craig

Well I spent a little more time on it and I was able to shave a few hairs off my arm so I figure it's good enough for the purpose even though I'm about 10 minutes over...now that I'm finished maybe I'll do a little whittling on the handle just for fun.

Looks pretty cool Craig.

Were you actually forging in this weather yesterday?

Yeah, it's not so bad after the stove has been burning for an hour...but my whole bench is covered in snow...it just blows right through the walls.

Craig,
Good job. Thanks for posting pictures.
I dont worry about scale. Put a little water on the anvil when you are close to finishing the flattening/smoothing process. It will shock off some of the scale and expect a large bang from the steam that is created when you hit the steel. Forge the edge fairly thin. That way, you will have less work getting an edge. I know, the old adage for edges is "forge thick and grind thin" but I push it some to make it easier to grind or stone.
This is a good first attempt and you are improving your skills as you go along. Rough is endearing.
Bob

Worry about scale ?? I think it shows that I wasn't worried about anything !! Other than the 3"x1/2" dimensions that is...and except for near the handle there is no spot on the blade thicker than 1 mm.
But not getting the sharpening finished without the grinder wasn't surprising for me...maybe i just need a better stone

Wow, yeah I just spent 20 mins with this thing on the stone and I don't even have an edge yet let alone a shaving edge...10 minutes left...not going to happen.

Well, I was able to use my camera as my card reader...so here's what i got so far...there's approx 20-25 mins work time (I was considered starting over since it is so ugly...but I figured I'd just go with it)
I didn't include straightening of the 3/16" spring I started with.
There's really only about 10 mins of forging here (including hot cutting)
The rest of the time was spent on a normalize/quench/temper, filing off the decarb, drilling a hole in a bit of scrap wood using my handy drilling machine shown
and a bit of rough whitling of the handle.
If I have some time left in the budget after sharpening I'll do a little more on the handle. (She's pretty thin so I just might be able to pull it off with a hand stone and then finish with my spyderco sharpmaker)
The widest area of the blade is almost 3/4" and the area of blade I plan to sharpen is a little over 3" long.

I was going to put up some progress pics...but apparently my SD reader is not working...I put in my card and it's like it doesn't exist. (I don't mean to get off topic, but anybody have any suggestions ?)

I'm going to give it a shot tonight and I'm not going to use my hand crank grinder since I'm assuming most people don't have one...just to be fair
So I'll either be posting pics or notice of failure haha

For example, if a neighbor stopped in with a case of beer or ten bucks or something and asked for a utility knife to use out in the yard...you make something cheap and easy to whatever design you feel would fit the bill.

In this kind of scenario, I'd be like "yeah, I'll whack one out for you...but it's gonna be a rough edge, tapered tang in an unfinished chunk of wood for a handle"
I think that's already asking a lot for 1 hour's worth of work...but if they're asking for a razor edge with no power tools I'll let him borrow my hand stone :P

The one hour limit is a fuzzy thing, how about what you think an experienced person can do in about one hour and leave heat treat time out of it. This way hobbyists who don't get lots of practice are not intimidated as much.

I hope to get some time to try this.

Phil

Also, time limits may cause people to rush, taking shortcuts...which can lead to injury.
I would suggest rules along the lines of - making the simplest, most basic, no-frills cutting tool using whatever steel and design you choose.
For example, if a neighbor stopped in with a case of beer or ten bucks or something and asked for a utility knife to use out in the yard...you make something cheap and easy to whatever design you feel would fit the bill.

Personally I like seeing different people's ideas for designs as opposed to everybody making the "same" knife.
Essentially we'll all be ending up with a small bit of steel with an edge on it...but we might get some neat little cutters.

I have a small hand crank grinder as well, and i've used it for a couple blades...I have to hold the blade along the top of the wheel lengthwise because there's not much clearance between the crank and the wheel.

Cool idea, but I'm a little slow on the sharpening...if I get a chance to light up the forge in the near future I'll give it a go anyways !!
With this 1/2" min width, we're still allowed to taper to a point right ? I mean as long as part of the blade is 1/2" ? Otherwise we'll all be making straight razors ;-)

Those are cool, and I really like the little sheaths to go with them !!
Thanks for sharing :-)

You know that at some time you will no longer be the "New Kid".

He's right...and just because you're young or new, doesn't mean you don't have skills or talent...we might end up asking YOU for tips !!

Prints ?? Not exactly sure what you mean.
But how about taking a look at this-

If that's not what you're looking for, try spending a few weeks reading the forums and browsing the gallery (that's what I did when I first joined) you'll find more info and ideas on this site than you can possibly imagine...maybe not specificaly related to what you're doing...but one thing leads to another... :P

Very nice, amazing detail !!
Congratulations !! :)

Here for big game a broadhead needs to be at least 7/8" But for small game there is no restrictions...so check your local laws.

But from a smithing point of view, it looks excellent !!
Nice job !!

what i was actually saying that it makes no difference to anneal before forging

Yeah, that's what I had always thought too...and if it did make a difference, it couldn't be very much.
I just notice once in a while people say they do it, that's all.

So I am trying to think of a strategy to handle this. I had thought that perhaps if I anneal or normalize them three times perhaps I should have an easier time working them.

there is no need to normalize or anneal before forging....once above austenine ( i don't know how to spell it.), it makes no difference

-Annealing-
I've wondered about this from time to time when people say they anneal first before forging... I always thought annealing will make the steel as soft as possible for cold working but it's still a lot harder than it would be at forging temperatures... does a previous annealing step really make it any softer for when it is re-heated to forging temperature ?

-Steel selection-
Fancy tool steels have never really seemed all that enticing to me...my "tool steels" are recycled springs and plain carbon steel (high, med, and mild) because they are cheap if not free and easy to work/heat treat.

-Your chisel-

OK so are you telling me it will make a crappy hot cut hardie? That is disappointing if true. I have been unable to find 5160 of sufficient size to make a 1" square for my hardie.

I was in the same situation when I made the hot cut hardy I am using now...so I used a thinner leaf spring and it sits in the hole corner-to-corner...it may not look like the traditional square-shanked ones...but it works well and was easy to make with the materials I had on hand.

Your's looks great !! And it will surely cut hot steel even though there is a good chance it is "only" plain carbon steel(that stuff is not useless)...that chisel will last longer than you think. :)

I cant imagine even a 50 point drop in ambient shop temperature would affect the forge much given that it is 2000+ degrees inside.

Like Phil said, it's the fuel that wouldn't work for me...my "shop" is not insulated, and though I do have a wood stove, it would take too long to warm up propane tanks as opposed to throwing the charcoal into the forge

If there are farms nearby you should be able to find things like discer blades, rake tines, broken baler pick-up teeth, knife-sections (a little small but maybe useful for something) springs, shafts, bearings, and old cultivator shovels (one of my favorites) :rolleyes:

If a person whats to try cattail tubers, you might think about what is up stream. Anything that is in the water shed above you is also in the sedament that the cattail is growing in.
Be sure of your suroundings.

LeeRoy

True enough...but whatever is in my cattails is probably (to some extent) also in my well water so for the amount of them I'll eat, if any, shouldn't be too bad.
I just wanted to start fires anyways :P

That's alright !! My first "leaf" looked like a flat piece with a square thingy on it for a stem

PS. I like your forge. I've never used gas since it really wouldn't work for me in the winter...but it looks easy to close up and even to change the inner dimensions if you need to...just re-stack the bricks and you got a new forge !!

If you want to keep them nice and round and free from hammer dings and flat spots, try heating just a few inches of the end and then squeeze it straight in a smooth-jawed vice...then just keep working your way along until you have a convenient length of bar you can hold on to with your hand. Makes forging points on the end a lot easier if you don't have good tongs to hold the pieces (I know because I don't really have "good" tongs) ;)

The fluff inside cat tails is supposed to...never tried with a striker, but with a match it works. You get about a basketball sized puff from one cat tail at the correct time of year. That time is late summer into fall, winter, and even possibly early spring when the fluff is coming apart with the seeds.

At the wrong time of year for fire making, but I am unsure the right time for eating, it is supposed to be sorta like corn on the cob, yes, edible...never tried it, not for lack of cat tail. I have half a 1/3 acre pond of *JUST* cattail. The root is a tuber and also edible, supposed to be like potato, and present year round, haven't tried that either.

Phil

Cool, I have some cattails too I'll have to remember that for next year...as for eating, supposedly you can grind them up into a flour as well. I'm pretty sure I read that in the SAS survival handbook. I'll have to re-read it.