Taye

It is a counter weight, the sword itself can be heavy and unweildly without a balance, so a counterweight is added to make it easier to swing and handle. Truly awesome work Owen. What material is the blade and counterweight?

copper is coming back up, china is apparently buying up all they can get, that and coal

Hi, fellow newb smith. i think i might be able to help you out on a few things, i have an old brake drum that i used before i got my current forge that is just lying around. nice to meet someone else form iowa. by the way, we use the same kind of coal B)

Speaking as a person who came into blacksmithing thinking, "i'm going to make a sword!" i am infinitely happy that i did not rush this in any way. after i had gotten a few fires started i found out about this site and decided to read some stuff pertaining to the art. and now six months later, i berate myself for thinking that anything great could be attained with such minimal effort. its almost laughable. but as stated before please dont give up on us beginners, were not all as stupid as i used to be. P.S. Woody, love those links i almost spilled my beverage when i read the beginning bit of the first one. :lol:

how strong would the acid be?

Hi, me again. i have a setup that is fairly good for me. i forge outside and store my forge and anvil in a garage. however it has no space for my collection of scrap that looks useable. this leaves my metal on a big rack outside. For the things that are already rusted to the point of no return i dont mind this so much BUT i do have some respectable pieces of metal. My question is this: would coating my metal in some smoke from my coal forge fire prevent rust to any extent?

Thanks to everyone who posted. it may not be feasible for any knives i plan to make, but i get a feeling like this is a useful tidbit to have nonetheless

When you say shell, is that something that would be desireable. A softer inside would absorb shock and stress, and a harder outside would hold an edge right?

In the months that i've been actively smithing, ive come acros a rumor that i would like to resolve. A few people that i know have told me that when you burn coke hot enough, it will add carbon content to a piece of steel. Is there any truth to this? or is it just a rumor?

hello and welcome, to IFI its a great site for anyone wanting to be in blacksmithing

hi, im new too, but i do use a coal forge so i believe i can answer questions two and three. as for the grate, its a matter of personal prefrence somepeople have a convex plate of metal with about ywo dozen holes drilled in, other people find that a simple weilded "X" in the center fits their needs. it will also depend on the size of coal you are using, if you have smaller size coal, you need more covered area in the grate to keep coal from slipping down. you do want to keep the coal near the grate, although when you get the grate it may push the coal above the depression, but you want to keep what coal you have near the fire so that it burns and turns to coke. you will have stray buts that fall off the coal mound but thats what they made coal shovels and rakes for. By the way, i dont know how long you have been on IFI but im sure that everyone will agree that there is no such thing as a stupid question. i could ask you very similarly novice questions about propane forges just because that is out of my area of knowledge. and by the way that forge looks EXACTLY like mine although i had to take the blower off of mine because it had rusted to the piont of no return

thank you guys very much :)

Being a weapon enthusiast, it gets me giddy seeing that as a finished product, that is one amazing looking axe. it has a really rugged look to it even though it's obviously a completed work.

Haha it may seem odd, but i love using that improv rake, it's just a corn knife that i tapped to a 90 degree curve, but it has enough space at the end to scoop a little coal to put on the fire or any fuel that falls out of the fire. although i do agree on the shovel part, i need a decent shovel to use, and strangely enough, you mentioning it is the first time i thought of making one. i do need a better stand for my anvil,but the stumps or log pieces that i know of are rotten and i would like to use a stump or log necause i think it will absorb the shock better

Piggybacking off this topic (sorry Karn) if i understand correctly, the handle piece or pieces is tailored to fit the tang of the blade in question. also, for any of the seasoned bladesmiths who are reading, what is your preferred material for the handle of a blade? i've debated several materials that are available to me locally, i have deer antler, or bone, and pretty much any american hardwood you can think of, but what wood would you guys recommend.

heres a few pics of my outside setup my anvil, table forge, and my coal bucket

my favorite is my 3 lb cross pein hammer, because its the first one i ever used and it's the perfect weight, length, size, and it just plain "feels" like a good hammer

i'll be sure to post pics as often as i can, andive searched for iowa members before but not too in depth by any means. most of my startup problem was in finding a steady fuel source. i finally found a coal dealer in iowa and i know a couple guys who do demonstration smithing. and yea, i found out after using a shop vac and a brake drum that not too many bells and whistles are needed for functional forging. and lastly, thanks to you guys for the warm welcome

I'm a new member from Iowa, ive been forging for about a month now. I've wanted to be a blacksmith for a long long time, i just never knew that i could without a huge workshop and tons of resources. what drew me into the art is that blacksmithing IS humanity's past. and although it isn't widespread anymore i still like the sound of hammering metal. i fire up my forge whenever i have a few solid hours to spend, on any project i can (weather permitting ). all my work is done with scrap steel although i would love to get ahold of some bronze or actual black iron. i look forward to learning and seeing other peoples works