Glenn

Knives by Rich Hale


The Bowie is hand forged L-6 carbon steel it has forged damascus S-guard and the metal has been browned, the handle is sambar stag.



The small skinner is my own damascus with ironwood handle with an oosic spacer,,guard is damascus also...

I am scheduled for hernia sergury May 9 and will be out of work for about 6 weeks (no hammering says the doc for that long)... Light a candle for me please JJ

Copied to prayer list

From the Woody Hanson Family

To all my blacksmith friends: The care and concern that my family have received from all of you over this past week is overwhelming. The cards, the phone calls, the flowers from CSI, the all give new meaning to the word brotherhood. I will never be able to repay you all for the kindness that has been extended to me and my family, but I want you all to know that it is sincerely appreciated. A great grief shared among so many is a great burden that was somehow lightened.

Thank you all Woody, Rick and Mark Hanson, Heather & Paul Winn,

From the Woody Hanson Family

To all my blacksmith friends: The care and concern that my family have received from all of you over this past week is overwhelming. The cards, the phone calls, the flowers from CSI, the all give new meaning to the word brotherhood. I will never be able to repay you all for the kindness that has been extended to me and my family, but I want you all to know that it is sincerely appreciated. A great grief shared among so many is a great burden that was somehow lightened.

Thank you all Woody, Rick and Mark Hanson, Heather & Paul Winn,

Fixed Billy Merritt's name. Thanks
Tell him we still use his work to show others the quality he produces.

Face the knife straight on - one light left at a 45* down angle to the knife, one light right at a 45* down angle to the knife and then tilt the knife to precent the blade. Put something in the background (gray shirt board or what ever) to reflect instead of the white. The pattern should pop out.

A mirror finish on a knife WILL reflect - so give it something to reflect. To show a pattern give it a neutral reflection to cut the glare and show the pattern.


This is not exactly fair because the knife did not have a mirror finish. That and it was on location at a hammer in, but it shows the pattern of the knife well. Sunny day, but I moved into the shade, moved and watched the knife till it showed what I wanted, then pushed the button on the camera. Alan you were there and watching. :wink:



This will show how just a little different tilt on the knife improves the image.


The reverse side of the same knife.

All knives were made by Billy Merritt.

I recall from somewhere that a 90* bend in a flue cuts down the draft up to 20% for each 90* (Don't hold me to that till I can point you to a reference.) The horizontal distance between 90* bends should be keep it as short as possible.

JJ (James Joyce from Calif) would be a good person to ask about this.

Details of the funeral service are on the IForgeIron.com prayer list.

Coal Production

The first reference to coal ( in what is today West Virginia) was in 1742, when John Peter Salley reported an outcropping of coal along a tributary of the Kanawha River. By 1817, coal began to replace charcoal as a fuel for the numerous Kanawha River salt furnaces. The total coal production in 1840 for the State was about 300,000 tons, of which 200,000 tons was used in the Kanawha salt furnaces.

BTW the Mason-Dixon line is the boundry of West Virginia/ Pennsylvania, and Maryland/Pennsylvania. This boundry was the division like between those in the "North" and those in the "South" during the war. Therefore Pa was a northern state and WV and Md were southern states.


Reference IForgeIron Blueprints BP0051 Coal
Additonal references at the bottom of the BP.

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For those folks that have waited patiently for a Blacksmithing Forum to be put on line - this is it !! There may be some adjustments that need made, so give us a little time to hammer out any kinks.

Enjoy the new site.
Glenn