wolfshieldrx

...or more precisely, for her boyfriend. Blade forged from tire tool. The blade has a rat tail tang that extends half-way throuhg the handle. It is epoxied in place and pinned with two copper pins. The leather sheath has copper rivets and is hand-stitched using waxed linen thread. No power tools were used in the making of this knife...from forging to filing to drilling rivet holes to final honing of the blade. Thanks for looking...bart

Yep, just a holding fixture. bart

In one of the books by Gene Chapman there is a picture of a forged "antler slotting fixture" for, well, slottong antlers. I made this one last evening. Havn't used it yet but i think it wil do thr trick. Bart

Ok...lets see your hearts!

I kind of suspected harrow tooth. Pointed four sides like a spike. Thanks. Bart

Not the one with George's picture on it...the other one. Spark tests high carbon. Bought a small box full at estate sale. Bart

Thanks again for all the positive comments. I had fun twice: once when I made them and again when the members of my extended family opened their Christmas presents! Thanks for lookin! By the way, the idea for the marshmallow fork came from our very own Frosty...thanks guy. I plan to make a few more of those. Bart

Made the nutcracker from 3/8 inch mild steel. The pick was made from a 20-d square-cut masonry nail. Has enough carbon in it that you can temper the point. I did, though I don't know that you'd have to... Always enjoy your posts and comments...bart

Thanks a bunch, guys! A couple more pictures for your consideration: Thanks again for all the inspiration and encouragement you guys give me! Happy new year!

I was busy forging!! Thanks for looking...bart

Looks great! How does the corian work? I have a piece I've been wanting to try for scales. Bart

Oh thanks! Closeup of wrap:

Sorry. Meant to say hardened in water. I then tempered edge to bronze. Thanks ro looking. Bart

Yes. Oil didnt seem to get it very hard.

Was forging a "D" style fire-steel and broke one of the handle off. So...popped it back in the forge and this crawled out: Coil spring of unknown lineage, braided leather wrap (my first). Tempered in water with a thin film of oil on top. Dont know what i'll use it for. Wife says its cute! Go figure... Comments welcome...bart

I'm in. My son's birthday is September 28 as well. bart

Steels I have successfully (more or less ) made stikers from: High carbon masonry nails - easy to work, very little shaping necessary, fair sparks. Tire tool - little more difficult go work, good-very good sparks. Hay rake teeth - must be worked at red-yellow, excellent sparks. I haven't used a file, although it seems most people consider it the gold standard. To harden the masonry nails, I heat entire striker to cherry then hold the striking part of the striker in the quench tub until all color goes from the handle of the striker. Then I cool the handle. This keeps the handle from being too brittle and breaking. Oh, and move the striker up and down a little to prevent a brittle quench line from forming. For the other steels, I heat entire striker to cherry, then quench the bottom two-thirds of the striking part for about two seconds. I then hold the striker out of the water while singing one verse of "Old MacDonald had a Farm" (yes, I'm seriously disturbed!). A the end of "E-I-E-I-O", I quench the entire striker. Never had one to crack. After quenching, I grind the scale off the striking face to provide bare steel for the flint to contact. Not sure if this is the "right" or "best" way but my strikers throw sparks! I have made several for friends and family. Below is a striker made from a tire tool. bart

My kind of knife. Keep 'em commin'...bart

That's called "nice work" in any language. Looks like a real practical package! Bart

I was recently asked to demo for the New River Forge Council group meeting at Eugene Ratliff's shop in Oak Hill, WV. First off, a blacksmith caliper. Forged from 3/16 flat bar. These were raffled off for coffee and donut money for the group. I plan to make a second, smaller one from 1/8 inch stock for MY toolbox. Next up, a pair of scroll tongs forged from 1/2 inch diameter round hot rolled mild steel: Comments, questions and critiques welcomed and encouraged. Thanks for looking...bart

Thanks Jake...I knew I had "borrowed" it from an article by Chris Shwartz but could not remember the maker(s). I always thought that something between 5/8 and 3/4 would be ideal, but the 5/8 inch was all I could find locally. Both of the ones I made work well, but not great. May have to find some 11/16. bart

Re, burning down buildings for nails, from historymyths.wordpress.com... "Here’s a good illustration on how a myth gets started. Ken Schwarz, Colonial Williamsburg’s blacksmith since 1982 and the master blacksmith since 2003, says he hears this one every time they make handwrought nails at the Anderson Forge. It’s not true, yet there is a nugget of fact if you dig deep enough . . . . . . back to a single Virginia law in the 1640s that forbade the burning of buildings for the nails. However, Ken explains that during the earliest years of the colonial period—the first few decades of the 1600s—buildings were constructed in a very slipshod manner, with wood touching the ground. They were meant to be temporary, because the earliest settlers hadn’t planned to “settle” at all–they were here in the New World to make a quick fortune and go home. So they built shoddy buildings that quickly rotted. Therefore, it was an occasional thrifty practice to get rid of these shacks by burning them, but then, why not sift through the ashes for the nails? Ken says the nails weren’t all that valuable, but why waste them? The law aimed to stop Englishmen from deserting their plantations and from burning the buildings as they left (and taking the nails with them) by giving them the estimated number of nails. Here, read it yourself. And it is further enacted by the authoritie aforesaid, That it shall not be lawfull for any person so deserting his plantation as afore said to burne any necessary houseing that are scituated therevpon, but shall receive so many nailes as may be computed by 2 indifferent men were expended bout the building thereof for full satisfaction, reservinge to the King all such rent as did accrew by vertue of the former grants or planting of the same from the expiration of the first seaven years. Perfectly clear, right? Okay, the translation: in essence, it says, if you’re going to desert your plantation (which you are leasing from the king, you don’t own the land), don’t burn the worthless buildings for the nails before you leave; we’ll give you as many nails as two men estimate are in the building, but you won’t get any of your rent back from the king. Ken Schwarz says that this practice didn’t last long. Slipshod building techniques soon gave way to sounder architecture. No one would ever have burned a decent building for its nails." Pretty cool, huh? bart

Here's a couple I recently made. Both were forged from 5/8 inch hot rolled mild steel. They were made to fit the 3/4 inch round holes in my workbench. The one with the leaf was patterned after one I saw on the Popular Woodworking website. I forget the name of the maker. The second is from an illustration in Moxon's Mechanix Exercises: Here's a couple of shots of both together: You might want to consider offering a planing stop (Moxon calls it a "bench hook") for your customer" Let me know if I can clear up anything the pictures don't explain. bart

Looks good. Ditto on sharp anvil edges. Have only made a few pair myself. I've found that knocking down the square reins to octogon feels better than going all the way to round...better control.

Yeah, I saw a similar mechanism somewhere and borrowed it. Works really well. It seems to tension the blade tighter than the traditional thumbscrew mechanism. The thumbscrews holding the blade in place were a bear to make! So tiny compared to most if the stuff I make. Thanks for looking...bart