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I Forge Iron

NightbladeCH

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    Usa, Stockbridge Georgia

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    NightbladeCH
  1. Thanks gents, I appreciate the feed back and of course your time. Thanks for the annealing idea Thomas, the idea simply hadnt occurred to me. I will look up and join a local ABANA chapter. Been needing to join one anyway just could never decide on which heh, there are quiet a few around my location
  2. Yes, I wish to hammer a thin strip of metal around some quartz, nothing heavy light taps mind you but the heat from the metal transferring to the crystal is a concern. My search results didn't yield anything either. As to the clay I can use the Georgia clay in my yard? Is there a certain mixture ratio or will simple clay work?
  3. Good evening folks, my apologies first an foremost if this info is listed elsewhere but I also had a few other unrelated questions so I figured I'd simply post em here. Add to that I'm also at work and sadly without the net at home, well you get the picture. Moving on. I'm building a new forge out of an old gas grill. I'm removed all the extra and plastic bits and scrubbed and filed down the inside in prep for the insulation and firebricks. Might as well state I'm making a coal forge. What can I use as insulation for my forge and as a mortar for the firebricks? I live in Georgia so can I not simply grap some handfuls of that red clay with some sand and ash and slop it around? Or do I need something a bit more 'professional'? Second question, I've a piece someone wants me to craft (hence the need for a bigger forge) an they want the pummel to sort of wrap around a quartz crystal. Is it OK to get one that hot? It's not gonna shatter or anything will it? Thirdly, my anvil edges are pretty trashed (from previous owners) and its an old 1800's anvil if memory serves correctly. Should I look to have it repaired? Now this likely will require a picture which I sadly did not have the foresight to take, but thanks anyway for any assistance. Thanks for taking the time folks, I hope everyone had a good Time/Christmas and has a wonderful new year, blessed be and thanks again!
  4. Ok, so I was forging my xxxx off today, finished the tang and water quenched it. Mind you i worked on the tang for prolly bout 1-2 hrs. Then I switched sides and started working on the tip, i was holding the tang in my hand (yes its that long) and while i was hammering the tip the tang literally snapped in half. *Epic sad face* Any thoughts on the reason to this? Is it the steel? Or a result of the quenching? Thanks in advanced guys ^^
  5. Thanks guys for the warm welcome! Ive managed to straigten the tie out, even though it took me nearly an hour and 1/2. Ugh. The pic is on my phone, which is sadly dead atm so ill post it a little later for yall ^^ Also managed to forge a small tang, though the steel is so thick im thinkin i could prolly get two blades from it hah. Ill look into the ABBA meetings, I would certainly love to see how the professionals do things, I figure I could learn quiet a bit merely from watching. Thanks again guys for the warm welcome, I made the forge myself and scrounged it all together from mostly bits from a nearby scrap yard. Made the Adobe myself as well, though it seems to not be holding up as well as I had thought it would. The only real issue I have currently is the small size of my forge makes it difficult to forge anything of decent size. I can get it plenty hot, its just a small area. Made it rather imteresting trying to heat that clamp for sure
  6. Hello everyone! Some of you I have kindly met already for those I havent my name is Corey. Im new to the art of amithing and have only been doing it for roughly 8 months now and ive greatly enjoyed it. My ultimate goal is to make knives and nice decorative odds and ends. For now however i just practice my techniques and such. Below ive posted my gear so far, however the anvil is a recent addition. Had a rr anvil before that. Ive got some rail steel imma attempt to form a decorative blade with. Its nice to be here and i look forward to getting to know yall!
  7. What exactly is TPAAAT, sounds like somethin funny for sure. Odd thing is i was JUST talkin to a buddy of mine at work today and he had mentioned that his grandpa has a few just 'lying around' and he knew ive been anvil huntin for a few months now *facepalm* Yes, you are most likely correct on that front, not sure why ive this desire to throw more money at something that at this stage isnt even needed considering ive already gotten one. Not to mention, as you said, the monumentious feat required to get authorization (from the Ms.) for such a thing lol Thanks once more for all your help (an to everyone who answered here) ive really appreciated it. Im sure most of my questions were typical of someone new to the art, and as such can be frustrating to answer over and over by some of the vets here. Im off now to dig up more technique info and just get some overall ideas for my nice, long practice session tomarrow. Im sure to have plenty more in the future, and if yall like I can take pictures of my setup, as well as updates on my progress if yall/you are interested
  8. Yea I went up there and spoke to Mr. Chuck. I figured he just buys and resells, as for his prices in this area, im not certain if they are reasonable or not. What do you think? Should I look into getting one of the others, or should I wait for something better? Or is my current one more than sufficent? Yea from what i can tell there are small circle indents between each number, when I get off work tomarrow ill try your suggestion and take some follow up pics if anythin else pops out at me. I was recently looking into the ABBA, as of yet ive not made any decision on joining an association yet, though ill certainly look more closely due to your suggestion thanks! I make a trip twice a month to powder springs anyway, another trip or two in that direction doesnt bother me I sadly dont know anything about farm auctions, but ill certainly take a look into them. Thank you very much!
  9. Thanks again for the help njanvilman, love the bit about knuckle draggers heh. Also the tip about warming up the anvil was nice, since I hadnt even considered it tbh. Make sense though, the drastic changes in temps between cold and hot. So thanks again! Due to an unexpected bonus at work, I can now easily afford one of the less 'battered' anvils the gentleman was selling. And since he will give me 'store credit' on anything i buy from em and return (he had said for when I wish to upgrade my anvil) I was curious if either of these fine gents are a worthy upgrade, or if instead I should stick with my currenty one? One picture has all the ones he currently has (100lb+) and the other two are the ones in particular i was looking at. Whatcha guys think? I figured an anvil is one of those things imma really only buy once (at least as a side hobby is concerned, i realize many smiths have MANY different kinds of anvils) so id like to rely on yalls expert opinions' on the matter. Asthetic's dont matter so much to me as longevity and functionality. Since ive not stated it thus far, my ultimate goal is to become a bladesmith, however currently im just practicing the various techniques (bending, drawing, etc) Thanks once more for yalls time, and I hope the day see's everyone here well!
  10. Yea i wasnt going to grind down the face, merely brush the sides and such to clean it up a bit. It may have been battered all to hell but i generally like to take care of the things ive got ^^ Thanks everyone for the help! Are there any certain tips/trick to help keep my anvil's life nice and long? The do's and dont's if you will
  11. Thanks for the replies guys, to answer a question one of yall had asked I live in the US, in georgia. Im also uploading some pics i had taken with my phone before i left for work so yall have a better idea of what im talking about. Id like to try and clean it up, i read a wire brush and linseed oil is best for such a task. Also is there any way to tell if its wrought or cast? I imagine cast iron would have little lines runnin through the center and such, however i dont see any evidence of that which leads me to believe its wrought.An one final question, there are square holes in the body, one on each end (longways) on the body and one on the under side, what is the purpose of those? Thanks again for yalls time
  12. Evening everyone! My name is Corey, im new here and new mostly into the smithing trade. Ive been pounding out some stuff on a piece of RR track (as most of us im sure did at one point or another) and decided to upgrade recently. Went on Ebay and looked stuff up, but didnt find anything that had interested me so i went to craigslist instead and found this gentleman a few hours away who sold various smithing items. He had alot of different types and sizes of anvils but for some reason this one kinda stuck out to me, even though its all beat up and battered hah. I am wondering if its still usable even though the edges are fairly worn down, and I only recently noticed a crack on the underside of the horn. Which worries more moreso than the edges itself. The face is flat, and has a nice rebound to it as well as ring. I cant decern any manufactures' marks on it, but there are the weight numbers on one side. 1 1 6. Im not sure how much weight that equates too atm, ive not looked it up but the gentleman told me it was 138 lbs. Sold it to me for 220. Id of prolly passed on it if i had noticed the crack on the underside of the horn, and when/if i can find a flashlight ill take some pics for you fine gentlemen/women. So, is it still servicable, or did this guy have a nice run with my cash lol At least on the plus side he said he would take it as a trade in for what i paid for it twards another anvil in the future. Thanks again everyone and may your anvil's never cease their song.
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