JHCC
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I'm trying to think of a pun on "clinker", but all I'm coming up with are clunkers.
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He's tempting you to make an ash of yourself.
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Well, I've decided to give blademaking a try, since the good folk at the local John Deere repair shop were good enough to give me a handful of lawnmower blades. (And yes, I know all about the problems with working with mystery steel. Worst case scenario, it'll be some good grinding practice on free steel. Who knows; I might even get a workable blade.)
I've decided to make a Nessmuk knife, as described in George Washington "Nessmuk" Sears's 1884 classic "Woodcraft and Camping".
The following photo shows (top to bottom) an enlarged scan of Horace Kephart's sketch of the original Nessmuk knife, a cardboard template of that profile, a scaled-up version (Sears was five feet tall; I'm a bit over six), and a modification of the scaled-up version that hews a little more closely to the blade profile of the original and fits my hand a bit better.
You'll notice that the two modified versions have a little belly to the handles. I can't quite tell from the Kephart sketch, but I suspect that the original knife had a stag crown handle. This should make for a more secure grip.
Not shown is the steel I plan to use; that's currently annealing in a container of lime. I'll post a picture of it later.
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On 11/27/2015 at 3:22 PM, Frosty said:
How hard did you ram the clay? How hard to you gouge it with stock when heating? Regardless, clinker and clay are no surprise and no problem unless it starts sticking to your work or blocking the air blast.
Frosty The Lucky.
Pretty xxxx and not particularly, respectively. The TSC anthracite I'm using clinkers pretty heavily, but the new poker my son and I made makes removing them a LOT easier.
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Here is an interesting photo of a layer of clinker that formed on the inside of my clayed firepot. Clinker in the top, baked clay on the bottom.
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All of the above, and a few personal things (successful surgeries, good stuff at work, etc). Plus, as a smith, I am particularly happy this year and grateful to my son for pushing me over the edge into restarting a long-neglected hobby and to everyone on this forum for all the support and encouragement and free information.
A particular thank you to all the curmudgeons for being curmudgeonly. When you've been out of the loop for so long, getting a serious reality check from people who aren't going to waste their time and yours can be a particular blessing.
Now, who is planning to cook their turkey over the forge?
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How about attaching horseshoes?
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The above links may not work; try this one.
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Check out this thread.
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Slightly off topic, but when I got interlibrary loan copies of Mark Aspery's books to read while recovering from my recent surgery, I was delighted to find in them the bookplates from the CW library! Who knows who else may have consulted them!
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I'm actually thinking pot rack for the cast iron frying pans.
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Hmm...now to decide if I want to use the steel or sell them and use the money to buy something else.
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John McPherson, that's what I thought at first glance, but they're not quite the same. I'll try to get a better photo later.
BIGGUNDOCTOR, that's one of the pit bulls.
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Built-in keg! I like!
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Not sure what these are, but it's a lot of decent flat bar in there, probably mild steel. Picked up by the side of the road.
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1 minute ago, Tony Heath said:
Any ideas on what this is? Been doing a little research, figured I would reach out to the experts. It's at least 150-200 lbs
It's an anvil.
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Surgical tubing or strips of rubber from tire (tyre) inner tubes.
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If that third one wants to keep the American flag with him while smithing, just make sure it's natural fiber.
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See, you listen to the old farts, and all is well.
Wish I'd learned that lesson before building a couple of (in retrospect) pretty stupid coffee-can-mud-and-weed-burner "forges"....On 11/17/2015, 11:14:10, ThomasPowers said:I may have to research non-leather fireproof spats for the vegan no-leather crowd
Let me know what you find. A work colleague has a son who is going to do a blacksmithing unit at his boarding school in the spring and (being vegan) may balk at leather boots.
7 hours ago, Frosty said:We have Modoc on Dad's side and I don't know who else on both, we're Heinz 57 folk and stopped trying to keep track. I think we have slaves and slave owners in the woodpile but not African slaves as recently as the US. Did Modoc own slaves? I don't believe they looked at "ownership" like most folk but. . .
I believe the Modoc are the only nation to not agree to treaties with the US Gvt. I think "we're" still at war in fact. Could be wrong though, I often am.
Blacksmiths? Oh yeah, we just didn't get any heirloom tools or equipment handed down. Any of us. <sniff>
Frosty The Lucky.
My great-great-grandfather was Confederate governor of North Carolina, and his father-in-law was a slave patroller. I'm married to a Black woman. Go figure.
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On 10/27/2015, 9:35:22, Charles R. Stevens said:
I wear a dew rag as I sweat even in cold weather. Saves my hats...
For my money, there's no sweat rag like a kaffiyeh.
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Getting back to the OP (thank you, John McPherson), there are plenty of videos of experts wearing more than gloves and shades. For example, Brent Bailey wears a full apron in some of his videos, Jim Kramer wears one in everything I've seen him in, and Technicus Joe - Joey van der Steeg even has one video entirely dedicated to why he wears an apron.
Also, it's kind of hard to tell what shoes most smiths are wearing in their videos -- it's not a fashion vlog! -
KING CLAUDIUS
Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?HAMLET
At supper.KING CLAUDIUS
At supper! where?HAMLET
Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain
convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all
creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for
maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but
variable service, two dishes, but to one table:
that's the end.KING CLAUDIUS
Alas, alas!HAMLET
A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a
king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.KING CLAUDIUS
What dost you mean by this?HAMLET
Nothing but to show you how a king may go a
progress through the guts of a beggar -
Here's my son, all geared up and ready to strike:
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And a forge poker for picking out clinker.
(Note the clever use of the existing right-angle bend.)
First knife WIP
in Knife Making
Posted
That's very interesting. This one is definitely a lawnmower blade, but there are a couple of others that might be brush hog blades -- they're VERY thick and look like they've had some seriously hard use.