craig

That's awesome !! And it especially goes well with the picture.

Nice work !! And design as well...I always think it's gotta be tough designing something to look original but yet not too unordinary.

What are you making out of this stock ?

Even if it is not "high carbon iron" (which would be steel)...it is not necessarily "crap" Unless you are making tools or blades that need to be hardened, mild steel is what you want for making just about everything else. (inluding many tools)

Crazy...maybe a little over the top...but pretty cool...but I would rather have one of these I think The Stainless Steel Special by Drivin' Ivan

Yeah, mine too I really like the style of the joint area, and also the cleanliness in general.

Hey, 2 out of 3 aint bad...I got an awful lot of stuff I wouldn't post pictures of. As for the anvil, the last time I had the fire going I was straightening out one of the rear springs off my Taurus in the vise with the intention of making another pair of tongs and maybe some punches...but I haven't gotten much chance to try out the anvil yet...One thing I'm looking forward to is making some various hardy tools since it's got a 3/4" hardy hold as opposed to the 1" which, for me will make a big difference if I want to forge them out of solid bar...also it has a pritchel hole, something I never had before and wished I did...and a horn that is actually round and pointed instead of the flat topped stubby thing sticking out of the front of my ASO. So, the short answer is, I'm happy with it so far !! :)

Nice Mark !! It's very creative, and I'm sure it will be appreciated...I don't think it's too disproportionate, and at least you know it's not going to blow over and burn the guys house down ...You say this is your 3rd piece...What was the 2nd ??

You don't need too much to start out with...You can do a lot with an improvised forge, anvil, and hammer.

That's nice !! I've never done any pattern welding (or much welding at all for that matter) But I imagine it's difficult enough getting a decent pattern let alone having nice straight edges welded along the length for the cutting edge...Did you take any pics of the entire piece ?

The only dipping I can think of is quenching...??

Do you have any idea what this piece was originally from ? Are those rust spots on it ? It is unlikely to be stainless unless it was from some type of industrial food manufacturing equipment...

Man...I knew I shouldn't have written that huge post ;-) Oh well, some thoughts to ponder for next time I suppose... At least we all know what it is now !!

At first I was going to agree...but then I looked closer at the pictures and remembered some spark testing I did on 2 different leaf springs I had found...I used some mild steel and an old file to sort of "benchmark" or whatever you want to call it...one spring, sparked almost like the file, and the other (which I have figured to be 5160) while it was noticeably higher than the mild steel, was also not even comparable to the other spring or the file. Based on your pictures, I would say, in my "opinion" your "5160" probably is 5160...possibly you are just not hot enough ?? Not cooling enough ?? In any case after quench, it shouldn't be dead soft if you are getting it (and keeping it) hot enough before quench. Just test a small piece at higher temp. And, as Quenchcrack mentioned, be sure to remove the dacarb layer...it could be thicker than you think if you are spending so much time at temperature, depending on the atmosphere in your oven. Personally, I wouldn't soak for 10 minutes on something thin like that.

Hi Mark, that is one nice looking candlestick holder !! I don't know why, but I especially like the tapered curl at the top...maybe because it's so much work to do on a 1" bar. Did you use your power hammer for that ? But in any case, it looks like it turned out great !! The only suggestion I can give is to make one for the guy you SOLD your other leg vise to ;) Just kidding, can't wait to see more !!

Thanks for all the suggestions !! I didn't ask for drops...From what I could see, the place looked more like just an installation type of spring shop...they just had pallets and pallets of springs. What I got was just a plain leaf, it was already curved (but the ends were straight) and heat treated...I don't know if we have a place in town that actually makes and heat treats springs themselves. Mainly I was just looking to find a "known" steel (I made sure to ask) so I knew what I was working with if I was going to spend a large amount of time and fuel for some larger blades. I haven't used any of it yet, but I'll be sure to post when I do. Thanks again !!

So I finally went out and bought a piece of brand new 5160 today from a local spring shop...I was surprised at the price...it was $30 for 4 feet of 1/4"x2" 5160 I thought it wasn't bad considering a local wrecker lists used leaf springs at $20 on their website. Normally I just mess around with found materials...but I wanted to try a few larger blades and don't have much laying around that would be suitable. I just wanted to ask if you think that is a reasonable price if I decide to buy more someday ? Thanks !!

That's a nice looking combination of materials...especially the blade, bolsters, and the handle ;)

That looks awesome !!

I did see his YouTube video, and a lot of good info on his website too...I've always loved the look of "as forged" blades, then when I saw his stuff it was quite an inspiration for sure !!

Just an update...this blade did not make it...:(

I was thinking of zipping along the two bolt holes and maybe making them into a couple small chisels or something... Or maybe straightneing the whole thing out, cut out the holes leaving two "tangs"...forge them to points and drive it into a block of wood for a hot-cut (which I was planning on making someday anyways) But first I want to see if I can get this blade to work out...then if I still have enough fuel left I might mess around with the center part. The tomahawk is a cool idea for the sides.

There's all kinds of stuff to be found...although I'm certain I won't be scrounging any osage orange fence posts around here .... I oil quenched this morning, but it didn't harden as well as I liked, so I water quenched but forgot to normalize again after the oil and it warped big time...so I'm going to have to try again, hopefully it survives...I've water quenched samples of this steel but I had the test pieces nicely sanded smooth, not "as forged" like this one...so we'll see what happens.