Hello to everyone. Wanted to drop in and introduce myself... My name is Eric, and I live in SW Virginia, and I'm trying to get into 'smithing. My main interest is to make axes and knives, and various oddities. I've made axes in the past, using a rosebud and a ballpein hammer on a 1/4" steel fab table of all things. I'm currently looking very hard for a decent anvil, with no luck I might add, and have started my forge build. I've also been trying to get a head start on gathering raw materials, and have a friend who works for an electric motor shop that can get me motor shafts that are 4150. Would this be a sufficiently high carbon level for making axes out of? I don't think it's high enough for knives, but I could be wrong there, too. He also said they occasionally see shafts that are close to 5" in diameter, and I'm thinking maybe one of those big shafts could serve as a post anvil until I can find something better... Anyhow, howdy, and hope to maybe one day be able to contribute back to the site instead of just take away... Have a good one everyone!