metal99

Thats one fine looking knife! Really like that wrap on the handle. What steel ended up being the cutting edge?

Thats pretty straight forward i'll have to give it a shot.

Thanks alot for the fast reply!!! I'm not sure what auction he bought it at, He did tell me but I cant remember for sure it was just the past summer. I would have to ask him. I kinda figured it was going to be an 1899 or 1900 because I did read that the serail numbers from 0-4000 were from 1898. Honestly I have been looking for an anvil and asking around for about 2 years or so. I dont go to any auctions so that might be the problem lol. My dads family has been hauling scrap for years and they all said that they have probably scrapped a retirements worth of anvils over the years. When I told them what a decent anvil is selling for they were less then happy. Do you thik I should just get the base arc welded back on then? I would have to sand blast the mating faces because they are pretty rusty. Whats a good way to "restore" the finish on an old anvil like this? I like that old "black" steel look. Julius

Beautiful!!!

Hey everybody! I have a couple questions about a Trenton anvil that I bought from my uncle. He bought the anvil from an auction and nobody wanted to bid on it because it had a broken off base. So being the guy my uncle is he bought it and another solid cast sweedish anvil for $165.00 He knew that somebody would be able to use it the way it was or would have a way to fix it. He told me about the broken Trenton and offered it to me for 40 dollars. I have been looking for an anvil for a couple years now and honestly have had no luck at all. Hauling scrap is big where I live so I'm sure thats where most of them ended up. I am very happy with this anvil, the face is in amazing shape. First question - The base is broken off of the main body of the anvil. It is a cast iron base with a solid wrot body and tool steel face. Is there a sure fire way to repair a broken off base? Second question - Can somebody with the AIA book look up the serial number for me please? The serial number is A8343 U.S.A made Trenton it has an H on one of the feet, an R underneath by the hardy hole. When looking at the Trenton stamp inside the diamond from top to bottom it says Trenton, Solid wrot U.S.A. and 98. I would really apreciate any info on the anvil. Thanks in advance!!! Julius

Ahhhhh thats pretty nice man. I used minwax tung oil finish on my first knife handle and it worked out ok but I havent put it to use yet so I dont know how it will last. Once again nice work man really beautiful.

Thats pretty sweet man!!! I'm lacking a place to put a forge lol I dont think my land lord would like it of I set one up on the deck of my appartment lol.

Very nice :) What do you use to finish the handles with? The only thing I like more then curly maple is curly maple that was finished so well.

Looks good man :) what do you use for a forge?

Its amazing how some blades will hold an edge for so long and others . . . well lets not go there lol. I'm almost done my first forged blade, I cant wait to see how the edge retention is going to be. I made it from a torsion bar out of a tail gate from a Chevy truck. I have no clue what kind of steel it is. It worked really well and got so hard after hardening that my file would not touch it. I tempered it at 450f for 2 hours but it was still to hard to file so I tempered it again at 500f for an hour. its still really really hard but the file will just barely touch it now. I did a little destruction test with it before I made the handle, it survived the hammer and being dropped point first onto concrete from 4 feet so I went ahead and made a handle for it. I wonder how I could tell what kind of steel it is.

Looks good man! Do you know what kind of steel the RR track is?

Thats pretty interesting to know. There are some remains of old ark welds right where it broke.

Nice job man I like the shape a lot :)

Hey JESmith, I'm also pretty new to this whole new AMAZING hobby lol. I want to take that course at the WDM do you have any info about it you could point me towards? I'm more so invloved in knife making and still pretty green but would love to take that course.

I'm going to have to post a picture of my anvil, I just bought it from my uncle for $40.00. From what he thinks its from around 1910 but I cant make out the makers mark on it. Its got a really nice tool steel plate in top. The only problem is . . . the base is broken off so I have to sand blast it and get it welded up or maybe use some panel bonding adhesive its got a 10,000 psi sheer strength rating so I think it might hold up.

Thats a great idea man thank you. I found some damaskus steel 12 x 2 1/2 x 1/4 for 40 dollars at the knife shop here. Some day im going to buy that and try it out after I get the swing of things

Thanks buddy thats great advice I apreciate it alot. I will try to find that book anr studdie it. And your right I should try to forge a blade before trying to start out with something over my head. thanks again for the help. bladesmithing has always cought my eyes thats why I want to learn how. I have made knives that look alright but I simply ground them to shape from mild steel lol. Thanks again your advice is gold to me. Julius

Lol I tried to post this in the ball bearing thread but I guess your first post ends up here? lol Thats not a bad idea to buy some pre made damaskus but I think I want to try to learn how sounds like fun to me. How do you tell if your hot enough to forge weld? And what flux should I use? Borax ok? Im going to have to learn alot before I try to make something. I showed the damaskus steel to my wife and she loves it and wants me to make something for her lol. A few years ago I was talking to a guy that makes knives out of shock rods and he mentioned something about using carbon to get a bigger affect out of the forge welding layers is this true? Thans for all the help.

hey everyone im new to the whole knife making thing. I have played around with iron before but the knives I made were only for show I really want to learn the right way to make them so that they will be useful. I spent a few hours checking out some ken onion knives today and fell in love with the layered steel. I just want to try to make someting really small to start with and was just wondering if I could use a torch to heat the metal up? Or should I make a small forge? Thanks Julius