omegabrock

I really like the idea of this post and as a complete beginner, it gives some good perspective to the craft as a whole. Along with the bit about "what can you make with..." opposed to "what should you make with..."

An old fork lift tine. It was available. I'd like to get something better, but not sure when I'll be able to.

First hook following the first project from the book a blacksmithing primer.

Hmm...I could grind the bottom down a little more to keep the overall height where it needs to be too

Ok definitely something I can do. I ended up breaking down the other table I built for it so I still have about 1/2 of that wood. Maybe add 2 more of those brackets. As it is now, the tine is resting on the ground. Would it be better to keep it there and just fill the gap, or add more height to the stand and actually bring it slightly off of the ground?

Well it may not be the prettiest but I'm hoping it's effective.

Me and my wife have been together for 10 years...she knows how to make me happy lol

I have no idea what I was thinking when I first typed that

HA! No, I have read enough to know to not do that

It's an old fork lift tine I got from a scrap yard. The way it was set up, I had it leaning on a small table I built. I only had a small area with good rebound to work on, so I decided to cut it off a little past the sweet spot and form a horn. Where I'm at now, I have the basic triangle shape but I haven't started forming it into Ann actual horn yet. My grinder is only a 4.5", but the tine is a good 5 inches thick so even cutting one side and flipping over and cutting through, there is still a little meat left. I've had to resort to a hacksaw to finish the cuts

I've been working on my anvil the past few days. It's been a bigger task than I expected because my grinder is small lol. Hopefully by this weekend I'll be hammering some more. That said, blades are probably going to be my main focus, but not my sole practice, so would it still be better to go with mild steel? I know all practice is beneficial, but would it be optimal to go that route now, opposed to learning how higher carbon steel moves and forms?

Lmao! I was thinking about cutting a majority of the extra off, leaving enough to make a horn and then flipping it around so it hangs off of the table. In theory, that should increase my sweet spot a little huh? If anything, it would limit where I could actually work, keeping my work space limited to the optimal area. Im just spitballing, so correct me if I'm wrong. I just don't want to make changes and end up in a worse position I am.

Hmm. That's an approach I haven't thought about. Just use any type of metal? I ended up building a stand just big enough to hold my fork tine, but it seems the only place that has any decent rebound is right on the corner.

That's definitely good to know! Thank you. Luckily, the spikes I have were left in the house I bought haha

Oh yeah, definitely. Going to YouTube, almost every "beginner project" you find is about making knives from rr spikes. I learned very quickly here that, while they may be fun to make, they aren't something that is really made for practicality. i definitely can't wait to start making tools.