George Geist

Nice one, enjoy it :) George

Nice one! Good job, Should work well for you. George

Right you are. Some real nice stuff he's got there. I even see some horseshoe fullers in there. That's certainly a good enough load to get somebody started anyway. :) B) George

Ok, There are six parts to this one but I'm only putting up part 5. On here we can hear him mention Whale Oil in passing although he's just using motor oil. He said it had a much higher flash point. There is another one I know of that the guy was actually using what he claimed to be Whale Oil. Not sure if I'll find it or not but I'll keep looking.

Hey Josh, I got a question. I understand for a time Fisher made anvils without their trademark eagle logo for shipment to the southern states. Supposedly as I understand it they needed anvils down there but didn't want the eagle as it wasn't long after the civil war and there were some pretty hard feelings about anything that looked "Union" or "Federal". Fisher obliged them by leaving the logo off for that market. Can you tell us if there is truth to this belief? Or is it just an urban myth? If by chance it's true he may have a Rebel Fisher which is an interesting piece in it's own right B) George

This stuff is interesting. I was thinking the term may have been applied to some kind of cooking type lard based or vegetable oils but if there is some real whale oil still being used that's really something. Tell you what I'll do. I'll try to find at least one you tube vid that I remember the term being used by a British smith while making a knife I think? Thanks guys, George

Forgemaster Blacksmith model is now available in stainless. Adds considerably to the cost but is good looking and I'm sure longer lasting than a regular painted model. George

Depends on the steel. Some are oil hardening. Some are air hardening. Some just water or brine will do the job. Just depends what you got. Any British out there that can answer what's the stuff they call whale oil?

Americans and British are oftentimes separated by a common language. I've often heard Brits talk about using whale oil for tempering. Problem is true whale oil from whales has been outlawed for at least 100 years. Somebody found an old can someplace and tried to sell it on ebay. He got arrested by the FBI and it made for a heck of an expensive mess. It's also pretty much banned internationally as well which leads me to this question. Research has shown that it is not possible for them to be using real whale oil so what is it that they use and hang that name on? George

Nice job, Tig welded? George

Good score, I like it ;) George

If you look close you can see one side of the face is rolled over the side. Any chance of fixing this? Older anvils had a radiused edge on the off side. It was meant primarily for working wrought iron. A sharp corner was liable to weaken or break the fibers. Thus, anvils were made that way in order to start a gentler curve. Is nothing to be "fixed", was made as intended. Good anvil. Nice score. ;) George

Good to see you on here Don. Somewhere there is a thread with horseshoers talking about horseshoeing. The forging and general smithing helps tremendously and is a part of the trade that I think is important and IMO most shoers don't get enough of. Welcome and hope to see more of you. George

Sorry but that plan is poor. You'll not learn this any other way than by doing it. It's participant oriented. The skills needed to build proficiency will not come from any book or website. Also, unlike everybody else around here I really don't care where you're from. (These guys are like a monotonous broken record always telling people to put up their locations) You know where you're from so find a blacksmith group near you. Go to their meetings learn what you can. Get some hammer time. No other way will get it done. George

Nick, This is a cool topic. I too would like to have a brick or masonry type. What I'd like to find is some drawings or blueprints that could be handed to a mason or bricklayer with instructions to "go ahead do this" I've heard tell that stuff like that can be gotten from ABANA? Hope it works out for you. George

Yes sir. It went up here in Pennsylvania too. What was costing me about $12 to fill is now over $18. An overnight increase of 50%. BTW I get mine at Tractor Supply which is lowest priced around. I'm sure anybody else would be more. It is a big fat lie that there is a shortage. If that were the case we would see distributors without gas. Is gouging plain and simple. George

Whisper Daddy is about the best NC tool has to offer. Is an ok gas forge especially if you don't bounce it around in a truck. JHM anvils OTOH are among my least favorite anvils. Their big competitor models are nice but their smaller horseshoers models have a few major design flaws. Rather than have 2 pritchel holes as most shoeing anvils do, they have only one and it's completely in the wrong place. They also have turning cams. These are meant for cold shoeing cowboys and really serve no useful purpose and tend to get in the way. If you just need an anvil go ahead and buy it but personally I'd pass on the JHM. George

Making chain. Chainmakers anvils had holes in them like that. George

Good score on the anvil. I like it. Is not often you find them that pristine. Looks brand new. Also some very nice work. You appear to have a ton of talent. There is one more option that's available as far as mounting and that's to get or make one of those 3 legged anvil stumps. They're often used by horseshoers who have to deal with uneven ground in the itinerant work that they do. One of those might eliminate the need to be tearing up the floor or foundation? George

I think there's something you guys need to remember about power hammers. Yes they're a great tool. Those of us who don't have one wish we did but..... They only strike straight up and down. Strikers can hit from all angles and directions. Power hammers don't take lunch breaks, call in sick, pay Union dues or make an issue of overtime. Strikers don't increase your electric bill when they work or quit when power goes out. Is pros and cons to each be it human or machine power but if using strikers it's certainly better to equip them with as big an anvil as possible. The ultra big 1000#+ anvils that Fisher and H-B made only one of.... they weren't really using anvils as much as a company show off advertising thing. The one made for the Columbian exposition was made just for that. Sort of a competition amongst manufacturers type of deal. George

Yes, At last count they had a Blacksmiths division with members numbering several hundred. In addition to Industrial Smiths, Shipsmiths and Railroad Smiths, New York City Sanitation Dept. and Dept of Transportation employ smiths to fabricate specialty parts for their trucks and equipment. Those guys are also members of the Boilermakers. I'm thinking if there is nothing in this country as there is elsewhere perhaps an organization should be formed with the express purpose of working towards that goal. George Kicking this one in the butt to try to get it moving. What is needed for British Smiths to gain entrance to the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths? Any other guys living outside the USA that have some kind of formal or legal recognition could you tell what was necessary to obtain? Can you guys describe in detail the testing you may have taken? Thanks in advance George

Question I have about this issue is this. Is there any certifying organization for the trade? Artists and Hobbyists for obvious reasons need not be concerned with such things, the stuff I refer to is places like Railroads, Shipyards and such. Places like that which still employ working Blacksmiths. Horseshoers have certification from their respective organizations. Welders have certification for various equipment, techniques etc which is pretty essential to obtaining employment in that trade. Do Blacksmiths have anything similar to make one more attractive to a potential employer? Also, if there are any Boilermakers Union members on this board...... Is there a test to obtain a Journeyman's card? If so, what does it consist of? Thanks in advance to anybody who can answer any of these questions. George