Sam Falzone

Well I hope this makes you feel a bit better John ... This shop wasn't shutting down. Actually the machine shop was being re-opened after more than 4 years. The teacher was just getting rid of some steel that was scrap and or he couldn't use. He even shared with me a bit of his saved stock (around 10 - 10' lengths). So it's not all bad news. Sam

Picked up a load of free steel from a colleague of mine. Don't know exactly what type of steel it is - it's from an old school shop so it's likely mild steel, but the corners look like some of it may be cold-rolled. It's all kinds of sizes from 1/8" square to big chunks of billets (as you can see in the photos). The worse part is the stuff I had to leave behind. There were 10' lengths of 4"x1", 2"x 1", 3" and 4" round ... stuff that I couldn't even lift and my back and my van couldn't take anymore. Still a really nice haul for free steel. Sam

I appreciate all the complements, but truth be told, most of the work was done by my instructor at Touchstone - Glenn Horr, He was a fabulous teacher. I assisted in the forging and it was great fun. I came away with a much better understanding of the technique to hammer-making. I look forward to trying it solo one day soon. Thanks again everyone. Sam

Actually the handle is more tapered than the angle of the picture shows. All faces taper towards the eye of the hammerhead, so that head is actually driven down as far as it will go on that handle. I then used an ash wedge to lock the head in place. I've used the contoured handles you're describing - all my bought hammers come with them, but I find I actually prefer the 10" single taper handle style - like the one I made. It just feels better to me. I think I'm going to make new handles for ALL my hammers now. Sam

Well I finally finished the hammer I helped make at Touchstone last summer. Shaped a 10” ash handle today and hafted it with a wooden wedge. It’s 2 lbs of water hardened jackhammer bit steel (S6 I think) and feels great – like an extension of my own hand. This is going to me my main hammer for demos. Sam

I'd say it depends on what you want to do with it. If you plan on doing a lot of blade work, I would be tempted to lay it on its side so you can work the full length of knife blades. If you're planning on going more general smithing work and are looking for maximum rebound effect and efficiency, then placing it on its end will put more mass under your hammer. Either way, good luck with it. Cheers.

RH caution is a good thing. I have seen far worse anvils asking for more than double that. If the face is reasonably straight and it doesn't have any delaminations, then $175 is a stellar price and you should jump on it before someone else does. If you are just planning to do smithing as a hobby, you may never need to buy another anvil again. Good luck and let us know how it all works out. Sam

This is a tricky situation. The fact that this anvil seems to commemorate the local foundry it came from means that there is a good chance that this anvil is in pristine condition - probably straight off the foundry floor. The edges in the picture look clean and straight - all the edges. The paint on it has probably done an excellent job of preserving it - even outside all these years (... the ONLY good thing to be said about people who use anvils as lawn ornaments). And at 170 pounds stirling - that anvil is a steal, even if you convert it to US or Canadian dollars. BUT, that's still a lot of cash to lay out for a third anvil (... says the guy who has 4 anvils ... ). You could always invest in rescuing that anvil and clean it up. If it is bigger and in better condition than the ones you already have, you could keep that one and sell one of your other ones for the cost of this one to balance it all out. That way you get the satisfaction of rescuing an anvil from the ignominious fate of a lawn ornament, and offer another struggling smith the chance to buy a big anvil at a reasonable price ... good blacksmith karma all around Just like rescuing kittens ... kinda ...

True ... but Macbruce's comment was just about shrinkage. Lopping off the heel or horn of an anvil will also result in a decrease of volume AND mass.

But that would then be a difference in volume ... not mass ...

D ... WOW. Definitely keep the stand. It's mass will add to the mass of the anvil and even add to the rebound ( ... not that you would worry about losing too much rebound from a 455lb anvil anyway) Dodge had the right of it - a piece of 3/4" plywood cut to fit should work like a treat. Even some pieces of sheet lead under the feet should work great - they would also mold to the contours of any irregularities between the underside of the anvil and the anvil base itself and compensate for any wobble (if there was any) without having to flip that monster over and grind surfaces flat. Congratulations on a great score ... and don't worry, every blacksmith dances around their anvil at least once, some just won't admit it ...;)

Thank you everyone for your kind words and birthday wishes. Ted ... I don't know what to say. I'm humbled by your words and appreciate your heart-felt sentiments. I hope to someday put faces to all these names I see in these forums ... many of whom, though we have never met, I would be honoured to call friend. It's been a busy weekend and I'm looking forward to bed. Good night all. Sam

I have some amazingly talented and wonderful people in my life. First and fore-most is my wife who planned for me a great birthday party at our favourite cafe on Friday night. I also have some very talented friends - one of whom made for me the BEST birthday cake I've ever had. I'm glad to see the backside of 39 ... I'm hoping 40 will be better, but I know I'll have wonderful people along the way. BTW, if anyone of you lives in the Hamilton area and would like to get a hand crafted cake for any special occasion, PM me and I can get you in touch with the lady who made my cake.

Those look great. Now you just need to forge some wrought iron gnomes. ;)

Or you can use a knotted wire cup in your 4" angle grinder. I had a 300lb anvil covered with 4 layers of paint (at least). Using a knotted wire cup in my angle grinder I had that anvil cleaned in around 30 minutes. It really is the best way - chemical strippers are much messier. But if you use a wire cup, I recommend wearing a full face shield. The wires in a cup are stiffer and thicker than in a standard wire wheel. When one of those wires comes flying off, it has quite a bit of sting on it ... caught a piece off my cheek before I wised up.

Hi Josh. Glad to hear your parents are so supportive. The smiths on this site are going to have lots of good advice and great ideas - most from their own experiences. BUT ... before you build anything make sure you check your local building codes and get ALL your permits. The last thing you want to happen is to finish building your dream smithy only to have a neighbour call the city/region inspector in because your shop is too close to their property line or you haven't followed some building codes. You could be forced to take it all down. I'm sure your parents know all this - I figured I'd mention it because no one else had. Where in Ontario are you from? Have you checked out the OABA forum in the Blacksmithing Groups section of IFI? I just posted the meetings and demos for the next few months (until May) a few days ago. I'm pretty excited, April's meeting is here in my hometown of Hamilton - practically in my backyard. If you can make it, come out to the meetings and meet some other local smiths. If you're interested OABA memberships are only $40.00 per year. Good luck with your shop. I'm still in the planning / building stage of my own shop - I figure I've got another 5 year to go. Cheers. If you ever need anyone localish to talk smithing with, just drop me an email. Sam.

Having checked out that website on bayonets I have to agree that it probably isn't a bayonet. Bayonets with triangular cross-section blades had barrel sockets not tangs. Bayonets with tangs had knife or sword blades. BUT ... that looks like a 10" long blade with a ricasso, and that other end looks like a 4" tang. The funny thing is, that the thing it looks most like to me is even more unlikely to be found in the chinking of a log cabin in TN. This looks most like a main gauche blade. It was a parrying blade carried in the off-sword hand. I've seen triangular cross-section blades like epees - I'm not sure if these are only modern styles or historical patterns. Besides ... would a log cabin even need a lightning rod? Barns I can understand. Multi-story houses too ... but a log cabin? I just don't know enough about this. I guess I'm disappointed in the possibility. I had images of an old civ-war bayonet with a great story to tell.

Thanks Mark. Hammer sold to someone else anyway. Oh well ...

Definitely a bayonet - question is ... whose? American? British? French? Talk to your local museum curator, maybe they have a weapons specialist that can point you in the right derection. That is a cool history mystery ... I am totally jealous. Congrats. That's one heck of a conversation piece.

I found an add for a 25# Little Giant. The guy is asking for $2000.00 Cdn. Is this a fair price for this size an LG? Sorry I don't have any more info, and I haven't seen it myself. But I did email him and ask for photos. Hopefully I'll hear from him soon. Just thought I'd put out the question and see what people thought. Cheers. Sam

Hot off the OABA website for your scheduling convenience. Cheers. Sam ALL MEETINGS START AT 10:00 AM UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED Saturday March 12th: Mick Smith’s Shop, Fergus This meeting will be making more things for CanIron, and teaching anyone interested in how to work as a striker. We will need volunteer strikers for CanIron, and it’s best to learn how before you start swinging the hammer. If you can bring your own sledge hammer, it would be appreciated. Take the 401 to exit 295 and head north on Highway 6 (Hanlon Pkwy) through Guelph. Highway 6 takes a right at Woodlawn Rd W, and then a left at Woolwich St, and then on to Fergus. In Fergus, follow the 6 through town, which follows Tower, then Bridge, then David St over the river. Once out of Fergus, follow the 6 and turn right on to Sideroad 10. Take the 10 until it curves onto Jones baseline, but take a sharp right after the curve to go SOUTH on Jones Baseline. Mick’s place is on the right, second house before the swamp. Sunday April 10th Newman Forge and Pattern 180 Princess St. Hamilton Please Note this is Sunday not Saturday. John will be demonstrating making some heavy industrial chisels and a 40-50 lb stake anvil. He will also do a short talk on foundry patterns and patternmaking. Safety glasses and hearing protection are mandatory as this will be heavy loud forging. Parking is minimal so please carpool if possible. Please check website closer to meeting date for notes on allowable parking areas. From the 403, take exit 73 for York Boulevard (Country road 2), and go south through Hamilton.. Turn left at James St. N, then right at Barton St. E. Go down Barton St. E for about 2.5km, then turn left at Sherman Ave N, and take the third right onto Princess St. The shop is at the end of the street. Saturday May 14th Sparks Will Fly Forge 402 Reach Street, Scugog, ON. SE corner of Lakeridge Road and Reach Street, look for red roofs. From North West follow Hwy. #9 (Davis Drive) east until it ends at Lakeridge Road. Turn right and follow to Reach Street second set of lights. Turn left on Reach and it’s the first driveway on right. From West follow Hwy. #401 or #407 to Brock Road exit in Pickering. Turn left on Brock Road and follow until Goodwood Road at Coppins Corners (about 20 min. from 401). Turn right on Goodwood and follow to first set of lights Lakeridge Road. Turn left and follow to first set of lights Reach Street. Turn right on Reach and its quick first driveway on right. From East follow Hwy. #401 to Salem Road exit in Ajax. Turn right and follow for about 5min. to Rossland Road. Turn right on Rossland and follow to Lakeridge Road (second set of lights). Turn left on Lakeridge Road and follow for 20 min. to Reach Street. Turn right on Reach and quick right into driveway. Parking at the forge is limited so excess parking on Lakeridge Road shoulder or Reach Street will be necessary. Please be careful crossing either road, it’s very busy at times.

I have to agree with Mark here. If you're looking to unload it quick and make a bit of coin - keeping it at around $2.00 / lb will ensure a pretty quick sale - 100lbs is a nice starting size and $200.00 is a reasonable amount most beginner smiths would be able to handle. In my opinion, the higher in price beyond $2.00/lb you go, the longer you're going to wait for a buyer. More than $200.00 starts to get pretty steep for someone who is just starting out and doesn't want to invest a lot of money into a hobby they're still unsure about - and 100lbs is a bit on the small size for most experienced smiths who may have the money but are looking for a heavier weight anvil. Though ... 100lbs is a good travel size ... When prices start getting up in the $6.00/lb and up, the wait can get REALLY long. Besides, - $600.00 for a 100lb used anvil? - I know if I had $600.00 burning a hole in my pocket I would seriously reconsider and look into possibly getting a NEW cast steel anvil for a bit more cash instead. So it's a bit of a tricky call ... are you looking to sell quick, or are you willing to wait longer and hold out for more money? Prices can vary from region to region - heck I've even seen them vary from season to season. Good luck. It's a nice looking anvil - hope it goes to someone who will appreciate it. Sam.

I think this is very much a case of "the shop/smith dictates the anvil". It comes down to what is the shop or smith going to be producing? -If all you ever plan on making is nails, s-hooks, j-hooks, steak turners and working with steel in the 1/4" to 3/8" range, then you don't really need a particularly heavy anvil ... 75lbs to 120lbs should do just fine. -If you are going to do more sculptural ironwork in heavier stock sizes - 1/2" up to 1.5", then a heavier anvil will be more of an asset (not necessarily REQUIRED, just more of an asset), probably around 150lbs to 200lbs -If you plan on doing really heavy smithing in stock sizes 2" or greater, then anvils greater than 250lbs are an asset. -If all you plan on doing is jewellery work, then anvils smaller than 50lbs are all you need. BUT ... none of this is written-in-stone-scripture because once you throw in talent and skill, then it's pretty much anything goes. Brian Brazeal makes great hammers and other tools which involve reasonably heavy stock sizes, but works on an anvil less than 80lbs. Other smiths have anvils the size of small aircraft carriers (1200lbs +). If you're looking for an all-purpose anvil size... I would suggest 150-175lbs. Someone else would probably suggest another size, and someone else - another size again. Other variables include portability - if you want to move your setup regularly, you'll probably want an anvil size you can move without seriously hurting yourself. If all you can find is an old 100lb anvil, then start with that. You may never buy another anvil again, or you may trade-up to something heavier later on. Having been a part of this community for a few years now, one of the things I've learned is that there are no hard and fast rules to things like shop size and anvil weights. You work with what you have and learn to persevere. But while there are no hard and fast rules, there can be guidelines. What I've written is what I've picked up so far from 15 years of casual hobby experience and a lot of listening. Hope it helps. Welcome to I Forge Iron. Sam

Here are my anvils ... -a 90lb Mousehole -a 120lb Peter Wright -a 175lb Peter Wright -a 300lb H.Boker -my home-build 20lb mild steel block anvil -newest one ... 50lb cast iron ASO (only paid $65.00) -the last photo is a cast steel Vaughan anvil - 100lbs technically it's not mine, it belongs to my school shop, but when I leave the school I'm going to make an offer to buy it Sam