NRunals

The first knife is O-1 with an Osage Orange handle with a linseed oil finish. It was for someone's 12 year old son so I included a booklet that talked about knife maintenance, and a bit of a beeswax/linseed oil/turpentine mixture to help keep the sheath and handle nice. The second knife is W-1 with a black walnut handle and copper pins.

Very nice job. I really like how strong and defined your "dancing twist" is.

Wow there is some really cool stuff on that link thanks for sharing it, and thanks a bunch for the positive feedback guys.

I made this hoe to donate to a local community garden. It will be sold to raise money for seeds, and other supplies. I sort of just made up the design as I went along, and was limited a bit by the available steel. The handle is a seasoned hardwood sapling draw-knifed to shape, with a scraper finish.

I was waiting for someone to bring Pye into this. Jake, although I don't know you at all, you should check out his book "The Nature and Art of Workmanship" I really feel that you (and anyone else) will get something out of it. Good points made by all, I certainly enjoy reading everyone's opinions.

I've been making some hammers lately, and I'll tell you what the very best way to learn is to just experiment. Make up some drawings based on hammers you might want to try out and give it a shot. To answer one of your questions 4140 is real good for hammers, pretty much anything between 40 and 60 points of carbon is gonna be a good steel to use. Also it helps to have an extra set of hands.

John B's advice about watching an experienced smith work is really good. When I first started out my elbow would get really sore, so I watched a bunch of videos of talented/experienced smiths and realized what I was doing wrong. Like he says make sure to look at their body position.

OK that makes sense. When I sharpen my flat ground blades (maybe this is the Japanese style of sharpening) I usually hit the secondary bevel with the stone a little then I work on the primary bevel, which I suppose isn't necessary. Now you've got me thinking about why I do it that way.

Wow that's a really neat patina. I understand why you hardened the end cap now! Am I correct in thinking that would be a poor choice for a flat ground knife, or does it etch deep into the surface? By the way thank you for sharing.

Hey, it's good to have ya here. That looks like some real nice work. Do you have a website?

The transition from the blade to the tang is nice and even.

Hello, welcome to the forum. That's some real quality work you have there, and a real nice anvil to boot.

I've heard it said that they are 52100, but I don't actually know.

Chimes might be nice to make, you could use some high carbon to get a brighter tone.

I have several 5 gallon buckets that I use to hold my stock according to shape/size. In general the stock is about 8-10 feet tall, it's not a perfect system but it does work pretty well.

make sure your forging thongs are leather for protection!

I stumbled across this web page today and the HT described here is a bit different from other methods I've used/read about. They say that the cooling from 1500f to 900f should take 1-2 seconds (which is normal). The main difference is that it is recommended that the cooling from 900f to 125f should take about 15 minuets... Anyone HT this way? Does it really make for a better edge?

I need to get me one of those! Looks good.

I got it at Central Iron and Steel in Grand Rapids. And Phil I think you've got the right approach here. I'm gonna cut off about 6 inches to see what it feels like under the hammer and do my best to follow the HT instructions with "blacksmith methods" and save the rest for a trade some day.

very true. how much would you say 8 feet of 1/2x1 would be worth?

Yeah I don't really have any desire to make swords, nor do I have the resources to get the best results out of the steel. I guess I'll play around with it and see what happens. The whole 8 foot section cost me about 4 dollars. How about the 6150 good hammer head material?

Well i just realized that D-2 has 1.5% carbon.... meaning punches, drifts, chisels are not ideal for this steal. Anyone have any good ideas for uses?

I would wait on one in better shape if it will be your main anvil.

Ok so I just found a place that sells "new and used" iron and steel. In the used section they had tool/alloy steel for the same price as the mild (40 cents per pound), so needless to say I got quite a lot. I found a bunch of really good stuff that I'm familiar with (4140, O-1, etc.). I also found an 8 foot section of 1/2x1 D-2 , and a 2 foot section of 2x2 6150. Now I knew D-2 was air hardening, and I have no experience with air hardening steels, but for the price I couldn't let it go. Ideally I'd like to make some punches, drifts, and chisels for hot work out of this. The 6150 I assumed was a 50 point carbon steel with a fair amount of chromium. I saw the piece and all i could think was.... 5lb sledge hammer with cross pein. Please if you have any advice, or comments about forging/HT D-2 and the 6150 I'd like to hear them. Also if the steel is not well suited for the tools I've listed please let me know. Thanks.

For the tools I would suggest a few hammers, you can usually get some decent ones at a flea market for $5-10, something to use as an anvil (real anvil, rail road rail, fork lift fork), and some sort of tongs/pliers. Then you are able to make tongs chisels and pretty much any other tools you'll need. As far as edge finishing goes, I pretty much only use files/sandpaper/whetstones. Here are some pictures of some interesting, easy to make bellows. (I took them from Brent Bailey's website www.brentbaileyforge.com )