John4890

Thanks for the replies everybody. I definitely have some experimenting to do!

When I make a knife I usually just hammer the metal until I get the shape I want and then put an edge on with a grinder. I have two problems with my knives. They are not that sharp and there are pock marks all along the blade. A few days ago I had a thought. I thought that maybe I could just flatten the metal and get a rough shape and then use my grinder to really take some metal away and give it a nice finish with some emery cloth. For the longest time I was against grinding for reasons that now seem silly to me. So, my real question is how much do you depend on grinding to get a professional quality knife like this? http://www.google.com/imgres?q=railroad+spike+knife&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbnid=7_NXIhteEeuzZM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/798124-Two-Forged-Twisted-Railroad-Spike-Knives-SOLD!&docid=4vV-sFE8oyRvXM&imgurl=http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu161/PrometheanBlade/Spike%252520Knives/Spike%252520number%2525201/IMG_5598.jpg&w=640&h=480&ei=uBlET9LRIuTv0gHLvajdBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=875&vpy=150&dur=12&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=75&ty=106&sig=103323268583190958241&page=4&tbnh=149&tbnw=210&start=58&ndsp=20&ved=0CM0CEK0DMD0 I also figure that since a grinding wheel is circular my knife would be fairly thin which would mean a better edge. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

All of the metal I forge is some sort of railroad piece, but mostly spikes. On the head of the spikes I can usually make out an 'HC' which I assume stands for high carbon. I never thought of putting a tarp over the work area, but that's a great idea. Would forging in the shade under trees work? I would say the branches are high enough. The color I get ranges from bright orange to bright yellow. So, it must be hotter than I think it is if that is the color in sunlight... And my anvil is not high at all. It is mounted on a block of wood and I have to kneel when I hammer. So, I will definitely change that. I have been trying to get away from the vise grips because it's not traditional and the teeth sometimes leave marks in the piece that I have to grind away. I have looked into blacksmithing groups, but they all cost money which I don't have. I'll keep looking for one in my price range, or I could attend some demos and ask as many questions as I can.

Hey everybody my name is John and this is my first post to this site and I am curious as to how everything works. I have two problems that happen every time I start a new project. First of all, I've been forging for about three years, but mainly in the spring and summer so more like one and a half years. I am only 20, so I still live at home and I can't build a workshop or anything like that, so I just forge in the sunlight out of a small brake drum forge. The first problem I have has actually only affected the last few projects I've worked on. I'm not doing anything different, so I don't know what the problem is. The last three projects end up cracking and I'm afraid that if I continue hammering the piece will break. (First picture) The second problem I have which isn't a huge deal is that my projects end up twisting. I can fix this, so it's probably just the way I hold the piece while I'm hammering. (Second picture) Any advice for this problem would be appreciated. And just some more info that might help you all: I use bituminous coal, I hold the piece I'm working on with vise grips because I find it easier, my anvil is the one from harbor freight (so not a very good one). I don't know if that will help, but I figured I would just put it in. Thanks everyone in advance!