bigfootnampa

Cadmium tends to be a pretty potent poison. You might want to check on your life insurance and make sure everything is up to date.

The zinc is also quite deadly... maybe you should page your life insurance agent right away?!

I like the twist! Looks like this could be a long thread. How well I understand your frustration! The trick is to grasp the image that she has in her mind. The execution of the design then is up to the artist (that's YOU). I have often had customers asking for things that I knew they wouldn't like... it is neccessary to resist when faced with such unenlightened tasking. Start over... stand back... talk (this is a really hard part)... LISTEN (this part is SUPER difficult)... seize the ESSENCE of the project and design around that. Your finished piece may well diverge from the customers imaginings yet still be fulfilling IF it is true to the proper feel and truly beautifully done! PS your wife is the CUSTOMER do NOT think of her as a design partner.

I'd tend to think of it as a tube rivet project. Use a piece of tubing as the outer ring and flange the ends. Various techniques may work depending on scale and material characteristics. Since it seems you'd want a loose fit it might be easiest to start the groove formation on something like a sinusoidal stake (for anticlastic raising) and then place the inner ring and gently tap it till it tightens properly.

The edges are fine... most I would do is maybe smooth the edges a little with a grinder. If the rebound is good (I am pretty sure it will be) and it doesn't have any dead sounding areas when tapped with a small hammer it looks like a bargain. I paid $650 for my 253 pound Trenton. They are quite good anvils in general. A helpful bystander who RAN (literally) over to help my son and I load it told me that he had 4 of them in his shop. Hammering on my Chinese ASO previously I was unprepared for the experience of using an anvil with real rebound!

Thanks Grant and Thomas. I am beginning to see that this is a complex thing perhaps not easily described or understood. So my use of "as forged" materials may be difficult to describe but if they work well I'll figure out how to live with the vagaries of the technical details.

They have seemed to work well for some things too... I make a small scythe/billhook that I like to leave that way. The cutting blade has been heavily forged and I don't like them to be too hard to file sharpen. They seem about right as I take them off the anvil and cut weeds like a whole herd of string trimmers. Even my wife says she wouldn't use a string trimmer now "for all the tea in China". Usually this strategem is most useful when I am working with moderate carbon content steels.

Thanks for setting me straight on the crystallization Grant. I guess having witnessed broken ends of similar type tools led me to such erroneous description.

The work hardening thing I have discussed before and IT HAPPENS. Perhaps it is not theoretically possible BUT I experience it at my forge. It is difficult for me to accept what you say when I experience metal becoming stiffer and more rigid (appearing stronger) after forging than it was before. Perhaps the problem is my terminology or something? I mean as a jewelry smith I often worked with metals which were routinely work hardened as this was often the only reasonably practical method. I am perhaps confused as a result of my unusual path of development as a smith but I would like to better understand and perhaps you can help me?

Some of my reading has led me to think that work hardening is one of the most reliable ways to harden various metals and alloys... I think of it as a near universally successful method. Is it possible that I am "anvil quenching" my steels instead of "work hardening" them? It would almost seem to amount to the same thing in a practical sense, although it could be that more than one type of alteration is occurring and perhaps there is not an existing term that is technically correct and properly descriptive? OR maybe I just don't know what it is?

I assume that you meant a "Bull" point. I don't know what type steel is in those but for most tools of that type the steel is quite tough even in it's unhardened state. I am pretty sure that is what you are experiencing for even air hardening steel (quite unlikely IMO) would not be likely to harden in such a thick heavy mass. You may have achieved some work hardening though as an 88 pound Anyang can really put the hammer down. In any case good results are far better than good intentions. Tools destined for such heavy impact applications shouldn't be hardened much anyway (though they SHOULD be made of VERY tough steel) because they might crystallize and break under the constant hammering stress that they are meant for.

Mark;

I don't know that I have ever seen a CLEAR powder coat but generally the powder coats are slightly textured and have a very soft look. So they might work for you. I'd suggest just using clear satin "Breakthrough" or some similar finish. If your customer doesn't mind recoating every few years just one or two coats will keep the build low and retain nearly all of that rustic look he likes. Three or four coats creates a very tough finish (as example, I like to put on at least six coats for countertops which will have heavy scrubbing and daily use). My favorite look is to brass the surface by brushing at black heat, leaving any scale that survives this process and then coat a couple of layers with clear satin "Breakthrough" that has a bit of black or near-black (brown/black) pigment added to give a smoky antiqued look similar to antique bronze patinas. For more protection you can clear coat over this.

A powdercoat just seems overkill for an interior project... to me anyway.

I like your hammer but I agree that it is too heavy. My advice would be to aim for a very short "nose" on the main face. I prefer to keep the mass near the eye as much as possible. A little more projection on the peen end is allowable but even there I keep it tight. Doing so allows you to hammer with the corners of your face without generating excessive torque forces. I would also dress the face corners to soft rounds so that I could fuller with any corner of the hammer. If you do it this way you'd be able to use the peen on a diagonal and the left or right corners of the face as (effectively) straight peens while the top corner of the face serves as a cross peen would... thus you have a single hammer with vast versatility. I have made such hammers and they DO work extremely well. My favorite is slightly under 3" from peen to face weighing less than two pounds and is superior to any of my many other hammers for a high percentage of my work.

I do like a fairly hard face on my hammers but I run colors to blue/purple range as I consider that about right for a tool designed for such heavy and repetetive striking in use (straw colors are more appropriate for cutting tools). So IMO you may have quit your tempering heat just a tad early on this one... not likely a big problem but an area for possible improvement.

One other suggestion is that I really like my hammer handles to be thick so that I have a lot of control (without gripping hard) when presenting the hammer to the metal on various angles... you might try that and see how you like it.

Sorry to run on so long, I hope you get something useful from all this and wish you much joy in your hammering!

I agree with JPH that the handle fitting is best done at black heats. The ideal is to MELT the tang into the socket. Charring weakens the wood... a LOT. Melting it on actually strengthens the socket area by compressing the fibers... additionally, the resins in the wood become natural hot glues cementing the tang into the handle. I like to forge my tangs nearly square with a slight taper and then I step drill the handles (I often cheat by using tapered or stepped drill bits... my favorite is a 2X Miller Dowel drill bit). I frequently seat the handles after final heat treat using heavy tongs as a heat sink to protect the blade area and also to help force the tang into place.

Another useful little trick is to drizzle Kwik-Poly into any gaps on the flats of the tang. The Kwik-Poly is VERY thin and will trickle clear to the bottom of the tang (if there is ANY gap). It sets up in about twenty minutes and is an extremely strong and durable glue (it also saturates the wood fibers hardening the handle socket considerably).

When you do a handle this way there is NO need for a through tang (unless you just want that look) because that handle is absolutely permanently attached (even if you skip the Kwik-Poly... as I often do). I make small billhook-type tools that I handle this way and use the handles to snatch hook saplings and limbs up to an inch or so in diameter... this is direct withdrawal force and FAR greater stress than any knife handle is ever likely to endure... the handles take this kind of stress regularly for thousands of cycles with no signs of any loosening.

Start with the blue prints here. Then there is a lot at the "IForge how to" at Anvilfire Blacksmith Projects

The Bill Epps books are good too and Glenn has them for sale in the Tailgating section here.

You Tube has a bunch of videos where you can see the process in action.

Last (definitely NOT least) check out the archives here for all of Brian Brazeal's posts.

BTW I really like your knives! I am one who likes seeing a little scale and pitting on the surfaces... I find that rusticity far more interesting than polished surfaces. I can see that you have talent.

Jim Bob;

I can see that working, though so far mine have been a bit smaller than I like for hammer drifts. I have made some hammer drifts from old picks that serve the purpose. These wrenches come in very large sizes but the bigger ones are less common here and I haven't seen them at flea markets.

Michael;

Around here it's hard to get even old completely smooth steels cheap. When I do find them I usually use them for burnishers (for turning scraper edges) or retooth them for honing my cutting edges.

I would think that they would need tempering to use as punches as they tend to be very high carbon and quite hard... not what I'd consider ideal for an impact tool. Do you retemper your's? If not, do they sometimes break when you hammer on them?

I save the shavings from my drawknife work on the shaving horse for fire starter. As I make lots of handles for my tools (and other things too) there are always plenty here. I save them in old feed bags. I mix in a few small chunks of offcut wood to get a quick bed of coals. When I shut down my forge I put a sprinkler can or two of water on the hot coals to cool the fire and save more coke for the next fire. If you don't have a handy source of wood shavings to recycle try some natural (real wood) charcoal. You can get it at the big boxes or groceries even hardware stores. Just use a little to get your coal going when you are starting up... especially if you are short on coke.

In short, use some kindling of wood or charcoal to get a flame going and feed the coal in slowly from the sides. Keep a nice flame until you get a good glowing bed of embers.

I like my coal damp but when it is WET it takes longer to get the fire cooking and I use more kindling.

I think you have it! Here is an image link: Proto C908 Structural Wrench

Do it like we make jump rings... wrap a mandrel (steel pipe or tube) and cut with a cut-off wheel. I think it would be easier to hard solder than to weld them. You'll likely have to wrap hot with a torch.

I have purchased several old spud wrenches at flea markets. They are often bent a little but I can easily straighten them. The large ones make good ring mandrels and drifts. I recently cut the wrench end off of a smaller one and am using it as a small diameter hot punch. It works very well for making holes for screws in my wall hooks and suchlike. Mine leaves about a 3/16" diameter hole. These can be expensive new but I can usually get them for five dollars or less at flea markets. They are tough steel and hold up well for hot punching, even in small diameters.

The subtle and graceful lines of this knife are outstanding! I have seen very few that I liked as well!

I don't know what the problem is yet... can you not cut the steel with your stones? I'd seek experienced help with the sharpening before I'd send it back. If I could see it and talk to you I'd figure out the problem shortly. If the steel is too hard for your stones use diamonds. If the problem is one of technique then you need coaching. If the steel is too soft it needs re-heat-treating (this same solution works if the steel is TOO hard [brittle]). Knives too hard or too soft will not hold their edges... but you should still be able to sharpen them.

I like a medium carbon steel for punches... 4140 is about right. IMO straw is too hard for impact tools (in high carbon steels) blue is about right (that's spring temper too). With a steel like 4140 I will often just normalize and cool... skipping a full HT. It seems to work fine for me that way... apparently enough carbon in the steel to do the job I ask of it without hardening. But if I do harden and temper I temper to blue.

LDW; I have made such drifts. It's hard to find one with nearly the right taper but they are out there. Antique malls are a convenient source. Flea markets can be even cheaper and have more without handles. Mine are NOT beautiful... but they work well.

As a sort of finishing expert I feel the need to comment on the olive oil. I LOVE olive oil and use it regularly for cleaning and conditioning brushes (where it works GREAT). I cook with it regularly and use it for cleaning around the house too. As a finish it has some drawbacks though. Olive oil tends NOT to dry (some guys say it NEVER dries... but I am cautious with the use of that word). In any case, as an oil classified NON-drying, olive oil is generally going to be a poorer choice than any of the DRYing oils for finishing wood (or most anything). I have used MANY types of finish and I tend to do most items with industrial grade acrylics (Breakthrough) and/or catalyzed plastics (epoxy, Kwik-Poly, etcetera) but I like to use walnut oil and linseed oil is a very useful product too. I have drifted away from tung oils because they have shorter shelf lives and are very complex chemically where I prefer simple when possible.

Walnut oil is very nice and TOTALLY edible. It makes a nice finish when dried but is a bit slow... I have found that for small items, like spoons, summer car dash baking is a great accelerant. Numerous coats are advisable for a reasonably durable finish.

In the end though, most any dried finish is PLENTY safe for a knife handle used to prepare food... olive oil could be slippery and is one of the LEAST desirable choices. Walnut oil is available in small bottles in the groceries and health food stores... similarly priced to olive oil. Multiple thin wipe-on coats baked and dried between applications is the best way I know to work with walnut oil.

Personally I like to make my own hammer handles and I like them to have a larger diameter where I hold them. This gives me more control with a softer grip. I also like the wood unfinished and carefully textured. I find that smooth sanded handles are too slippery for me. I like to use a surform tool in a sort of drawfiling technique and then I do a little coarse sanding that softens the texture but leaves most of it. I'd start with the handle design and finish and then you'll find it easier to hold properly.

I usually start with 1/4" stock and draw it down, like you would a nail.

Thanks for your review Charlotte. I will say that I am not too surprised to hear good things about them... I have seen Mark teaching in person and IMO he has a very rare depth of understanding of this craft and an incredible gift of teaching patiently and with amazing clarity. I am happy to have had the opportunity to thank him personally as even on this site alone he has posted lessons that have much advanced my own grasp of both fundamentals and subtleties of this craft. I will have those books on ,my wish list now for sure!