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I Forge Iron

BlissStreet

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Everything posted by BlissStreet

  1. I have the knifemaker's 2 burner and it's fantastic to use. Once it's hot, you can actually run it at 5psi and the idler valve closed, hammering 5160 (flat stock) all day long (ok 4 hours, that's as long as I have had it lit at a stretch. I use a 25lbs bottle for now and after 4 hours, there is ice on the outside of the bottle; no drop in pressure though. Dennis gets behind on the emails, but give him a few days and he is more then willing to help you.
  2. Joburg, but we travled extensively. Her head office was in PE, with branches in CPT and Durbs. And as a photographer, I basicly have seen the entire SADAC area.
  3. Have you tried the townships? I got 50kg bags of coal out in a township from a few guys that were breaking them down to distribute to people for heating. While I was living there, I got around SA quite a bit, and in 90% of the townships I was in people heated with coal. Some one has to supply all that coal. That was where I went, and where I would direct you. Edit: I had my wife put out some feelers to her old work mates from RB to see where they would recomend you look.
  4. I wonder how you get the list of names. Is it like a police lineup, where all but the suspects is a known not guilty? And the test just confirms the suspiction? Or do you have a problem, make a list of everybody even remotely associated and let the axe fall where it may?
  5. All food safe oils will go rancid. You can extend the life of them by adding lemon juice or viniger, but then you have water in them and that is dagerouse when you add heat. 22" tall makes for a lot of oil on top of the water and if it get to the boiling point it will be under pressure. The best bet is to heat the oil often and add some rosemary sprigs to it, and to change it out when it goes really bad. There are some peanut oils designed specifically for deep fat fryers, and they have additives to them to extend thier life and reduce foaming. They come in 5 gallon buckets and are availible from any good restaurnt supply company.
  6. Ditto. I'm really impressed with the 2 burner blade smith forge.
  7. Well, it's been a long 3 months and a lot has happened. But, the house is finally settling in and between coats of paint on some book shelves I managed to get some forge time in. It actually worked out great since the forge kept the garage warm enough for the paint to set, what with this crazy cold Georgia winter (sarcasm alert, I have lived in Minnesota, this is heaven in comparison). First, I should tell you my wife bought us a propane forge from Diamondback Iron Works, and it's a real treat. I can't tell you guys enough what a great product Dennis is making for the price. I have been admiring Stormcrow's knives for a while now, and I rather like the handles he's been putting on them. So, rather then do a hidden tang and wood handle like I have been, I thought I'd try a solid tang wrapped in 550 paracord. It gave me the challenge of learning knots and forging multiple tapers into the knife, rather then rely on a brass bolster to transition to the handle as I have been doing. New challenges are good, it keeps the voices Alzheimers at bay. A while back I was thinking that with all the zombie apocalypse knives being made, that there was a very good chance that vertically challenged would be turned as well. And since all the knives I have seen were intended for the full sized adult, I tried a midget chopper. Meh, I wasn't really feeling it. So on to MKII. Here we are at forging, including the fish mouth there at the end. you can sort of see the idea here, to have a thicker spine running down the center of the blade with it tapering off on both sides as well as a thicker section that would serve as a stop for the knot and transition to the handle. I was a little less then careful with the cross peening to draw out the blade and the symmetry of the "bolster" isn't great. You can see it better here: No too happy about that, but it's the first try back at it since I left South Africa, and I'm stubborn. Of course that means another attempt. I have never had an everyday carry knife, and thought this might be a good time to make one. I missed the forging shots, since I was kinda in the zone. Which is a shame since I took my time and forged it rather close to what I had on mind. Besides that little bit of scale pitting along one side of the blade, it's rather clean. and I'm liking the smaller size. So, tomorrow is all about normalizing, quenching and then tempering. Then over the weekend, I hope to have the handles wrapped and sealed. Thanks for looking.
  8. wow. I love it when people combine the inherent beauty of a working tool with a little artistry like the horns. And that you go on to make things of beauty with them is somehow just right.
  9. The first and the third have a distinct Scandinavian flair to them. Over all, nicely done. What did you use for the handle on the first?
  10. It's not really in one place. You have to go to the Anvil section and then search for "anvil repair". Then be ready to drink a pot of coffee and spend about 2 hours reading through the threads and following up ideas with google searches. have a pad and pencil handy to jot down notes; that will allow you to kind of centralize the information that gets repeated, and follow up on some fringe ideas. That's what I did.
  11. Are we talking Boar or feral Pigs? The two are very different. Pigs don't have the tusks as I understand it. Both can have tusks, and they are nothing to snicker at
  12. I know! Hence me thinking my offer was fair, seeing as the face is in great condition with only a slight sway. I irritates me to see it sitting there with a rusted face when I know my wife has been itching to get forging again and we'd have it shiny in no time. (after the bookcases that is, I promised her) All three he has are duct taped the same way, same spot. I doubt they are all 3 flawed in exactly the same spot. I think it's more an easy way to label them. We'll see. If he's still got them 30 days from now I'll email him again and repeat my offer.
  13. Well his answer to my offer was that he's not ready to let it go for $260, and that with the name and rarity factored in, he thinks it will sell at $325. Which suggests to me he's waiting for a collector. A shame really, since it would be nice to see it in use. If things were perfect on my end then I might think more about the $325, but as things are I still have a lot on my plate getting the house in order before I get back to forging with any serious intent. The downside to buying a house is all the little things that take precedence. So, I'll just keep working with what I have and keep an eye out.
  14. There is a 130# Fisher listed on Craigslist http://asheville.craigslist.org/tls/2806013336.html It's close enough to pick up and being a city anvil, seems ideal in regard to not freaking the neighbors out. He's asking $325 which seems a tad high at $2.50/#. I offered $260 and think it's a reasonable offer. If he won't come down, should I let it pass? It was listed before for a while, and now is listed separately from the rest of his previous lot which included a 110# Vulcan and a 180# mystery anvil. I know it's all subjective, but any advice would help. Thanks.
  15. A slightly better look at the workshop.
  16. Just glancing online a 4"x12"x12" block of 4140 is $600 and weighs 180lbs. You got a 90lbs block for $150, so you seemed to have made out well, getting 1/2 the metal for a 1/4 of the price.
  17. Would it be impolite to ask what you paid for a block that size? I have a very similar block that is smaller and hard faced. I works just fine despite my horrid welding job. My only comment would be to break the edges with an angle grinder.
  18. If I understood this properly, the super quench was developed to harden medium carbon steels. The various ingredients lower the surface tension of the water and degrade bubble formation, allowing greater contact with the steel. The story behind it is quite interesting. And if you need it, then yes, you benefit from it. But it's not a daily use item for most I would think. Others, like simple brine, are ages old. From what I have seen, both here and in other research, is that oil and water are the two everyone seems to keep on hand.
  19. Another option is to price out a chuck of A36 steel plate 4"x12"x12". Add in some 2x4 lumber for a stand and you are in business. That's roughly 163 lbs of mass in a compact shape.
  20. You just threw down a gauntlet of sorts with a knife that fine made from rebar. Just the sort of inspiration I need, thank you.
  21. That layering pattern is drool worthy.
  22. One for the desktop? or one to hold them in her purse/clutch/pocket?
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