COOL....thanks so much....to clarify some aspects i got enough materials together to try these about a month ago. it is, for sure, a bare minimum setup...claw hammer, railroad anvil set on the ground, rusty riveters forge, old coal, blow dryer, channel locks, bucket of water, etc.
goals were
1- heat some metal (accomplished)
2- pound out a flat knife shape (accomplished)
3- draw out some metal (accomplished)
4- make a spike knife with a twist handle (accomplished)
5- forge weld a piece of file into the spike (failed)
6- heat treat knives (untried)
7- make damascus steel (failed)
8- anneal some 1018 rod to try and make it more ferrous (untried)
9- make a tattoo machine out of damascus steel and annealed rod for coil cores (maybe lol)
i'm still working on acquiring materials and such...so far i have nothing invested except time and energy which is why i am enjoying the set up that i have....and also probably why i'm suffering some failures.lol.....i have a fool for a teacher.
thanks for some real advice...this site has been real cool.
-S.R.