JustAnotherViking

The only limitation is the size. With the right creativity and a few experiments, I'm sure you can minaturise any design to meet the ridiculous UK EDC laws. I only ever remember reading it as it must be folding, non locking.. Don't think it says the blade must be complete enclosed by the handle? Mini seax, Bowie, cleaver, machete.. You could try getting really inventive. Interested to see what you come up with

Absolutely quacker. A honking great success. I'm sure you'll get a right few bills for that!

There is a link on the ebay listing to report it, however you need to pick a reason. The closest category I can see is hazardous substances/other dangerous item... Once you flag it, it just submits a note to them to review the listing. No chance to add a comment etc. I'll dig further tomorrow when on my pc and see if there's a better way too bring it to their attention. If nothing else, the ridiculous price tag of $175 will hopefully make people think twice and research further.

You should be able to report the listing to ebay and cite the legitimate concerns for them to investigate.... they might chose to do nothing about it, but for the few minutes it would take, it could prevent undue risk to a unknowing buyer.

Nice! Could you possibly flatten the belly of the snake a bit by hammering it hard into a wooden block so the top side smooths, and leaves the threads on the other, or even file one side before bending to shape (just looking at the top of the neck where it flares out into the hood)? Might make it more difficult to bend it to keep the belly side down, but it would add yet another depth of texture to it.

I'd give a +1 to buying a decent set of wolf jaw tongs to get up and running... I made the mistake of wanting to make my own tongs and stubbornly wasted a lot of time and effort on failed attempts... would have saved a fortune in time and money by just buying a set in the first place, and working on general forging practice, and then coming back to tongs.

Really digging the hemp wrap. Nice work!

It makes a great soil killer then? I have a gravel driveway and poured my last batch of vinegar from cleaning old horseshoes over some stubborn weeds. Killed off the leaves instantly, and also appears to have had the desired effect of purging the ground of any weed nutrients. So yeah, as you said, a bad weed killer in the traditional sense, but somewhat handy when you don't want any growth, e.g. Path or driveway. I may have also mixed in some salt and liquid dish soap... Was quite a while ago, so I can't remember the exact mix.

Stop hogging all the knowledge, it's snout fair, do share.

Now there's an Idea... Wonder how many seconds it would take to cook a slice over the forge

Can you call it pancetta before it has cured? Now I'm hungry.

Very nice!

Made a small pair of callipers today for measuring stock, then made the pieces for another wall hanger. Started to join the first bar to the plate and had a bit of a falling out with it when peening, after which the piece was dropped out of the vice and booted under the bench with some choice strong words. I now know, how not to join two pieces. After that epic waste of time, I went and chopped off a section from a huge lump of rusty wrought iron sitting outside the workshop, and had a very enjoyable 10 minutes of beating it into a smaller profile piece... Not sure what I'll make with it yet. Have never forged wrought before, so it put a huge grin on my face!!! Can't wait to make something out of it and etch. Really obvious pattern even without cleaning it up, so should be good when finished.

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain that, very helpful indeed! I shall give it a try tomorrow and hopefully all goes to plan. Might start off making a quick set of callipers while I'm at it.

There's a market for everything, you just need to have the right sales pitch and get it in front of the right audience. I'm sure you could hammer out some simple pieces, and make used of the rust pits, add a bit more deliberate hammer texturing, and have an antiqued, rustic aesthetic rather than a perfectly smooth finish. Even the same piece side by side in a clean and weathered version as a visual show of different deliberate finishes. Something weathered up would go well in a rustic farmhouse setting... always an option rather than just scrapping it.

'authentic vintage' steel, perfect for specialised repair jobs where the customer wants to preserve the character and patina of the original piece... a lot of hard work, skill and time to get it perfectly weathered... most definitely commands a premium price

Once you're done with it, it makes a great weed killer too (the vinegar)

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for an hour. Set a man on fire and hell be warm for the rest of his life.

You're missing the marking opportunity here for the up-sell, just need to get the marketing on point... Alter an old spanner to be an exact fit for the bolt heads should it not match an existing metric or imperial spanner to avoid marring the corners if it needs a bit of gentle persuasion... bit of a hammer finish, oil/wax, stick it in a hessian gift bag with the bolts... (not actually meant to be taken seriously ) Many thanks for the examples, collars are something I really need to give a try. Any tips for measuring to get a good fit before cutting? Are those forge welded, or just a tight fit?

Any small engineering firms local to you? Might be worth popping in and having a chat with them, explaining what you're doing, what sort of stuff you need (always good to have a forged bottle opener or two in your pocket as an example/gift)... perhaps they have some offcuts you can have, or failing that, they'd have a good knowledge of where to buy new stock in the area.

Decorative bolt heads, then i'll need to make a custom proprietary tool to sell separately for installation so you don't damage them

Finished up a wall hanger today. Might do a wire wrap around the joined part to hide the spot weld, but don't have anything suitable on hand right now. Also need to pickup some small bolts and rework the heads rather than using screws

Time of the day would be a big factor... 6am? 10pm? Personally I try to keep to about two hours a day, and aim to be finished by 7pm so i'm not disturbing anyone. Sounds like your neighbour is just one of those people who will make a fuss and cause tension no matter what. If you've tried being polite with them, just ignore it and let them make their complaint. Your local council will be in touch if it's an actual problem. If they get in touch at all, the first letter is usually some advise about the Environmental Protection Act, and what's considered a statutory nuisance, and that's is just to keep them covered. If they want to take it further, they would need to come out for an inspection, possibly install a recording device so they can monitor the situation, before they can decide if it's a real problem and needs taken further. Confrontational neighbours are no fun, so try and be understanding as best you can, but otherwise go ahead and enjoy your anvil time. More info about the regulations can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/noise-nuisances-how-councils-deal-with-complaints At a glance, I can't see anything about what you've described that would cause issue.

What time are you usually forging at? How long are you doing it per day? How many days a week are you doing it? If its between 11am and 7pm, one or two hours at a time, three days or less a week... let them complain. It's unlikely to be classified as a statutory nuisance and your local council wont do anything about it... not the most neighbourly action, so advisable you try to silence your anvil, and have a civil conversation about it with them, possibly even give them a gift you've made, be apologetic, etc... if that fails, see previous sentence. If you're doing it stupidly early, or stupidly late (e.g. when children or the elderly are likely asleep), four to eight hours at a time, and every single day... there's a chance you can be served an abatement notice and end up in court if you persist.

No worries ausfire, I usually try to start the scroll at a cooler temp so it deliberately moves less, then the further back you scroll, the hotter I'd go. Its mostly a gentle brushing with the hammer rather than any directional force. Just tickling it into position slowly. As with all things blacksmithing, the correct way is whichever works best for you. Got a much cleaner attempt at my previous scroll idea, but not in the right proportions for the previous design, but the wife has already informed me she wants it for "something"