andgott

Very cool. I especially love the ducks! I might have to steal the flower arrangement thing- That's a great idea! With any luck, It'll eventually be a nice, full pot of flowers! -Andrew

Thanks, The blade preformed admirably Saturday... We had an artist make our rings for us- I think that Iron was a little too simple for her. They are Palladium and Dinosaur bone! -Andrew

Very nice, the copper rivets really add to the piece.

Looks like a Mousehole to me! The 'horseshoe' looks to me like its part of a number- probably the stone weight- if it's 120 lbs then it would have said at one point 1 . 0 . 8 I think I can see the 'dot' after the zero, on the right, next to the soapstone line...

I love this line in the listing- I might just have to bid on this one- I MUST be missing something here!

Very nice... I love the 'toes' :)

Beautiful work... You've got my mind spinning with ideas for the next time I'm at the forge -Andrew

Thanks, all... What I meant my that is that I feel like a HUGE part of the art of Knifemaking is the selection of a proper steel, and the heat treating, etc that goes into it. Just about anyone could grind & file a piece of metal until it looks like a knife, and most could even come up with a 'pleasing' shape, too- But that won't make it a good knife! I do have to say that I am a little proud of a few things on this one- I put some thought into it's construction (since there is no Blueprint on Cake Knives!)- I wanted the handle to be long enough that 2 could hold on to it. I also wanted it to be 'blanced', and not blade or handle heavy. Both worked out pretty well. That coil of vines under the ginko leaf was drawn out to almost 3' long before I bent & curled it around itself... That was fun -Andrew

And I thought that my Roomba vacuum cleaner was cool... I think I NEED one of those!

I hate to post this here with all the 'real' knifemakers work My wedding is coming up in about 10 days- So I decided to make something for the ceremony. The hand-forged rings idea had been vetoed LONG ago- So I thought I would try something different- A CAKE KNIFE. I was at the forge when I thought of the idea, and I didn't have any resources to know what it 'should' look like, I kind of guessed... The blade is a bit more like a kitchen knife than your average cake knife, but it'll still cut cake without a problem It's forged from a single piece of 1/4" x 1" Bar stock, I'm not 100% sure what kind of steel it is, as it was from a scrap pile, but it is a medium carbon of some kind. It holds a decent edge- and though it wouldn't last too long in service as a 'real' kinfe, I think it will be fine for frosting... The blade is a bit over 12" long. I figure if worst comes to worst, I'll be able to use if for crowd control if anyone hits the wine too hard. A matching server is on the way, too. -Andrew

Very nice.... The frame is outstanding.

Those are nice looking hangers... If I can find the time to get down to the forge this week, I'm going to make a few of them for our hummingbird feeders, too. We have them hanging on a cheesy plastic bracket now.

When I returned from the ship this time, My Fiance excitedly told me that she had just been to wild birds unlimited, and that she had bought some nice 'wrought iron' hangers for our bird feeders....My first question- do you still have the receipt? Fortunately, she did! We went to the forge this week to make some REAL brackets to hang them from! We ended up making two of them- Here's a closeup of one- And, here is one installed and working- I was going for a natural, vine look. I think that they turned out pretty well. We certainly had fun making them- she actively helped me, and even made an 'S' hook on her own (with a little guidance). She's interested in smithing now, too- Ever since I 'dragged' her to a local chapter meeting. -andrew

Congrats, Frosty, on a milestone number of posts! If I recall, you were the first to greet me here... One of those 5k posts somewhere. Your input & experience here are certainly helpful. Here's to 5,000 more! -Andrew

I had a Pyrenees for years when I was growing up- She was a great dog... I feel your loss :(

I don't post much here, but I read- and ABSORB- all kinds of information. There is an incredible pool of talent here to learn from, people with twice as many years blacksmithing as I have walking the earth! And, the range of talent is impressive, too. There are, as you'll find anywhere, a few who seem to insist on posting though they really clearly have no clue what they are doing and no 'real world' experience, But as mentioned before there are all too many 'old salts' here with BS detectors so finely tuned that these posts are challenged right away. I have to say that this site is VERY well moderated- And that is not an easy job, especially for a group of volunteers. I moderate on another (art related) site- A MASSIVE one (six figure registrations, but probably about 20k or so 'active'), and just the day to day 'cleanup' can be, at times, overwhelming. Those who have not been in the shoes of a forum moderator really can't appreciate the work and commitment involved in such a task. If everyone read this first, it could make life a LOT easier for all- Especially the mods. Think before you post- You might just find it refreshing -Andrew

It's ice damage... We have to head in every spring to get a couple of the buckets replaced. The USPS has also raised the rate on the boxes to $13.95!

As luck would have it, I picked up a couple of Flat Rate boxes this morning- I have some fossils to ship home. But- They aren't going to FILL the box... I need packing material, too And these are BIIIIIG rivits- Non smaller than 1" dia, and anywhere from 2" to 10" long... -Andrew

Beautiful blade- made that much more interesting knowing the origins of the material. I have been watching this thread intently- It is a subject that I am very interested in! We tried to find someone to make Damascus wedding bands w/meteorite, with no luck... I'd have rather had a knife, though -Andrew

I could scrounge all day in this place and never get my fill- There are racks and racks of steel everywhere- Just all the various scrap lying around here and there could keep me busy at the forge for a lifetime... Most everything is pretty well identified, too- They write the grade of steel on everything so they know what is what. Ship construction & repair requires approvals, and they have to know what grade of steel they are using! And, Since the Great Lakes is one of the last places you'll find riveted ships, There are literally PILES of these small rivet forges- Along with bins containing 1000's of rivets in various sizes... Hmmm- I wonder what kind of steel ship rivets are made of?? Too bad I'm so far from home- I think I'd have a full suitcase if I didn't have to fly -Andrew

We've been busy at the shipyard, getting some routine work done- They are changing out some buckets on the Wheels, our main reason for visiting- To give you an idea of scale, the scaffolding is about 7' high... We knocked a good chunk off this one- About 10" or so. It happens every year in the ice- A couple of others that are in the yard for layup/repairs-

Great design!

Hi, Bud.... Nice to see you here, too!

That comes in REALLY handy when there are a lot of people in there- There were 4 working in that forge yesterday with only minimal inconvenience! It is an excellent shop, for sure. What the photos don't show is that there is another forge outside as well, under a covered porch... There is a welding area, chop saw, and oxy/acetylene torch out there, too. Plus, You can buy your steel right of the racks there at cost, which is another great perk- No running to the steel supplier! Perhaps the best part of it all, though, is that you can work with others there. There are members with all kinds of experience levels, from those just starting out to professional smiths that have been doing it all their life, And they are all very eager to help with anything that they can. It's a great environment to learn in! -Andrew

This is more decorative than functional, although it DOES serve it's purpose... It is a gate hook, modeled after a Siamese Fighting fish (Beta). I forge welded the tail, and used aluminum for the eye.