Steve Sells

60 ceramic
120 ceramic
220
400
800
1200

papers for hand sanding in 400, 500 600 800 1,200 2,000 2,500 3,000

buffing compound in emery, green abd white rouge.

mostly I use 60, 120 220 400 and hand sand to 600, then buff

on the forge, not the blade. it will protect the blanket. tho when hardening the blade it will oftimes be used for differential hardening for a hamon. How long have you been smithing?

purgatory :)

I love ya man, my family and I, will be praying for you and yours

I like free.

An easy way to monitor the safe operation and prevent fire, every so often, while its been running, touch with bare hand the outside jacket of your cord.

If operating properly it wil NOT get warm, part of the wire rating formula is to prevent electricty heating the wire, so size is calculated to prevent this, In essence it wont get hot in normal opperation if functing properly.

Why would this change if it worked fine at the start ? because at the start its fine, after a few cracks it heats up due to the simple fact of the crack is a reduction of the wire size at that point of the crack, a bottle neck for the electrons. a few cracks will cause restriction in the flow and the wire will start to heat up, ALSO heated wire will not pass electricty as well as cooler wire, so it restricts passage of current even more. thus this is a self compounding problem, and a fire can start. also a risk of burning out the machine.

as long as the wire is not heating as its used, then for the most part you are fine, and reasonably safe from risk of fire.

coal/coke do not hold water well,

When you are ready to re start your forge, get the coal/coke out of the water (1 cm mesh or window screen makes a great strainer) while its dripping off the last few drops of water, get your forge and metal ready. Use the left over from the day-before forging, with in a few minutes. what little water is left clinging to the chunks will evapoprate quickly from the heat of what is already burning. water will not ruin your coke.

If you are using the "solid wire, same as in a building" you will have problems sooner or later, as the solid will crack/break,fracture from movement, it is made to be installed, and not move at all once in use.

SRO also known as "Drop cord" is what you should use, as its strands are made to survive motion. Flexing of the solid wires does not exist when properly installed in a building, as it is attached.

When using leads to extent the stinger, remember to use welding leads, which is DC rated wire, with fine strands, built to resist the problems of the electrical skin effect

IBEW 305 Electrician. Please don't guess when it comes to electricity, and I wont pretend to be a heart surgeon :)

How did you determine the austinetic point?

This is a forward from Jim , his words:

It is with mixed emotions that I write this....

Trudi Hrisoulas, my ex wife, passed from this mortal plane early yesterday morning after a short but very valiant battle with leukemia. She is survived by her three children.

To those of you reading this that know us personally, the divorce was not very pleasant to say the least but we were married for 18 years. Those 18 years produced three beautiful children, of whom I was awarded custody from the divorce. They are still in my care and I solemnly swear that I will keep them safe and secure and will raise them with them knowing that their mother loved them. For she did in her own way. Very much so.

She was ill for a very long time, plagued by life long health problems, and her passing, while not unexpected was sudden. She passed quietly and painlessly and was attended by a close friend during "her journey over". I can say she died at peace knowing that her three children WOULD be cared for with love.

As it is as far as funeral arrangements, at this time I am not privvy to this information. I do know that pre-arrangements were made for the cremation and final dispensation of her mortal body. Please, do not send flowers, just keep a warm thought in your heart for her when you think of her.

While we had our differences, she was my wife for 18 years and I wish her God's Speed and pray that she is finally at peace and free of the suffering she endured all her life.


Dr. Jim Hrisoulas
Metallographer, Bladesmith
Author: "The Complete Bladesmith"
"The Master Bladesmith"
"The Pattern Welded Blade"

Hi. im the guy who bought one of these anvils. The actual spectrometer results are 99.58 iron, 0.41 manganeze . The Leco carbon determinator test came out to be 0.228 carbon. These results were double checked.

that adds up to 100.218 %

It must be the new math again or their double checker can't add.

Very nice, she has some nice curves too I really like it, is she availble for a date :)

G'day china,

thats my extent of speaking Strain, welcome to the group

welcome to IForgeIron

Make sure it doesn't have any nickel or valedeim, or chromium as the expensive files do or it will melt at forging temps.

what do you mean melt? many good blade steels have all 3 addition's?

My forge is coal, and it is outside. I have a roof no walls. 2 weeks ago I got permission to raise an 11 x16 building at the rear of my property, and brick a side draft forge. But I am building a 3 burner gasser, with a bit of help. I will get the permit and lay foundation after the weather warms up, in a month or 2.

Part of the issue is my training, part is the job I am currently on, 2 days ago of an 8 hour day I spent 3 doing what was called for in the print, the rest was repairing what some one else had done over the past years.

Wire sizes, colors all mixed, not even neutrals in same conduit, they used what they had, in what ever manner worked for them. yes there are burned wires. even long screws through the conduit. and a few fused/melted breakers, so at present I hate all Hack Jobs. Most of these bad circuits I have to trace and correct while hot, because it is an operating business. we only de-energize if no other option. like to replace the wire, until then I work them hot. I am ok with live work, just not this xxxxxxxxxxx of a wiring mess the 3 of us have to address and correct with minimal disruption of the business.

I don't like hiring others to do work either, but I do it because its far safer and cheaper to get a pro, than to do it myself and maybe save a few $$ now, then maybe suffer later. I also get permits to secure my legal interest in my house, and to appease zoning.

This is not a you or me thing, its the US national electrical code (NEC), and as your address as posted is in the states, it applies, no matter what degree you may have. If it is not according to the NEC then it is "not to code", as that is what wired to code means.

I was trying to prevent a person from following your advice as to wire gauge. I know that the code is not easy to understand, that is why I said avoid amature electricians. NEC section 240.4 sub D is clear about 12 gauge wire and max amperage allowed as 20 amps. NO exceptions, and I did post that 310.16 is for calculation the voltage drop only. it IS NOT a chart for breaker sizes. I was correcting your misstatement of "...#12 can carry 25 amps.." and that is false. Under ANY condition.

I stand by what I said, #12 must NEVER be fused above 20 amps. period. I am sorry you took this as a personal attack,

If you looked at the chart in question you would see the asterisk beside the gauge size, that asterisk calls attention to read what is known as a fine print note. the NEC is full of them, and a qualified Electrician should know. Most amatures do not,. Maybe you have a different definition of amature than I do.

I do electrical work for a living. Florida block, and the California block License exams test the skill of looking up the codes rules and conditions and exceptions. the Exam is a pain to pass. many/most fail the first time.

If you are short on cash and not up to spending huge dollars on 50 amp SO cord, you can observe that per the code, #12 AWG Copper THHN is good for either 25 or 30amps (I don't remember which) However it is only good for 20 amps when serving outlets.

This is BULL CRAP, it says NO SUCH THING do NOT listen to amatures about electrical; unless you like getting people killed.

#12 copper is rated for 20 amps Max. Period. no exceptions. Many amatures assume that because the NEC chart 310.16 states 25 amps under the insulation rated THHN that is the amperage answer, but that is NOT the rating for Fuse (breaker, same thing) protection. That chart is a starting point of the calculations of voltage drop. #10 is rated for 30 amps. the fuses/breakers are for protecting the wire from over heating and causing a fire. It state this in the fine print at the bottom of the page.

I have had too many jobs replacing burnt wiring from people guessing they can do it them selves. If you have to ask then Hire a professional.

Also beleive it or not, If you jury rig your own stuff, and there IS a fire because of it, not only can you be sued by any one injured, but the Insurance company MAY refuse to pay for "not to code wiring practice". That is why contractor's carry Liability Insurance, because property insurance by the owner does not cover mistakes by installers.


Do what you want to, But I get mad when I see people pretendung to know electrical codes. even tho they may mean well.

and I think QuenchCrask meant a double 50 amp breaker NOT 2 25 amps breakers. I amso know typos when I see them, as I make many of those.

Florida Block rated Master Electrician
IBEW LU# 305 JIW

Stainless like 304 and D2 for starting, later move to 400 series and 300 series, then more esoretic for a hypoalergenic pattern welded material's should suit your needs.

Welcome to IForgeIron. nice to see new people here, with new ideas.

Welcome to the list, There are a few of us here making blades, many more at various stages of the art. Hope to see more here as well. Enjoy IForgeIron

welcome to IforgeIron

My main hammer is a 4 pound cross peen with a thick 16 inch Hickory handle, it is my Baby

I have a 3 pounder I use for setting bevels on larger blades, and the 2 pound I used for finer details. all toget her I have about 30 hammers plus about 30 other hammer looking tools like: sets, drifts, fullers, punches, and cut offs.

I look forward getting the hammer that Richard of Dancing Frog Forge made for me, 4.5 pound right handed peen.

Here is the link you asked about: ANVIL MAKING

good article for manufacturing or repairs.

I once had to braize (yes, brass rod and oxy torch) a grounding wire to the side of a plate. no edge available, and drilling a hole for a bolt was not allowed either.

I use a Hot Punch the blade with the name "Fenris Forge" in 1/16 inch letters. I also have one in 1/8 inch letters, as well as a "SLSELLS" in 1/16 for hidden on the tang.