Geoff Keyes

The design looks well thought out, however, I think it's a sheet metal hammer. There doesn't appear to be a "soft link" in the drive. All powerhammers have some sort of spring or soft linkage to cushion the hammer in case the stock between the dies changes thickness. Without the spring link, the hammer is rigid back to the motor and something will break if the dies can't make a full cycle. Look at tire hammer designs and have a look at this one, which is a tire drive "rusty" hammer http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=28582&hl= Geoff

Congratulation indeed, it's quite an achievement. Geoff Keyes JS

Having been through the ABS testing (I'm a JS, working on my MS), I do have to say that it's not what I consider "real world" testing. It's designed to demonstrate certain qualities that the ABS wants. The rope cut demonstrates the ability to sharpen an edge to a testable standard, but not really all that useful. The 2x4 chop demonstrates a good understanding of edge geometry, good real world stuff. The 90 degree bend demonstrates an understanding of overall geometry and the complexities of a differential heat treat. Over the top as a real world test. I think that a chop test is a good one, if an edge holds up to chopping wood, it will hold up to pretty much anything a user will do to it. I do that kind of testing even on my kitchen knives. I think a knife should be able to withstand a drop onto a hard floor, tip down. I call it the accidental drop test. I'd like to see the tip survive more or less intact. As for a bend test, I don't do one. If you try for even 45 degrees, then you'll have to fix the blade, and you may never get straight again. I do think a blade should flex 10 or 15 degrees under moderate hand pressure, but a 4 inch hunter isn't going to flex to a notable degree without a big force. I don't think it's worth doing. Anyone else got "real worlds" test to suggest? Geoff

I'll look and see if I've got pics of a hex bolster knife. I haven't done one in a while, so if I can't find the pics, I'll just have to make one and post that. Geoff

I had a friend make a "knife" out of the top of a #10 can of beans. He used it for a whole trapping season. It was expedient, and he didn't want to schlep all of the way back to town to buy the knife he'd forgotten. It doesn't mean it was a good knife, it just did the job. And the fact that you cut yourself with it means nothing either, I've gotten cut on all kinds of things, glass, mild steel, copper, plastic, even grinding belts. Most of them make bad knives as well. I hates 'em, I does. I think they are a waste of effort and a waste of gas. Aside from the one I made from a spike from the road where the gent had worked for 50 years, I won't make them. This is my last word on the subject. Geoff

I'm warning you now, I'm about to go into grump mode, it's not you, per say, but if you're sensitive about your work (and who isn't) don't read any farther. Engage Grump Mode You just took however long that took you, to make a thing which looks like a knife, but won't work as one. I understand working in found steel, it's what one of my first teachers called turning a piece of scrap into a $50 bill. But with just a little more thought and the same amount of work you could have made an actual working tool. EVERYONE, STOP MAKING RR SPIKE KNIVES. Use an old crowbar, or a tire iron, or a file (even though I hate file knives almost as much), but use SOMETHING that will harden. And before you say that you used one marked HC, HC means that it's about .3 % carbon, too little to get hard. Plus they are full of copper and other stuff you don't want. If you must use RR spikes, make war hammers or tomahawks, something where tough is more important than hard. If you want a challenge, make an integral bolster knife out of a crowbar and leave the hex shape as the bolster. For an even bigger challenge, forge down the handle and leave a hex bolster on each end. Say it with me "I WILL NEVER MAKE A SPIKE KNIFE AGAIN". Exit Grump Mode Wheew, I never know when HE's going to show up, Geoff

I have one just like it, except mine says "Cut Devil" on it. It's a hot cutting chisel. A spike hammer usually has a long square or round nose on it. I would put a handle on it and keep it in the rack to hot cut stuff. Geoff

It's my usual 1084/15n20. Fairly low layer count and then patterned with the power hammer and a hand hammer. I need to get a bit more aggressive with the edge, By the times I grind down to the thickness, I'm through most of the pattern. I'm glad you like it. Geoff

Well, I like to start at one end and just keep chewing :lol:. The handle is part of a 1890's era carving set. It's obviously pre-ban, so there is no hassle that way. Geoff

Samuel Bell, that is. This is a Bell inspired gents dirk. OL 12 1/2" BL 8 1/8th NS spacer Recycled walrus ivory handle Thanks for looking Geoff

Nothing wrong with those. Even failure is usable, if you squinch your head around right. Geoff

The Lady Wife and I guess that it's a tent peg. The pointy end goes in the ground, the bit in the middle is the stop, and the step is a step to assist in driving it in. Where did you find this? It has a spanishy look to it. Geoff and Marianne

Thank you. I'm not really a jeweler, the scale baffles me a bit, but I get lucky from time to time. Geoff

I watched a gold forging demo at the ABANA conference in Seattle. The smith (can't remember his name) polished a 10 lb hammer and a nimba anvil to a mirror surface and heated the gold ingot with a torch and a couple of fire bricks made into a box. I was amazing to me how much force he used to forge the gold, at least to start. He was really going to town, 2 handed full blows. Geoff

I made this for the Lady Wife. It's the cutoff end of a basket weave billet, a bit of twisted wire and a piece of walrus ivory. She seems to like it. Thanks for looking Geoff

In some sense that is an accident. The pattern is a basket weave, and the original billet was really low layer, 7 IIRC. It was part of a failed experiment. When I made the piece I had to forge it down from a 1.5" x .250 slab, which distorted the pattern lengthwise and compressed it. I have two more pieces in the works, a gents bowie and a full size bowie. The patterns are very different one piece to the next. But thanks in any case. Geoff

I've been working hard, but not much seems be getting off the bench. I did get a couple of little guys done, however. First, a couple of kiridashi. These are for an old friend (not that she's old, mind you, but I've known her for a long time). She scratch builds set pieces for war gamers. 1084 and osage. The second is a kiridashi hideout, purse knife, whatever. Damascus and fossil bone.

I would not fill the holder with anything. I heard a story about a big hammer with a separate anvil. The operator had to keep adjusting the spacing of the dies, until he ran out of adjustment. Then he realized that the anvil jumped in use and sand and scale worked it's way under the anvil, lifting it up. In the end he had to pull the anvil and scoop out all of the stuff and reset the anvil. They poured lead around the anvil to seal out the debris. I use wooden wedges to hold my post anvil in the holder, I've never sealed the space around it, because I've had the thought that I was going to pull the anvil and re-face it. Geoff

I was thinking that it was something more like a bill hook. The pictures show a circular hoe, sort of. Perhaps a harrow disk, or an old circular saw blade with a shank welded on. I have the cutter blade from a meat slicer that would be just about right. Forging out that much mass would be quite a job, but I'm betting the originals are not made from hardenable steel, any more than a hoe is. 4140 at the very best but mild steel would be my guess. You could refashion a shovel blade, they are some kind of mildly hard stuff with good spring. I'm just lazy, I like to start with stock that is close to the finished product. Geoff

There are a number of bladesmiths and blacksmiths between Portland and Eugene. Portland is "the Big City", expensive to live, but artsy. Eugene is a University town. The old part of town is pretty, and there are a number of small communities around it. Eugene is pretty "crunchy" and there is a solid weekend craft market. Out past the city limits it becomes farm land pretty fast. One of the largest knife shows on the West Coast is in Eugene in the Spring, it's an "anything that goes cut" show, not a combo knife/gun show. The NWBA is a strong group of makers, and the group has a permanent site in Longview, just over the Wa/Or border. I don't know about the monthly meetings, but the Spring show is a good place to find tools, lots of tailgate stuff. Coal is hard to find on the Left coast, and good smithing coal harder than that. Geoff

If you are an NWBA member, we have a permanent site at Longview, in the Cowlitz Expo Center. The next open forge is Jan 25. Check the NWBA site for the dates and times. I haven't been yet, but it looks to be fun. The Spring conference is May 14-18, at the same place, don't miss it. Geoff NWBA member since 1985 (ish)

When you say you don't have the tools, what do you mean? Is this a forged blade? If so, you have a way to heat it to harden it. So what you need is a magnet, a bucket of oil, and a small oven. Or do mean that it's some unknown alloy, or is it some high alloy steel? Some more info, please. Geoff

I could not find a picture of the tool, but it sounds like a very narrow bill hook, yes? If you want it to cut, and not be sharpening the thing after every one, then you want hardenable steel. 1080/84 or 1075 would be my choice. If you don't want to spend the $20 or so that a 4" stick would cost you, how about an old crow bar. That should be 10xx and there is plenty of it. Or you could go to a auto spring shop and see if they will sell (or give) you a piece of 5160, which is nice tough stuff. If you are willing to take the chance of cracks, an old leaf spring should be 5160, 9250, or even 1095. If a thin blade is what you are after, old whipsaws are carbon steel, hay knives, digger rod, sucker rod, coil springs, all of those are carbon. Geoff

There is a version of the Dupont linkage that has a triangular plate attached to the eccentric. The springs are flat (or flared out just a bit) and attached to the 2 long sides of the triangle. You can use a big coil spring, like the LG's use, or leave the springs as found and design around a long, wide spring. The anvilfire site has lots of good pictures to get ideas from. There are a great many ways to build this thing. Geoff

There are huge historical variations. My throwers (which are cast cheapies) are fairly stubby, 4 inches maybe? I have seen historical pieces that run from long and skinny (8-10 inches) to wide and fat (4-6 inches) and all kinds of shapes besides. As a tool, you don't want it too long or top heavy, As a weapon, top heavy might be an advantage. There is a wonderful site called "Fur Trade Axes and Tomahawks" on the web. Lots of good pictures. In general yours has way more mass in front of the eye than most of the vintage pieces I've seen. The trade era pieces were mostly mass produced in Europe, as cheaply as possible. There are a few pieces made in NA, but since steel and iron were scarce, they are also very thin. Geoff