Maillemaker

What are those faint white lines on the blade in the first photo?

A hungry feeling came o'r me stealing.... I haven't smithed in two weeks and I've developed a nervous twitch.

So.... Bronze? Brass?

Has anyone bothered to measure just how much material is removed by the etching process? Obviously, the strength of acid, kind of acid, the time spent etching, and the desired severity of etch all have an effect, but if a smith wanted a very dramatic topographic etch, are we talking a thousandth of an inch? One ten-thousandth?

Another Stan Rogers fan, I see. Good on you.

Clean fire, clean steel. A flux of some kind, like borax or silica sand helps by forming a glassy layer over the steel that oxygen cannot penetrate. Your fire should be deep and free of clinker and slag.

I believe Peddinghaus anvils have the pritchel just outside the flat horn. If you drill it out, drill slow and use plenty of oil.

Hardy and pritchel holes, maybe?

In the colonies, there were laws against burning down your old buildings. Instead, you could have two "honest men" estimate the number of nails in a structure, and the government would compensate you for the agreed upon number, although the law was probably more about preventing wildfires.

My apologies: untrustworthy sources. Been weaving for nearly ten years with misinformation. Good to know now!

Some of the most distinctive pattern welded steel I've seen has had a beautiful topographic etch. How is an etch like this produced? Is it all in material selection,or a specific acid? Thanks in advance!

Well, realize that butted maille is appropriate for some eras. Riveted maille was expensive, and the butted stuff works just fine against slashes. Also, a quilted or padded garment was always worn under a hauberk to help cushion blows.

My favorite way of starting the forge is to take a big handful of wood shavings and cover them in coke from the previous fire. Lights quick, burns hot.

Interesting. I exclusively make butted maille, just because I don't want to spend 4x the amount of time for something that probably won't have to save my life.

Fehu is also the rune for wealth and prosperity.

How thick was the blade when you cut the groove for the bit?

Hammer the bevels in as much as you can. As Peter Ross says, "ten minutes at the forge will save you an hour with a file". After that, care patience and practice.

Tripp: Located on the left side of your keyboard between the tab and shift keys is the caps lock key. Please turn your caps lock off when posting on IFI. You've been asked once already.

Homeshow, do you have access to a public library? Usually they have internet available.

I've been away at school for a month and a half, and finally came home to heat some iron. Wasn't at it for more than a couple hours when this pretty thing popped out of the forge! Blade is 5160 left normalized, handles are elm with copper ferrules.

Why not learn how to smith yourself? You have the workshop, why not acquire the skills?

If she's really determined, she'll rent a hand-truck, or a guy with one. Perhaps there is another place in the house that she wouldn't mind as much.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1772044886 About ten minutes from the end is an excellent explanation/demonstration by Peter Ross as to how a thread swedge is used. http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/3200/3205.html At 20:11 Roy Underhill shows how a threadcutting plane is used to make wooden threads.

Volume. Kind of like mixing a drink.

I was wondering about the strength and overall appeal to threaded tangs and screw-on pommels. I own a few sword-shaped objects that are all threaded tang, and while it does make maintenance easy, this has to be a cheap, modern method. I've had one of my SSO's pommel become loose, and wouldn't align with the blade, which annoys me to no end. Isn't a through tang stronger and more stable? Why would a blade or swordsmith want to "cop out" and use a threaded tang, aside from relative ease of construction? Wayne Goddard describes silver brazing a threaded tang in The $50 Knife Shop, but it doesn't seem like a safe long-term construction choice to me.