Eric Morgan

Thanks Neil!

I believe I have plenty of stock to draw that handle out a good bit more... Good practice too, I'd imagine. Thanks again!

Hadn't thought of making a point for clearing the air grate... I was really wanting to get to forging so I didn't do any drawing out of the middle of the handle... Gonna try and do that tomorrow. Thanks for the advice and praise Frosty!

Started with a short length of 1/2" round stock. Tapered the handle end down to try to practice tapering, as I want to make some drifts and punches to eventually make my own hammers. Also tried a couple different ways of drawing out, and the edge of the big radius worked wonderfully for that... Also got started making a knife from a Nicholson file I'd gotten that was broken to practice making knives. Still have a lot of work to do on it, but it is a start I suppose...

I was thinking of something similar... I have some 3" angle 1/4" thick that oughta do the trick

So I gather...

Got a section of a locust log from some utility workers clearing a right of way this evening... Gonna weld some brackets on to mount the anvil more securely. Also included a short clip of me testing the rebound out with a 2# brass hammer... What do you guys think? IMG_1554.MOV

It's tough finding anvils around here also... I've been looking off and on for a couple years now, and pretty hard the last 6-8 months to no avail.

*Knocks on wood.... Luckily, I haven't encountered the Forbidden issue yet... Thanks again to everyone for your responses.

I suppose we'll when ya put it like that... It does kinda sound like putting the horse in the cart and trying to pull it to town by hand lol

Yes sir, that was my original thinking... Again, haven't had opportunity to test the theory, but I appreciate the discussion guys!

Hey everyone, I am not yet a 'smith, still working up things for a forge. Which should be finished this week hopefully... Anyhow, my question is this: has anyone ever made either a fullering tool or pein on a hammer that was asymmetrical? As in having one shoulder or radius of the pein sharper than the other, and more gently sloping to allow it to move the metal in mostly one direction only? This may be completely unnecessary, and if so, feel free to tell me lol... Just sat here this evening and thought it could be useful at times if it would work...

So you wouldn't use one of the drops to make a horn from Frosty? I was going to cut the hardy hole into the trimming. I plan on mostly doing axes and blades, so I don't think I'll really need a horn that terribly often, but I do want to have it should I need one.

I'll bet you fellas are right about drawing out on that radiused side

Before I had the three sides cut off, a calculator online said a 16" round 3" thick of 4150 oughta be around 170 pounds. Best of all, all I have in this is a couple fishing lures to paint for the guy. (I custom paint fishing lures)

Hey guys, still working on building my forge, but here are a couple pics of what will be my anvil, at least until I find something better. It's a chunk of 4150 plate 3" thick, and was 16" in diameter. I had a friend of mine cut off the three sides so I could mount it directly to a stand, for a decent sized face (3" X 12"), and to have a flat surface on the side to weld one of the drops cut in half to as a horn. I'll also be cutting a notch in the "horn" piece that will be my hardy hole. May also find some thick plate and weld an upsetting block on the side of the base somewhere...

Thanks guys! Turbo, I'll do that for sure... Probably wouldn't have ever thought about the bearings... Thanks! Profile updated, Frosty. Thanks for the suggestion

I'm not a blacksmith (yet, but I'm working on it ), but that is also the proper way to hold a knife, especially a chef's knife. And for the same reasons.

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!