Gergely

I have these texts saved: From HWooldridge: Take a piece of 1/2" square. Chisel down the middle of all four sides. Make sure the cuts are centered and run for the same distance - I use center punch marks on each side to help while it's hot. Not much depth is needed, just a clean straight groove. Heat and hammer back to square because it will have deformed. Now, you will have a piece of fairly square material with a small thin slit on each side. Heat and twist 1 time for every inch of slit area - in other words, a 4 inch slit area gets twisted 4 times. Hammer the twisted area flat so the piece is square again, then reheat and twist in the reverse direction half of whatever you did the first time - the 4 inch example would be reversed 2 times. You will now see the pineapple effect. You can twist tighter or looser on either first or second pass but take note of the process so you can repeat it. I use the 2:1 ratio because it's easy to remember while I am demonstrating. (this picture was there, too, but maybe I remember wrong) And from Frosty: You incise all four faces of square stock equal distance. Twist and keep count, this is important, stop the twist with the faces lined up. Flatten the twist on all four faces returning it to square. Incise all four faces the same distance. Reverse the twist HALF as many turns. If everything works out correctly the points on the diamonds will line up but a little adjustment may be necessary. these make excellent demo twists, they're actually pretty easy to do but look like magic to folk watching. Even blacksmiths are impressed, especially with a well executed pineapple twist. I learned something important with this doffer, even though the ladies thought the pineapple twist was attractive none of them liked the way it felt in their hand, the points are too sharp on soft hand. Guys like how they feel but not the ladies.

That's some serious looking beast! Does it weigh under one kg? You did great for a first knife that is sure. Maybe a pocket knife will suffice next time... All in all: congratulations and keep them coming! Gergely

I'm sorry but: "heat treated in oven"? What did you mean by that? Greetings Gergely

Hi Rhitee, As being a huge puukko fan myself all I can tell: you did great work! Really fortunate is the way you made the traditional and new-wave elements meet. First thing: the blade is just excellent! I personally don't like the filing because it's so far from the Finnish style I like, but this piece in its whole elegance can bear it easily. But as I said the blade is beautiful work. I like the diamond cross section blades in puukkos very much and this has it so naturally and wonderfully. The hamon (which - as far as I know - is quite strange feature on a puukko) is perfect and adds big plusses to the lines of the blade. And you made the skinner blade pattern - which is my personal favorite! I'm sorry you're not satisfied with the handle because visually I like it very much: you again did attach traditional and new together succesfully. The part close to the blade is the traditional skinner - needs a big palm to work with and it stays stable in the hand. Towards the buttcap it goes thinner which - I think - is an ergonomically reasonable feature, - if it feels right in the hand. Dissolving the lines from the thicker to the thinner end is fluent and easy for the eyes. You even managed to keep one of the most essential function of these handles: you can grip the very end of the handle and use the knife for chopping. So what I'm saying is if it feels good in your hand you made perfect job on the handle, too. Visually it's very tasteful and done with great care to the details. (Unfortunately I can't see too much from the mokume gane but it seems nice, too.) The sheat will not embarass you anywhere either. From the picture I see an authentic Scandinavian sheat executed well. Those sheats are a bit of a separate trade themselves. For example in Kauhava - the most famous traditional puukko making village of Finland - the sheats were always made by their own craftsmen/women not by the bladesmiths. And finally if want to see what's going on in Finland in these times under the name of puukko making (or just for plain fun ) have a look of this site. It's in Finnish only but if you can find the painful word: puukonvalmistuskilpailu (means: puukko making contest) you can see the winner works of that year. http://www.puukkoseura.fi/galleria.php Thanks for showing us your work, best wishes: Gergely PS: this text took me more than an hour to write, and when I clicked to Submit it vanished and wasn't published. Thank God I was able to find it somehow from Chrome and try to send it again. Hope it works now. (Ye, and now I use ctrl+C to have a copy if it fails)

​That was the first thing that came in my mind, too. Never use grinder with bare hands/arms. Bests Gergely

Hi, This may not be the biggest help ever but I've seen a hinge bender in the gallery section. If you try and search in there you might be lucky. No instructions though only a few (3-4) picts. Maybe the member who posted them can help you more. Good luck Gergely

Wow, and wow again... Now I have something to think about tonight. I love the laser cut raw material idea. (I've been thinking using laser cutting but this example will take some time to wrap my brain around it.) Great work, Matei!

Cool looking hammer! Enjoy! Gergely

I can't help anything else but this: The sign says: Amboss (anvil) - Heimann (name of possible manufacturer), Berghausen - Rheinland (it's a name (Berghausen) of a small village about 50 km from Frankfurt, in Rheinland-Pfalz county in Germany). I couldn't find anything telling about manufacturing anvils there. But it doesn't mean anything. I'd be pretty sure that your anvil was made there. Happy hammering on it! Gergely

Really beautiful work! thank you Matei for showing these. Impressive and inspirational! Bests: Gergely

I couldn't find it now in here, so I hope I don't do anything wrong posting this here. (If I do Admins please feel free to delete the attachment.) If I succeded to attach the pdf file you can see if the sparks are similar to some of the examples given. Bests: g BP0020 Spark Testing.pdf

Hi Vito! First I must say you are pretty lucky with that stuff. Let them give you what they can because as I have experienced almost all the saw mills (close to me) have started to use blades made of perforated sheet. As about the steel type: I have searched a lot, couldn't find anything. Although Ronin's suggestion is very tempting, I won't bother with it anymore. I've been using it when needed, used it cold and hot, too. It behaves like high carbon steel with no other significant alloying elements in it. Having 5 pieces of it allows you to experiment freely (as you've already done it) and you will find the right way. Or you can use stock removal keeping them cold as they are thin enough for knives and escape the whole heat treating extravaganza. Free stuff often comes with the price of time to learn how to use it. But hey that's exactly the beauty in this re-using others scrap fun! Be well, hit it hard! Gergely

Good work! I just reread this topic yesterday and bam: today you send the pics. Kinda spooky Bests: Gergely

Wow, Jake, beautiful score. You don't see these very often even around here where austrian pattern is in use mostly. As far as I know this pattern is the earliest among the austrian/steierisch family. Have nice and long time to enjoy the company of that old lady! Gergely

Well, no posts yet... so... I think it's a flatter but not for blacksmithing but automobil body work. Is the struck end of the head made of steel? It seems like different material in the pictures. Just my 2 eurocents

Wow, Sir, I can't stop admiring your work! Thanks for sharing. And thank you for your books! Greetings and good luck with the tumor removal! Gergely

Hi Hannes, Good work, I like the bigger one better - but it's just me. It reminds me a German paratrooper's style knife. So, i'm sorry you don't want to make more knives but on the other hand I can totally understand it. That "tiny stuff around" you mentioned has been keeping me out of knifemaking. Bests: Gergely

Thank you, Dave, for sharing your life with us. It's very honourable to be one of those who you feel you can trust with all of this. I wish you all the strength (both mental and physical) you need to continue and I hope you can grab into blacksmithing and gain more and more while doing it. (maybe it's needless to say that start easy, don't hurt yourself overdoing it at the re-beginning) I also wish the best for your children hoping they may want to participate in your activity sharing good times togehter. I wish I could say more but the nature of human languages makes difficult to communicate what I truly feel... Be well, take care, enjoy the day... Gergely

No, it's not. - But this is a very small country so from a distant perspective we are all the same kind Bests: Gergely

​Man! We are practically relatives then! I think Neil's suggestion about going to local blacksmiths' meetings is the best you can start with. There is so much you can see and understand in an hour that would take weeks alone. Take care and be safe! Gergely

Hi Mark, and welcome! There is an entire section dedicated to gas forges: http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/65-gas-forges/ in the 1000+ topics you may find the answers. There is an other section about solid fuel forges with almost 1500 topics in it, some answers can be found there, too: http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/64-solid-fuel-forges/ Just be patient and do the work. Well, and answering any "where"-kind questions requires the knowledge about your whereabouts. Even in these global times it will not help you much if I tell the ceramic wool sources of Hungary while you live in Australia. But to at least one actual answer of your questions: I personally use coal, because it is way cheaper here, the forge structure is simpler and almost no maintaince is needed on it. It has its downside: it's slower then a good gas forge, but I'm just a hobbyist, so whatever. Plus I like the smell of it. Bests: Gergely

​Hi Billy, You have to consider me being a non-English speaker I cannot possibly understand the above written comment. G

I respectfully disagree: there is no addiction, there is no withdrawal syndromes or anything weird stuff. I haven't changed a bit I've only experienced changes in the surrounding world. Like people who have became completely unable to understand the simpliest things I'm talking about. Or the stores that are completely unable/unwilling to get me those simple little things I want. Or the value of money which suddenly became so changeable that a price of a knife bought earlier gets now 200 kg's of tool steel but on the other hand I can't buy myself a 100 kg weight drill press for the half of it. So I'm sure there are no changes in me... But my wife often tells me: "Oh, go to your shop finally so I couldn't see your long, sour face." - still it's not because I'm missing blacksmithing, no no. It's just there are days when everything falls into deadly bored darkness. Totally unrelated issue... And when I'm in the shop it's only natural that I try to develop the working environment to achieve bigger goals. It's because I want to earn some money - you have to spend money first to gain bigger money... I needed, really needed the 200 kg anvil, and it was cheap, too... and I really am in need of a power hammer so I have to build it, it totally builds itself by the way. And then I'm gonna make more stuff and sell it and live happily ever after... So no addiction only natural common sense! I'm right, I'm right, aren't I?

Hi James, I like the new sheepfoot design of yours. Its shape makes a really tough knife - some don't like the straight cutting blade line but I feel the exact opposite . So great work again - I can't say anything new that wasn't said before about your earlier and also beautiful designs. Electro etcher, huh? Something that results in desperate find-it-in-Hungary campaign, again Bests to you! Gergely

​That's beuatifully put, Richard! . Well, William, a little bit more about the sugar and stuff here you can find something quite informational, too: https://archive.org/details/EngineeringMetallurgy It's not the newest but pretty cool reading. Bests: Gergely