I have been making small knives on the head of a hammer stuck into a concrete block for a while and recently purchased a small section of I-Beam from the local scrap yard. I used some car restoration skill to get rid of all the rust and polish up the top to a flat surface. At 33 pounds, it seems to be pretty decent for hammering out little things as long as I hit in the center where there is the most steel... rings a little more than my ears care for though. However, I hit it the other day with the edge of my hammer while beveling a knife and put a small half moon dent in it. Got me wondering...
Are I-Beams usually hardened or tempered? Should I harden this thing before I continue to hammer on it? I know I-Beams are not ideal (from reading the Anvil Forum here), but I want to make the best out of what I have.
