Duckwalk

Forged out a tiny cold chisel and butcher out of some garage door spring for some annealed mild steel. Doing a guard on a simple little knife. Got it SUPER close to fit before even filing.

Well its been a busy 3 days. I work 60 to 70 hours a week in IT as my day job so getting all this done this week was very satisfying. cold stamped my makers mark on this paring knife commission. This one is 120(ish) layers of 1084 and 15n20 steel. I dont do a lot of cold stamping but man the mark just comes out SO crispy and its much easier to align when its not 1850F Additionally, got a few knives hardened and tempered (3 from old files and one from 1084) and worked on some samples / options for finial choices on things like firepokers, BBQ accessories, coal forge tools, etc for clients to chose from. Going to make a sample board next week.

Forged out a folding camping trivet last night. Pretty happy with the results. Did it all on live stream. heres a clip of me punching the hole in the main leg. https://clips.twitch.tv/CrowdedObservantSnailMcaT-1N_6e1U3rc2CWZ51

I'm learning

It was pretty good. not the first time ive eaten one. I did leave it on the grill a bit too long and it dried out but the flavor was good. Cant think of much a little Montreal Steak seasoning isnt good on.

After 3 weeks these copperhead skins are finally cured. These are my first snake skins I have tried to preserve myself. I soaked them for 7 to 10 days in a 50/50 mix of glycerin and 91% isopropyl alcohol. Then i wrapped them on a spindle to let the glycerin slowly get absorbed by the skins and the alcohol evaporate for another 7 to 10 days. they turned out nicely. Cant wait to use them as inlays in some knife sheaths. this is one skin overlapping another. (PS: I love snakes, I dont just kill for no reason. These are venomous and were in my space where my 3 children play. I skinned these 2 and ate one of them)

Ive had good experience keeping temper colors by spraying on some clear coat. 3 layers worked well for me. See my example below.

Forged out a corkscrew last night on stream. Fun project. my proportions are a bit big but its totally functional. Ill get better picks when the sun comes out. The leaf wrap is probably the smallest leaf of my life. Maybe a 1/4" leaf in total. Since im right handed, I laid onside side of the handle on the fattest portion of my horn to give it a slight radius, then flipped it and did the same to the opposite side which gives it a bit of an S shape. I think it took me about 90 minutes by the time i was finished fiddling with it. Coated with coconut oil to give it some protection.

Got this big boy mounted up last night. 5.5" jaws. Nice to replace the 4" vise I had been using for so long that had mis-aligned jaws and shoddy hold.

I think it was Steel Stamps Inc. Located in the USA

I bought a hotstamp from a company who makes them. Its just my last name. I think it cost me like $80?

Though knives are not my favorite thing to forge and make, I do enjoy that little drop point shape the most. (As do my clients it seems because they keep ordering and buying them)

Working on another commission. I miss making hardware. I get tired of knives but they pay for my LLC haha.

Finished up this drop point hunter commission the other day. I dont particularly enjoy making knives but seems to be the only thing people are buying lately. 5" edge. Handle is stablized red dyed buckeye burl with aluminum honeycomb encased in resin.

Im looking forward to finishing it. I've built lots of solid fuel forges which makes me familiar with the design. I will be posting more pictures when i get closer to finishing it. The gears look good. I suspect the rattling is due to me only finger tightening the blower to the arm. its just vibration.

Picked up this rivet forge on the cheap. Started getting parts forged out for it (and tools to get those parts made) recently to try and get this up and running for my travel / "history adjacent" demonstration forge. The blower was a little tough to get going physically but tightening down all the set screws took the play out of it and chainsaw oil lubed it up just fine. Looking forward to finishing this one. The butcher tool was forged out of an old garage door spring. Despite all the warnings, i went ahead and hardened it in water then tempered it back to purple. I used it to cut out the webbing left behind by rough drilling the shape of the grate / tuyere plate. 20230315_181928.mp4

Played with some temper colors today. and forged out this butterfly

Finished up a couple of overdue commissions today

That shape screams mousehole to me but im no expert.

Thanks guys! The copper accent was super fun. Here is me sticking the forgeweld. VID_62370318_224349_253.mp4

Had a commission for a firepoker with a wooden handle. Did the forge welded turkey footed style with some reverse twists patterns in it. The copper on the handle was melted down in a crucible in the gas forge and poured into a flat mold, then drifted square to the size of the "tang" for the handle, then textured with a ball peen before assembly. This was a fun one. Leather spacer between the copper and purple heart to fill the void.

Experimenting using leather spacers in this knife handle. Not something i typically do. I typically do full tang with single handle medium rather than mutli-piece construction. Turned out pretty decent. This will go to my neighbor as a gift for all the antler he gave me for free. Handle material is deer antler, leather spacer, and walnut.

First post in years i would guess.. made myself a little J-hook to hang my work headset on. A little down on myself for punching the hole off center. Oh well...

Thank you! i have read it. I will be in touch soon. Still getting settled here.

Just moved to Lincolnton NC. Looking for some local smiths to meet up with and talk with. Any leads on equipment would be well received!