Dabbsterinn

another version that I´ve heard regarding horseshoes is that you have to find them somewhere in the field for them to bring you luck, because then they could be from Sleipnir, the story goes that he gallops so hard that he kicks his shoes off

I don't wear my rings unless we either have guests or I'm going out for a social gathering. I also always take off my necklace when I go to work not necessarily for safety reasons since the string is thin enough that it should break under some tension, not that I'm willing to risk it though, but because I like my necklace and I want to own it for as long as I can

i only know a few blacksmith specific tool names in icelandic töng=tong hamar=hammer dór=drift löð=nail or bolt header saumhögg= hardy cut-off meitill= chisel kjörnari= centerpunch steðji=anvil skrúfstykki= vice eldstæði or afl= forge

The most creative use for a barrel that i've seen was done by a friend of mine, the picture below tells the whole story

i have a 1922 i believe Söderfors, but yesterday i picked up a fuller that seems to me to be hand made and no markings on it but i think it's pretty old but in the museum here there supposedly is a 900 year old anvil, i'll try to get some pictures of it if i remember to next time im there

here's a little trick i learned from my mother, get some sugar on your hands and some of that dish soap, it's essentially the same as some other suggestions here but i figured it's worth a mention, just make sure to wash all the sugar off when you're done, else you'll end up with really sticky hands

not much progress really but there definately has been some, i haven't really been able to work there because ya know, it's winter here, im not overly fond of the frost and neither is my quench bucket, the light is also an issue but i set up a floodlight so maybe i'll have an update here in the coming days, thanks for reminding me by the way

hmm, i'd figure SS would be nice, that's what most silverware is made out of either way, just make sure it ain't galv or anything else of that nature, wait for the more wiser guys to come along with their suggestions on what to use, they know a good bit more than me

heh, didn't know victorinox made anvils

i somehow doubt it, according to what i've heard and the sagas, their swords bent really easily and a good example of that is from Laxdæla, where Kjartan was slain because he was straightening his sword by standing on it, there are two versions of this story though, the other is that he refused to fight his adopted brother Bolli, but Bolli wasn't on the same page and yea, ran him through with his sword

it's a symbolic thing, i don't remember the exact tale but if you didn't destroy your enemies weapon then that could somehow come back at you and do you some harm, i think they said something about this in the Secrets of the Viking sword maybe Ric here has a better answer to this

i'd probably have to weld it shut to make sure i don't dip my hand once or twice in it

just anything with more space and insulation than the shipping container i have now, electricity and water would also be a nice addition

for the tongs, Brian Brazeal and Daniel Lea both have pretty good videos on how to make them, it sure isn't the easiest way, but good things are rarely easy to make, i think an Englishman by the name of Gary Huston has a channel, i think he shows an easier way to make tongs, but they are more lightweight and might be prone to cracking at the joint of the boss and the jaws, i've had that happen with my rebar tongs and smaller ones, it's just a matter of practice, i suggest making a lot of them and taking your time to make them, that's the mistake i was making most of the time, i was trying to move all i could of the metal in one strike rather than all i needed, it also tired me out pretty fast. now that i think of it, there is a post or a blueprint here with instructions on how to make easy tongs, i'll see if i can dig it up later today.

i've heard about putting some water on your anvil and dipping the hammer in water before the first hit, that supposedly pops most of the scale off, i haven't tried it myself but i've heard about it a few times here

why not butt-weld some of that 5160 on the poll?, or cover it with hard-facing rod if you have the means to

sounds like a very interesting project, but unless you're really good at welding or have some kind of a dremel or something to clean up the welds, might i suggest drilling and tapping the shot put instead of welding it on, and then just threading the spikes, i bet that would look a lot neater, if you have a drill press then drilling the holes straight shouldn't really be a problem. and i believe it would be a whole lot stronger than just welding it on but if you really want to be fancy, you could make shoulders on the spikes, then drill holes that are just a little, we're talking >1mm difference, bit smaller than the spikes in the shot put in the arrangement that you want your spikes to be, heat up the shot put (bad idea?, i've heard it's not a good idea. something to do with possible air gaps inside the shot put, wait for replies from others before doing this) and get the shot put up to, yellow-ish and put the spikes in cold and let it cool, the heat shrinking should get them solid, maybe you have to cool them down with dry ice, just beware that once the spikes get in, the shot put will cool down quickly around that area and seal it up, so be quick getting them in and make sure not to stand in the way, could be some expanding gas which might blow the spike out, and that could be really messy if you're standing in the way but that's just a theory of mine, i advise you to await replies to my suggestions and try everything else before trying this

hey, have you ever tried using them?, i bet they'd work pretty well as long as you don't have a hammer too big for them

iron around fruit trees and roses work well, i gave my mom a jar full of scale when she bought a new rose, she says that she's never seen a rose grow like that

my guess would be söderfors, could also be a PW, i've heard they look similar, the feet are a bit of a puzzle, can you tell if they're like that from factory or somebody modified it?

well, im not expert in gears or rust things, but what i'd do is i't hit it with a lot of WD-40 or something like that and let it sit for a while, maybe finlube would work better, just any penetrating oil i think, maybe try to move them a little bit while applying it to help getting it between the gears. i'd advise you to wait for some more advice from more experienced people rather than running out right now and do this, but i have a feeling that they'll suggest something similar

i do some archery now and then, when the mood strikes me, i have a hunting bow, none of that olympic recurve stuff, sights, balance rods or things like that, too many things that can go wrong i'd say, i've been looking for a viking style bow, i know a dude who makes them but im gonna wait until i get into the viking fighting re-enactment club here. they also have an archery division and if you're in that you can get a discount

hi, im alright here, the volcano poses no threat at all to the population here, unless you pretty much literally walk into it, or fly over it, there have been some concerns of sulphur dioxide i think but that's only in one town far from here, and that's only a problem for people with underlying lung problems, im well, just really busy with school and taking my driving test, i've been itching to get back to the forge, expect some new stuff coming from me this week www.livefromiceland.is/webcams/bardarbunga-2/

i've seen knives with a layers similar to those here, thick black steel with thin silvery lines, they were just stacked though, no twisting or anything, atleast that's how i remember it, it was a few years ago

i only know about one anvil related, you don't leave your hammer on the anvil overnight, or else the devil will come to your smithy and do his evil work or something then there's one not really blacksmith related but still, you never give someone a knife, you must always pay or be payed for one, even if it's just a penny, or else the knife will sever the friendship