Give it a go

[JWBIRONWORKS]

Today I finally got a chance to play with the buckets of RR spikes my co-worker gave me. I've never made a knife before but this looked like a fun project and it was. It's not tempered, it will probably sit on the shelf from this point on so it really didn't need to be. Here's a couple of pics

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I've started a hawk but it's giving me problems. I always have trouble upsetting larger pieces. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

JWB

Edit: images fixed

[Wadhams]

Nice firstknife JWB! Tempering RR spike dosen't help much. They're about 30 points of carbon and are good for letter openers and practicing! For the hawk try heating up your spike and quenching the ends before upsetting. It will give you a more controlled upset. Look forward to your second knife!

[JWBIRONWORKS]

Wadhams,

Thanks and thanks for the upset info, I'll try again Thursday.

JWB

[JWBIRONWORKS]

Still playing with railroad spikes. Tried some pineapple twists this weekend. 3 outta five twists turned out. Spent a good bit of shop time making tooling-tongs,creasers,twisters and punches to work with the spikes.
Here's some pictures of the results. Let me know what you think.



Also made a troll, posted it on the blacksmith forum.

Wishing everyone good health and happiness in the coming year,

JWB

[meco3hp]

Hello,
Looks good! Now with your new tooling, you'll be just that much more ahead next time.