Ezra

Thank you very much!

Hey folks, Just did a Google 'fer Jymm Hoffman anvils, and couldn't find a web presence. Does he have a site or what? What's the price range on those beauties? Thanks!

Oh, that's awesome!

"The Forge and the Crucible" by Mircea Eliade, originally published circa 1956.

Man, that's sad...poor anvil. Death by gunshot is too swift in my humble opinion.:mad:

Hmmm, that looks like an Ashida Kim "wakizashi", a.k.a. ninjato...hmmm.

Portable simulated trench forge...AWSOME! Now, why didn't I think of that?

O.K. Here's a newbie question about it. On page 92 of "Wayne Goddard's $50 Dollar Knife Shop", there is a picture of two Damascus letter openers. They have an almost glossy green finish. Beautiful in my opinion. How did he do that? What about other colors? Red for example... Sorry if this has been discussed at length before, but it's all new to me. Ideas or opinions please. Thanks!

Hense the reason why some 'smiths keep a wood burning stove in their shop. When it will fit that is... The draft on a good forgehood will draw a lot of heat out of the smithy, as well as smoke. I don't remember who started the thread, but there was one about heating tools to prevent tool shock. Like putting a clothesiron on an anvil for example. Excellent information!

Hey ApprenticeMan, Thanks for the link! Nice stuff. Springtime? Bah!

Excellent photographic examples, Glenn. Many thanks to the folks that have responded to my inital and follow up questions. It's all the info. I could have hoped for.:D

Oooooh, my goodness! Now THIS is interesting.

Hmmm, Now the question of weight is becomming more interesting to me. What about some of these lighter weight rivet type forges. How durable are they? The reason I ask is that I haven't been doing this much and do not want to burn out the bottom of one. Is there a great chance for that sort of mistake, or if you are paying close attention is it not an issue? How safe/reliable are they? How well do they stand up to forge welding...depending on model and "gauge" of the pan, and stock being welded? What would be considered "too" light?

Wow, Glenn... Thanks for the photo links . I've never seen 90% of that stuff... (phew) even more to think about. Now, to decide, or see what's available...

Ken, Glenn, Alan, and Gary...(sorry if I missed anyone) Wow, thanks for furthur insights to my dilemma... I'm going to start researching crank blowers in a little more depth. Any furthur suggestions on that front? I've heard good things about the Champ. 400 since I became interested in this, and was wondering if there are other models I should be on the lookout for? Don't want to spend more time on the crank than anything else. Is that possible? Whats a good price range on Champ. 400s? Thanks Again!