Chinobi

one situated around elbow height for filing is useful too, build it in solidly so you can really lean into it without worrying about it tipping or having to chase it around the room. :)

Very cool!  Next up - key to Davy Jones Locker? :)

Gotta clean it up a little more and probably going to need to solder down some bad welds, then hammer it out flatter and a bit wider before I can start dishing :)

It has been recommended to me that 1084 is the best steel for entry level work.  YMMV :)

Ditto what IronWolf said :) all three are very well written and have LOADS of great pictures.  have fun working your way through them, and kiss your weekends goodbye :-D

one of my favorite videos, its criminal how easy they make all that look!

Dude, you have an awesome boss!  Congrats on the set, and autographed to boot!  Have you had a chance to actually take one of Mark's classes?

the name escapes me now, but somebody on here made a really neat integral bolster knife from a prybar or some other hex/octo bar.  forged out the blade and drew down the handle but left a bolster of the original cross section untouched.  could make a handful of those :)

isn't that just the recipe for making a form of anhydrous borax?  putting borax into the oven to drive off the moisture?  im not 100% on how the boric acid operates so I wont speculate on that...

yea, we are in kind of a dry zone, im only about 60 miles out from A.F. so I try to get in on classes there as frequently as possible.

Very elegant solution!  I like it :)

I have had drawings in my book for almost two years now to make a Mokume Gane ash tray for my father in law, and have expanded the project to be for 4 members of my wife's extended family overseas.  there are 3 Saturday open forge opportunities in LA between now and then, and a handful during the week that I MIGHT entertain driving out for.  so as much as I want to make this happen this year I cant guarantee it :'(

nicely done :) I think they should be very happy with the results!

those are really cool!  I love the forms and they are superbly executed :)  you could do the opposing side from copper or another metal, but perhaps playing with oxide colors would be the most expedient path, be pretty cool to have a straw side and a peacock side rather than classic black vs white.

Great event and great people :) Made my first billet of Damascus which I will start working into a project in the near future, ill get some photos up here or in a separate topic at some point.

BK it was great hanging out with you even if we didn't realize it until Sunday :)

Leaving work to head down for the event in just a few, if you are attending I will see you there! If not you will have to wait for photos :)

Safe travels to all!

agreed, I heard about that a little bit ago, I hope all of our northern cohorts rode it out safely!

Safe travels Ivan!  Hope you have a pleasant journey and are successful in your next career and location :) let me know if you come through my area and ill buy you a beer :)

find some way to roll the dead time into the curriculum, or just take a break for a while and do a long lunch.

teach them to make the handle for it and how to wedge it in or fit it on.  teach them about axe edge geometry and sharpening.  teach them how to make a sheath/cover for it.  do a brief unrelated project like a little flint striker and market it as a woodsman/bushcraft equipment course.

third-ed, be interesting to see what model it is too :)

excellent work Ronin, I have a really cheap folder that I bought for 5$ way back when that I have been contemplating making a new frame for out of titanium, thank you for reminding me that aluminum exists, is much cheaper, and FAAAAAR easier to work with!  especially for a trainer project on a POS blade :)

that's really cool!  great shape and workmanship.  however I do see a missed opportunity in the lack of a bottle opener in his mouth, could be a theme item, check in your keys and have a beer! :)

i like to make beef jerky from time to time, and I love cooking.  My dad has often made Torshi, an Iranian type of pickled vegetable, usually with garlic, and I have been investigating some recipes for that as well :)

Why all the hate on black and green? :( That's one of my favorite color combinations, and the silver accents really make it pop!

Another fantastic piece Darren, but to go through all the effort, and then cut off the head AND feet with the picture?  You trying to hide something from us? ;)

my thoughts are drawn to attempting to find a piece of starting stock that is already shaped like a (+) plus sign and readily available, that way you don't have to bother with that odd connection, just trim the legs to the correct length, bend, tweak and apply your finish.  something like a roll of wire fence (not chain link), the square grid kind that is actually welded together, provided it doesn't have a bunch of sloppy electric welds at the joints.  you can lightly forge the joint down to reduce the appearance of two pieces of round stock sitting on top of themselves.

something similar to this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-4-ft-x-100-ft-14-Gauge-Welded-Wire-308312HD/204331898?N=5yc1vZc3lp

I like the modified split cross version that 1forgeur presented as well, hope you have a lot of sharp hacksaw blades though :) might predrill where you want the cut to stop to give you a consistent stopping point and reduce the stress riser that will want to form at the V where the cut ends.

sooo, if that's the grave, and those are the tools, where is the smith? O.o  pretty amazing that such a thing could be buried what appears to be less than 6" down in a developed area too!

thanks for the interesting read Benton!