Stephen Olivo

Good looking fro you have there. Too much leaf springs?or just wanted to work hard? First one I tried was out of leaf spring as well. To many problems so I went to mild steel. Easier to weld and faster/easier to form. They don't need a sharp edge and often are better with a rounded edge. The bevel ideally should go all the way to the back of the "blade" as this tool is just one large wedge. Think of it more as a splitting wedge then a knife. Got your maul all made up for it to? Oh and a good tool for making handles it is.

I use the golf ball handles. Looking to turn some handles like that out of wood to finish handling all my files.

"no sharp edges that would prevent cold shuts" It was the wording you meant no sharp edges that would cause cold shuts"

No that was literally what he told him in the episode. Seen it many times as I love the woodwrights shop. http://video.pbs.org/video/2365004964/ took me a while to find it and make sure I had the right episode. I want his bench anvil though :D

I use lard and cooking oil on all of my saws, files, drills, tools. To protect and to aid the cutting and finish work. I use lard as a finish for the wood work I do in conjunction with the metal work. I use cooking oil from our little deep fryer. Family gets together and cooks a large back. When oil starts to add flavor to the food it gets recycled into my garage for baked on finishes, quenching, lubricating punches, drills, saws, plaines, and protecting my tools from rust. Oh and I use beeswax on my jewelers saw blades.

So peter ross was talking about finger oils in that episode. For a long time people have been told not to use oil in firework. It mostly comes from schools. Don't know why. They have been taught chalk. I use oil all the time on my files as they make the work easier and I never have to deal with a pin. I once got chided by someone on another website for using a large rasp/file on hot steel along with the oil thing. It took a while to explain it all to him. I haven't been able to take a class from peter ross yet but hopefully some day.

Yes but it really only happens when someone who isn't used to working with a striker or with my tools uses them. Then its just a matter of teaching them the right habits.

clear lacquer?

When I get around to making my stand for my acme I will try some of those remedies. The edges on that anvil have no bearing on your usefulness. They only serve as a point to drive price down. I would be very happy with any anvil that looks like that is quiet and passes the other tests. Main reason… those edges should be radiused anyways so chips not a problem they just help you not have to grind the steel away now you've got a start on your radiuses. I also use anvil blocks when I need a sharp corner or some variation there on. Sharp corners are more easily made and kept up on a smaller block of steel then on an anvil. It is also more tool if you grind different radiuses on your anvil. Then you have built in fullers of different sizes without having to go to the effort of forging bottom tools. :D Its all about the dies.

Interesting choices. Angle iron makes a fun little twist too. I do like them but I wonder how they feel in the hand. How is the weight distribution. What is the comfortability in the hand? My thoughts first are for function. Then I tackle the aesthetics.

I feel like I am quiet sometimes on here. I have read through all of the knife posts you have put up. I mean to get back and read them again as I go on making knives, axes and other sharp implements. I would like to let you know that I am one who appreciate the time both of you have taken to capture that witch you so fought so hard for. I have also been on the other side of the conversation and been the one trying to help. Some will never appreciate what we give and those will come and go but the ones that truly thank you for it and appreciate it are those that come back for more and even if you don't see it will read it over and over looking back at it to clarify things they not yet understand. Sadly I rarely have been able to take part in the conversations for a couple of reasons. Often I am working to make a living during that time, Or forging or cold work on things. Took me a while to take part in the chat as sometimes you just need to be near the computer and it isn't anywhere where I can work on stuff so its work or wait for a fun conversation at the compy. So I must again say a big thank you for both your efforts. Hopefully one day more then the handful I have met will appreciate the same from me. Keep em coming I do love more info more thoughts and as always I think of more I want to do :D

Interesting and nice figurative way of using what was at hand. :D always a joy to see someone fix a problem.

Yeah magnets especially rare earth magnets are your friend. I use a wand type I got years back. Its handy because once you have the shavings/metal all sticking to one end you place it over the receptacle you want the shavings to go into and in the handle there is a rod as you pull it back it retracts the magnet into the handle there by allowing the shavings to drop off. Handy little bugger that one. I have been meaning to pick up one of those sweeping models as well. Just haven't yet.

My main anvil is a 185lb vulcan and I love it to death. http://ipneto.deviantart.com/art/my-anvil-84216145 From the picture it looks like a good anvil but as with all anvils I recommend going and performing all the tests necessary to tell you if there are any hidden problems with it. My vulcan has 80-90 percent return. the flatter horn on my vulcan has actually served me quite well as I have found I am more capable of doing more with the flatter toped horn then the round ones on other anvils. I do love the quietness of my anvil and always hate having to use someones "bell" of an anvil or my acme anvil. I vote for getting it if the tests as positive. Plus its hard to argue with that kind of price on an anvil that looks that good. :D

Your welcome. Lol I really don't care as long as I know your talking to me :D

welcome to this obsession. Anvilfire has some good stuff about making a usable anvil out of rail road track. Can't wait to see what you create.

Sounds like your having fun with your new "toys". A good project to practice forge welding on is a key chain tomahawk fob. small bar folded back on itself cold welding heat taken. Weld and spread blade. Put in little nick between blade and eye using rounded corner of anvil and then using hot cut cut from parent bar then fold parent bar back on itself to start the next one. They take only one heat and the nick will show you if you welded it or not. Great practice because it is quick small and simple the bar is only like 1/4 x 1/8 or so so no time really taken to get it up to welding.

Should work fine. I also have a special pan that my oiled or waxed pieces go on to heat up in the oven. Oil is baked on wax is put on when taking out of oven. Workes great especially when you have like 21 pieces heat treated and into the oven to temper and at the same time have like 5 hooks and some other number of decorative stuff. Then you can do them all at once. :D

For me honestly it would be the two I suggested and that is what I always advise new people I teach to get and read. I have loreli sims backyard blacksmithing and that i pretty good as a launch point to but I still think the ones I suggested have a larger quantity of good info and Mark Asperys books are full of pictures of stuff step by step with good descriptions as well. just my 2 cents

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Thanks for sharing.

I would suggest the 50 dollar knife shop. http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Goddards-Knife-Shop-Revised/dp/0896892956 It helps to keep you thinking outside the box on what you can do with what you have. As far as technique books I would point you in the direction of Mark Aspery's at least first book which deals with the many ways to set up shop, forge tools, and move metal for different purposes. Worth every penny in my opinion. http://www.markaspery.com/School_of_Blacksmithing/Home.html If blades are his primary focus then I would also point you over to another forum that will have books in that realm to offer you for suggestions. http://www.bladesmithsforum.com As far as technique there are some free ones on ABANA's website. http://www.abana.org/resources/education/chf.shtml

There is no telling how each place will handle it. You just need to talk to the people who would enforce it and make sure your good friends with all the nab ors. The worst they can tell you is no…and then you just have another problem to solve. It is better to know what is expected of you than to be surprised by it later. Good luck. P.s. I have had a visit on a particularly humid windless day from the local enforcers who in my case were very understanding and impressed. They also saw that I had been taking safety into account. I was lucky.

Nice idea. specialized though so not as universal as a sen with changeable blades. I may have to try and make one sometime. why the choice of handles inline? How do you keep it from tipping to one side or the other? How much pressure is needed to make it cut? Just me being curious. :D