natkova

I forged rose

I used to grind 45 degree bevel in, one one side and the other like in this video It look weak because it did break while I was forging so I fixed it like Nils Did . That picture was taken before right weld was made. Wanted to show how eye I made , and after I welded "right" way , I attached handle so it was not possible to see how eye look later.

I will never do this again , made mistake , I punched hole through leaf Spring drifted eye there and again made another lead Spring for blade. Eye is made in European style , it is where one part is like oval and other part of eye is squarish.

I will just stick weld blade to it.

Welded axe then used to draw it out , would be drawn out again later and weld will be fixed. Made mistake , part for eye was made too small to draw out later Edge for it. It's made from leaf Spring , then again I welded leaf Spring to it. Wanted to make it from one piece but made mistake in calculation. Tool would be functioning this way to, just it's not "proper way to do it " .

Axe that iam forging in progress

My coworker wanted his axe to be drawn out resharpenwd then I did that . In Balkans it's tradition that we sharpen our axes this way. Before and after it was drawn out with hammer then I used grinders and file . Had problems with steel edge cause customer cut steel part of it. I charged 20 KM Wich is like 10 euros or 13-14 dollars for that sharpening. For price of 30 KM Bosnian convertible mark you can buy new axe. I made axe handle drawn out Edge sharpened it and it's ready now. He say it's good.

My inbox is full now of people who passed away , knowledge stay in those messages , I don't know how should I feel and what wise and honorable to say, that is reason I come here rare when I look at those messages now , it is sad and depressing a bit. I think I will continue posting here my progress so other can learn from me and I learn from others, like Frosty did shared his knowledge with me that was passed to him from other folks. Excuse my grammar or some mistake in language , English is not my native language.

After Glenn , he was second guy who I asked for tips and shared messages , he will be missed. I visit forum rarely , but I saw on Facebook page that Frosty passed away, connected dots and it's him on forum , same nick.

Well i told it myself, yes like @Ridgeway forge said , he pointed it out to other person, long story short i asked him how his bellows are doing and how he is making them, he said he is not in rush to build them. Well i guess i wont be asking him does he want this book that i bought about blelows couple years a go. He will come later i think when he change mind to ask tip, i wont be asking him anything else regrads of shop. Its not like iam humiliated or something, just i wont be backbiting someone and point his messy shop to other person just so i can look better. "Iam messy but his shop is in way more mess".

Well I won't reach him how to forge just guide him in craft how to set up shop either way

I didint want to open new topic about this but guys can you help me about this decision. Some new smith appeared and he wanted me to show him my shop, he is from my vilage , have problems with back, etc he don't work, and wanted some hobby while he is sick , to see how trade go, i showed him my bellows, forge blower anvil, vise etc. tools. And he commented on how messy was my shop, i agreed but that is not point, later on he told other guy behind my back how his shop is messy but mine is worse. Basicly he backstabbet me, i have book on bellows and i could help him more for sake of trade, but kinda i feel humiliated reaching out to him to show him something more. I feel like my dignity is a bit shaken, but on other hand i want to share knowledge. How you would react, probably i would give him this book about bellows to read , but i feel like iam humiliating myself more by helping me on this path.

I have wet stone i hope it would help, but i saw them scrub it with file. After they are done diping in water in first heat, idk man they were doing it all time and no complains just he said me later (he is ill now and can't forge) small hatchet you go for straw yelowish temper but for big axes use blue color.

Frosty they old blacksmith never used here at my place oil only water, and they are best know for it. He explained me , he beat axe like one inch red , then he dunk it in water for 2.3 seconds max then he take it out, and whole heat come from axe to that place and you can see colors I saw them. Maybe I made mistake before I Didint cleaned axe right when I took it from forge I was afraid I would use heat , then I dunk it fast , and when I take axe out I can't see colors clearly. So I went by "time" guessed , and there is trick he used with old ragg , he "freeze" color with it , and next he wait other colors, then dunk axe. Swed. You have right blue is too soft I have experience too. Well my forge is decent to hear steel even forge weld when I want and have to Monday special well I tested it now while it's cold with steel and banged it with hammer sound like decent piece

Frosty does it stink from who'll, I guess there is lots of smoke where wool meet hot steel.

Wll frosty i cant cut guys axe bit by bit, its old axe. I think i would try that method that you mentioned before but axe by itself is pretty ruined i mean he crooked eye of it, i dont know what to straighten eye or blade before . Well file test it can bite but hard. I noticed its good steel. And before those i had 4 axes i only fitted on axe handle and tested them with files. Before i had issues ruined three axes with tempering, tempered them to blue color. or went by luck. one was mine axe, and other was from one coworker, and third from my neighbour. i fixed neighbour axe (i hope i did) second time by chasin straw yelowish color before that it was blue. Ruined my small axe i can now file on it realy easy it is soft and dont bite in wood like it used to. So this new customer my coworker wanted me to fix his, i tought quenching in oil but i wont do that, heard i can put too much preassure on electrical instalations 420 degrees farenhait or celsius 200 is too much to be 2 hours on. Mike i dont have propane torch i could heat block steel. Thing is from old smith I learned from them that they doo all in one heat and they quench in water. i never dared to quench axe too britle. i reather make it soft and useless like that then for it to break. That's what old smith told me, its better to rasahape it back then having it broke by someone, but mine were too soft , couldn't bite in wood and couldn't hold edge, and maybe i changed bevel but thats different topic.

So it work like wax ?

I saw on some youtube videos they use wool like someone use bees wax Any info on that. I can show you some videos of using wool here in Balkans.

I want to heat treat axe in oill then in oven but i have problem with convincing folks around me that it will be ok having oven for 2 hours at certain degrees temperature. I can quench it in oil then temper in oven.- Second option is to do it old way with water, get it to red non magnetic, then quench in water for 1-3 seconds then again take it out of water and "chase" colors wich come first and quench it completly What you suggest me. Previously i have bad luck with it i leave weak axe temper maybe blue one, because iam afraid since iam working with water that i will quench it too much and it stay too much soft , i was afaraid it will be brittle and it become soft, then again i have to repeat proces. Isues with this method is i cant scrap it shiny after i want to see colors clearly. Any tips. I know how proces goes "old way" but i dont know when colors begin, do i wait for them too much, or i miss them second time i want to temper it. Old blacksmith whom i went (he can't work now) showed me he do all in one heat, quenching and tempering, first he quench as i said after red heat 2-3 seconds , then he temper axe.

Well you could used drawknife, hand tools are not bad if you know right tool to use

Turn out weak point was not at eye of flatter but on handle itself, handle was just prototype I used to se how it will all go. Everything is polished, eye goes in come shape tapering from bottom to top, and I attached handle opposite of that. This showed that eye is not too "small"

I don't see other solution, won't be first time to file , back day in school they made us file 1/2 " 12 mm round bar to hexagonal so it would be centerpunch . That's how they msde us do, I need only now to enlarge hole better it's goes to come Chapel I must admit, one side is narrower then other side of eye. But I can feel in my hand that wood Is too weak , and I like wood on my tools , I can use some rod and weld it even I can pass it through that eye and wrap it around , but that's not my intention. Just to widen eye a bit I would use round file I would try with it Other solution can be using cold chisel and first drilling small holes using drill Press with good Hss drill bit then chipping it out by hand . It can be done I rarely use flatter but it was nice project to make. I Didint light forge in months, and I can tell you I had lots of midges and mosquitos who were gone when smoke arrived and fire in shop. Cause I usually do some woodworking projects , it was summer and for blacksmithing I need more preparation (buying fuel, lightening forge, getting dirty) With woodworking I can approach to work exact time, no need to light forge , gather fuel etc. And it was hot summer. Sometimes I need to "make up (like what to forge today )" projects, and my shop look like is hybrid of woodworking and blacksmithing , I myself sometimes have to swipe some wood shavings under forge for safety measures . Will see what I will do with flatter ism not in rush to be honest I only find it twice or once useful and thought what if I had flatter and it was when I was drawing out axe, so I have less hammer marks, at places and times when I want surface realy flat I might test it. But as frosty said I need first to hone face of flatter that leaf Spring part and eye is weak spot .

hi frosty i didnt tried it only made it with mild steel and leaf spring, i will test it later, i will have to file eye more or drift but I think i will file it cause hole for eye is too small. Flater is like 3 inches by 3 inches wide about 7 cm. But as i said eye seems to be too small.

Well it's fabricated

Fabricated myself flatter from 1 " by " mild steel welded leaf Spring to it