Steel_Island671

They do in fact temper their blades. They just don't show it because it doesn't look good on tv. Just imagine that. I mean I guess they can talk a little about tempering it or cut to a short scene on the blades getting tempered but other than that, unless your actually physically tempering it with a torch or something, standing in front of an oven for an hour or so is kinda boring especially in filming it. Another note, this show is not an instructional knife/weapon making show. It's a show for entertainment. For instance the Food Network. Most of the shows don't even elaborate on the techniques of cooking. They just cook the xxxx dish and show you the end result. Some shows do in fact go into detail but those are the boring instructional stuff. Some people like that kind of thing and some don't. Of course us being the blacksmiths/bladesmiths etc. would love to watch a show that instructs in great detail what goes in to making stuff but that wouldn't appeal to everyone. Forged in fire is show is for everyone. Even my 80 year old Grandma loves the show and she knows nothing about blacksmith and such. It's entertainment! It's interesting! It's not an instructional show! So let this show open eyes in how cool, fun and interesting it is and then everything else falls into place. More and more people get curious and want to know more. It just sucks that a lot of people say, "wow they don't temper their blades? This show sucks! Dumpster diving for steel? This sucks! This sucks that sucks! Blah blah!" Be happy, be positive and don't hate.

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I read up on everything and learned a lot. Happy forging!

Ok thanks

Hi everyone! I just wanted to ask how I can price items. I recently forged some stuff and people liked my work and asked if I can make more and sell them. I made some of the items but have no idea how to price it. How do I calculate labor charges/materials and such in order to make a decent profit? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Ok cool. I won't be doing it anytime soon though. lol. I figured I just use it for a bit first.

Thanks for the info. What do I cover it with and how do cool it slow?

I see. That's good to know. Thanks!

It looks to be a solid piece to me. Just look at my pics. The only thing that looks attached is the face plate.

The top has a face plate welded on. The waist is just a single piece. The base is a single piece of cast steel but has an oval impression on the underside.

Noted. Thanks

That's good to know. I'll keep all of that in mind. Thanks again for all of the good info! I guess the numbers rotted away because they are no longer there. Probably due to the anvil being stored outdoors in the open with nothing shielding it from the elements. The previous owner really didn't give a crap about about his anvil. Hence why he sold it to me for 50 bucks. lol. On the serial numbers, they are also no where to be found. How can I tell the age or when it was made?

Thanks everyone for the help! Can I use my angle grinder to grind the edge a little? Would I have to use a sanding disc that attaches to a back plate for the angle grinder or would I use a flap disc? How about a file as well? Would that work? Thanks for the help Thanks for the reply. There isn't a number under the logo. It's completely bank. There's also no serial number on the legs or anywhere. All it has is the name "arm and hammer" and the logo. I tried the powder trick but nothing shows up, only what I mentioned.

Hey everyone! How's it going? XD I've been a welder/metal fabricator here in Guam for about 10 years. I'm new to blacksmithing and need a little help. I picked up this arm and hammer brand anvil for 50 bucks but the face looks like it needs a little tune up. All I did to it was clean up all the surface rust with a fine wire wheel. There's lots of pitting and damaged edges. The ones that I circled are the really deep pits. The others are not as deep but still deep enough to give impressions on a work piece. The person I got it from was a metal worker and new nothing about blacksmithing. He used this anvil to just pound cold metal and stuff. This anvil looks like it has a steel face plate on the body. The previous owner also welded a rebar on the step for some reason. He said he did it to help with a project that we was working on. Obviously he's not a blacksmith lol. I'm pretty sure blacksmiths don't weld random things to their anvils. haha! I chopped off the rebar and ground down the weld a little. Basically, is there anything I can do to true up the face? Nothing very extensive. I just want the face to be trued up because the little pits are gonna leave tiny dents in my work. Can I fill the tiny dents with MIG weld? Would that be possible? Also does anyone know what the year of this anvil might be? There are no serial numbers and it also doesn't have the weight listed on it. Please, any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks!