dablacksmith

Az ren fare...its close to home....

it was worth doin ...and will get better as the years go by ! gota get people usta finding hand forged ironwork !

just a few pictures of the ren fare booth this year .... it was a pretty good show this year!

when your forging the product you sell you are a blacksmith ... if you are welding and grinding you are fabricating its all on what your making at the time... i can fab but i usually dont sell that skill.... it takes some explaining to teach people the difference .... most figure if you work metal its blacksmithin no matter what your doin....and they bring me cast stuff and ask "can you make another one like this one".... as far as bein a blacksmith if you get it hot and beat it your one.... now bein a master blacksmith is a different story......

i would not buy it for use as a anvil... but its cheap enuf to buy it for the metal .. as far as a anvil a old sledge hammer head would work better for knife making ... at least it is going to be hard...and they can be found cheap also...just my opinion...

need pictures to give a idea on price...it is one of the tough parts of being a blacksmith full time ... knives are especially tough as there is a lot of factory made to compare to... 60 is a bit low but without looking cant say for sure...i make a few knives but rarely get my time from them...but ime not setup to make knives so it takes longer...

quite inpressive! so what are you going to make with the finished bloom....i have to try doing this once....

well i wont argue i use a anvil with the horn eather way tho if i set it up the horn is to the right and ime left handed... ive also worked various setups where the horn was the other way dosnt make much difference to me.....

purist from what era??? my shop in the museum could be considered a "purist" shop from about 1920.... all the tools i use were available by that time ..... i use electricity for a line shaft cause it was available in the area by 1912(100 years ago)and its no hardship...but by that time most of the tools used today were available (bandsaw, drill press,grinder ,power hammer ,flypress,ect)about the only tools that wernt available are things like plasma cutter and induction forges ... electric welders wernt common but oxy acyl was...but i am not sharpening plow shares and fixing wagons not that i wouldnt just not the call for it... i think its interesting what people think of as "authentic" blacksmithing .. like the bias against trip hammers....they have found evidence of trip hammers as from the roman era....and sledge hammer wielding aprentices are thin on the ground nowadays...but i still get the question "are you a traditional blacksmith" ime not sure what they are really asking tho sometimes i think theyre wanting to know if i shoe horses.....because everybody knows blacksmiths shoe horses!

i would charge 65 for that....figure 20.00 a head and a bit more for the assembly ..you could turn it into a door knocker .. I make those and sell um for 75.00 not the same but similar...

well i am a professional smith and i still keep my standards! it can get boring dealing with the public (is that a REAL fire?) but i injoy making things for a living ! if i wanted to make more money tho i would go to work a " regular " job...i make enuf to keep my (modest) needs and keep me in steel ...i will never be rich and if i was given a fortune i would spend it on a big shop and lots of tools....i dont make welded stuff or things i consider junk....in fact ime kinda picky on what i will make cause it is hard to find the right balance between sellable and what ime willing to make...(no i will not make 200$ swords)its a personal questio and everyone has to decide on theyre own but i think ive found the right mix for me!!!!

had a rat in mine .... wasnt floating and gave me a start when i fished it up!!

nice lookin hammer ! but... plastic handle????

this is a dissucion i have with school kids a lot when i demo and theyre take on blacksmiths is usually "blacksmith ... you make swords and armor" not any better in my opinion but i satill get a lot of older people who have no clue ... but the same people think my coke burning and ask "so where is the propane" or "is that electric?" they never have seen a fire!its kinda scarry.....

wow Great first hawk! you defenitely have forged before before!nice work

if its a 50 lbr a 2 hp motor should run it fine .... but ide get it home as soon as you can and go from there...

well this is a long thread and a LOT of good answers ... I do a lot of demoing and am asked a lot of stupid questions ...i tend to not post much on the stupid questions that happen here (waste of time) I do get people who want me to teach them and if they are serious i will help but...I have in the past had people want to "aprentice" under me .... I figured out that theyre real reason for being in my shop was to make a particular item ...once that was done they were gone...its something ive learned over the years now that i want someone who shows commitment if ime going to bother to teach.If you show commitment and willingness to learn i can help!but blacksmithing isnt something you learn by reading in fact the basics are all mussle memory and eye skills and feel..and there is a learning curve you cant change ....

ide buy one of the cast drifts .. i made my first one and it takes a lot of time ... and one can be had for under 30 $ on ebay i checked ...use blacksmith hammer drift for search...

antique anvil.htmi am looking for a member in france to become my agent for a purchace of a anvil .http://cgi.ebay.fr/SUPERBE-ENCLUME-18EME-SIECLE-ANVIL-AMBOSS-/270928025988?pt=FR_JG_Art_Objets_XIX&hash=item3f14919984 I would need it shipped to the united states ...

how about the quench myths like "urine from a red headed boy" or the favorite "hardened by driving a sword thru a slave" tho that one you couldnt demo you can explain about trying to drive a red hot sword thru flesh...without bending of course ..only ones i can think of right now..

draw knife and sander .. and i buy handles wherever i can find um .. i have a hawk mandrel i use ...

might try johnsons paste wax applied hot (not too hot just below smokeing). have used this and it can come out nice.. for eating utensils a spray oil (dont aim it at the fire!) works nice..i use mostly rustolium crystal clear spray paint.its easy and durable dosent hide details but protects from rust...

ive done these and they arnt too tough ... was shown how by Pieter Ross many years ago the weld dosnt need to be all the way to the eye to look good as long as you get the edges to weld it works fine .. its not too tough but you have to move fast...good luck!