans in MS paint.

[Brian !8ME/J0mnt. No.72135]

A pen.

1.) ...it's a god damned pen.

2.) ...you could, with a lot of care, probably make it out of just about anything. Hollow plastic pens from years back are still around and working great, so I wouldn't worry too much about the durability of them, especially if you used a solid piece of acrylic. You can always refinish it if you disassemble it or don't include a clip. You could also use something from metalpenblanks.com if you want metal that's easy to use(Use it on a wood lathe, no CNC needed). Or, CNC. Or if you feel really fancy, get a piece of granite. I have no idea how the hell you'd drill and sand it, but that would be freaking awesome. Make it a fountain pen so you can refill it. The nibs are made of either stainless steel, or 14k/18k gold. Over the many many years, it will barely wear. There are folks who professionally fix nibs.

3.) ...Pennstateind.com. A lot of people do it, handmade pens turn out very nice and are easy to do. I had no god damned clue how to use a lathe before I first tried making a pen, and these are attempts 2 through 4.

[Anonymous No.72175]

>>71815

....

Why did I not think of this before? Not Op, but a vet school student here, this would be amazing for lambing - stethoscope's are freezing if they end up accidently under your top in the middle of the night!

[Anonymous No.72204]

>>72135
Shit yes, that's a good one. Throw on an inkless nib on there, last forever.

[OP No.72552]

Sorry everyone, I was busy today.

>>72084
I have a small leatherman, and it is indeed very useful, but... not really symbolic or long-lasting or whatever somehow.

>>72088
See above. Unless it was a bronze / brass gun. Which seems grossly impractical.

>>72108
Huh. That is interesting. I will look into that. I'm seeing him on Thanksgiving so I can see just what kind of medicine he's leaning towards. It looks like he might be going towards the eh... whatsit? Like... testing or whatever side of things.

[OP No.72555]

>>72135
FUCK why didn't I think of this? It's customary to give pens as gifts for graduation. And it's useful, and his dad even sort of collects some. Damn that's smart... also ( >>72204 ) I'll look into this inkless nib thing. I've never heard of that. I could also alternately design some sort of thing that writes with eh... silverpoint or genuine lead (although that might be dangerous, and both might be hard to obtain...).

[Anonymous No.72558]

A watch

[Anonymous No.72563]

diamond ring

sounds like someone is going to propose

[OP No.72570]

>>72563
Not funny! This is a manly bond of camaraderie like that of Achilles and Patroclus, Alexander and Hephaestion, Orestes and Pylades, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Castor and Polydeuces, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, and so forth

[Anonymous No.72578]

>>72570
At the very least Achilles and Alexander were faggots. probably the rest of them too.

[Anonymous No.72589]

>>72570
Batman and Robin.

[Anonymous No.72594]

>>72570
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas

[Anonymous No.72595]

>>72570

it was the only thing i could think of that fit the criteria.

[OP No.72597]

>>72578
LIES AND SLANDER!

No ancient historian corroborates this. At the most, Alexander only cavorted with a young Persian eunuch boy. Which just like liking traps - not gay.

[Anonymous No.72599]

>>72597

just cause historians dont say it happened doesnt mean it never did.

[Anonymous No.72601]

>>72597
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty_in_ancient_Greece

[Anonymous No.72602]

>>72597
You just keep telling yourself that

[OP No.72603]

>>72601
Here's an interesting tidbit: it is well known that when he was young, Alexander's own father was eromenos to Pelopidas, who taught him the art of war. Later in life, his own love life would result in his assassination by a former male lover of his.

>>72204
...but I digress.

Inkless nibs seem to wear out over time. Any ideas? Are there more permanent versions?

[Anonymous No.72606]

Built that faggot lover of yours a house. He'll use it everyday, and if you use the right materials and techniques it will last for thousands of years.

[Anonymous No.72716]

I may be close to deciding! This inkless pen looks especially awesome, considering that he's left-handed.

Although I don't know how well the composite metal nib will fair over the years. They assure buyers that it will at least last a lifetime.

Anyways, if I can find an inkless pen with a good nib, then maybe I can disassemble it, and create an intricate stone body for the pen with inlaid designs to house the nib.

[Brian !8ME/J0mnt. No.73126]

>>72603
Having owned that exact pen, I can attest to it's shittyness. It will indeed last a lifetime. I attribute this to the fact that you'll hate it and leave it in a drawer somewhere. It barely writes on smoother papers, and despite what they say, wears down quickly. A well cared for fountain or rollerball will definitely outlive it.

[Anonymous No.73140]

This is such a pointless thread that I am just going to have to say a well fired clay dildo meets all your criteria.

[Anonymous No.73153]

>>73126
Find the stuff they make it out off, get a 4 inch or so rod of it.
Or maybe put the nib on the cap of a fountain pen. If he doesn't want the hassle of ink, he's got the inkless. If the inkless wont write on it, he's got ink.

Then again, if it writes like ass...

[Anonymous No.73154]

a zippo type lighter?

[Anonymous No.73156]

Rhino horn war-horn, from a baby rhino. Use for rallying fleeing troops. Dipped in gold for longevity.

[Anonymous No.73157]

>>73156
Like hither

[Anonymous No.73159]

>>71784
>>71789
Sooo much want!

If i find the time i have to make something like this (just probably much much much much more crude…

finally some use for my various pieces of flint and obsidian!

[Anonymous No.73245]

anything made of metal

perhaps a nice small fANCY knife?

[OP No.73310]

>>73126
Well fuck me. That's annoying.

>>73154
>>73156
Reasonably good. Will consider.

[Anonymous No.73314]

>>72597
Didn't like, everyone "cavort" in ancient Greece?
That shit was all the rage.

[Anonymous No.73316]

Go find a beehive and steal the queen.
Make can of honey.

[OP No.73322]

>>73314
That's a... matter of scholarly debate. It depends on the exact area of Greece.

[Anonymous No.73325]

Why does this thread remind me of my old room mates Jordan and Chris?

Anyways, my vote is for a watch... or pen. Pen seems like a good idea.

[Anonymous No.73348]

>>73325
Yes, yes... I'm still leaning heavily towards this. My research indicates that Nobuyoshi Nagahara, "The God of Fountain Pens" is considered one of the best. Maybe I could get a custom nib from him make a stone body myself. However I think the nibs include plastic ribbing, which I dislike... is this true?

Wait... do fountain pens smudge if you're left handed?

[Brian !8ME/J0mnt. No.74052]

>>73348
You're thinking of the ebonite feed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonite
It's the hard black part the nib is attached to.
And yes, they CAN smudge, depending on the ink. Some dry very quickly, some don't. That would be a matter of testing a few different ones out to try it.
http://www.gouletpens.com/Fountain_Pen_Ink_Samples_s/851.htm
Goulet Pens offers a ton of samplers for different inks. Try a few different brands. Noodlers offers a bunch of different lines, so try a few, they vary quite a bit. If you want a cheap pen to try em in, use a Platinum Preppy. Then, who cares if they stain!
http://www.gouletpens.com/Platinum_Preppy_Fountain_Pen_s/879.htm
You can fill it with a converter, or get it converted to an eyedropper fill and pour the ink in or use a syringe.

[Anonymous No.74095]

Left-hander here, fountain pens are a nightmare to write with if you're left-handed. Its possible to learn how to use one without smudging, but its basically like re-learning how to write.

[Anonymous No.74293]

OP, if you want your friend to take you up the bum just tell him so.