Steve Sells

I use the flat face for driving tools like chisels and punches, and gentile finish forging as mine is a 1# hammer. The ball end is used for texturing but mainly I use it for peining tangs of blades into the pommels and for rivets.

The ANSI standards for Rebar, are based not on composition but on strength. So they do not test or blend the melt for C and Mn as they do with tools steels. Like many steels its made from recycled steel, but why pay to test for things that don't really matter much, meaning its a crap shoot. Break and stretch testing is the most common, if this standard is met, then they don't care how much Mn or Chrome may have gotten included. It is much like if you are making furniture from a hard wood, you want matching wood type, grain pattern and color, but if its for burning in a fireplace, does it matter much?

Welcome Back, I got your friend tag today. Glad yer home again :)

funny I do have a pair, I rarely use them, and even then for very sharp blades while sharpening. When I need forge gloves for welding, Harbor Freight has great canvas and leather gloves for less than $2 a pair. I buy them by the bulk package.

no carbon there is pollution.

A comment about the Insurance side of this, don't forget to add in the cost (to you and the client) of items lost while they are being manufactured. While these may not have an open market value unfinished, the cost to remake it all and the down time to your client receiving it will cost you. My agent suggested I add in $5000 for this to my blade shop. K potter statement about heavy equipment: I got a lovely Mutaw Blueprint table (complete) and a 36 inch metal lathe for free, because of the cost to have them moved when that business lost its lease. They had a forklift there to load it for me, and the landlord for my old electric company property had one I could use to unload it at my shop. Plus I owned a 5 ton straight truck to carry them. These both went with the property when I closed due to the cost for me to remove them.

If he don't want them on his work, Why should any of us want to touch them ;)

I ain't that fat yet, I still fit in my little shop and thank you, I still have a lot of hand polishing left to do. added stats: oil quenched. Double tempered first at 300F then at 325F for 2 hours each. The blade is 1.5 x 6.75 inch, 3/16 thick at base tapering to 1/8 half inch from tip, flat ground till I got to 800 grit, then moved to slack belt. 3000 grit before etch in Ferric Chloride, then a final 2000 grit touch up on blade by hand, this is 12 inches overall. I don't normally use corby rivets but for this it seems appropriate.

A while back, my apprentice and I made 2 hot cut hardy's out of H13. While they turned out perfect, I won't complain next time I see one for sale at $45. But we both learned some really neat swear words that day too, If you have never hand worked 1.5 inch round H13 before, give it a try away from young ears :)

I have to agree with that Bob, Many years ago as an apprentice, I was innocently standing on a 5 inch pipe about 25 ft up on a wall working when the dark smoke cloud surrounded me. A welder on the ground behind me lights up an oily trash can and didn't notice. I sure did and I could not easily get down because by that time I could not see the pipe I was standing on to get to the scaffolding. Only option at that point was to bust a window and stick my head out to breath until it was put out and the air cleared. Scariest apprenticeship moment.

Happy Birthday Mate, nice to see even men of your advanced age can still get around :)

The client sent me a few web links of Kuhkri and a survival knife. wanted "something like them" gave me dimensions and wanted SS hardware and black micarta. the rest was up to me. I used Crucible L-6 and Aldo's 1084FG for the 330 layer blade, and 304 SS for the guard, and 303 SS pins and epoxy hold the black micarta handle. The blade's full tang has been hot peened at the pommel. A Kydex sheath is being made by a local gun smith.

Sam, He posted "So far Ive heard good things from the big blu hammers but Id like to hear a little more. I haven't run across many folks who have one." I thought my post was clear? I think many people would rather spend that kind of money on an original and licensed Hofi. And I posted about that option.

IForgeIron sells the original, and Licensed Hofi Hammer, see glenn for details and prices.

that is very nice of you to offer Glenn make them as a side job, I bet he will give you a good price to make them too

I still like the old saying, "entering a motor race when you have not yet gotten a basic drivers license" it can be done, but its not a good idea. I remember wanting to make a sword right off also, and like many, I thought people were trying to hold me back, to tell me how to enjoy my hobby. Well... to tell the truth, someone needed to cause I had no real clue. Listen to whom you wish, but I have posted photos of my blades, and I have warranties with all my blades, knives and swords, and no one has gotten hurt by my blades to the best of my knowledge. I try to share what I have learned from much smarter men than I am.

Normally when a tank is frosting up, it is caused by the gas exiting faster than that size tank should be emptied. The correct solution is to use a larger tank, if you can't reduce the flow. Your idea of heating the tank is just treating a symptom, you corrected nothing. Simply this is an OSHA violation and serious fire explosion hazard as well. But you have built a nice little bomb.

if you have to ask...maybe you should get a little more work with simple projects first, learning how to forge metal.

welcome back

We all try to be honest here: but your stating "looking for advice" then complain when we show you how its a bad idea is not being honest to us nor yourself. Now you tell us not to post anymore because you don't want to hear it? Ignoring simple safety issues is not taking advice. Sorry we didn't tell you how great your idea is, but you asked, and we got an honest answer. Don't bother the gun smith, he will just upset you more. This thread needs to stay posted to hopefully stop others from being so stupid.

Nice to see that old style tools are not just froe away items :D

Thank God I mis-understood you, Thank you for being more clear. It gets scary when you have seen the things I have to repair.... mostly work done by people that think they can do what they want to... For the record: the breakers in a panel or disconnect, are not to protect the machines, it is for protecting the wiring. If/when a machine needs overload protecting they have "heaters" (like small fuses or even a type of breaker) in or on the machine itself.

The problem is that is Illegal, you may not just put as many as you wish on a line. I don't know where you got your license, but its hard to believe you still have it doing dangerous things like that.

hey Mike, good to see you joined up here, sorry that a few people not paying attention got in the way, most of the people here are very courteous, and go out of their way to help. its only a few that dont pay attention.

how dare you leave and scare us like that, glad you are back Brother :)