quint

Well since I got my first anvil I seem to always be on the look out for them now. Much to the wifes dismay I saw this one and picked it up. I am not sure what it is though. Its got no markings what so ever. Its a little beat up but the top is flat (flatter then it looks in the pics) but the edges need dressing. Its got the pritchel and hardy holes, plus its got a hole in the bottom, and two on front and aft that go about 2" or so deep. I have no idea but then my experience goes off the one anvil I have so not much. Its about the same size as my 200lb sodofers. Thanks for any help guys.

Thanks a bunch guys, Ill get it cleaned up before putting it to use.

So I picked up one of the hawk drifts from blacksmith depot and was wondering, they are pretty rough from the casting or whatever. Before I start playing with it I would assume you want it smooth finished. Does it really matter if its rough or smooth or just a personal preference. I know this is a pretty basic question but sometimes its the simple ones that get me.

Thanks Loneforge, yeah I usually resize the pics but my editor was not agreeing with me this morning.

The blower is actually one of the duct vent boosting fans. I wouldnt use it on anything bigger then what I have but it seems to work alright. For $26 I cant complain. I could run more efficiently I think if I had a real blower since I could close up the front some. The little guy doesnt push very well so closing up the front actually causes temps to go down. The meter is to the right of my brick I have in it so on that side it gets to about 1950f or so, on the other side it usually hits about 2200f or so. Run about 2 or 3 lbs pressure on the regulator.

Looks great, little cleaner then my piece together. How long does it take to get up to temp (just curious is all). Heres a pic of my creation and yes the truck is more then a few feet away.

Well finished up the first one. Alot of things I have improved upon but wanted to get it finished. Actually my first completed knife that I have made. The second one is looking to turn out much better but I need a knife in the shop and this guy has a nice shape that I like. Will see how it holds up. Osage orange handle with teak oil and wax. Several of the marks are from a slip on the grinder shaping the handle. Still got a long ways to go in the finishing department (well overall).

Ugg just saw your in Canada, not sure if NJsteelbaron ships up that way or how much it will be. May try and find out because he has good prices on things like 1075 or 1084. I know what really really helped me (im on my 3rd forged anything roughly) is getting a good face on the hammer. I faced mine and it was like night and day with the hammer marks. Just passing on info from others that has helped me alot.

Well here is progress on the second one. Its been thru HT and temper. Have some gabon ebony scales for it. Gotta glue it up and shape.

Yeah that is great looking.

OK so found on craigslist a "first type hay budden" anvil, 350lbs. Have not scene it but says its in good shape with nice edges. Have not scene it yet. I have an idea of what to look for as far as sounds, rebound, and what not but overall I am not familiar with prices for these guys. What is the average price for them, being fair is $2 lb good or a little more. Thanks for the input. Sorry no pics to give better judgement on price.

Cool stuff on your site. Really like your handle, that stippling is a great idea, assume it improves the grip and also looks great.

Ok sounds good, thanks again, I was under the impression that carbon steel blades werent that great for that use but like you say its just avoiding being lazy. Figure all of them were carbon steel a few hundred years ago. I only have one japanese made knife that is nice in the kitchen. I hand wash that one and take care of it. Ill be sure to do the same with this one.

Wow excellent setup. Would love to have that around the shop.

Thanks a bunch Steve. Appreciate the vote of confidence. I am actually thinking if this one turns out to keep it in the kitchen (i know 1084 isnt the best for that) and use it for a while. I want to be able to put one of my knives thru the paces for a little bit. See how it works. These two will be the first ones Ive actually finished. Ive found that I have a better time doing the forging method vise the stock removal, not easier by any means but I do a little better when I can throw it back in the forge and work out my mistakes.

Well got the first knife profiled how I want it and am working on getting the wood for the handle. I like the new shape of the handle a little better. Shortened it up some. Got to have a second forging afternoon and after dressing my hammer and getting the forge dialed in I am having much more success I think. I really paid attention to the hammer position. I have done leather work for several years and using a mallet is second nature with that but the weight of the hammer is far less then it is in forging so although I have the mechanics down I need to adjust more to the extra weight of the blacksmith hammers. I did a second knife today in 1084, started with a stubby squarish rectangle piece and worked it much better then last time I think. Managed to avoid alot of the hammer marks from my previous attempt. I am going to have to profile the blade on the belt but I am relatively happy with the results for the most part. Didnt get the exact shape I wanted in the end but I do have enough extra so that I can get the shape with the grinder. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Not sure if this was mentioned but adding a step pad infront of the anvil could be a option for adjusting the relative height to your work. Not sure if this is even used ever but it could be anything from the rubber horse stall matting (prob have to watch it with embers) or a wooden plate a couple of inches tall that is placed in front of your anvil. Just an idea to make a ridged stand less ridged after its been built.

Thanks for the info guys. I talked to someone that works this steel and yes it is a bear to shape. Probably something I will come back too later on once I get a little more experience. I think I will stick with the 1075 and 1084 steels for my knife forging adventures for a while and the mild steel for the various other pieces that I will practice on.

Thanks for all the input guys its very much appreciated. Steve I am very much a first time forger and will stick with the 10xx series steels for a while. I just happened to have this L6 which I got from Aldo (NJ steel baron) a while back and wanted to play with it. I have some 1084 on hand and some 1075 in 1/4" arriving today hopefully. The L6 available today is usually from crucible or carpenter if I remember correctly. Ive talked with a few people about the stuff Aldo has and its a good L6 that if I remember is closer to the carpenter recipe. There are a bunch of 8670M which is similar but not the same as L6, admiral steel tried substituting it for L6 but the knife makers corrected them on this. 8670M is also a great steel, I have a nice blade made out of that that I bought and really like it as well. If I can get the recipe for this stuff I have I will post it up. Again thanks for the input and info. If I can ever get to one of the forging events up here in WA I will definitely try but the schedule right now is pretty crazy to say the least. Lucky to get to play with this stuff as it is.

Looks great, that lower layer damascus turned out really good I think.

Actually I think I found some of the info I was looking for. Sounds like the forging temp for this stuff is around 1950f or less so my temperatures were fine. Guess not having forged something that thick shows how little Ive actually done

So I have played around with a little mild steel which was pretty easy to manipulate, did some 1084 which wasnt all that bad but these were all 3/16". Ive got some L6 that is 5/16" thick, it is just a xxxxxx to get to move. I was wondering is it just stepping up in thickness that is the difficulty, is L6 and other alloys just a xxxxxx to forge or is my forge just not getting hot enough. My read out says it is getting about 1950f to 2000f. The metal is getting a nice bright orange to yellow color. Sorry if some of this is really rudimentary but I am kind of teaching myself, I do have a knife forging book on the way but it wont be here for a little bit. The complete bladesmith forging your way to perfection. Thanks for any help.

Yeah the grind so far is with the slack portion of my 2x42 craftsman, giving it kind of a convex shape. With dressing of the hammer, basically it is if I am not mistaken rounding off the edges so you have a nice transition and not a corner per say. Gives a little less of a sharp hammer footprint when not hitting like you should be.

Well the little one I messed up on the grinding but the larger one is coming along nicely I think. Despite the hammer marks and what not. I think a little refining of the handle portion before I drill some holes and HT it. What do you guys think.

Wow thats really good considering probably worth 15 or so just by scrap weight, wonder what kind of steel it is.