Ed Steinkirchner

figured id make a post to show my swageblock that a friend of mine at the nearby foundry cast for me in trade for a big forged spatula. i made the pattern from pine, shaped with gouges, drills, and saws then sanded and varnished before i gave it to him to pour. you can see it has no through holes, that's because that would have required making special cores and he said to just keep it solid so i filled the sides with various depressions. it has deep and shallow bowls, a spoon bowl, rounds from 3/4 - 2", V's from 1/2'' - 1 1/2", a shallow swail on one end (which i find i use rather often), a shovel form on the face that has a cut in the end opposite the swail with a bevel the same as the shovel sides, the face has a 3/4 hole 3/4" deep and 1" hole 1" deep (for upsetting bars into), and finally, some rivet head divets so i can use the block as a backer for heading rivets. if i were to do it again, id have switched the order of the half rounds so that the small ones ended on the opposite side, and didn't leave that narrow ear, I'm afraid it may break off in the future i would have simply had another cast with a whole different set of things on it, but unfortunately the foundry was shut down about two months after this was made the weight is about 80# and if I remember correctly, its dimensions are 20"x4"x8"

oh wow, I cant believe I never answered these questions! Sorry guys. though its a bit late now, maybe it'll help someone down the road. The sockets are forged to a fan shape, just under 1" at the narrowest, and about 3" at the widest, then rolled in a swage starting from the small end, then finished on the anvil face. They arent welded, and i dont use a bickern to shape them either. All made from leafspring, and triple normalised and then hardened, let down to about a bronze, so pretty hard still. the 3 inch one isnt chipped, that is galling from my file being loaded and gouging out big gnarly scratches. sorry for taking over a year to look at this again, just forgot I guess...

no, didn't burn any scrolls, and the mark on the chest is my touchmark, hard to tell because the lighting is so terrible. I am pretty sure they don't make ancient hebrew letter stamps any way. :blink: I actually ended up giving it away to a friend of mine in trade for some kaowool and other gas forge supplies.

recently I was forging some branching scrolls and while they were heating i picked up a piece of scrap off the shop floor, 3/8" x 1 1/4" x about 3", and made this between the scroll's heats. stands about 7 inches or better tall and has no base, but can hold a 3 pound hammer head without falling over! Ed Steinkirchner

my first rose, i figured i'd use copper, pretty much because i like copper. upsetting the ''hip'' was the hardest part, and I decided not to do leaves. I am very happy with how it turned out. Ed Steinkirchner

havent posted anything for a while so here i go. this is a set of four ice-carving chisels i forged for a coworker at the resort i was working at last december. the sizes are, for the flat blades, 1'', 2'',and 3'' or slightly more, and the v chisel is 1.5'' on each side of the V. forged from leaf spring. just shorter, but the angle is slightly more blunt because ice is pretty soft.

great blade, and I especially like the home-made micarta

when forging the socket, forge a small tab on the open end and drill a small hole before rolling the socket. once you jamb it onto the shaft, tack it fast and it will not come off in use but is easy to remove if need be. i have done it on spear sockets and small javelin-like heads so it should work on a crossbow bolt.

if you are going to make multiple matching chisels, you should make a tin pattern, that way you can check it hot without burning it away. I have never used a mandrel when forging a socket, it is easier to use a bottom swage or similar to roll the socket. I did a tutorial on a spear socket but it can be used for a chisel socket. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/16457-spear-socket-how-to/page__hl__%2Bsocket+%2Btutorial__fromsearch__1 hope it helps

i like socketed chisels because they don't snap off as easily, and as mentioned before, they don't split a handle in use. But they are, in my opinion, somewhat more difficult to forge. I prefer tanged for any chisels that are pushed or any that will not be struck terribly hard, but for any heavy chisels I make sockets and use a ferrule on the struck end so there is no way to split the handle. that is just a personal preference though, as i've seen tanged ones that work just as well as socketed ones.

my method has always been to use the cross peen all one way, then turn 90 degrees and repeat for square, or then turn 45 then 90 to that for a circle. Does that make sense? Anyway, a hammer with a cross or angle peen with a 1/2 or 5/8" diameter on the peen, is what has worked for me. What are you planning to make with the sheet?

depends what kind of hoe you want to make, one piece, riveted blade, welded blade, as well as if it is a small, one-handed one, or a bigger one. Ive made 1 each way. I like the 1-peice ones forged from a piece of leaf spring. it all depends on what steel you have, what you want to make, and your level of skill.

In my experience cast iron isn't brittle because it is hard, it is brittle because of the small pockets of carbon causing points at which a fracture can form. Cast iron will not hold an edge like carbon steel. So essentially, using WI and CI would yield a blade that has brittle, yet soft, spots and a soft and tough base. Unless the carbon migrates enough to make them both into High carbon steel by taking some of the C in cast iron and giving it to the wrought iron, the blade will have 2 soft bases, 1 of which is brittle, and no edge holding. If you do try this you run the risk of not only burning your shop down, but splashing molten cast iron on yourself. I only say this because the high welding temp of WI will be above the melting point of the CI and when hit, SPLATTER! I'm not saying don't try, I'm saying be Incredibly careful. Good luck Ed Steinkirchner

Thanks Glenn. Never really thought of looking in the BP's to find out how to make a BP. I'll do it real soon now. Ed Steinkirchner

All widths on these can be considered approximate. Though, I do try to keep the smaller size ones pretty exact(+or- 1/32), because 1/16" over or under is alot when the graduations are in 1/8" intervals. But a difference of 1/8' or even 3/16" doesn't matter much to me on a 2" chisel. For astheatic's sake, I keep the handles and sockets as close to the same as possible.

I have all of the pictures and whatnot, but how does one do a blueprint? Here is the finished product, unhandled and unheat-treated. and a smaller pic Ed Steinkirchner

I have a sketch for just such an occasion. I know my handwriting is atrocious, but I hope it helps Ed Steinkirchner

the dimensions are: the length of the brass- 3 1/4" the brass width- 11/16" OAL length closed- 4 1/8" OAL length open- 6" blade- 3" point to pivot cutting edge- 2 1/8" blade at widest point- 3/4" blade thickness- 1/16" OAL thickness 1/8" the "tang" is 13/16" inside and about 1 1/4" on the spine side the pin is 3/16

This is the new folder i made last week. patterned after the japanese higonomaki but with some extra work. The case is brass sheet chased with a pattern (that i freehanded), chiseled in using butcher chisels, a small flatter, a small X stamp, and a pointed nail for the stippling. The blad is a scrap of sawblade off the bench, and the copper pin is telegraph wire. any opinions or suggestions welcome. Ed Steinkirchner

Finally the knife itself is (relatively) finished. The blade will be blackened after I get the scabbard made/ fit, so it wont get ruined during the process. Other than that, the brass needs the final polish put on when i get back to the shop. But besides those 2 things, i is done. I'm really happy how the carving turned out on this one. Both sides are mirror images of each other, so no asymetry for a change. Also, this happens to be the first handle ive carved. Everything else was a scabbard I think. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the scabbard. Thanks for the compliments, as well as the help! Ed Steinkirchner

well, the list of stuff to make on my list just keeps getting longer. One thing i've done is testing in lead when no clay is on hand, clay is easier but there is a good bit of lead in the shop and no clay. Real nice work as usual Sam Ed Steinkirchner

That looks like the process i need then. Looking at the link, I saw a tomahawk with brass inlay and that seems to be the technique to work with. One way or another, I'll make something work, but I think the peroxide and salt method is what i'll go with. Thanks for all the help so far everyone, though I won't be able to try anything until the weekend or later. Classes and all that really get in the way some times but, oh well. I will post pics of the results eventually. Ed Steinkirchner

How is the hydrogen peroxide and salt used? The only method using peroxide i know of involves immersing iron in heated peroxide and salt, cleaning off the rust, and repeating. I've never done it, but will probably try it anyway. Tarnishing/ damaging silver wont be an issue, because I cant afford it! But ive already got a list of a few things to try when I can get to the shop. Thanks for the help so far. Ed Steinkirchner

With rasps and files, and anything made from them with the teeth still on, heat treat is the biggest hurdle because the teeth like to start cracks. So you've got the hardest part done. can't wait to see it with the scales on. If you don't like you can send it to me Ed Steinkirchner

my floor is shale over plastic sheet as well, but the walls have old corrugated roofing tin, with the ridges horizontal, on them. Fire proof, and with some primer and white paint, almost makes the shop bright! Anyway, i would think that standard mild steel sheet would be appropriate on a wooden floor, as long as no oil gets spilled on it! I am not a fan of clay, because if it gets wet it sticks to boots enough to stick ya in place at the anvil. Just my opinion on the matter. Ed Steinkirchner