Ed Steinkirchner

this, like most of my projects, has been mocking from under the junk on my workbench for a while. a small seax made from part of a T track from the carriage of an ols sawmill. very hard stuff! just to cut the top part of the T off took an hour to do 2 feet. i kept it pretty hard tempered, yellow/ bronze temper, but since it isn't too long that shouldn't be a problem. pretty rough all over for now, but i should be able to work on it over thanksgiving break week. the materials for the grip are antler, brass, and mahogany Ed Steinkirchner

swing arm is a little less accurate and swings in an arc so tall tools will get hit with the edge, but they are much easier to build. the inline ones are very nice to use because i think they give more control, but are much harder to make than the slapper type. the best in line treadle in my opinion is made by Richard Sheppard and is called the "big lick" treadle hammer. i took a class at touchstone and even though it was just one other kid and myself he still came to do the class. these hammers even had a stop that keeps the hand from getting smashed, which i would definately put on any i built. i learned a lot from that class and he is a very easygoing fellow. i would definately take another class with him. also the in line version has a smaller footprint. good luck with the build Ed Steinkirchner

i dont use a pickling solution when working only when soldering or just to see what it looks like st the time. i use diluted muriatic acid for my pickling solution. don't use steel in the same solution or it will mess with the solution and you will get wierd colors on your metal. this is more drastic with silver alloys than copper though. i use the pickle before final polishing or planishing. also don't leave zinc or any zinc alloys in muriatic acid as i believe they give off hydrogen gas,but i dont know if i remember right. hope something in here was helpful Ed Steinkirchner

i dont believe there are any reasons that it should be harmful if they are in alloy with the steel, what i am sure of is that any chrome plating on the tool HAS to be removed before heating it in your forge. chrome is a heavy metal and as such is very dangerous in vapor. though i am not sure how to remove it but i think you should take a peice once you de-chrome it, and test the heat-treat Ed Steinkirchner

i dont believe lead work hardens appreciably, ive hammered blocks into flat plates to test chisels and fullers on. and when i was younger i found a few old wheel weights and smashed them flat with a claw hammer on a big rock. didnt know they were lead back then but i too looked into making lead came about a year ago and realised it would be easier to make them in about 20 inch sections because i could cast them that way and could weld them together end to end with soldering iron for longer pieces. but for the "C" shaped came an open faced mold would work, as long as it is level. dont know about rolling it though Ed Steinkirchner

that is the key with demos, keeping interest. one of us could watch the entire forging of a hammer, or pair of tongs, or other longer projects to demonstrate, but the general public want to see some thing finished before their eyes. i volenteer at three events a year and i really enjoy it. atleast once at each of these events you have a kid or 2 stand and watch for a long time, then if you make them something and they see you make it it is all the better when you hand it to them. you just know you left an impression on them. that makes up for all of the "Do Ya Shoo Horses?" type questions. Edward Steinkirchner

was the hardening carried into the tang? because if you draw the temper from the tang you should be able to drill the holes. also you should only heat the blade to critical when hardening because if you get it hotter and let it cool to hardening temp grain growth will weaken the blade. but like i said before very nice work, keep it up! Ed Steinkirchner

this is an old carpenter's hatchet i found under a stack of junk outside. with minimal forging and grinding ive got a new bearded axe! it is very sharp and i use it constantly. i debated whether or not to cut off the hammer end, and just figuted it would make it more balanced to keep it. the handle is from an old axe handle from an "heirloom" wood splitting axe that i kind of broke the handle on. the color is from being in a smokehouse for decades, actually i was splitting wood for said smokehouse when the head came off. the end was so messed up that it couldnt be refitted so i threw it in the corner. it was the perfect size for this hatchet. the decoration at each end was to get rid of a chip at the butt, and to hide the fitting cuts at the top. Ed Steinkirchner

yes, very good for a first! but, why no pins or rivets?. the epoxy will probably never come undone but there is always a chance. i like epoxy but if my joints aren't perfect odd color lines result.that is why i made my first knife without any glues just to test the strength of the blade without it. but back to yours. was this your first knife ever? because it has a good shape, which many peoples first do not. also do you intend to put a finish on the grip? how did you heat treat it, and what are the demensions? lots of questions but i just gotta know Ed Steinkirchner

pretty simple. first draw the material for the spikes, for instance if they finish 1/4 and you want 4 than draw the end to a little over 1 inch by however long they need to be. then flare and shape the socket. split the tines, point them, and bend toabout the right position. roll the socket, split the barbs, and finish tweaking the placement of the tines. look in the axes, spears, etc. section of the forum if you don't know how to do a socket, i made a tutorial about it a while back. hope that all helps. Ed Steinkirchner

that cleaver is very nice. are there any makers marks on it? and it is pretty big, but it is tiny compared to one my father has from an old slaughter house. before bandsaws they split the carcass by driving a massive cleaver through it with a sledgehammer! you can tell if you ever find one because not only is ie over 2 feet from end to end, but they are soo swaybacked from sledging that they are U shaped! hope it finishes nice for you Ed Steinkirchner

dont knoe how to describe it so ill tell how to make it. core apples, mash em up, add some sugar and cinnamon(if you want it), boil the concoction till it turns color. it is like thick, spiced applesauce. we have 4 apple trees and got so many apples we dont know what to do with them all! btw, im sure they have it on your side of the pond, its probably called something different though. Ed Steinkirchner

i consider myself lucky that i had metal shop in junior high, the three years i tookit were the last years it was offered. the teacher was told that he could get any new tech machinery he needed but he refused. seems that hethought we learned more from retaking the same notes as the year before and making sugar scoops than from anything else. he tought shop for years and was being a bit stubborn, and though i under stand it, it could have ended differently. i learned to drawfile in that class as well as most of the safety procedures. luckily before they got rid of everything a few of the old text books from the 1960s walked into a few of the students' "private libraries" i for one wasn't involved cant wait to see the finished spear, good work so far Ed Steinkirchner

who doesn't love apple butter? NO ONE! but seriously, i wouldn't worry about copper leaching unless you leav the spoons in the food during storage. i would love to get one of those copper kettles, because we have a lot of apples this year and we aren't sure if the root cellar is finished enough to keep them in. we have a large cast iron kettle but you can't make apple butter in them or they crack. looks like were making cider and wine this year! Ed Steinkirchner

never thought about forging hex, thats why i keep reading. as for those curly things, they are called creepers, because they keep rails from creeping along their distance and they are simple steel if i remember right. in any case they are good carbon steel and are usualy free from stress cracks because they are not ever flexed just knocked on and left. i have dozens of them because the rail boss of our line is a friend of my father and they just replaced the whole line by our store because coal is picking up and they move it all. they make them in a whole lot of shapes, i can think of six or so. the three they use on our line are 1/2 x 1 1/2, 1/2 x 1, and ones that are T shaped. the T shaped ones are super hard. they all make great tools in my opinon. kind of rambling but had to mention it. Ed Steinkirchner

the dies he is referring to are the different working faces of the hammer and anvil, like the flat face and the rounded peen of the hammer. also has anyone else noticed that you can actually re-heat a nail rod from dull-red to yellow by hammering quickly between quarter turns? because if that isn't normal i think my hammer is magic Ed Steinkirchner

does your header have any crown or is it a flat, wide piece of steel? i had problems with nails heading off center and when i made my header crowned it made a big difference. as for having too much or too little metal for the head, that is all experience. By the way, if you think nails are hard, try making 1/2 inch carriage bolts. good luck with your nails Ed Steinkirchner

what is the heat treat sam? is it going to be traditional (heat edge to critical and pour water on it), or hardened and tempered like normal knives? Ed Steinkirchner

ive used a lot of green wood for handles and if it is something like a hammer leave the taper for the head an inch longer green than dry, and as it gets loose knock the head on further, drive in the wedges deeper with a punch, and cut off some of the wood that sticks out. seasoned wood is much nicer to use but if you need it now you can use it. when i started out i made a gouge chisel and used birch wood for the handle, ive had it for almost 5 years now and i have tried to remove it by clamping it in the vice and pulling on the handle, no movement. definately split it green, because it gets harder than chinese algebra when dry! also take the bark off because if the base of the tree is rotten it probably has termites in it too. also be careful putting it in the trusses of a barn, cause usually seasoned wood gets powder-post bugs in it. our barn is full of tiny piles of dust from them eating the old, seasoned-wood beams. good luck Ed Steinkirchner

i too like the flop and dolly method. flop it of the truck, wrestle it onto a dolly, and to the stump we go! you just need another person to help lift it on to the log. with 2 people it is "only" 150lbs each. what was bad about my anvil is that is is a vulcan arm and hammer, so the heel slopes at like 45degrees and is as hard to grab as the horn! on a different note, still on heavy lifting though, my grandfather bought a caboose (yes a real caboose) for a dollar after it was retired from use. once they had it put on its spot(rail, ties, and everything), it sat ther for decades, we would like to move it since it is now my fathers' and we live up the road a mile or so. but how much rail do we need? 30 feet. and how much does main line rail weigh? about 3 pounds PER INCH! long story short my dad found out he had high blood pressure because we thought we could lift an end. we know now just how crazy that thought was! my dad asked me when i was starting out in smithing "you had to pick the hobby that has the heaviest tools! you couldn't have done crocheting or painting or something like that?" Ed Steinkirchner

but don't all anvils catch fir when forging a sword? my whole life is a lie! first time i saw conan the barbarian i was 12 and found it on the movie shelf. entertaining if not accurate. :lol:

well this is why i come to this site! i love to see things that are beyond my current ability, and in some cases my imagination. the only sword ive worked on is still leaning in the corner of my shop waiting for me to build a long forge and Quench tank. fullers really suck to clean up, especially narrow ones. heat treat is such an issue on long blades that i am in no rush to get there. but i digress, the pattern on your blade is the most symmetrycal ive ever seen! i would almost bet you put a mirror on the centerline simply incredible work Ed Steinkirchner

if possable a pic would be nice, because i have rebuilt one and i have used oils pretty much exclusively. i dripped motor oil in the holes only because it stayed outside and 3 in 1 oil washed off in the rain too easily, but inside 3 in 1 would work i think. hope it helps Ed Steinkirchner

this dagger is nearly finished now that the handle is carved. i changed the guard because, by taking off the bluing, i think it ties everything together better. a will also replace the brass pin with a copper one. i would have made the handle mahogany lke the scabbard but i didn't have a piece the right size. all that needs done to finish it is to polish and permantly attach the copper parts, rivet on the handle, polish the blade, and make the leather belt loops. the dimensions scabbard is 8 inches (20.3cm) long blade, guard to tip is 7 5/8 inches (19.4cm) oal tip to butt is 12 1/4 inches (31.1cm) blade width at the widest point 1 5/8 (4.3cm) hope to finish soon Ed Steinkirchner

very nice indeed! i was down there the last week of june in their teen program, they ask the art teachers for good art students and i got to go. good thing too, because it was my senior year! the class was with richard sheppard. he came down just for two of us! it is a very nice place down there, and it is less than 2 hours from my house. by the way, did they make any headway on the dining hall, or are they still having meals in the lodge? again very nice work, the hammer especially Ed Steinkirchner