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I Forge Iron

BlissStreet

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Posts 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. 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.

  3. 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?

  4. 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.


  5. check into diamondback iron works economy line of forges. fire up right out of the box. you can get a one or a two burner for under $400 plus about $45 shipping.
    i think the one burner is about $250-$275. gives you a good quick way to get started then when time and shop space are better you can build one more to your liking.
    i have been using the 2 burner blacksmiths model and have only been running at 5 psi and i get 5/8" stock up to nice yellow forging heat in no time.
    Ditto. I'm really impressed with the 2 burner blade smith forge.
  6. 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.

    6217865288_af3bfc1f8f_b.jpg

    Meh, I wasn't really feeling it. So on to MKII.

    6766977425_15f3879d2c_b.jpg

    Here we are at forging, including the fish mouth there at the end.

    6767871837_291aaa63e1_b.jpg

    6767872585_cfd9a43a41_b.jpg

    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:

    6767873233_019f994257_b.jpg

    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.

    6750424757_3b00704921_b.jpg

    6750423729_b1e2d64d50_b.jpg

    Besides that little bit of scale pitting along one side of the blade, it's rather clean. and I'm liking the smaller size.

    6750422791_402d4cb6b5_b.jpg

    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.

  7. 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.

  8. What Rarity? Fishers are a common anvil and 1892 is not "old!"
    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)


    Why the duct tape hiding the table? Is it cracked?
    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.
  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

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