Cavpilot2k

Brute de Forge one-piece blade made from automotive coil spring. All hand tools and coal forge (no power tools at all). Design concept was something between a seax and a santoku shape. That took a pretty aggressive pre-bend to end up with a straight edge. I was trying to get more of an aggressive step down to the blade to keep the hand from sliding forward on a thrust, but this is the best I could get. Steps: Forged, annealed, fine shaping and edging with files, oil quenched, tempered, sharpened (it will remove arm hair nicely). I know there are some major hammer marks that would be a challenge to remove if I were going for a clean finish, but they work okay with the brute de forge.

Thanks! I was not available this weekend, but I appreciate the notice. I do not get any emails from NEB - I suppose I can contact the admin too.

Don’t call. Stop in. Establish relationship. Offer to make them something cool. Make a simple twisted bottle opener, reap the rewards.

Talked to a local equipment rental place and they were happy to give me a bunch of dull “junk” pavement breaker bits, i.e. future hardy tools!

Ah, got it. Thanks

Is it me or does page 12 of this thread now seem inaccessible? It just says “loading” indefinitely both on my phone and my computer.

Indeed. There she is. I’ve been working every day since I picked it up, so I haven’t had a chance to clean it up, but when I do (hopefully this weekend), I put up some new pics on here.

Wow, that's gorgeous! I'm all into Fishers now because I just scored a nice 173-ish pound one (1938 or '39, can't quite tell) that is in excellent condition.

Oh I got the reference (well, not sure of exact time frame, but I knew what you were talking about). Mine was an OIF (2003)

Not intentionally, of course, as I am an animal lover, but such is the problem with area-effect systems.

What I MEANT to say was: WOW! That's gorgeous!

It looks like some more numbers to the right of the "Z", maybe a 3 and a 5 or 6?

Ha! I may have smoked a camel or two after my 10,000 mile flight back in '03.

Thanks, I'll look for the RI meets. Almost anywhere in RI is within 1.5 hours of me. Not exactly a quick jaunt, but manageable most of the time. There is a teaching forge in Waltham (Prospect Hill Forge) that is great - I've taken a few classes there, but the classes fill up so fast and far in advance that it's tough to get in. That's one of the reasons I went ahead and got my own setup. I still plan to take classes though. Self-teaching is fine, but classes will keep me from plateauing.

Not really, I'm not a smoker...

xxxxxxxxxx...

They make plaid cigarettes? Now, THAT seems improbable...

I'm new to smithing, but I've got the bug bad. joined NEB, but since there's no discussion forum or much means of communication through the website, I figure I'll post here. I just purchased a table (railroad?) forge, anvil, basic tools, and some coal, but haven't had a chance to fire it up yet. Hoping this coming weekend. Anyway, I live in Pembroke, just north of Plymouth and was wondering who might be in my area to meet up with, have a beer, talk shop, etc. (I'm a home brewer that actually makes really good beer, not your average homemade swill, and I'm happy to share). John

Thanks. I got some from an Aubuchon, but they had no idea when they'd be getting more. I'll use Williams when I need more (I have 250 lb), as I work on the Quincy/Braintree line, so it's super convenient.

Ah, searching Ebay does indeed produce good results. It looks like a lot of manufacturers sell their cutoff scrap, much of it good steel in bar form. I like it - thanks for the tip!

Yes, but where do you get it?

I looked at most of them. NJSteelbaron, 1080 in 1" square, which will do for some applications. Most online suppliers I've seen, like Peerless and Online Metals, don't even list pricing, presumably because they sell commercial/industrial quantities, not hobbyist quantities. What do guys use when they are making their own smith hammers? 2" square stock seems like a unicorn.

Resurrecting this thread. Has the situation gotten any better? I'm looking for 1"-1.5" bar stock (preferably square but I could live with round) in any decent blade/hammer steel in hobbyist quantities and coming up with nothing. Even simple high carbon or even 1060 I'd be happy. Any thoughts? Extensive google searches and I found one supplier where I can get W2, but I really don't want to work W2. I'd be happy with 1060, but I can't seem to find it either. Please help.

Not all that jealous. I paid $500, which I think was fair to good. The owner at the scrap yard got it for a pittance, but he knew he had something valuable. I'm just glad it never went on Craigslist or it would have gotten snatched immediately.

This followed me home today from a scrap yard. 173 lb Fisher dated 1938. Excellent condition. beautiful edges. Fantastic rebound even without cleaning the rust patina off. Can't wait to pound some steel on it!