blkbear

Woops - replied after only viewing page 1 - got distracted by outside thunder storm. I hereby submit Bend

Dink - as in "double income no kids". Brian

The current issue of Knives Illustrated has an article, and some photos, on our friend and contributor Rich Hale. Well done Rich! BTW what is the name of your horse? A great way to relax. I haven't been riding for a few years now and when i read the article that mentioned your riding I recalled on how much I enjoyed riding and relaxing it was. Brian

I have been thinking about blacksmith tattoos as well and have settled on Thor's hammer with Rune printing on it. Brian

Good question and some very good advice. There is a saying that goes something like "If you love what your are doing you will never work a day in your life". I would agree wholeheartedly with everyone who advocates education. That is one thing no one can take away from you. This is what we have stressed with my daughter ever since she was a little girl - she is now 20. She has just finished her first year at university and what she was studying was not what she expected and she no longer wants to persue that avenue in education. She is off in another direction for next year. Remember you can always change your field of study or work if it turns out not to be what you expected. And you may have to change several times before you find the right fit - or you might find it on the first go. Believe me - you have lots of time to "find that one thing" - quote from the movie City Slickers. Do what you like - or at this point in time what you think you like. Change if it is not what you thought it was going to be to something else. The knowledge you gained while discovering that it wasn't your thing is not wasted knowledge nor wasted time. Brian

Very nice! I like the shapes and the filing on the spine that you have done. Just goes to show that it has not all been done and that there are still limitless posibilities. Brian

My first thoughts were much along the lines as cheftjcook, however rather than having the I beam suspnded in the ceiling I was thinking of having the I beam running close to the floor. A chair/seat with I beam runners could be mounted on the I beam and the seat would have a locking mechanism - the same as modern day office chairs where you can lock the chair into a comfortable position. The smith could push/pull him/herself along the I beam to the desired piece of equipment and lock the chair in place, via a hand lever, so that they could apply force to the piece being worked. If the equipment could be arranged in a circle or oval then the smith could move back and forth between anvil, forge, vice, power hammer, etc. and lock the chair into place using the hand lever.

What movie was that in??

At the OABA, Ontario Artist Blacksmith Association, meetings there is occasionally blacksmith stew made. Everyone attending is asked to bring one pound of meat, cut into 1 inch squres, and one pound of vegetables, no potatoes, also cut into 1 inch squares. It is all dumped into a pot, it is approxinately 2 1/2 feet deep by almost 3 feet in diameter so it cooks up a heap of stew. Add a bit of water and some flavour - bbq sauce or whatever you have handy or want. When you get your bowlful you have no idea what kind of meat and veg you are getting. Makes for some interesting guessing as to what your are eating. And it always tastes great! :-) Brian

What an awesome photo. Both scary, by virtue of the cat being hungry enough to approach the house, and fascinating - beautiful animal. I would definitely be concerned about it being so close aroumd the house. Deer. Don't get me started. I live in Ottawa, Canada and we have the highest deer/car collision rate in the province of Ontario. We have a very unique city in that we have a lot, and I mean a lot of green space and trails in around the city. It is not unusual to have deer and moose wander into and near the cuty centre on all of the connected trails that lead from the countryside right into the downtown core. This city is infamously liberal and years ago banned any hunting in the city. So without predators and pleanty of good eats around, there are several working farms 10 minutes from the downtown core, their population is booming. I have also seen coyotes and wild turkeys together with deer in the same farmland. Poor farmer takes a beating on destroyed crops every year. I am not sure if crop insurance would pay him enough for his losses. Getting back to the story - someone did suggest that we try and impregnate some deer food with deer birth control hormones. A few professional hunters and the deer could be thinned out, meat donated to food banks and missins and the hides, etc. donated to the aboriginal groups who create crafts for a living. Alas, too simple but, it invloves killing a deer. A living animal. This from people who don't stop to think their grocery store meat was once a living breathing animal. The issue is still unresolved but I think a good tongue in cheek suggestion the next time it comes up is to suggest releasing a few mountain cats to do the "dirty" work. :-)

Very pretty.

For those of you who might be close to Toronto the annual Canadian Knifemakers Guild show is coming up quickly. See info below that I have copied over from their web site. 13th Annual Guild Show and Sale, March 17-18th, 2007 10am to 4 pm Admission: $5.00 individual This show and sale runs from 10:00am - 4:00pm daily, with the 2nd Annual Pre-show gala for "Friends of the Guild" to be held on Friday evening, March 16, 2007 starting at 7:00 pm. Four Points Sheraton Toronto Airport (same location under a new name) 6257 Airport Rd., (Across from Terminal 3) Mississauga, ON, L4V 1E4 Phone: (905) 678-1400 for Reservations (All rooms being booked under the Guild rate must be made on or before February 23, 2007 in order to receive the Special Guild rate) Here is a link for a review of the 8th Annual Spring Canadian Guild Show

What about mixing metal filings with Borax. Would it make a "better" flux? Or just make more work by gathering metal filings for no real appreciable gain? Brian

Very nice work. You are doing some great hand work. I can understand the hand filing and long hammering precoess. Personally the more "hand" work I put into something, I do soapstone and wood carving as well - that's what keeps me busy during the winter, the more I have a connection to the finished piece. Brian

Very nice work! The horn handles work very well with your blades. Brian

That is a nice video. I loved the tea pot over the tempering fire. Always have a cuppa on hand! Brian

The adage - You get what you pay for - really is appropriate. In Canada we have a Taiwan outlet called Princess Auto. If you need a tool for only a small job or one that you will only use once every couple of years, it will do. But, for a tool that will see heavy and daily use a GOOD QUALITY tool will perform better and outlast the Taiwan tool. Save you a lot of sweat and swearing. Brian Ottawa

Very nice. What do you use to put your name on the blades? Etch-0-matic?

I would agree with a lot of people here - rent a trailer. You can tow more than you can load in the bed. Brian

Paracord is the cord used to attach a parachute to the parachute harness that is attached to the willing, in most cases anyway, person who has decided to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Brian

I hope we can look forward to a report on your course??

In your search for an anvil have you checked for auctions that are liquidating a farmstead? Where I live, eastern Ontario in Canada, auctions liquidating a farmstead are few and far between. However, they do come up and do list blacksmithing tools and anvils. probably about 2-3 per year in eastern Ontario. Try a search for auction listings in your area or even a little further away. You never know. Brian Ottawa

Wait a minute! You made an offer and she accepted. That - in any books constitutes a contract - verbal, but is still just as binding as a written one. Kind of low to go back on ones word once you have agreed on a price. Good luck - I hope you get it. Brian

Ah! I understand now. Yes. As I recall that technique has been used over time to construct swords as well. It will be a good test of my forge welding skills and no doubt be a learning process as well. When the weather turns a bit warmer, today is this winter's first snow storm and temps for the next week or so are expected to in the munis 10-20 - celcius, I am certainly game for the challenge. I will post results. Brian

Thank you all for your replies. I was definitley working under a mistaken assumption that the HC on railroad spikes meant high carbon content, good for knives. The test described for rr spikes, bending back on itself, makes so much sense. I do like the idea of welding the spike top onto the tang portion of a proper higher carbon steel blade. My idea for knives was to have the top of the spike integrated as part of the handle pommel, as a sort of trade mark. I am making these for friends so I want to end up with a reasonably good quality knife. For the handle, I am using wood or bone wrapped with parachute cord. I can still do this by welding some good knife steel onto the top of the spike and have a good camp knife result. Thanks for all your input.