Maillemaker

Looks good to me! I don't particularly like the look of most RR hawks, but you've pulled this one off very well.

Maybe it's just a spoof and they want to locate all of the female smiths

I remember reading about a woman smith in colonial-ish years (can't remember the specific date) who was making a name for herself at sixteen. So much so that a contemporary poet penned a poem praising her milky white skin (when it wasn't covered in coal dust) and powerful biceps.

I make my s-hooks by drawing out, curling the end, then taking a piece of pipe and a pair of vicegrips and bending the steel around the pipe. Comes out perfect every time.

If you put four smiths in a room and ask them a question, there will be eight opinions!

I have tried several times to make a greathelm, all with varying degrees of FAIL. I would love to see your plans, or the Brian Price pattern.

How are the strikeknives held so you don't run the risk of stabbing your hand?

"If we could all do the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves"- Thomas Edison

However, some of the things we are capable of are neither safe, nor overly intelligent. If you have the equipment and skill make the welds you describe, and you can do it safely, by all means go for it! Take pictures, and document the process!

Even if your venture isn't successful, you can learn from it!

"If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward...." Same Guy.

On an episode of Lock 'N' Load, a Eruopean longsword was compared to a Japanese Katana, and the host, R. Lee Emery declared that a katana was more effective than it's European counterpart.

Seeing as this is a large collective of swordsmiths, both replicating Oriental and Western blades, I pose these questions:

Is there really a "superior" style of sword? If so, why?

Obviously the technique for swordplay differs from East to West, which also complicates things.

Were blades made to suit technique, or techniques made to suit blade styles?

Is there a superior technique?

Or is the methodology of swordfighting so different from Europe to the Orient that they are essentially incomparable?

Ye might be a Blacksmith if you go to the junkyard looking for gift ideas.

If you have a forge, rail road spikes would be good material, but a lot of work to draw out.

Also, a drill press is not necessary; you could hot punch the holes for the joint, or slit the hole and drift it out.

Not quite sure why you'd need the welder.

About five years ago, one of my good high school friends gave me some bandsaw blade to make knives with. After sitting on the shelf for half a decade, I picked it back up today and made this. No hot forging, all stock removal.

Overall length: 10.5 inches
Blade length: 5.5 inches
Handle 5.0 inches
Cherry slabs pinned with 3/16" copper rod. Patina-ed with Ferric Chloride.

Blade etched with Ferric Chloride, with white-out used for the cross.

Arguably, all of the male Aesir were gods of war; with the exception of Freyr (god of the harvest and peace), Forseti (god of reconciliation) and Bragi (god of wisdom and eloquence).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86sir#List_of_.C3.86sir

As I sit here watching Braveheart, admiring Mel Gibson's claymore, I noticed the back scabbard that his sword is carried in. Two questions:

1.) How do you draw/sheath a claymore or similarly long blade from your back?

2.) What prevents the scabbard from slipping down around the wearer's waist under the weight of the sword and the movement of the bearer?

In most cases, Japanese swordsmiths would polish their blades to a near-mirror finish, and only the Hamon (I hope i'm spelling that correctly) would show from the differential tempering.

At least, that's what a metallurgy grad told me.

When I was starting out blacksmithing with the club down at the University of Wisconsin Platteville, most of my friends wanted to start with knives. There's nothing wrong with that, as knivemaking requires many skills; hammer control, design, hardening and tempering, etc.

However.... My first goal was tongs. It didn't make sense to me to start out with something that wouldn't physically help with blacksmithing down the road. Just my $0.02

but if you already have a candle as a counterweight, what purpose does the rush serve?

So what is the tong-like fixture on the lamp for?

One word of advise that I received was to wait until the steel "Looked like butter melted in the sun"

Practice is the absolute most important thing for learning how to weld. Keep a journal about your experiences, observing carefully. If you change how you do something, only change one thing at a time, and write down in your journal if it worked or if it didn't.

Also, what weld are you attempting? A faggot weld or chain link will be easier than joining two separate pieces of iron!

Borax isn't necessarily bad, it is just the least aggressive flux. Quite a few smiths, myself included, use hydrous borax (20 Mule Team) with success. Others make or buy anhydrous borax, silica sand, or a multitude of different alchemic formulas.

Look up the "drop the tongs" method of forging, and even if you can't get the hang of it, there are other ways to look at the job. For instance, if you rivet the two pieces together, you'll be sure that they stay aligned when you weld, or you might not even need to weld.

When I'm making tomahawks, I'll rivet the blade together so I don't split the weld when drifting open the eye.

What is the temperature range for oxide colors on copper?

Yep.

Were the nipple rings necessary? That's an excellent job, though. Looks very good.

Well, as soon as you have your forge built, I would be glad to make the trip with some of my tools, a couple five-gallon buckets of coal, and my experience! Come on Stephen, get crackin'! (For the uninformed, I've known Mailledemon for over four years....)

As blacksmiths, hammers play a crucial role in our hobby/trade/occupation.

As such, do you treat your hammers in any special way, like naming them or decorating the handles?

I do!

My big (big for me ) eight pound is named Tourneach, Irish gaelic for "Thunderer"

My long-hafted 3# is Magni (Mighty), named after Thor's son (who inherits Mjolnir)

My short-hafted 3# is Volun, short for Volundrung, a warhammer in a game I play.

I also burn celtic knots into the handles, nothing too elaborate, but something to do between forgings.