Michael Cochran

I was helped by one guy who cut it down and the guy that sold it. I'd like to take somethin back next trip, maybe a bottle opener (if I can ever get it right). I bought a stick of 1/2x1" that might work for that, but I might just break down and go the doughnut route instead lol.

thanks for that heads up. I still have a little more to look into but it looks like I'm not spending near as much as I thought.

I finally was able to get to a local steel yard after reading several posts about buying steel there instead of at Lowes/Home Depot/etc. This goes out to all of you like me who keep putting it off for whatever reason. I have to admit I'm not comfortable with strangers and I don't like taking people away from what they might be working on and that is the biggest reasons why I kept putting it off. Today I broke down because I need steel and don't want to keep paying so much for a 4' piece. I called to make sure they sold to the general public before I drove out and wasted my time, the guy said they did and asked just what I was looking for. Honestly I didn't know so I told him that im a blacksmith and I'm looking for some stock under an inch thick and he said come by and he could hook me up with somethin. I get there and mention I just called and he said, 'ok you the horeshoer?' Well it's too late to make my story short but I'll hurry this along a little. He directed me to their 'seconds' pile, which was mostly new stock that's just been bent up and a few short odd cuts. I ended up digging through a pile with everything from angle to channels to bars to rounds, ranging from 1/8 to 3" in size. I walked out of there with 3 sticks at 20' for $20. They were nice enough to cut them all in half to fit my truck and he didn't even charge me for cutting. I guess what I'm trying to say is give your local steel yard a chance. I met some nice guys today and found a new business I'll be visiting again in the next month or so because I enjoyed my experience that much.

Closest thing to HVAC in my shop is an exhaust fan and a couple windows and a door lol. I will definitely be doing more research on the sub metering and I'm in the process of breaking ground for a new shop so I'll have some in depth conversations with my electrician friend. I also plan to find out what power actually costs here since I haven't actually figured it out yet. Thanks for your help, Rockstar, and Snail, thanks for bringing this topic up. Between the two of you i have a better idea for future planning for the direction I would like to take things.

Thanks, rockstar, my power bill has been up noticeably and I've spent a bunch of time in the shop lately. I honestly didn't plan on spending time each month trying to figure power usage in my shop just looking to figure out an a arrange. That said, thanks for the suggestion of an emon dmon. I also have an electrician friend so I might go that way instead.

That's a fine lookin anvil I'd love to have in my possession. People can be so stupid sometimes. I hope you can find a new and more knowledgable buyer that won't give you grief.

Snail, how do you figure your power for your shop? I get my power from my house meter and have debated on getting another meter just for the shop but haven't done it yet. There is a minimum bill from the power company and I don't know if I use enough to justify another meter.

Thankfully my father in law actually has enough respect for me and my views about things I have some knowledge about (as I do him) to not argue with me. We discussed/debated the topic for about 30 minutes and I think he either finally understood my logic or he just decided I knew a little more about this than he did. The same happens when we go to build a house I'll say 'hey, why don't we do it like this...' He will explain it to me and I might debate a few points but at a certain point a shut up because I realize his 35+ years as a home builder means he knows more than I do with my almost three years of experience. My problem is when the mother in law starts. That's when I sit there and 'listen' and 'agree' with everything she says and then wait till I'm well outside of earshot before I even think anythin bad lol.

how old is he? My father in law gave my son a hammer (not a toy one) when he was about a year old. He's been 'helping' build stuff every since. He's two in a couple weeks and you better not leave any nails or hammer where he can find it or else he will be putting nails anywhere and everywhere he can get them to stick. Including the nice reclaimed heart pine floor I just finished putting the last board down when he came home from grandparents house.

DSW, you make a good point, I'll have to try to think about pictures during the process and detailed notes from now on. Frosty, I just tried to explain that very thing to my father in law recently. Because I'd like to make a little bit of money on knives I feel forged is better. He tried to convince me to just buy the steel and cut/grind out the knife from the raw bar. I told him almost the same thing you did, people are going to pay better for a quality forged item than they would for something ground out. If they wanted something like that then why pay me a bunch of money when they could go buy one from the store for less.

Thanks, Alan, for that help. Both pictures have my centerline movin upward in the picture. When holding it in your hand looking from the tang to the point on both sides of the blade it's on the left hand bevel that the line leans to. Just to clarify, you said level the side opposite the way the spine is pointing and then lower the other side to match? I think I just got in to big of a hurry when I was finishing up rough forging and let the hammer slide too far. I'm not very good at forging blades, I can grind the out and finish them nicely but I'm still learning how to properly forge one.

I have yet to make a double edged blade and thought making a letter opener would be good practice. I started with a piece of 3/16x3/4 'weld steel' from lowes instead of messing up my good steel and it's decent but I need a little help. I'm thinking as i hammered in my bevels that I got a little sloppy because my center line is not centered or straight. One side is much worse than the other but both have a little crookedness. I'm trying to get it straightened back up but it doesn't seem to be moving. I know it's not the fault of my tools, the files im using cant do anything without me telling them to do it. So I have to ask since I cannot seem to figure out myself, how is the best way to fix this. I've tried leaning towards the centerline some but I don't want to move the whole line, just the wrong spots. I'm sure there's an 'easy' answer and I just haven't found it yet. I only have a bench grinder (and prefer not to use it because I'll really mess up what I have) and files at this time. Any help no matter how simple it sounds would be appreciated.

Thanks, I'm gonna put one of those sheets together. Even if I don't make a sale I think it could be useful to keep up with all those details anyway.

What format is this spreadsheet you mention? I would like to see a blank copy if you'd be willing to share. I'm starting to keep notes now as I plan to start selling some things in the near future and I think seeing what you have come up with might be helpful.

Ethan, that makes it even better. I didn't have family that did anythin like this so I can't get tools from that far back.

You're workin on Saturday? Do you not get enough durin the week? Have fun at work doin what ever you do.

That was a great video showing just how little we need. It also makes me feel better about what I do have. While I forgot to count OSHA violations I do remember seeing maybe three lol.

That anvil looks brand new except for that funny lookin nose on it. Any idea what that's about? i have to say I'm jealous Ethan. You're constantly findin nice little treasures to work with.

i saw this in a YouTube video. The guy took a piece of square tubing and after welding a plug on the end coated the inside with whiteout. He then filled the tube with scrap bits of steel and some powdered HC steel. He put it in the fire and ended up welding up a pretty little billet that you peel the mild steel tubing off of. I think he was making pw knives like that. If I can remember when I get home from work I'll look and see if I can find it again.

I don't usually do legwork for people but I'm ridin in to work bored so I thought I'd see what I could find. Google 'wood caliber 1911 grips' that should help you out some.

You can get desert ironwood in a 1911 grip but I don't know about the texturing, you'd just have to look.

I know you can buy replacement wood grips for a 1911 on eBay. Depending on the size of the knife handle you might want to consider buying a set and cutting them down to fit. Just a wild idea that run through my head when I started thinking about your problem. The other would be to cut the texture in with a cutoff on a rotary tool and then come back with a flexible sanding pad to smooth and clean them up.

I've heard of it used to keep from welding steel together in the fire before but never for marking. I'll try it if I can remember to pick some up one day.

I chiseled about 1/16" deep which is just enough I can feel it as i take it back and forth over the edge of the anvil. I've tried soapstone but once the metal starts glowing I don't see my mark anymore, it might just be my bad eyes. I can't read a speed limit sign at 30 yards, if I take my glasses off I don't even see the sign I've seen people use the centerpunch method and I guess it's time to give it a try.

Their hours are from 6am-330 and its about a 45 drive from work where I have to be at 630. I'll try calling and see if I can pay over the phone and get an after hours pickup. Delivery to work can't happen since I don't know where I'm gonna work from day to day. Lately we've been about 90 minutes drive the opposite direction so that's a no go. I'll figure somethin out. as far as the cold shuts, I marked the bar cold with a chisel and then used my anvil edges to set the fullers. The corners are a little sharp but since I'm new to using an anvil I haven't figured out how to round it any. To be honest I haven't really looked hard to find that answer yet. I have some old files that are almost no good I might try to use. Thanks for pointing out the anvils edge as a likely and embarrassingly obvious reason to that problem. I'm not sure why I didn't think about that myself.