Gift Horse

Thanks for the responses guys. I've got plenty of poking around to do.

Lots of opinions on hardening mild steel: Here is my best shot at it; get to forging and work on mild steel for a while and do not try and jump ahead alot in the process. So many tings to lear before you jump past the basics. For those trying to push you ahead let them know you will tend to there need in a couple of years. That is if you can find a lot of hours in each week to do the basics. As for recipes and items that may or may not help you later on le me suggest that you write all of them down and keep track of them. Later on make up a batch of wotever appeals to you at that time and try it. Wot we say about your formula now will be lost later on and tucked away in this log may not be reachable readily. But when you do a shop project and record the goods and bads it will stick with you a long time. Lots for you to do for a long time...Maybe forever if you enjoy it and have the patience.
This site has many small projects to get you working and building skills no matter wot you level of expertise is.

Getting started here... don't even have a forge set up, but I bide my time between pay day and free day trying to understand basic principles. Of course the first family member I mentioned my interest to requested a spike knife(a little ahead of my desired first projects of nipper tongs, nails, and bracing for a work bench). Well, I'm a proponent of make it useful, make it right and then make it pretty, and I think I understand that it simply isn't tool/ good edge grade steel coming from a spike. So I'd like to find the best and most readily available method... Optimum results ya know. (I think I saw the best option on the site as... forging a spike out of the right steel and going from there.)

Well back on topic now... I spoke with a guy who sent me a kitchen based recipe for hardening mild steel. And I would really like any input on it seeing as it's still going to be a little while before I can just give it a go. Curious particularly about why it does/doesn't work, an explanation of the carbon issue, and what grades of steel it would and would not work for if at all. the recipe is:

5 gallons of water
24 ounces of Dawn dish soap
5 lbs of table salt
8 oz Jet Dry or other rinsing aid

(I think I could divide that down a bit)

Can the potentially worst recipe for kool-aid in history make for easy, cheap and highly effective hardening quench of mild steel?

Please feel free to correct anywhere I'm off track.

Thanks everyone. Glad to be here.

And I live in Asheville NC Billie

Hello All,

I had been toying with the idea of learning more about the trade for a while. I was really excited to walk into an ad for a local free introduction to blacksmithing in my area a while ago, and when I thought that I had missed it due to work scheduling I realized that I was done 'toying' with the idea. Well it turns out that I hadn't missed it by a month. Well... now I just can't wait that long. So I've taken the initial steps, I'm doing my research, looking for an anvil, trying to learn more day by day and just loving it. I found IFI just a couple of days ago and I really have to commend the site and the community here on the site. I've spoken with a smith in the area who was very kind and encouraging, and to paraphrase his comic closing statement- I can't wait to just 'heat it and hit it' I'm looking forward to learning what I can- making things I need, things I can use, things other people need or can use, and even those things no one needs or uses. I'll be sure to post in the proper places but right off the bat I'm looking for recommended texts on metalurgy.

Glad to be here all.