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I Forge Iron

MAD MAX

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Central Oregon
  • Interests
    I make knives and Tomahawks primarily with "Junkyard steel". I am pretty broke mostly so I "make do' with what ever I can. Been forging about 5 years or so but am not a member of any organization as I am not what you call a Joiner. I do not at present do any forge welding at all.

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    mad_max6464@yahoo.com

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  1. I guess I am not traditional at all. I have mostly hand tools but do have a drill press and a 4 inch hand held grinder so I do LOTS of filing. I have no power hammer or press. I am 100% self taught because there is no one to learn from so no "tradition" has been passed down. I just use what I can make use of to the best of my skill. most of what I make never gets seen by anybody, But I do have fun!
  2. I am just guessing just like everyone else. It could be just like everyone says or it could be a little more modern and made of JUNK steel. I have run across a very similar thing trying to re-forge modern splitting mauls and cheaper type axes. I have been told that these are often made of whatever steel can be had and cast into tools for a cheap price.
  3. Ya Ball peen are tough steel, I made a couple Hawks from them and they gotta be pretty darn hot to move well. But good steel an that looks pretty good to me!
  4. I was pondering the question of," Just how good a blacksmith am I"? So I thought about for quite a while and I decided that on a scale of 1-10 10 being the highest I consider myself no higher than a 3. Some may think that to be a low rank and maybe it is But what I base it on is the work ive seen and what I myself have done. I would consider someone who is a 10 to be a complete master being able to do nearly anything with little trouble. Plus Ive been at this about 6 years with that little time in such a vast skill, 3 is actually pretty high. I like to challenge myself. I would say some of you guys are in the 7-8 range maybe higher. Always learning
  5. I noticed you said you gave up trying to forge weld. I think I can help if you want to try again. are you using solid fuel or gas?

    it is faster to get me via email than on here. 

    tristan.apa@gmail.com  

  6. Making mistakes is how we learn most of the time. Last year I made a tomahawk from an old Ballpeen hammer. It was the first time I had ever used a Ballpeen for this. It turned out looking Super good. I did not however listen to someone who told me NOT to quench it in water, He said Oil is the only thing to use on an old hammer. WELLLLLL I quenched this exquisite piece in water and it shattered, It broke into no less than 11 pieces. The thing is I actually NEVER quench in water What possessed me to that time is beyond me.
  7. I have never been able to forge weld either but superstitious I am not. I don't have any superstitions, I have just never been able to do it. I actually gave up trying about a year ago. But then again maybe its the elf that lives in the shop???????????
  8. I was showing a Tomahawk I had made to a couple of young men the other day. One of them seemed pretty intrigued, The other one stood by silent for quite a while. Finally the quiet one asked me "Why would someone Blacksmith at all"?. He said you could buy anything you want at most hardware stores or some specialty place. I said that he was indeed correct. Then I told him this: First of all I need something to do and not just anybody can make something out of steel or iron. Also why do woodworking, Leather craft, Pottery, Or a host of other things where we make things at home that could be easily purchased at some store some place. A hand made item has "personality" where as a mass produced item is just another one of its type. I also like the small amount of independence Blacksmithing gives me. I mean if I need something I can usually find something to make it out of freeing me from having to buy it. The last thing is that Blacksmithing has become my drug of choice, I just cant quit because I have withdrawls.
  9. You do good work. It is mind boggling how primitive my shop is to yours.
  10. I doubt you are doing anything wrong. I actually talked to the guy who we get them from and he said that hs411 is made strictly for the manufacture of Chipper and planer blades and is not sold to anyone who does not make them. So I guess you cant buy it in a raw form. I messed with a piece of one and I want nothing to do with it. I had to get it to near white heat and it still hardly moves under the hammer. I tried an arc weld on it and our shop foreman was right, its near impossible to get a weld to stick to it. So I don't really care what it is now as its not Blacksmith friendly at all.
  11. It looks decent, But I can tell by looking at it you can do some real good work. I have never worked with wrought iron either and I don't forge weld so its better than I could do! I like the overall design.
  12. Acually I just found out that they are not 1095. They are a special alloy called HS411. It is only made specifically for chipper knives and similar things. Our shop foreman says it is nearly impossible to weld it. It is so hard that it chips like glass when its broken. I think ill pass on it for now.
  13. Very well done, I too am slow so I fully understand about trying to get it done in one day, I doubt I could do it in a single day.
  14. Try as I might I cant seem to get a RR spike Hawk to turn out! I have made them out of other things but the small amount of steel in a RR spike is hard for me to work with. You did well for your first one for sure!
  15. So as to size they are 5in wide and 12 in long with 4 holes in the middle that are 3/4 in. Most are 1/2 in thick but the new ones coming are 5/8 thick. As near as any one can tell me they are 1095.
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