Comments by "Laird Cummings" (@lairdcummings9092) on ""Rosalie": Trench Art SMLE with a Most Improbable Story" video.

  1. Soldiers and sailors have long passed dead time with whittling and carving. Scrimshaw is the naval version, and it continues to this day, albeit no longer done in ivory or whalebone. Even today, soldiers pass time altering cartridge cases, or working on anything else they can lay hands on. Rifles are pretty much a no-no these days, of course.
    106
  2.  @Boilerz1  which is as it should be. Seargeants are responsible for their troops and making certain their troops maintain their weapons and kit in top working condition, including cleanliness and physical soundness. Troops who muck with their gear are now non-standard, and make more work for their NCOs, not to mention their gear potentially failing at a crucial moment. Yes, scrimshawed rifle stocks don't seem that big a deal, but they represent extra time inspecting for function that could be more useful spent doing any of the other ten thousand things an NCO has to do. I'd be pissed off, too.
    10
  3.  @patrickseaman  in the submarines I sailed, we turned INCONEL nuts into patrol rings.
    7
  4.  @jubuttib  heh. Finland, going its own way. Because that's what Finns do.
    4
  5.  @thatguy5040  yep. It's slow, but that's kind of the whole point - to pass time and produce a thing of beauty. Pretty sure I've still got a couple in with my old service paraphernalia.
    3
  6.  Angie H.  it's a ring, generally worked from a large nut, as a way to keep oneself occupied during slack time while on patrol. Take a large steel or inconel nut, work on it with files, sand paper, and other hand tools until you've turned into a ring. Most go with simple single or triple facet rings, like a signet ring, maybe with some images worked into the facet, but I've seen some high art too. All depends on your patience, the amount of slack time you've got, and you innate artistic skills. Mine tend to be fairly plain.
    1