joelon

Hey Rantalin, It is my experience that mild steel is not good for any type of blade, unless its just a showpiece....and even then I think that the worth of any piece has alot to do with the functionality of it. That bar would probably be better used as a plant-hanger, or a neat coat rack or whatever. I would bet a tank of propane that your bar will bend pretty badly as a blade, you can make it look pretty but I'd say thats about it. Of course, this is all my guess-work and opinion so you can do whatever. But my two-bits worth is to make a nice coat-rack for your girl. :P

Hey thanks guys, it worked beautifully. I had to experement some first though. I tried a couple different ways and then kind of came up with my own version. I took a 1-pound bag of rock salt and put it in a 5-gallon bucket of hot water, made it disolve and then hooked the pike head and the water up to a car battery. I cut the pattern out in duck-tape cause the scotch-tape didn't hold up under water with all that bubbling, and then just did one side at a time so I could monitor it better. I was sort of experimenting so I don't know if using either copper wire or a car battery was very smart, -so unless you know better then me don't try it (my disclaimer :oops: )..... it worked for me though! I will try to get a picture of it on here since its all done.

Hey everybody, I'm looking for an easy and quick formula that will let me etch a specific pattern on a pike-head I'm making. I'ts not for me, so if you guys could help me out I'd be eternally gratefull! Thanks!

Hi everypeoples! I am new to blacksmithing and often don't have time to work at the forge, but I want to start off right before I form bad habits. Can anyone here give me some tips on hammer basics and technique type stuff? That would be real helpfull! Thanks!

Hi all! I had a guy ask me the other day about me making him a damascus knife. I can't forge weld yet but was wondering if you can cheat and use the welding machine this guy has. Maybe my asking this just shows how little I know! :shock: And question number 2 is, what is correct hammer technique!? Thanks for the help!!

Hey Ben! yah, im new to this too...welcome to the club! i have a pretty nice anvil i got for free...its a length of railroad rail, seriously it actually works nice and you can find one at a RR HQ type place or just find a piece somewhere along the tracks (make sure its abandoned ) but really any ol' hunk of steel pretty much works. i made my forge out of a old propane tank, cut the ends off and put some gas burners in through the top and there ya go! Forging Ahead

Hey all, i have tons of RR spikes (i live near an abandoned Alaska Railroad track) and was wondering if anyone out there had any ideas on their uses. I"ve already made knives, a spoon, and a little tool I invented for these little copper bells I make, (it prolly has a name but i dont know it). :? Any ideas, even the half-formed ones would be sweet! (I am dieing for blacksmith type information here, i wish there was an online course or something!)

Hey rantalin, what kind of material did you use for that hanger (looks good by the way). I have made alot of brid-feeder/plant-hangers and I used garage-door spring. Maybe I should post a picture of that... Forging Ahead...

That would be great to actually meet someone who does this! ...so yah you are welcome to come to my "shop", -though it barely qualifys as that, :oops: mostly its just my forge,a hammer, a hunk of railroad rail for an anvil and a small gathering of goats, (it's in our barn). :? By the way, I just made another railroad knife , only its straight and double-edged. It turned out better because I think it had some carbon in it and after quenching it in water it hardened up pretty nicely :)

Hey thanks for the advice! yah...I'm totally self trained so far and its REALLY NICE to hear from people who actually know what the deal is! I did sharpen it some but I think it is too soft to get it real-real sharp. I've never heard of case-hardening before though... :?

Hey all! I'm new to both this site and to blacksmithing, but i wanted to show some of my stuff for maybe some feed-back. This is a knife I made from a railroad spike....I thought it turned out alright but I was not sure how to harden it. Some one told me to try oil, so I got some used moter oil and queched it yellow hot, but it didnt seem to do much. (I eventually just work hardened it to death!) Anyway, any suggestions would be great... edit photo link fixed