nc_cooter

Well I went to the scrap yard early to get the 5"x5" cut off this morning and I did a dumb thing I guess. There was a young man there who was asking about it also. He is in the process of building a power hammer and wanted the drop. He had pics on his cell phone of his progress. After talking a bit, I let him buy the drop. I made another friend and the yard boss promised to take care of me on the next one that came in. I thought his need was greater than mine. PS: He paid almost twice what it would have cost me.

It's been a long time since I posted, but I check the forum almost daily to see what ya'll are doing. For the last 6 months I just couldn't seem to get rested. I had a heart attack about 4 years ago but have had no other problems since then. My Doc put me through a stress test and it seems there was more damage to my heart than they first thought. I tried a 3 day work week but my Boss just tried to cram more work load on me. So at the age of 63, I am retired. For the last two weeks I have been mostly resting and I feel much better. It will be a bit tight money wise but me and Momma will get by. I went to the local steel/scrap yard yesterday to get a stalk of 1/2" round stock to make some tie down clips for my son in law's hay trailer. I found a piece of 4060 steel that is 5"x5" square and about 40" long. I know the source of the cutoff and it is definitely 4060. Since I have no way to heat treat something this big, do ya'll think it would be a good deal at $60 to use as is for an anvil? I already have two anvils at about 140 lbs each, but this thing weighs about 300 lbs. :D

Thanks for the input guys. I plan to make the hooks ahead of time and the dinner bell will be the actual demo. I plan on some hot twists and some scroll work on the striker. We will have home made cookies, courtesy of my wife , and serve hot dogs for lunch. I also have 4 baby goats we are having to hand raise that were abandoned by their nannies. They just love to be petted. These guys live in a group home with almost a one on one environment with the care givers. I gave a fire extinguisher school for the workers and the guys asked a thousand questions. The training went to overtime due to the input from these great kids. Attention span won't be a problem. Question. About 50 years ago, I saw a blacksmith cold hammer a piece of round stock and got it hot enough to light some paper to start his forge fire. Time has dimmed the old memory. Need some info on this. Thanks.

I have been asked to do a blacksmithing demo next month for some special ed juniors and seniors. They saw a film that showed some blacksmithing and want to see it actually done. I know some of the guys and when their counselor called, I said yes. Being primarily a knife forger, I could use some input. I plan on making a dinner bell and striker for their game room, and a coat hook for each one who attends.(5) Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks ng, Tim and Quentin.

Thanks for the nice words guys. I talked to a lot of BBQ chefs, both in business and competition cooking, to find what they wanted.

Haven't had much time for knives in the last few months, but this one was promised a while back. The Fire Department, in a town near by, puts on a BBQ cook off every year and I am donating this chopper as a prise. It's forged from 1095 and has a curly maple handle. The blade is 10" long and 2 1/4" wide. The OAL is 15". The design is a cross between a slicer and a cleaver. Thanks for looking.

Mr. Hofi, as usual, your wisdom and common sense comes through. There is more than one way to accomplish a task successfully.

Robert, that one is just tooooo cool!

Good on ya!

Way to go Kevin. Not bad for a first forged blade. Just keep banging steel. I would suggest that you get rid of the motor oil and get a couple of gallons of canola cooking oil for your quenchant. It has a high flash point, smells better and gives a faster quench than motor oil. Keep up the good work.

I totally agree with Unicorn. Bad shoulder + Hofi hammer + Hofi technique = Forging again.

Stick with the 1/2" flame height. Blue is not the color.

Merry Christmas ya"ll.

I have been using a Coote grinder for 5 years. I use a 3 step pulley for speed control. I too consider it the best bang for the buck.

I came to blacksmithing in an odd way, so my adventure is not at all typical. About 7 years ago I started making knives using the stock removal method on a Coote 2"x72" belt grinder. The first piece of equipment I made was a 2 burner propane fired forge for heat treating my blades. (still in use) Using the abundant information that's available on line, it was not that difficult. Five years ago, I started forging blades. My first anvil was piece of RR track.(still have it). Soon found a 70lb NC Tool farriers anvil, in mint condition.($150) Now have a Hay Budden and a Mousehole. Tongs were vise grips and el cheapo long handle needle nose pliers that I modified. Hammers were 2lb cross pien, 1.5lb Swedish pattern, 3lb hand sledge. Material was 1095, 1070 and W1 steels. (not the best to learn on) The knife making books I had showed techniques on forging blades. Then I discovered I Forge Iron and began to broaden my knowledge greatly. For me, I guess the one thing I learned here that helped the most is that a good hammer design and technique is an absolute necessity. I lusted for a Hofi hammer but didn't have the funds at the time. Found a driver hammer that I modified with a side grinder to a reasonable copy of of a Hofi. It weighs almost 3lbs and is the hammer I use 95% of the time. ( have 3C hofi in this order, ya hooooo!) About 18mos ago I broke my right shoulder and thought my hammering was over. Even my Doc said not to expect to be able to forge. After moping around a few months, I started looking into "The Hofi Technique" of hammering. Long story to short, I was forging again. Thank you, Mr. Hofi, for the hammer and the technique. I guess all my rambling is trying to say, if you want to be a blacksmith, it's up to you. Something to hit. Something to hold it. Some way to heat it. Something to hit it. Something to hit it on.

That's great news Vern.

Here"s a good read on the effects of multi quenching and /or normalizing from another forum. Pay particular attention to what Kevin Cashen has to say about it. Effect of triple quench - BladeForums.com

Check this site for suggested applications. Look at the FAQ on each product. Ellis Custom Knifeworks

Your ITC-100 is just fine to use. It has to be thinned with water to apply. I have purchased ITC-100 from Darren and it was packaged just as yours. He buys in bulk and repackages to keep the price down. There was no "hack" involved.

James, I live about 250mi from your area at the NC/SC states line. You are welcome to visit my shop on almost any week end. I have been making knives for about 6yrs and although I do not make japanese type blades, I will be glad to teach you basic forging techniques.

Thanks Glenn. Very interesting article.

I also do both forging and stock removal. It boils down to a matter of preference. I prefer forging because it gives me more options in blade shape from a given piece of steel. What ever method you use, just keep making knives.

Great pair of knives, Robert.

Sorry ChrisB, it's an aspirated burner. It's a modified 3/4" side arm burner. The forge is approximately 18" long and 5" inside diameter. It has two burners, but I seldom use the second one.