Chris Waldon

I know that this topic is old and dead, but nonetheless, judging from the scale of the pictures and my own 20lb anvil, that thing weighs a great deal closer to 50lbs.

Today I attempted to forge a flint striker. (I recently visited Colonial Williamsburg, VA; and couldn't resist when I saw flint at $2 per hunk) It was made from the axle of a lawnmower blade, which I guessed would be high carbon. It seems I must have been wrong. The striker, quenched in water, chips away the flint without producing a single spark. Was I mis-informed about the necessity of high carbon steel? Or about the quench? I know that I chose questionable metal, at best. Anyone have a guess as to what a lawnmower blade axle might be made of?

I don't know how commonly known flint strikers are, so I decided to include a brief description:
A thin, long, square or rectangular piece of high-carbon steel that is curved into a tall "c". Designed to fit over the first three fingers of either hand, it is used by striking perpendicular to the edge of a piece of flint to produce a spark.

Thanks

It was labeled as "1886 # 6 Fisher Anvil" and it might have had "antique" in there as well. The reason it went for so little is that I'm an eBay shark that bids in the last 8 seconds to prevent other buyers from countering. It's far from mint condition, but I'm sure I'll be able to use it. It sure beats my old 20lb one. What do you reckon it will be made from? Did Fisher make all their anvils out of wrought iron? Cast? Steel?

Was this forged or stock-removed? Either way, very nice!!

Two days ago I bought a 1886 Fisher anvil that ways about 60lbs on eBay. I paid $29 for it. (Plus $52 for shipping) Is this the deal of a lifetime, or does this kind of deal occur regularly? I would post pictures, but it hasn't arrived and I can't get back to the ebay page.

I love the shape. That thing is wicked. Why did you leave the guard raw? I don't know whether it would look better polished or not, but the guard contrasts so sharply with the blade because of the difference in levels of polish that I think it detracts somewhat from the overall appearance.

The woodwork on the sheath is very well done. I'm working on a broken-back saxe right now. I hope it turns out this well.

I'm gonna guess that you epoxied the tang in. It looks very nice, I like how you left the spine rough from the forge.

I've sitting on this idea for a while. I'd like to put together a resource for other beginning bladesmiths like me that defines the basic and crucial vocabulary that we use all the time and I'm asking for your help.

If you have time, could you post a few definitions of words you consider crucial to this craft.

Suggestions:

distal taper
hamon
bolster
guard
pommel
hidden tang
full tang
tang
fuller
swage
normalizing
hardening
tempering
brine

And anything else you can think of.
Thanks.

Your outline is quite informative. Since I have just as much (or less) experience than you do, I can't say much more than "It looks good!"
If you ever make more of these outlines, pictures of the processes involved could allow for better understanding. (A picture's worth a thousand words!) This would also allow for better feedback.

Nice Work!

I would argue that perfection is never attained, but the pursuit of such is what keeps a bladesmith alive and burning with passion for his craft.

How did you do that leather wrapping? I really like the effect.

I'm going to be attempting a basic dagger soon, and, for historical accuracy reasons, I'm wanting to peen the tang. However, while I have seen this done in a video, I'm still not entirely sure how to do it without damaging the blade. Could I get some instructions for this?

Also, on a related note, is it a myth that you can heat the crossguard of a blade, slide it up to the position it will occupy on the tang and when it cools it will tighten around the tang and be impossible to remove?

Thanks for the info. I need to get some of this stuff for my knives. Dishwasher-safe would be a huge plus! (I guess that only applies with stainless steel though... Oh well)

Please post that close-up. By the way, what runic alphabet are you using? Anglo-Saxon? Tolkien's Dwarvish? Other?

Schnazzy, I like it. What inspired this series?

Is the treading done hot or cold?

I'm sorry that I didn't include a experience background on my post. I have already made and tempered several knives, with varying degrees of success, but you are right when you say I know nothing of sword geometry. This is just a project for fun between two friends.

A friend of mine would like to try to make a roman gladius from a leaf spring. I know that the kind of metal used is inconsistent, but generally has the same over-arching properties: durable and flexible.
My question is this:
Would a leaf spring provide suitable metal for a gladius?
My main concern is simply that it would end up SO much thinner than how it started. I'm just not sure how much of it's original durability it would retain.
Any questions or advice is welcome. This would be my first sword, but we're doing it more for the experience of making it than because we expect it to turn out spectacular. Thank you.

how does one thread the tang? I've seen it a few times, but I'm lost as to the process behind it.

By the by, Beautiful knife.

I'd just heard that it was possible to damage your anvil while removing rust, so I wanted to make sure before I did anything. Thanks for all the info.

Very functional. Well done.

How do you test Rc? I've never heard of it.

Do you think I could use the clay that I can dig out of the ground here. It's impure red clay, but I guess it might work...

My anvil was out during some mist and it rusted all across the work surface. It's quite thin, but I just wanted to ask what the best way to get rid of it is, I don't want to damage my anvil or anything.
Thanks.