Willis

Glad your ok. Around here-N. Florida-all we have to watch out for are small whitetails, pigs and the occasional bear or alligator. I can only imagine what an elk would have done to our VW beetle.

Gene Chapman is one of my favorites. I do a lot of my knives in his 'Iron Age Primitive style.

I like the spear, but we dont do a lot of ice fishing here in Florida. Maybe I could forge one for sharks:)

Both my anvils point left and I like the near side, however I am a big fan of the Far Side cartoons. Does that count?

Take your audience into consideration. Where I live-coastal Florida-custom oyster knives, meat flippers for the summer cookouts and small camp axes for spliting kindling-just about everyone I know has a fire pit in their yard-are big sellers.

I really enjoy making strikers and with the added bonus of also being a knife yours are now a 'must make' for me.

I have one very similar and a friend told me they saw one just like it in the museum at Colonial Williamsburg. Yours is very old quite possible colonial era.

I've worn glasses since the third grade, only now I order special safety glasses with a side shield, and I'm never without them, and I still had to pick a steel spliner from a wire wheel out of my cheek last night.

I had to take a few days off. It seemed that for awhile everything I touched in the forge turned to sCRAP. Been concentrating on shooting bags and powder horns for the last two weeks. Every once in a while you just need to take a break.

I REALLY hate making tongs!

Really like the work. I enjoy the colonial period of iron work in America more than any other.

I am sooooo glad I live in Florida :)

Great job! It seems your perserverance has paid off.

Don Plummer; 'Colonial Ironwork the Sorber Colletion' Gene Chapman; For his many publications on 19th century ironwork Alex Bealer; 'The Art of Blacksmithing' Alexander Weygers;'The complete Modern Blacksmith' Madison Grant; 'The Knife in Homespun America' Jeff Mohr; Master smith and friend who allows folks into his forge every wendsday evening Neal Falkenbury; Whom I consider a master blacksmith and whitesmith and friend and who uses as little electricity in his work as possible. All those who left everything they had to go west into unknown territory to face unknown dangers between 1700 and 1850 .relying on nothing but their own skills and determination to build a nation. My wife Susan who before we were married loaned me the money to take a beginers blacksmith course at the John C. Campbell folkschool.

Around here, Wakulla and Leon counties Florida just about every smith keeps at least a gallon of super quench in their shop. I use it mainly for oyster knives and RR spike knives.

Welcome.Lots of good info here. I stopped using my Garrett 250 metal detector on my property cause the only the thing I've found so far is empty shell casings. I live in redneck country.

I always make a brown paper pattern for my sheath's and test fit the knife before I cut the leather. Saves a lot of wasted leather. I also keep every pattern I make in a notebook. After the leather dries I do any tooling to the sheath I want then I waterproof the sheath with a homemade repellent I make myself. A lot of commericial waterproofers work just fine I just prefer making my own.

Marshmellow and hot dog toasters with their initials on them.

XXXXXX I better start looking around my shop. I could be rich and not even know it.

I use a lot of dried, stabalized corn cobbs. I soak the cobbs in a 50-50 solution of acetone and polyurathane varnish for 24 hours then stab them onto a finishing nail in my shop wall. Takes 3-5 days for one to dry. You can cut them into scales or leave them round. Sand and stain them. I've even had a friend turn them on a mini lathe for ball-point pens. The cobb gives a non-slip grip, even after a light sanding. All my files have cobb grips. Besides providing a non-slip grip, they are great insulators for hot filing.

I hit flea markets and junk shops and look for old files, chisels, punches, and spring stock etc.. that I can rework into the tools I need. I personaly find it more benificial to start with something that is already basicaly shapped like the tool I want, and at prices from 30 cents to a dollar for a broken tool I can afford it.

As far as 'traditional' blacksmithing, it all depends on how far back your willing to go. Are we modern smiths being traditional if we only go back 100 years or must we go back further in time? Everything is relative. 200 years from now we will be considered the traditional smiths by our smithing brethern who will be alive at that time. Our power hammers, lathes, drill presses and gas forges may well be considered collectable antiques by them. But I bet that somewhere in a back yard there will be some guy with a hand held hammer, a small bag of coal and some kind of self made iron or steel forge still argueing this very point :)

Getting ready for Frontier Days in Wetumpka Ala. A week long 1750s-1814 era event so I made a couple of thin iron table spoons, a camp fire long fork and a fire iron set.

Its a very good looking knife, but I dont think its in the traditional tanto style. I'd personaly use it as a skinner.

The first thing my middle grandson made in my shop was a set of flat bladed screw drivers for his dad. He was 8 years old.