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I Forge Iron

Hand Iron (Sad Iron)


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What I was referring to was the argument about whether cookies should be crisp or soft.  One of those topics with strongly defended positions.  I didn't realize when I posted that I was responding on page 2 to comments on page 1 so it made little sense.

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What I was referring to was the argument about whether cookies should be crisp or soft.  One of those topics with strongly defended positions.  I didn't realize when I posted that I was responding on page 2 to comments on page 1 so it made little sense.

There are those here who take a hard line, and there are those here who are soft in the head.

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Unfortunately I have never experienced that. :( I think I'll have to ask my wife if she can find a recipe to fix some.

Standard recipe, replace butter with lard. Render your own if necessary, vegetable "lard" isn't. Mmmmmm

Frosty The Lucky.

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You make it sound so easy. I've never looked at what it took to render lard but I guess I could always give it a shot. I always enjoy learning something that I might need to know 'one day' but will likely never really use it. Good examples are crocheting and soap making I know how if I have to but never really have to.

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Supposedly we got some jowl bacon from one of the 3 pigs we bought at the 4-H auction this year. Anyone looking for top quality pork, I highly recommend attending your local 4-H auction and bidding on a pig. Besides helping the kids out, you get top quality meat at a very good price.

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FYI for those who are unfamiliar with the rendering process .....

Lard is rendered from pork fat, by slowly heating, ... ( if it starts to smoke, back off the heat a bit ) ... and occasionally stirring the chunks of fat, ... usually in a large cast iron "Butcher Kettle", ... but can be done in any size batch, and pot.

Some of the Lard will just melt out of the fat, ... and can be "skimmed" off at any point, ... but most will remain suspended in the connective tissue of the fat.

When the chunks of fat turn Golden Brown, the rendering is complete.

The balance of the Lard can then be extracted, by skimming off the floating chunks of Golden Brown fat, and pressing them, to squeeze out the residual Lard.

( A "Lard Press/Sausage Stuffer" is the traditional means of pressing out the Lard, ... but just about ANY system of squeezing the hot chunks of fat, will work. )

That which remains after pressing, are called "Cracklin's", ... and are absolutely delicious when eaten while still warm from the Lard Press, ... or at a later date, mixed into Scrambled Eggs, or Pancake Batter.

The thing to remember about delicious, warm, fresh squeezed Cracklin's, ... is that they will have the same effect on your digestive tract, as a dose of Mineral Oil.

Unless you're troubled by chronic Constipation, ... I recommend moderation. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

A Kettle of rendering Lard, is essentially a deep fat fryer, ... and is the perfect place to cook up the odd bit of lean pork, ... otherwise intended for the Sausage grinder.

Such tidbits are the just reward, for the hot, monotonous job of Stirring the Kettle, ... and should NEVER be shared with kibitzers and onlookers.

 

.

Edited by SmoothBore
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Is this a cooking forum or a forum about forging? I thought we were here to educate people about the possibilities of forged iron. I did a quick look on the google. I easily found many pictures of hand forged wrought iron sad irons.  Its a bit of a heavy job if done full size but you could make a miniature iron.  Depending on your skill and motivation there are many options.   

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Is this a cooking forum or a forum about forging?

Yes, ... of course, ... and no doubt.  :huh:

Surely, in this age, a Blacksmith is a true Renaissance Man .....

 

Renaissance Man : "An outstandingly versatile, well-rounded person." The expression alludes to such Renaissance figures as Leonardo da Vinci, who performed brilliantly in many different fields.  B)

.

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Technically, I would still consider this part of the slaughtering, and last I checked, part of what made this site so fun is that it's not only educational about iron, but prone to be occupied by cool people that have similar, outside the main, interests, like beekeeping, brewing, sci-fi, knitting, brewing, raising livestock, brewing, cooking, brewing, music, brewing, farming...did I mention brewing?

If it helps, I'm forging a new gambrel hook for slaughtering Bacon (the pig).

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And Renaissance women of course! Maple and bacon are good together in any way. Pouring the drippings from frying bacon into a steel measuring cup makes for fine biscuits, cookies, etc. I've yet to eat something a little bacon didn't improve.

Yes I cook, anything anywhere. Food Mmmmmmm.

Frosty The Lucky.

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If it helps, I'm forging a new gambrel hook for slaughtering Bacon (the pig).

Picked up one at a Flea Market, ... that's made from 1 3/8" solid round bar.

It must be VERY, VERY Old, ... since it's obviously intended for Butchering Mastodons. :unsure:

 

.

 

Edited by SmoothBore
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Lard, rendering... eww, gross. 

As far as your hand/sad iron.... I forge hands on about 1/3 scale of what you would need for a decent heat sink. I end up with about 1/4" thick hand/fingers, about 3/8" at the base of the thumb and roughly 1-1/4" wide with anatomically correct thumb placement forging down from 1/2" x1". Forging from a solid bar is probably unrealistic unless you have power hammer as you'd probably have to start with 1-1/2" x 3" and I don't wish that on anyone, lol.

Put to the task, I'd probably forge fingers from some 1" round aiming for about a 3/4" finished diameter, and sandwich them between some 1/2"" plate. Fuller the plates so as to make sockets for the fingers to sit  in. Forge weld it together and use some rounded chisels to clean up between the fingers. 

You might use a bolt through the palm to help hold it all together while heating. As long as you can get the assembled sandwich hot and to anvil whole, it should weld super easy as long as you don't get into a hurry. After its welded you can even use the hole as a mortise for a handle. That way it doesn't even have to weld very well. Just well enough to keep the fingers from falling out. 

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Ya'll are killing me. I'm going to the store to get chocolate chips. Bacon grease we've got. Only maple in the house though is that godawful sweet maple vodka the wife brought home.....although that brings up possibilities.

I'll post the gambrel when I finish it. Especially if it works. :P Not hurrying though, if we kill this 'un, it's gonna be about Thanksgiving. All I've done so far is the hooks. I think they're strong enough for a 300 lb hog. (half inch with the stock around the eye at 1/4" by about 3/8" wide, hole is .5" across.). Made like the rope hook towards the beginning of New Edge of the Anvil...gonna test 'em first, see how they hold up.  No mastadons; if needed, I'll go with bigger stock.

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