Steve Shimanek

Looks good, let us know how it works!

Looking good; I am in the middle of doing a 4 burner for heat treating sword length blades.

I bought a batch off ebay and all but one were pretty good, and it was a lot cheaper than buying individually at my local hardware store. Could be different for you on the mainland.

Thanks for the comments; I am still new to the hamon thing and can't account for the "clouds" unless some of the clay popped off in a serendipitous manner! I am trying to come up with a good approach to finish polishing this blade and have ordered some resources to study. On a small remote island some supplies are not locally available and I may need to order some stuff in, but I will be experimenting a bit tomorrow to see what I can do with what I have on hand. Aloha, Steve

These old soldering irons are also useful for flintknappers as they can be converted into spalling boppers.

"Clouds Over Koke'e"

nice looking work, Mark!

Inspirational work, thank you for posting it. Would love to see more of your work.

Looking good!

The steel I used was a cutoff from another project and had been laying around for a while; I was curious to see what could be done with it. Thanks for the comments! Steve

I finished this yesterday; steel is from a 1 inch coil spring salvaged from the scrapyard; forged from a 1 1/2 inch length (just wanted to see if I could do it) differentially quenched with local koa wood handle, copper spacer, and brazing rod pins. 8.5 inches overall length with a blade length of 4 1/8 " and width of 1 7/16"; I call it a utility/skinner or it could be a mini-Bowie. Comments welcome, aloha, Steve

You didn't say what island you are on.......depending on where you are, I may be able to direct you better. I am on Kauai and can also speak about Oahu.

That is very cool, and should keep anyone from using that field as a landing zone :)

Hope you get to read this soon; best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery!

Bentiron, I always enjoy your posts; hope you keep helping others in their journey. Aloha, Steve

Pike or a plug bayonet? Cool find.

about 3 times that in Hawaii....

Nice anvil save and excellent welding job!

I would be interested in a post on that. Can't help with the computer techie details though.

Those used to be tungsten; don't know if they have changed the alloy since I have been out. Some rounds are depleted uranium DU and i don't think i would want to forge any of that Just read the threads above and realized i was late to the party B)

Welcome Joshua. There is a lot to learn here, read on and post photos when you have something to show. Good luck!

Thank you very much Beth! Anvilflower, the rings are adjustable; the end opposite the rivet is free to expand or contract. The cheap import cymbals available use elastic loops but I was looking for something classier than elastic. Mainely, you're a card!

Some finger cymbals made as a gift for my wife and her friend, who are both practicioners of the art of the belly dance. Hot forged, annealled, and dapped; copper ring riveted with brass rod.

These kinds of questions come up frequently, but without a scientific analysis no one can tell you what you have for sure. Rule of thumb, if it made a good spring, it should make a good larger sized blade such as a camp knife, bowie, or other chopper. Edge holding will probably not be as good as other higher carbon steels but for these types of blades that is less critical imo. I have made a number of blades from recycled springs of unknown composition; i just heat treated as if it were 5160 and they have come out ok. I do not recommend water quenching, use oil.