Lutz

If you’re considering other options, something else to keep in mind is that if you don’t have heat treating equipment available and plan to heat treat in the forge, there are other steels that you will find easier to get good results with compared to S7. S7 will also be harder to forge by hand since it is a tool steel intended withstand higher temps. 4140 would be easy enough to heat treat, but lacks the carbon for a good quality knife. Something like like 1095 would a good choice and easier to manage though can still present some challenge from a heat treat perspective. 1084 is a good choice and very user friendly. You might not eek out quite the same performance for a kitchen knife that you could with a higher carbon steel, but if you are just beginning, I think you are more likely to get good results with a steel that is easier to heat treat well, while focusing your attention on things like the optimal blade thickness and edge geometry. For your first knives, and especially kitchen knives, I think those factors will have a more noticeable affect on performance rather than a couple point more rockwell hardness or a little more toughness from a more exotic alloy.

Ha, I misspoke Frosty. I do have an alarm, I just happen to see the value before the actual alarm went off and clued me in to the issue.

Just sharing a recent experience as a bit of a PSA. I have a smallish shop and being a safety conscious fellow, have had a carbon monoxide detector from the get go. When I run the gas forge, I make sure I get some airflow. This weekend I was running a torch with a #6 rosebud pretty continuously and just happened to look at my CO detector and notice I was approaching 100 PPM. It never occurred to me that torch would be enough to start raising the levels in my shop. I quickly corrected that situation, but I thought this might be a good time to remind folks that if you don’t have a CO detector, it’s well worth the investment. Even if you are cautious, sometimes you’ll still get surprised.

The ABS does have a forum on their website. As Frosty suggests, such forums may help you reach your target audience more easily. Another good way to connect is to attend a Hammer-In. Lots of good instruction and a chance to meet area smiths. Probably the closest to you is the Great Smokey Mountain Hammer-In in Clyde, NC. You can find more on the ABS events page. Another consideration is to check out ABS affiliated schools, specifically the Intro to Bladesmithing class. Having attend one myself, I can tell you it is well worth the investment and will give you a great foundation to build on. All that is not to say that you can’t find an exceptional bladesmith who is not part of the ABS by simply attending your local ABANA group. I do think highly of the ABS as a group though. As a bonus, if you connect with a journeyman or master smith, you can be sure they’ve been vetted by their peers and you have less chance of being picking up bad habits from someone whose main credential is YouTube. Jake

Thank you all for the input! I'll share my results once everything is operational. I'm looking forward to being able to have a coal forge again!

That part makes sense to me, but what I wasn’t sure about is whether the fact that the chimney opens to 10” inches increases the pressure differential such that there is some advantage to having that occur to as opposed to just sticking with 8” all the way. I know the 8” portion will not truly function as though it were 10”, but I wasn’t sure if there might be some improvement in performance.

The final significant project in my shop is the chimney for the coal forge. I am planning to do a Super Sucker style hood. I have some (about 10’) of stainless double wall pipe that has an 8” ID, which I understand is a bit undersized as most recommend 10-12” to ensure good airflow. My question is, if I use that 8” ID pipe until I transition through the roof and then go to 10” single wall, how will that impact my airflow? Will there be a benefit to using the 10” for the final run, or would it make little difference if the initial section is only 8” ID? I’d appreciate any input. Thank you!

Oops, apologies for running afoul of the ad rule. Just posting for to show an example, didn’t think about it being advertising!

These are slightly different than the bolts you mentioned, but corby bolts are also commonly used in knife handles. Often after installing the head is cut/ground flat so it appears to be a solid pin. Advert removed

Everyone has given a wealth of information above, I would just add that the American Bladesmith Society (ABS; www.americanbladesmith.com) is a good resource for learning about the principles of forging a blade, sword or otherwise. Much of the info will tend towards more modern techniques and you'll find more knife makers than sword makers in their membership, but until you can forge a quality knife and understand the principals of the same, sword making should remain on the to-do list. You can also view their membership roster to see if there are bladesmiths in your area who might be able to serve as a mentor or at least offer some input as you learn.

We didn’t end up with enough folks signed up, so we had to scrap it. I don’t have a large enough facility myself, so I was coordinating with folks at SOFA. I’m actually attending another tirehammer build, so I probably won’t be pushing to set up another, but if you don’t have a large enough shop yourself you could always contact the workshop coordinator there in Troy and see what they think about trying again. Send me a message if you’d like his contact info.

JHCC, I don’t think they’ve updated their website yet, but SOFA announced on their Facebook page that for 2018: “Next year's dates for Quad State are Sept 21st,22nd & 23rd. And the gallery Feature catergory is Animal forms .”

Here’s the latest info. Contact myself or Mike Brennan (see below) for more details. Ray Clontz Tire Hammer Workshop (50 lb) Location: SOFA Building; Troy, Ohio Dates: April 19-22, 2018 40 plus hours over 4 days Estimated Cost: $1500 ...Pricing is by no means complete at this point Requirements: Current SOFA membership (apply on SOFA website: https://sofablacksmiths.org/) Prior work: 2-4 subassembly sessions will be held at the SOFA building on weekends prior to the workshop. All participants must attend these sessions or fabricate the pieces at their homes or pay a $100 fee per missed pre-assembly session. Review: Review attachments from Clay Spencer (available on request) to better understand the depth of the tire hammer build. Motels and Camping: I-75 and St. Rte. 41 is the closest major intersection for motels, restaurants and retail stores. Camping is available on the Miami County Fairgrounds. Necessary for Build: As you can see on the attachment from Clay Spencer, this is a labor intensive project involving lifting and carrying up to 50lbs. as well as long days on your feet. At a minimum, experience working with metal and mechanical ability are required. It will be necessary that within the group some participants be certified or experienced welders, machinists, and/or fabricators. Please let Mike Brennan (see below) know which of these skills you possess. Those Interested: Respond to Mike Brennan, Workshop Coordinator at m.mbre574@gmail.com Send no down payment at this time. I am gathering a list of those who are interested until November 30.

Probably true for most administrative endeavors unfortunately. Thanks for your thoughts!

JHCC, good eye! That’s one of things I wasn’t happy with, but I decided to stop chasing it. I thought about adding some filework on the spine to hide it, but as this project was just a learning experience I was ready to move on. You could be right about the Spanish notch. General consensus seems to be they serve no real purpose and are just decorative. I included because it was a common feature on the Samuel Bell dirks after which this knife is modeled (in my case rather loosely). Great quote, by the way. A sentiment I’m sure most of us share.