nonjic

just using household borax at the moment... the latest one really diddnt want to weld (kept bursting when forging against the inital welds) so maybee a more agressive flux needed in the future. I got it to stick in the end by getting it real hot and squashing it real hard It had no option but to weld. (it stuck to the dies better than itself...) Im hanging fire on finishing them a) coz ive not got a proper grinder yet - im using a 5 hp 60 grit linisher, and an angle grinder, and forging is more fun. Ive got a real innovative knife grinder design on the drawing board ill be making in the new year, ill post it when its done ( errrm assuming it works !)

Over the last couple of months Ive been having a go at 'forging' , more specifically pattern welding, this is my 6th attempt and im enjoying my snatched hour or two at the forge. its very low layer (60ish) but i welded it lengthways aswell . its bandsaw and pallet strap. this is all ive made so far, except my first one which ive lost.... :mad: (the top one is my knife from the cubs for comparison purposes....) happy forging in 2008 everyone!

you can barely afford the mortgage but still leave work smileing :)

there might be a market there, but if you prove it the eastern competition would have a very similar machine for a 3rd of the price available before you could blink. A 88lb chinese is only $6500 ish USD, and would out work a mechanical hammer of similar capacity x2. (I sell the chinese ones in the UK) - the only reason to own the designs for a "historic" hammer manufacturer is if they have a good loyal following in your domestic thriving industry (such as aerospace forging) then you might have half a chance of getting a decent price supplying spare parts etc. I will sell the Blacker hammer (designs & rights to make types B & C, no patterns) for $ 10,000/ all in to the first to PM me on IFI. :)

Bigger bits of metal hold their heat for much much longer than small pieces. The higher thermal mass, and proportionally much lower surface area contribute to this. When you work metal HARD remember it gets hotter, not colder !

this thread on another forum shows my own 'journey' on the same problem, I got there in the end not so hot gas forge - British Blades :: Custom Knife Making Im sure the burner I built in this thread would be 90% as good without all the fancy machining. If you can get hold of Micheal Porters book on gas forges & burners it shows how to make the burner this one was based on, with off the shelf bits and no tools!

Mr Hofi, I am glad that you enjoyed the conference,. It was the contribution from people like yourself, willing to share knowledge that helped make it so special. I would like to see your photographs. I was so busy looking at all the activities I forgot take any! I will speak to you again early next year Mr Hofi, ( your key knocking out gift is giving me very good service, thankyou ! ) Everyone have a happy & peacefull Christmas & New year, Best Regards to all, John

venturi (naturally asperated) forges do not use more gas than blown forges. The operating PSI pressure is a meaningless figure without quoting the gas jet (orifice size). So a lower psi through a bigger hole could be using a whole lot more gas! As I understand it a 'neutral' burning flame, with complete combustion needs 27 (or 29?) times the volume of air to propane, blown or venturi this neutral burn 'figure' cant be changed. A blown forge will be easier to 'tune' than a venturi though. There is a guy who posts on 'Anvilfire' called Ken Schar..... cant quite remember his surname. He sells a very cheap, usefull looking gas forge on ebay (poor boy blacksmiths tools). It would be a good starting point. I think the 'Chilli' forges look a well made product. (ive never used either of the 2 above, but have read good things about them) hope this helps a bit.

Fred Dibnah, (god rest his soul) is as near as I will get to a god. The man is a legend, and a hero. Look him up folks. (and he had a forge in his, ,....... garden........ those who know him will know his 'garden' )

It was the largest blacksmithing event ever held in the UK ! a shameless plug for BABA Welcome to the British Artist Blacksmiths Association BABA produce the highest quality blacksmith magazine i have ever seen, you can get the magazine without paying full subs - look at the site! Apprenticeman - if you send me your postal address to nonjicholson at hotmail.com ill put you the magazine that covers the Blists Hill conference in the post, on the basis that if you agree its a top quality blacksmith mag you tell the folks on here... (footnote - BABA is not for profit, etc , etc. there are just a few very hard working folks who make it happen in their spare time, not me, but I know them all and the effort they put in)

We had the BABA (British Artish Blacksmith Assn) AGM there in July this year. About 300 full time smiths from 30+ countries attended for 3 days, it was amazing. I met quite a few from your side of the pond there! We set that big shed up into 5 or 6 forging stations, and over 3 days Some of the best smiths in the world worked in 'Masterclasses' to make screens to go into the 'pillar of friendship' sculpture. I had the pleasure of meeting your very own mr Hofi there. I was a 'sponsor' of the event and lent them 3 Anyang forging hammers. The shed was then cleared and the big hammer and mill were run! The arch hammer is a 'Massey' that I have helped to do alot of work on, it is approx 3 or 4 ton capactity, the bottom die is so low as it is really a shingleing hammer. The hammer is only 'tickleing' the wrought chain links. you could straighten them on a 1/2 ton hammer easily ! - it looks good for the crowds though. Most of the bars go through the smaller diameter rollers on the mill, they often 'abort' and leave it bigger dia if it starts to split, or cool when they miss with the tongs a few times!

wow, form and function beautifully combined in that one. Sometimes big 'pointy' things look kinda ugly / vicious / but thats looks great! - if there was a rep system on this forum il'd dish it out for that! - great work.

it looks good, I wonder if you replaced the box section under the bottom tool with a piece of 2" sq solid (or diameter) bar it would act more like an anvil, and improve the efficiency?

ML, very generous but I think 'Santa' has got enough on this month without lugging scrap ! Ill use 'r.r.spike' research as an excuse for a nice holiday on your side of the pond in a year or so!!!!!

yup, your right , but the best knife for a beginner (as the original post asked )is a simple one that cuts things, hence my reply to the post. it was an overly simplistic question, to which I gave an honest, albeit overly simplistic answer. (and I still use the 'shanks' at work all the time!) r.r. spikes are non existant on many continents. Ive worked retailing blacksmithing stuff, and industrial forging equipment for 16 years now in the UK and ive never seen a single one!

blubrick, I understand your not making excuses, and we learn from our mistakes, however, when it happens a second, third time etc you might need some of these 'excuses' (especially when theres people watching you work :)

imho, they are cheap, buy a new computer for $1000/ in 2 years its worth zilch. Buy a used flypress, in 2 years its worth what you paid for it - poss a bit more! (minus transport) - so assuming hauling it was say, worst case $365, and you keep it 2 years its $0.50 a day, but youll keep it longer than that, and transport will be less! (and remember, theres no pockets in a shroud)

Ed, Thank you, just getting into bladesmithing, and watched your first 2 DVD's last night (mosaic waiting untill the weekend) - , clear, concise and filled me with confidence. Squished a billet tonight with ' its smoking, thats a good sign' in my ears! ) Related to this thread (and Ed, you may wish to have a looksy over there, some talented bladesmiths and nice helpful people - a few yanks, JD smith, Mike Blue etc post over there) at britishblades.com there is a couple of 'KITH's running - (which seem to have gone international), a minature KITH 2" sub blade, and a 'newby' kith (dont have to forge it, but have to have a major input to the knife) - now nothing will make you raise your game than having someone else own it ! To any other newby bladesmiths - CHECK OUT Ed's DVD's. Im very glad I did.

let us know a bit about your skills background. If youve not done any forging or knifemaking in the past, and are just intersted in making somthing pointy and sharp have a go at 'stock removal' thats basically grinding a knife from a piece of steel, a cheap angle grinder ($10 walmart or wherever), a lump of steel and somekind of vice to hold the metal in and your away. Before I ever forged anything I made loads of knives at work by grinding old hacksaw blades sharp, and ducktaping a handle on them (only because i used to loose my stanley knife all the time!) give a bit more info any im sure folks will help point you in the right direction! - welcome to the site! :)

I promised paul (?) from the blacksmiths asscon. of Vic the manual to fix the Massey 1 cwt slides in the 'barn' - ill get onto it tomorrow! - I enjoy receiving my copy of the 'Drift' every now and then here in the UK . (its getting quite international this smithing lark!) Learning from those that do is so much quicker than working it out yourself (and your list of excuses for burning the steel will get longer & better with experience :)

if im thinking about the same thing as you ..... you wont get the 'return of energy' that you get from a fly press, its essentially a vertical rack and pinion, ive got one gathering dust somewhere, and thats all it does (except broaching the occasional keyway) On a flypress you can 'bump' which allows you to draw-out / strike multiple blows without to much (excessive) input on the handle, they give you a little bit of your input back for 'free' on the ram return 'up' stroke.

Rains, Ive spent a fair bit of time playing with venturi burners, and eventually came up with this one, however, its all custom made, and the effort doing it was not really worthwhile. its smoking hot, but my forge seems to have been running a bit cooler last couple of times ive welded in it. My personal conclusion (your mileage will vary) is that they are a bit fussy compared to blown burners. (especially on the effort : reward bargain!) if you look in the photo gallery at forgemagic.com ( under jymm hoffmans pics ) he has a very good, simple, no nonsese looking design for a blown burner. I think ones next on my list of to do's. If the noise of the blower bugs you theres no rule that says it has to be in the same building as you! As I understand the vertical forges don't get hotter, the principle is they don't have a floor that ends up eaten by flux, or a pool of borax mush like mine. I don't think the rex / other burners you can buy are that expensive really, I just couldn't wait for one to arrive from the states so made one myself. If you weigh up how much gas you might save from a properly balanced burner it might be worthwhile splashing the cash?? regarding the 'validity' of the post, and finding information; - I think its a very valid question to ask, as has been mentioned when you get 50,000+ hits it can often be difficult to assimilate the information to a point you can use - some 'hands on pointers' from personal experience can be very useful indeed.

Robert, you could always come over to the dark side & use a power hammer or press?? (or learn to forge left handed.... If I finish it Ill post some proper photos (not taken on my phone!) , ive not ground it proper yet as im waiting on a couple of dvd's on techneque to arrive - Ive busied myself tooling up a press for 'mascus work today (15 t fast acting hydraulic), with a tool carousel - then ive got a 'KMG' to copy for my next project. im getting a bad addiction! I understand its bad form to mention other forums, in a forum, but cant see the harm... if youve not checked it out already have a looksy at britishblades.com some very talented & friendly folks there, and some amazing knives and damascus being made! (its quite international, but based in the uk, if that makes sense!)

Robert, Very Nice clean looking damascus. This is my second attempt, the 1st had a delamination. Its a 10" o/a bowie 01 & mild. ( 7 layers, 2 folds, gentle twist, and another fold for good measure) Im really looking forward to getting some 15n20 - the contrast is amazing in the blade, the one posted above has only had 1/2 hour in vinegar (its only very rough ground and still awaiting H.T at the mo.) 'mascus seems to be a bit addictive though....

yes, buy 5 of them incase you wear them out. Do you not listen to the replies folks give you??? - I, for one, M.Brothers, will no longer read any of your threads, since it is apparent that you listen to no advice you are given, and are at best living in a dream world about your abilities, finances & skills, at worst you are trolling (posting for no reason other than to post, hence you which new anvil for under $2000/ buck thread etc etc etc) I am not trying to 'flame' here folks, and would ask for no comments / replies to this post, but please have a look at M.brothers post / threads started section and tell me if you think he is serious??? - it seams a shame that your valuable time is being taken up answering trivial / nonsensical & outright fanciful questions. I like this forum, and I know the depth of peoples knowledge that they are willing to share, and I possibly can offer some very valuable information back in time, but threads like this??? p l e a s e.