Papaw forge

It was a bright cherry red not the dull red 

OK this Going to make me sound stupid I'm all new to this but how do you tell what is what in a spark test . and I have a break drum coal forge I just got it hot and put it in till it got cherry red

I'm not sure how old it is I found it in a scrap pile was just playing around to see what would happen and well this is it 

Hey was gonna try and shape a cross pien but as you can see I got it hot hit it a little and it came apart . I think its just the wrong kind of metal but what y'all think ?

So you can't like over do it with borax I mean that I know you dont want to mound it up just kind of sprinkle it on as u go as soon as it starts glowing ? 

I've seen a lot of great info on here about forge welding I myself haven't had the pleasure of doing it yet so I'm reading this to learn as much as I can . my questions are how do you know you are up to welding temperature to start using borax ? Would it be about the same temperature you use to quinch ? Thanks 

Here is another question for u guys I've been trying to look this up but no luck after you make your knife heat treat and sharpened its beautiful your proud .... How do you keep it looking that good the blades I have made I got them all shinny and clean I have some honing oil I rubbed them down added more to a cloth wrapped them up about three four days later pull them out there rusty not bad but enough . how can u stop it or what do you do ?????

On 12/23/2015 at 2:07 PM, Steve Sells said:

I wonder how many people wish they read this before they ruined their blades, trying to teach themselves with you tube?

Well Steve I haven't ruined any blades yet but also haven't had any success in getting a harden blade . I have found on here that used motor oil is not a good oil to use so what is the best oil ? I've also read that canola oil brought up to 140 degrees worked rather well but I'm not sure what is your insite on this ? Thanks in advance.

Dont feel bad young man my hat is off to you because I also made the mistake of using rebar and jumped strait to knives I just wish I had found this site before wasting a lot of time but we all have to start some where . the guys that have comment on your knife I follow they give great advice and so far it is working for me I want to be a blade smith also but I have had to reboot so to speak and take the time to learn the art of blacksmithing . it is very emportant to me because I love this so much . so with that said go on to beginner projects on IFI and start looking and reading then read again you will start to visualize what they are talking about . yes your nice is rough but hey I took a car jack handle for my first time forging and tried to make a heart something simple right ........wrong it looked like the worst broken heart I'd ever seen so I went to making neckless charms double blade Axe's hearts small easy items that flatten the metal and cutting the shapes with a 4 in grinder then rolling the clasp around a screw driver stuck in my vice . taught me a lot about the patience of blacksmithing didnt used much coal or material was a great exercise for myself another green horn ..... Keep up the good work you got the first step complete getting out there and trying now take these guys advise and use it in your forge you won't be dissatisfied with the out come .....

Got it done thanks 

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2010 at 5:47 AM, John B said:

Post your location as this may help, different areas have different requirements/designs, ie steak turners in the US, BBQ forks in the UK

I've been trying to post my location . do u just put it in your quote or is there a place in your profile for it I haven't found it yet thanks in advance

Hello I'm all new to forging metal and this site but I have took all the advice from here and made changes . I'm learning fire control with my break drum coal forge I've purchased some used but new to me hammers and been playing with hammer rythem . so far its paying of . I'm starting to learn the site and would like to reach out and see if there is anymore sites that are out there . I really want to get into knife making but (Frosty) recommended that I learn more about how to shape and get metals to do what I want so I'm looking for tips on that subject and mabe some projects for a beginner . this site and everyone that has helped me so far thank u very much y'all have been very helpful .

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

You any relation to PawPaw Wilson?

No I dont think so . thanks for the input on the hammer I have a rather large 2.5 lb. cross pein I'm gonna take some these tips on here and try them this weekend 

I'm learning the site just joined yesterday but I'm learning and will keep this in mind thanks for your input 

Y'all are putting out some great info I can see these tips working which I'm a green horn I guess thats a good thing keep it coming smiths thanks a lot for spending the time to help 

I'm new to this site and new to this page . am defiantly green as grass and working on a tight budget . my question is what is the best hammer for spreading out a knife from a rail road spike I've made a few knives but didnt get them to spread the way I wanted . what might I be doing wrong???  thanks in advance