Zwalla

Thanks for the replies! I'm going to try a drawknife next, I think, as it will be useful to me and likely get plenty of use. I'm also going to look around for belt sanders, and find someplace near to by known steel. I look forward to diving further into bladesmithing!

I started this about a week ago, and spent about a week before that just tinkering around with a the hammer and anvil, getting used to how metal moves. Anyways, after seeing all the beautiful knives on here and around the web, I figured I'd give bladesmithing a shot with just what I had around. I forged it out of scrap steel bar that I found, which spark-tested as high carbon steel. Quenched in motor oil, and triple-tempered. I used an old bench grinder for, well, grinding, and did the filing and sanding by hand. The handle was made out of a piece of 2x4 I found lying in my garage, and I painted it with the first suitable paint I found because the wood itself was very ugly. I started out thinking of making a sgian dubh, but once I started I just kind of went with it (I apologize for the crappy picture): Any constructive input is greatly appreciated by this newbie. It was a real fun thing to do, and I'm already thinking of what to try next :D. Any recommendations?

The anvil is an 1853 William Foster. There's a post about it in the Anvils section now. Thanks for all the help! :)

I think it is almost certainly a William Foster after a quick google. What I thought was: "WILLIAM POSTE WARRANTE 1852 JP" Is actually: "WILLIAM FOSTER WARRANTED 1852 JP" They were known for the crowns around the writing it and their date-stamping. I certainly don't plan on selling it, but just for curiosity's sake, would any of you know a normal/average price for something like this? Thanks!

All I know about this anvil is that it belonged to at least my great-great grandfather, he may have inherited it from his father, and it's 135lbs (weighed this morning). I apologize in advance for the crappy phone pics, I forgot to take my camera with me. The whole anvil: I believes the writing on this side of the anvil says: "WILLIAM POSTE (HOSTE? ROSTE?) WARRANTE 1852 JP" "1 0 22" is on the opposite side of the anvil. Now here are some pictures of different parts of the anvil... So, what do you all think of the general condition? Is it still usable? I appreciate any information you can give me! Zack

Here is the anvil. I warned you it was dirty, but I hope it's still usable? I'd like some input on this if possible: An old hammer that has obviously seen some use: The forge: So what do you guys think?

Oh, sorry, my grandfather has never really done much smithing as far as I know (though he does seem a little excited about me trying it, as he is the one who took/sent the pictures and called me again today to tell me about what he's found. Maybe he has a secret smithing past I don't know about. I'll have to ask). This is all my great-grandfather's stuff that he also inherited from his father, and some/all of it has quite possibly been in the family longer than that. The only thing my grandmother knows is that it's been around far longer than her. On my grandmother's side, they've pretty well always ran a wagon shop and as such did a lot of smithing. I've found many hand-forged things partially hidden in the barn and whatnot over the years. I'm actually not an adult. I'm 16, but yes, I will be wearing an apron and gloves and eye protection. My father will be with me much of the time as well. Once again, thanks for the warm welcome!

Thanks, I'll probably join OABA once I get everything home safe and sound! An update on the anvil: My grandmother came down today with pictures of it. Looks a little dirty but there are no obvious defects. That's a good sign, I guess! I'll try and post some of the pictures once I find the cord for the camera, and I'll post any markings/numbers I find on saturday to try and ID this sucker. He also has a bunch of different hammers, a pair of tongs, and an old homemade crank forge. Since lifting it he now guestimates the weight of the anvil to be about 175 lbs. I'm getting excited..! :D

Thanks for the welcomes! Yes, I live in Ontario, Canada. I suppose I should go update my location to show that...

I've always had a sort of nagging interest in smithing, and have been reading furiously about blacksmithing and lurking here for a few weeks. I've decided to join now because I'm actually getting tools lined up. My maternal grandmother's family have been on the same land since it was deeded to them upon arrival from Ireland in the early 1850's. The vast majority of them owned and ran a wagon shop and even the ones who didn't were farmers who made many of their own tools. Because I knew all this, I contacted my grandfather who now lives there and asked if he knew if they had an anvil around or knew someone who did. He said he knew he had one that he guesses is about 200lbs. I told him I was thinking of trying my hand at blacksmithing, he got a little excited and told me he had many older, family blacksmithing tools around as well. He has told me he's gotten everything he could find and has it waiting for me up there. I should be heading up this weekend and most likely bringing it all home. I'm hoping the anvil isn't damaged! Sorry for rambling on and telling you all my life story. Anyways, I've joined because I'll most likely be posting and asking questions about this anvil I have waiting for me. I've learned a lot from this community already (thanks for that), and hope to learn much more. Zack