Hold the brass bar against the dagger metal, positioning it in between the blade and the lower portion (which will eventually be covered by the handle). Determine how long you want the guard to be, then cut it down to size.  You do not need to shape the guard after cutting it down. Use a hacksaw or power jigsaw to cut the brass. Keep it clamped down using a vice as you make the actual cut. You need to drill and file a lengthwise slit in the guard metal that is just large enough to slide the blade through.  Using a drill press or power drill, drill five small holes side by side along the center of the guard. The series of holes should only be as long as the blade is wide. Use a metal file to file away the metal in between these holes. The resulting slot should only be as large as the blade is thick. Make sure that the slot is only large enough to slip over the handle portion of the dagger but not so large that it will slip over the entire blade. Slide the brass guard in place on your dagger, then clamp one wooden handle piece in its proper place along the handle portion of the metal. Use a power drill to drill through the holes of the metal and into the wood. Make sure that the handle and blade are perfectly aligned. If they are not lined up precisely, the holes of your handle will fall out in the wrong place. Place the second wooden handle piece in place on the opposite side of the metal and clamp everything down. Drill two holes in this handle piece, working through the holes of the second piece and the holes of the metal. The pins should be 1/4 inch (6.3 mm) wide and long enough to fit through the series of holes keeping your dagger handle together. It's better to make the pins too long than to make them too short. If they seem too long, simply file them down to size so that they'll lie flush against both sides of the handle. Mix heavy-duty epoxy and apply it liberally to both inner halves of your wooden handle pieces. Place the pieces back on the dagger in their correct places. Do not let the epoxy dry yet. Place one pin in each hole, then gently tap them into the handle using a hammer.  Once the pins are in place, wipe off any excess glue with mineral spirits. Clamp down the handle and let the epoxy set. Do not clamp down on the pins, though, since this could cause them to warp as the epoxy dries. Use emery paper to polish the blade until it becomes shiny.  You may need to clamp the dagger down as you polish the blade. Work your way through a variety of Emory paper grits. Start at 200, then gradually move through the different sizes until you reach 1200. This step completes the entire process.

Summary: Trim down your brass guard. Create a slot in the guard. Drill holes in one handle piece. Drill holes in the second handle piece. Cut two brass pins. Adhere the handle pieces together. Hammer the brass pins in place. Polish the dagger.


Buy an inexpensive holiday wreath from the dollar store or craft store. Use a hot glue gun to attach pictures of celebrities around the wreath to create a funny play on words.  For example, “Wreath Witherspoon” would be made of pictures of Reese Witherspoon. Use pictures of Aretha Franklin to make “A-wreath-a Franklin.” Get a plain-colored sweater, like green, red, or black. Pick a favorite Christmas or holiday movie, and use colored pieces of felt to cut out images from a famous scene from the movie. Use a hot glue gun to arrange the scene on your sweater.  For example, A Christmas Story, Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and many other films have great scenes you could replicate on your sweater. For How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you could cut out the Grinch’s face wearing a Santa hat. For A Christmas Story, you could make a large metal pole or a turkey. Use a black marker to add fine details to the felt. Use a red or green sweater and pick out 5-6 Christmas ties (search your local thrift store for some great finds). Lay the sweater down on a flat surface, and arrange the ties so that they spread out across the body of the sweater from the neckline. Use a hot glue gun to attach the ties to your sweater. The gaudier the ties, the better your ugly Christmas sweater will be. Get a black, green, or red sweater to stick with the holiday theme. Use a small Santa hat or cut one out of felt. Attach the hat to your sweater with a hot glue gun. Underneath the sweater, attach a lightweight mirror. Underneath the mirror, use cotton balls to create a beard. Because it’s an “ugly Christmas sweater,” when someone looks at you, they’ll see a reflection of themselves. Get the same-colored sweater for both you and your partner. Use shades of brown felt to cut out the front and back halves of a reindeer. One of your sweaters will be the front half, and the other will be the back. Attach the felt using a hot glue gun.  When you stand together, the reindeer should appear whole. For even more decorative fun, attach different colored Christmas bows to each of your sweaters so that it looks like the reindeer is expelling them from either end. Thrift a red or green sweater and get a large stocking from the dollar store. Use a hot glue gun to attach the stocking to the center of your sweater or sew it in place. Fill the stocking with chocolates, candy canes, or small toys. You could even use 3-4 smaller stockings and fill each one with different treats.

Summary: Make a “punny” wreath to wear around your neck. Create a scene from a classic Christmas movie out of felt and hot glue. Use Christmas ties to make a glaringly ugly sweater. Make a gag sweater out of a mirror, Santa hat, and beard. DIY a couples' sweater out of the front and back ends of a reindeer. Attach a large stocking to your sweater and fill it with candy.


You can open a new note, text message, or anything that allows typing. You keyboard will pop out from the bottom of your screen. If you don't have any messaging apps, you can open your browser, and tap the address bar at the top to open your keyboard. This button will open a list of all your saved keyboards, and allow you to switch between different keyboard layouts. If you don't see this button in the lower-right or lower-left corner, you can swipe down the notification bar from the top, and tap Choose input method on your quick settings panel. Find the keyboard you want to use on the pop-up list, and tap on its name. This will switch your keyboard to the selected layout.
Summary: Open your Android's keyboard. Tap the keyboard icon at the bottom of your screen. Select the keyboard you want to use.