son_of_bluegrass

Charcoal will still work. And since it is a biofuel it should be exempt. Not that I want to turn this more political but no one I voted for made it into office. ron

If memory serves, Frank Turley of Turley forge uses one. ron

There are a few threads in the safety forum that discusses your concerns. Have you looked there? Or searched? ron

The darker the shade the more IR and UV that is blocked. But the darker the shade the more visible light that is blocked as well. I've tried shade 5, and it may be suitable for a really bright shop, but blocks too much visible light for my shop. Shade 3 is considered to block enough IR to provide adequate safety. So it is a trade off between seeing what you're doing and blocking potentially harmful parts of the spectrum. ron

I have to disagree on the hardness. I have Granddad's old draw knife and a file just barely touches the edge. From the discoloration in the first 2 photos I'm guessing there was a crack in the edge, possibly from the water quench, maybe from before that. For files, oil is fast enough to get a good edge. ron

wood lathe or metal lathe? Wood lathe tools if old enough would be plain carbon steel. More modern one are likely to be some high speed steel. ron

From my research, Dydidium does not block IR. I can't speak for Rose1. But the latest ANSI standard for welder's lenses requires IR blocking. So if the lens meets or exceeds the current ANSI standard it blocks IR (as well as UV). I used to have absorbtion spectra for various lenses from when I was researching and from what I remember a shade 3 welders lens is a good way to go. Since it was more than a year ago that I did my research, I'd have to find most of the info again if someone wanted the info but I think I linked to some on-line sites in another thread on this board (I know I did on one of the boards I frequently read). ron

Rebar is a structural grade and often made of recycled stuff. I've played with some that acted like mild steel, some that worked like a medium carbon steel and one piece that was red short. I second the idea of checking pawn shops and the like for something that is less of a crap shoot. ron

If my understanding from what I've read is right, glass and plastic blocks most of the UV but not the IR. ron

One job I was working construction on the cut-man had a tape that was almost 1/2 inch different than the tape the guy calling measurments. About a 1/2 dozen boards got cut with each accusing the other of not knowing how to read a tape until it got figured out. ron

The W indicates it is technically a tool steel. That means it is suppose to have tighter tolerences on the alloying elements. For W-1 the specification if memory serves is 60-100 points carbon (you can specify the what you want, 100 points seems common) any other elements in W-1 are suppose to be kept to a minimum. Other W series can have other elements (W-2 for instance has a bit of Vanadium). The specification for 1095 is 90-105 points carbon. The principle difference between W-1 with about 100 points carbon and 1095 as I understand it is that 1095 can have a higher amount of Manganese (added to most or maybe all steels during the smelting to take up sulfur as I understand it). And if you don't know 100 points carbon equals 1%. ron

I've heard some folks claim that metal cutting bandsaw blades are commonly M series. I don't know for sure. If so it is an air hardening steel. I can't comment on its forgability. Some of the air hardening steels are made and heat treated in such a way that they can be ground without worrying about overheating. ron

Mine is a bbq lined with wood ashes. On a wood working forum someone posted about a sawdust forge for heat treating simple tools. If i remember the description right it was something like this, put a hole in the side of a paint can, run a pipe through the hole about 1/2 way into the can, pack with sawdust leaving a hole down the center to the pipe. the pipe makes the air source, the sawdust is both fuel and forge lining. ron

I use charcoal. I like charcoal. That being said, charcoal works better in a well insulated forge. If your brake drum isn't insulated you may get better results with blacksmith coal. And as was mentioned- cost, availability, neighbors all this and more should be used to determine the best fuel for you. ron

Some time back I run across an article (don't remember where or if I could find it again) that showed a picture of a horse-drawn forge set-up and it claimed it was from the civil war era. But it also discussed that this was likely for a cavalry unit in the military. It is possible this tour guide has confused a military blacksmith who would travel with his unit as a general blacksmith who traveled. ron

If memory serves from a long time ago in a school far, far away, the renaissance started in Italy and moved on from there. So when one part of the world may have still been in the medieval times may have already started the renaissance somewhere else. ron

This is vague. What is the focus of your work? Architecture? Armor? Reproduction? What qualifications are you looking for? Is interest in learning enough or are you looking for someone of journeyman abilities? Is somewhere in between acceptable? Do you have a site where folks can see more about what you do to decide if they might fit the bill? This is a very open question. Of course I have an interest but I can't claim to much experience. ron

It is possible. It will be harder to grind and will need to be kept cool. I don't know where you can get already heat treated steel. ron

Normally mercury does not have much vapor. It is the vapor of elemental mercury that is bad for you. When you breath it, it may go into you bloodstream and from there into your nerves (the mad hatter was crazy from breathing mercury for decades, yes it takes decades for the effects to show). It is also possible for the mercury to coat the insides of your lungs blocking the uptake of oxygen. If you go sticking hot steel in mercury you will dramatically increase the vapor you are breathing. Some salts of mercury and most organic compounds containing mercury are dangerous. On the other hand mercury was once drunk as a laxative. In its liquid form it isn't very dangerous. However it is not something that should just be lying around and because of the hysteria over its dangerous potential, it is hadr to find most places. You probably should safely dispose of what you have as it really has no common use today. You should dispose of it if you can not securely store it. For what it's worth, I quench knives in used cooking oil. ron

I generally let it grow in winter. Then by the time spring comes around I'm tired of filter feeding so it goes away (straight razor, I think trimming is more trouble than shaving). Sometime in the fall I get tired of the chore of shaving and it grows again. One problem with the facial fur is that as a woodworker also, it gets in the way of respirators and I don't have the money for a powered unit. ron

Let me ask why you are asking? Do you want to make an epee for the challenge of making one or do you want to make a fencing sword? If you want to use it for fencing then you are better off buying one from a dealer. As was mention modern fencing swords are made from maraging steel. I think on another forum someone posted about making a fencing sword but before he would have been allowed to use one of his swords he would have to submit one (or more ) for destructive testing to prove he could make a sword that meets modern requirements. I've looked at some of the Oakshott collection. The period epees, as best as I can describe, is rather like a really flat V with sharp edges and points. They descended from rapiers. What you describe is more akin to a foil (sharp point no edge). ron

Since you're talking about protecting eyes, don't forget that a forge emits IR and UV rays. You may want to consider something to protect against them. (the simple solution is not to look into the fire, but cataracts run strong in my family) ron

If you are interested in forging blades, I think you should read at least one reference on forging in general. "The New Edge of the Anvil" by Jack Andrews is good so is "A Blacksmithing Primer" by Randy McDaniel. ron

Okay. I'll go answer the poll then. ron

I don't know. I can't tell you the current year, it just isn't important enough for me to remember. If anyone cares to do the math i got hatched in 72. ron