basher

I have had a couple of ductile drifts and they both worked fine. they are drifts and not punches!

After my first forge in I went round all the hammers in my school and tempered the heads back as I had a couple of anvils trashed with hammer marks . since then I have made all the new "japanese "style blade smithing hammers that we use in a normalised state an have not noticed any problems with them . I have made a few extra hammers to sell and was wondering what your opinions were on weather to harden them or not. My own personal hammers are still hard and I notice no difference in the function when working hot metal . what do you think . All the best owen

some pieces I did last year....... Escargot snail in shell snail plucked from shell snail on plate snails tail..... hope you like them

thanks for all the comments. the axes are wrought iron and damascus .(15n20 and 20c). the river found axes are vert low layer billets and deeply etched. handles are wedged .

well look at it this way. at least those anvils have probably lasted better outside than they would have without the paint job.

here are two more axes, firstly a "viking" style axe .... and another river found axe , I have rusted this one...... hope you like them.

Thanks for all your imputs . ebay has been kind and I now have some more bits to play with .10 hp motor with attatched 3500 psi 4 gpm dowty pump ($100) in old but new condition . Im going to plumb this into a 4/1/2 inch piston which is rated to 5000 psi and try running it at just under 3000 psi which is the rating of my valving. Am I rite in thinking that I will need a seperate relief valve to protect the controle valve if it is only rated to 3000 psi and the pump can give 3500 (and would with 10hp). ?

wrought iron will work harden but not to the extent of modern steel . In order to get it to harden significantly it needs to be deformed to around 50% of its thickness ..... what you get is a material that is still around 20 rockwell which is a lot harder than un work hardned wrought ( which does not register on the rocwell C scale) but by modern standards soft. It is worth remembering that our modern standards of 58 rock well (give or take) are modern!! Iron will cut flesh and chop wood till it blunts (which will be quick)............... If you want a harder material chose a harder material. Historicaly blades were seldom made of wrought IRON as we know it but were of bloomery Iron/steel . its not the same thing as post puddled wrought iron.

If you are the Rowan I know then email me ........ This place could do with another Saxon for a bit. All the best owen

Whilst walking by the thames one fine morn I could not help but notice this grubby rusty lump protruding from the mud........................... Something lost in a river for 1000 years? Oh look what the thames spewed up ..... must be the london water !! Here is a small axe I have made inspired from the really badly over etched river finds I keep seeing in museum back rooms . Blade is wrought iron and 15n20 and high layer damascus at the edge ( which I had to polish out in the end Doh ! ) Bow tie construction . 4" edge 5 3.5 long and 1 1.4 in the socket . Handle is ash and 25 inches... A light axe with a long handle is a fearsome think to behold (and hold) not really a tool for wood!

I welded this up when one of my students was wanting to make a spear....... hollow ground blade and forge welded socket . blade 7 1/2 inches OA 151/2

and some more

if you cant easily pick it up then its a shop anvil. my portable anvil was a 1 1/2 hundred easily carried from anvil stand to van.

here are a couple of other variations around the same theme...... and a close up

I am glad you got a good anvil at a good price. I am fed up with only reading how expensive anvils are . well done.

Thats a fine looking bowl . there is a story in the mabinogion about a black bird who pecks his way through an anvil..... welcome to IFI

last try for 15n20 from uderholm was £5.50 per kilo and min order of 600K so thats me shafted . thats $3.91 per pound for steel I need. ( I use it as an element in all my blades)...they will not cut to size or even give a dimension , you get what they are rolling . the steel comes hardened so cant be cut in a saw... I would be interested in what you are paying for 15n20 as sweden via Uk is no longer viable . It could easily be the case that sweden via USA then to UK would be a better prospect , which is ridiculous!!

Read books, go to classes and forge ins . scour the internet involve yourself in forums practice , train learn accumulate tools forge grind ht Make a sword . go to WMA classes or learn kendo. re evaluate what your idea of a sword really is? make your sword..... do all the above again make it better........... Pick up a really good sword made by a really good modern maker who understands all the elements that go into his swords (there are not many of these people to be found) re evaluate Make a sword................ visit museums arms fairs document originals re evaluate what your idea of a sword really is ? Make a sword............................ start looking into ancient methods of steel production and pattern welding and wootz and sheer steel and other reality of what a sword really was..... let that sink in a bit and..... wait for it.... Make a sword........................... I teach a sword class where people make a single handed double edged sword in a week .A real sword with good ht and relatively good form (in a couple of cases people have pulled really quite professional blades out of the hat)........It can be done . However just understanding what a sword "is" , is really is is a job on its own. sword making is a lifetime pursuit . I have been at it 16 years and am still learning and improving and finding new challenges that are beyond my current skills and overcoming them.

I have a power hammer top looking for an anvil!!! I would snap that up if it were west of pond.....

yes its all dangerous !! ............ and fun!! however there is an added responsibility inherent with swords ......they are weapons that are sharp.....in modern times and also on the large part "historically " sharp. There is a responsibility to make a weapon that does not injure its owner due to a fault of the maker , the user has to understand what a sharp sword can do...thats their responsibility. There is also a responsibility for makers who know what they are doing to advise those who do not (yet) know about the pitfalls inherent with making 3 foot razor sharp potential projectile launchers....... There are many rite ways to make a sword....... but you will find that people seem to agree on the wrong ways more often than they do the rite!! P.s Reading back through that post I used the word responsibility a lot ...i guess that is my point.

thanks for the comments. I do not consider "cruddy" in this context to be a negative thing, it is what I am aiming for. this blade is part of a seax series, I have forged 7 large blades and a couple of by knives , I'll post them as they finish.

Here is a blade I have made . I wanted to have the modern elements (15n20 and 20c) look like old steel. kind of a Macro....micro thing . from a distance its bling ...up close cruddy . layers within layers.......... made from wrought and modern steel .... a little closer and closer still.

There is no universal answer.... I run 3 hammers two with flat dies and one with combi dies, I do 80%+ of my work on the comby dies . the other two hammers are for big stomping and hand tool work . Most of my work is damascus and decorative tapers in varying section though , so I guess it depends on what you do .

I do hope you are making use of the Goliath power hammer in the piccies . I have the same hammer ( a little newer) and previously had one from 1914...... If you look on the serial number the last two digits will be the year it was made . Making damascus is actually one of the easier tasks from a hammering point of view fold it flatten it , fold it ....flatten it . Of course it does have its complications and challenges. good lick All the best owen.

Welcome to I forge Iron There is lots of good stuff here . I am an old hand at the damascus stuff but started Playing with Bronze casting 16 months ago . there is an exelent class in Herne bay that specialises in casting your own sculptures . Its quite an interesting medium . as for smithing ....if you catch the bug there is no stopping!! All the best Owen