Ironlord Oz

I've always been told chainsaw bars are mostly made from O1 tool steel, very good for making knives out of. The 3 layered bars have 2 different steels & from the spark test the middle one is iron. The outer layers spark the same as other single piece bars. I know it makes an easy way to build up layers for a damascus billet & the contrast when etched is great! Hope this helps:) Wayne

Have seen claw hammers made into dragon heads too :-)

I used to have one of these & been told by someone who used to use one that it's for working on water mains. Can't remember exactly how it's used but he seemed pretty sure.

I only ever wear a glove on my holding hand & usually use the gloved hand for pushing more coke onto the fire too!!! Probably not the safest practice but i've never burnt myself doing it (in 9yrs of blacksmithing, 6yrs full time) & I just like playing with my fire! Oh yeah, ya can buy a pair of "leftie" gloves, most welding supply stores should be able to get em :-)

Love the clean lines! Forgive my ignorance but what does "edc" stand for

G'day Gadge, The only place I know of to get coke in NSW is Wollongong. The Illawarra Coke Co. is their name. I got a trailer load from them in May. Like everything else the price keeps going up, last time I checked it was $520+gst a tonne & you want to get "pebble" coke (under 25mm). Hope this helps! Wayne

Here's the hawk so far. Haven't found a piece of wood for the handle yet but I'm looking! Pretty happy with the way it came out :D

I've been using 1" cable that has normal rope down the middle. I pull it apart & put 5/16" solid spring steel in the middle then put it back together. Making a throwing axe out of it at the moment & it gives a great affect when the solid bit comes through the rope! Will post some pics of it when it's done :)

G'day there, My name is Wayne & I'm from Wauchope on the mid nth coast of nsw. I've been a full-time blacksmith/knifemaker for 5-6yrs. Started as a hobby with the ABANSW & then became the blacksmith at "Timbertown" for about 4yrs. Out in my own shop now called "Ironlord Forge". Good to see a few aussies here! :D

Never thought of wrapping the chain around a bar like that, great idea! Will have to give it a go:)

I make the majority of my tongs for the simple fact that I don't have time to stop on a job & wait for an ordered pair to arrive. When I have a spare hour or so i'll forge up a heap of blanks so when I need a pair it's just a matter of shaping the jaws & riveting them together which only takes around 10mins. I've got an old spring hammer that makes the job a lot quicker & easier. I also enjoy making tongs which certainly helps:D

It depends on the type of weld your trying to do but for a drop the tongs weld I always use 2-3 welding heats. All I do with the 1st heat is get the right temp & tap them together so they have stuck. then I reflux & put it straight back in the fire. It won't take long to get back to a welding heat & this time I work it with medium blows. A 3rd welding heat can be used to "dress" the weld up. This method works well as it makes sure you have a full heat through the steel on the 2nd weld, removes some of the guess work. Borax as it comes has always worked well for me. Fire welding is a lot about getting a "feel" for it, if you get it right you can feel it stick. So good luck & practise, practise, practise.:)

Couldn't get enough power to run the big hammer but a few blokes in the club banded together to buy it so it can be set up at one of their places that does have power. I'm no longer at Timbertown, I've set up my own workshop so I can work on larger & more intricate designs:)

Remember me? I meet you at Alan Balls Hot Iron Muster a few years back & you then visited me at work at timbertown on your way down the coast. Wayne aka: Ironlord Oz

G'day out there! ! I'm from the mid nth coast of New South Wales in Australia. Been a full time black & bladesmith for bout 5yrs. Motto to live by:- When you stop learning, you start dying.... so I'm here to learn & help others if I can