Mike Thurston

That's really odd about Nimba, I was in Bremerton for a hockey tournament and tossed them an email asking if I could swing by during our downtime during the weekend. The response was within a couple hours and I made the trip over and had a great talk with them. I will absolutely be buying a Nimba Centurion when I upgrade in a year or so from my NC Round Horn. 

My off the cuff response is that's a $150-$200 knife. I run a catering business on the side of my full time job and I get the same thing all the time.. Ohh it's just brisket and all the fixings for 75 people. Brisket is only $2.65/lb so you should do the event for $500

5 hours ago, 8upSmith said:

I'm over on the wetter side. Out in McMinnville. Thanks for the warm welcome!

8up, like a soup sandwich.

I'm up in Hillsboro. 

Just a little dinking around. Still needs an edge and some sanding but it's hardened and tempered and really well balanced. 

This is quite simply one of those "Shut Up and Take My Money" situations.. 

Welcome fellow Oregonian, you on the dry side or the wet side of the state?

I'm facing a similar quandary right now with my small single burner gas forge. the blade that I need to HT is about 6" longer than my forge not counting the tang. I was thinking about using a square tube with firebrick around it stuck through the forge to try and get an much even heat. 

My current WIP for a customer at my day job that gives me what ever drops and end cuts I want from his scrap pile. Last work was Sunday.  Made some mokume gane for fittings and did the rough grind and profile work.

So since it was resurrected rather than welding in a high carbon bit would there be a drawback to making the entire head from 5160?

I use 2-stroke oil and water mixed 1:1 in an old ketchup squeeze bottle.

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I've never done maille with sq wire as it was uncommon in the times I was portraying.  How did you cut it?

Zip wheel on a die grinder with a sacrificial mandrel. Usually if I have somebody that requests square in a rush I'll use lock washers.

16 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Way back when I was making a lot of rings the hardway.. I would forge them in a continuous ring.. Much like a coil spring is wound the first few get sized while still on the bar then each one after that is referenced to these first few and once the bar is completely coiled  and sized to the first few, then just cut with a hacksaw straight across, few hits on the anvil levels and puts them into the same plain.. If done carefully this give really good results.. 

I might have to make a video on it..    Anyhow, as Marc1 pointed out anything that is hand made will need tweaking but this also retains the wonderful look of hand forged.. 

 

We do the same thing in making bulk rings for chainmaille work. Just on a much smaller scale. 1/8" square stock is heated and hand wrapped round stock and wire and spun using an old electricians hole hawg drill. 

Looks like in the most recent newbie around here.  I renewed "the" bug last year after growing up on a ranch in Northern Idaho watching my grandad and the hands forge what was needed.  My first memory was a VERY poignant lesson when my great uncle found me beating on the anvil with a hammer. After I picked myself up we fired the forge up and I hit my first piece of hot steel.  I've got a single burner Mathewson and a 80lb NC. Still trying to figure out how to safely forge in my garage as my driveway has a pretty good slope so I can't just pull everything in and out. 

So I picked up these two vices a couple weeks ago.  The Smaller is a 4 1/2 Columbian. The larger with the horribly repaired backwards spring I cannot seem to identify.  Any help would be greatly appreciated...