son_of_bluegrass

Depending on where you are, you may be responsible for collecting sales tax. Even if you are only a hobbyist. Before you decide you don't need to collect and remit tax and show up with anything for sale at any type of show you need to check with your state to determine if you need to collect and how you go about it. If only to avoid possible legal problems ron

The question is whose anvil is it to lend out? If the barber was given the anvil than it is his to do with as he pleases and whoever gave it to him has no further say in the matter. I think both should be happy it is being use (assuming it isn't being abused). With that being said, I'd go talk to the barber and see if HE wants it back now or not (or clarify maybe if he is the actual owner). It the barber (as I understand it the owner) wants it back, return it, no reason need be given or asked for. And if he wants it back, cheerfully return it in short order. Throwing something forged in to the deal may smooth things to the point the anvil will come back. Just my thoughts. ron

First, where in the world are you? Second, what is a "grss cutting hockey"? Something for cutting grass? If so you may have something that can be hardened. C: Do some reading. It sounds like you are a beginner. Before you try to heat treat something as tricky as a sword, you'll want experience heat treating smaller stuff. Set it aside for a year (or 2), don't forget about it, then try it IF you think you are ready. Fourthly, check the ABANA site for an affiliate close to you. You'll learn faster if someone can show you. And finally, welcome aboard. ron PS. For future reference a subject with more than just "HELP" will bring more responses. Some people who will be able to answer your question don't have time to look at "Help" posts but will look at "Heat treating a sword help, please" post.

Technically, I think it looks "pert near perfect". It looks like the handle has some sharpish corners that I'd probably ease over more. But that depends on how it feels in the hand. The sharpish corners may be hot spots. Aesthetically, yuck. But some folks think the only taste I have is in my mouth. ron

What are you making? How are you heating? You can use 10XX for pretty much anything and the heat treat is about as simple as it gets. For hot tools, S or H series may perform better. But have different requirements for heat treating. If you don't have a furnace (and it sounds like you don't), I'd stick with 10XX, W-1, W-2, O-1, 5160 and the like. ron

It is possible to overdo the water. Every now and again, I run across a story of someone falling-out while drinking a lot of water. They washed enough electrolytes out of the body to cause problems. An occasional cola, or a bit of gator-aid or the like or fruit to replace the other stuff is good so long as it isn't overdone. (As in one or two per day with a lot of water). As for the alcohol I heard of a study that suggested beer after a workout rehydrated the body better than water. Since I think this was one of the science podcasts I listen too I don't think I can find it without more work than I'm willing to put into it. ron

If you're going to heat treat a pry-bar or crow bar you just want the working end hardened then drawn back like a spring. You don't want it hard enough to chip if struck. And it will actually work better if just the working end is heat treated. ron

On a similar note, i've seen, on another forum (I think one of the wood working ones I read), there was a post with a picture of a "paint can forge" built to burn sawdust. I'll see if I can find the link later, but I don't remember how long ago it was and may not have luck finding it. ron

I suggest, before you get too far, you find a decent book on knife making and read that. I've got "The Complete Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas and can recommend that one. I've seen others recommend "The $50 Knife Shop" I believe that is by Goddard. If you are going to make knives and use what you make, you'll want to do it right and reading with get you to right with a lot less frustration. You may be able to find these books in a library (or through inter-library loan) or in a used book store. If you haven't done so yet, read the stickies, there is a lot of good information there. ron

I have a free site on weebly that I like well enough. It's easy to create a page (drag and drop templates for text, pictures and selling) and I think if you already have a domain you can host and build pages for it on weebly. They also have a pay version with more bells and whistles. I don't know much about the other sites. http://www.weebly.com/ ron

I've just started trying the demo thing to attract potential customers to my booth. I only done 2 so far and haven't had to pay. I just heard back from one that is happening in about a month and they are trading the vender fee for the space I'll use blacksmithing. There is another show I'm thinking about that will give me the blacksmithing spot and I pay for the vending spot. I might be willing to pay for the vending space but I'll walk away from paying for the blacksmithing spot. ron

Hearing loss is dependent on loudness (measured in decibels) and duration. I believe the limit on loudness that is considered unsafe at any duration is 120 decibels. Generally speaking gunfire, within some distance from the gun, is louder than that. There are charts out there with estimates of how loud different noises are and charts for what duration is considered acceptable for a given loudness. Around 80 decibels is considered the point you need to wear hearing protection. Here are some of the charts. http://www.sengpielaudio.com/TableOfSoundPressureLevels.htm From this you may be able to estimate how loud your anvil is and the level of hearing protection that is needed. Of course it isn't quite that simple. It is possible to lose hearing in specific frequencies from repeatedly being exposed to those frequencies. So if you listen to the anvil ring all day for years, you may find you can no longer hear that specific frequency. ron

I've heard that the rubber isn't that good of an idea. Apparently it takes some of the energy from working the steel meaning you'll be working harder to get the same job done. I have heard leather recommended as better than rubber, not quite as good as lead. ron

From my understanding, with simple steels (10XX) a temper between the quench and cryo pretty well negates any benefits the cryo might provide. So if you're using 10XX and want to temper immediately, i wouldn't bother with the cryo. You may get a little more from the steel if you do some form of cryo between the quench and first temper at an increased risk of a cracked blade. Unless you're fanatical about getting absolutely everything possible from the blade, it probably isn't worth cryo-ing simple steels. ron

Not seeing it in person it is hard to say for sure. But I think greenish for zinc being burned off, and I think if there is powdery residue left from burning zinc it is yellowish. If memory serves lead burns with a blue flame (and different people may see colors differently) and there is a lead oxide that is white. It is still possible the bits of paint that were on it were lead based. There are some steel alloys that have lead in them, but I don't know if those would create a blue flame or not. Of course the safest course of action (aside from always using known steel) is to shut down as soon as you think there is a problem. ron

I can make better tools than I can buy. Besides what other hobby lets you forge stuff and use coke? ron

The law does not grant rights. The law limits right. With no laws I have the right to shove toothpicks up your nose. (Assuming I'm capable of that.) The law says your right not to have toothpicks shoved up your nose is greater than my right to do as I see fit and so makes it unlawful for me to shove toothpicks up your nose (unless that is what you want). Thus limiting my rights. That being said, I've never seen a job application that didn't ask if I could legally work in the U.S. ron

There are a number of possibilities as to why your blade didn't harden. As mentioned there are case-hardened low carbon files out there. You may be able to tell the difference by spark testing. Or the oil may not have been warm enough, oil works faster at warm temperatures. I try for around 130 F. You may have taken a bit too long to get the blade cool. Suitable files are often similar to 1095 and you have something under 1 second to get from the forge at 1500 F or so to below 900 F or so. A moments hesitation equals a soft blade. Or you may not have had the steel hot enough. How did you determine critical? Magnet? By eye? Or the forge gods may be messing with you. ron

Could be choice of material. Depending on material, maybe worked too cold or too hot. Or something else entirely. Pictures could help. ron

I would think a better solution is to not grip so tight. I think generally when someone grips a hammer tight either it is too heavy for them or the handle is the wrong size. ron

A-36 is a structural specification. That means it has to mean certain requirements for strength and may be of any composition that meets that requirement. Since it can have varying amounts of alloying elements it is impossible to tell how it will react in a quench (or even how two different spots on the same piece will react as it often has a lot of recycled steel in it). So one piece may just cool down like mild steel while the next piece breaks. ron

I understand a lot of that. But let me give you my experience. I got out of the army where I did carpentry and got a job as a trim carpenter. I was paid piecemeal (for those who don't know that means I was paid based on what I produced) and averaged between $11 and $12 an hour. I could make it on that. The guy I worked for, when times were good, bought a boat on credit, and new cars, house etc. He was living beyond his means and when times got lean he decided paying me wasn't a priority so I left. I now had a few years experience trimming houses and got a job being payed hourly at $10 an hour. That here is just about the starvation point (that is the minimum needed to pay for rent, vehicle, utilities etc and still be able to eat regularly). During that time the cost of houses went up, so I looked into why houses cost more. Some of it was increases in materials. Some of it was more profit. Even though there was more profit in building a house, those who did the work were being paid less, sometimes actual pay, sometimes only after adjusting for inflation. That profit was mostly going into the pockets of developers. There are some business owners who pay as much as they can. In my experience there are more who pay as little as they can. I'm trying to get my own thing going on a shoe string. It's a one-man operation and the biggest problem I'm finding is convincing customers to buy at a price I can survive on. ron

If your employer isn't meeting your monetary NEEDS then you shouldn't be working for that employer. Or you are living beyond your means (which happens a lot today). I don't look for a hand-out. I expect a living wage for an honest days work. I don't expect to be asked to work myself to death for pay that doesn't cover basic living expenses while the boss gets rich - but that is what a lot of local employers expect. And part of that is people who are willing to accept cash under the table or live 6 or 8 in a 1 bedroom studio apartment and thus depress wages. The problem as I see it is business are looking only at the bottom line. Not how to stay viable or keep the local economy strong (and without a strong economy almost no business is viable), just profits for the next quarter. They often aren't concerned with keeping skilled employees at a higher wage when they can get some kid who doesn't know the job for minimum wage (short term profitability). Some people don't have a mind for business and are more secure working for someone else. At least that is the way I see it. ron

You said it much more eloquently than I could have. I've started and stopped with responses to this thread without being satisfied with what I wrote. You've said it. Although I think Mike does get it. ron

If you look up the transmittance of various wavelengths for didymium you'll find it is rather poor at protecting your eyes from infrared (IR) light. Glass blowers use them because they are good at filtering the sodium flare associated with the glass - something we don't have the problem with. You can get better protection using a welders shade 3. ron