joshua.M

oh and i have been meaning to go down to lang because i was invited to work there, so if i can swing it, i will see if you can get in too

On the off chance it isn't obvious, OABA's website is www.ontarioblacksmiths.ca.

You may want to check out Lang Pioneer Village, they have a blacksmiths shop.

OABA has a few members around Peterborough, although I don't think any of them other than Josh (who is only very loosely from around Peterborough) monitor this forum.

In terms of professional blacksmiths, have you checked out Dragon's Forge?

for lube I use beeswax, scale and coal fines

I have never used a german pattern anvil, but i would love to, they look so much more useful

a few weeks back we had the local highschool's forestry class come out to our farm and a few surrounding ones to clear out tree lines and after all the nice big logs were cut and split the piled up all the brush from all the farms in the old concrete factory yard and pourd gas on it, the pile was about 12 ft tall 15 ft long and 10ft wide (biggest fire we were allowed) and you couldnt stand within 20ft without starting to melt :P

Joshua, Good on ya for standing your ground. By now this is old news, so hope you got the other guy to come smithing with you. I only got into one fight in school, class bully picked on a smaller friend, and I stepped in. Never got mess with in school after that. I also got a reputation for being very hard to anger so I guess I was not a good target for the typical bully who is out for a reaction. Smithing is still only a hobby for me. I do Medieval reeactment demos and get a lot of support and interest. The only people that pick on me now are my family. I get ribbed all the time and then it's mostly to do with the scrounging I've done to get my stuff (and the kit). Hope you and the other guy have sorted things out.

i like the big bondfire and then draging it into a stream the best, if you used a swimming pool you could make a giant hot tub

Thomas, what is the concrete like to work on? i've heard that they can be hard on knees and your back, just wondering for future reference.
Josh

i have never had a wood floor, but at the moment i have a crusher dust floor right now and anything that hits the ground can be lost for ever

hmm i will ship it here and send you 10 gallons of maple syrup

good luck! i would like that 300lber at the extreme discount price you would give me scince you dont need it and all.... lol i dont think it would fit in a flat rate shipping box :P

you should make a hand saw B)

i'd be goin higher than 70 if they would still sell, they are very nice, i need to get back into making hawks there so fun... and i have about 50 rasps that are dull B)

i love your style, simple, beautyful and down and dirty useful.... what do you charge for a blade like that/ if you dont want to answer on the forum you can pm me

why not carve your touchmark into the center?

or forge the whole thing from one peice like a bow tie shape, then create the blade, widen the flat section and roll the socket... there would be no ridg but if you use thicker bar or like others have said, round bar, you could draw the edges....
Josh

i have used both and i prefer the square, it is easyer to manage the fire and if you decide to build, square is simpler
Josh

country, i am participating in the class being held by brian... are you?

country what town? im near peterborought/ kawartha lakes area

that is a nice vise! i too am interested in the writing, if i was closer id be interested for sure!

That'd depend on a number of variables. #1 what it's going to be used to heat. #2 what fuel. #3 Where it's going to be used, as in clearances, room cooling, etc. #4 What can you afford, for construction, fuel bills, making the smithy livable, etc.

A little more info will make meaningful answers easier.

Frosty The Lucky.

I want to come! but my parents already shot the idea down last yr

well im not in the GTA (about 2 hours away) but you would be welcome to come visit, i have a small hobby shop that we could make some scrap in

Turks head at that end is a NICE touch!!Never have seen it there before but it makes sense....

I'm not a bladesmith though I do make the occasional cutlery. My preference is for blades that are smooth, the remaining rasp teeth make it a pretty nonfunctional knife in my opinion and I don't have much use for nonfunctional blades. Pardon the pun and no it wasn't intentional contrary to my well deserved rep. The pics are awfully low aspect (all dark) so it's hard to see much detail and I may be missing aspects.

Not being a bladesmith I don't know how much weight my opinion deserves, that's why I rarely comment on blades but I look at almost all of them because I like blades. Whatever you do, don't let critiques get you down, everything I do is deserving of criticism and I'm my worst critic.

Frosty The Lucky.