MC Hammer

Cold bluing is not difficult - you wipe the solution on wait a minute and rinse off - repeat until it's as blue as you intend it to be. You can also brown it by heating it in the oven and putting Plum Brown solution on it. I have to hand it to you Brian, for never making an axe you made two first axes that look pretty good. I've not attempted one yet. I'm waiting to nail down forge welding so I can fold it like a lot of the old ones were done. If your customer is happy, that's really what matters with them.

Sounds like you are now asking questions when you should have researched and asked questions before building. I read everything on here pertaining to building my own forge and came to the conclusion with gas forges that it's easier to buy them. By far it's way cheaper to make them, but it you don't know what you are doing (as most first forge builders don't) it's really just setting you back.

Twisted, And they use special flux from the Shire too!

That's a first seeing a McDonald's cup incorporated into anything involved in forging Tito, I thought just like you when I was getting into forging. I got the brake drum and even obtained high temp fire bricks to build a coal forge. I designed what I wanted to build but in the end it was too impractical to move in and out for forging. I ended up buying a gas forge and am very glad I did to start out. I think the brake drum set up would not have been a very good thing to start out with. Like it has bee said, a lot of guys start out with this set-up but it's hard enough to figure out maintaining a coal fire when you are new so why compound it with a brake drum set-up? When you are done building it you may have spent a $100 less than buying a good used fire pot that you can put into a metal table set-up. Consider all your options.

Here in NY I too see a lot of Mouse Holes, but a lot of the blacksmiths in the area have Hay Buddens which isn't surprising because of being made right in Brooklyn. I've also seen some Peter Wrights and a couple of Fishers. I saw a monster English Mouse Hole looking type on CL that was local. It was close to 300 lbs if I remember right. I talked with the guy on the phone and he knew nothing about it. He wanted $800 for it but said he'd take $500 - if I'd had a dedicated shop for forging I would have snapped it up quickly. There were no markings that I could see besides the weight and it lacked a cut-off shelf. It was in pretty good shape, but I would not have been able to move it in or out of the garage so I passed on it. Of course I found my German Trenton here in NY too. The picker I got it from picks all the rural farms and that's where he got all of his MH's, Fishers, and my Trenton. BeaverNZ, ever see any elves in your area forge welding broken swords back together at orange heat?

Steve, A couple of things.........As others have said, consider not starting with bladesmithing. The skills needed to make nice blades are learned by making small things first like hooks. You learn to taper and draw out metal and scroll, etc. All these little things teach you valuable skills that I'm told help later in making blades. You won't regret easing into it and you won't have to learn simple things later on such as scrolling a knife guard. Imagine spending a few years perfecting blade making and then struggling to make the scrolled guard on a Bowie knife that a customer ordered. The other thing is that I think starting out with a gas forge is a good idea. I did, and I spend way more time forging than having to learn to move metal AND maintain a good coal fire. I think I'll likely build a coal forge someday for my shop and learn it because it has some super great advantages, but right now I enjoy working two projects at once without worrying the one in the forge is going to burn up on me. I personally wouldn't try building one as a first project. They aren't hard to do as you will read on this forum, but again, why not buy one where the bugs have been worked out of the design and you can just hook it up to start forging. You will have better success. Your anvil and your forge are the two biggest investments you'll make. Notice I said investments. By purchasing a good anvil and forge (gas) you put yourself in a much better position than the guy teetering away on a piece of track with a cobbled up one burner forge. Sure, if that's all you can do it's better than not forging, but if you have the means to buy good equipment to start do it. It may take longer to start and get where you want to be, but you'll be glad you took the time to acquire tongs, hammers, a good anvil, and a good working forge.

I can see that making an appearance on break-out night during Hell Week at BUD/S if the head sheds don't steal it for an office. That is something any frogman would be proud to own. You really did an outstanding job.

Slag said it all. I work in the legal field (paralegal) and liability easily follows the deepest pockets. Just defending a frivolous lawsuit will set you back several thousand dollars. The other thing that is being thrown out in this thread is SSO. That's not going to save you. Buzzkill a jury will look at what the reasonable man believes it is and the average guy or gal will call it a sword. Imagine trying to explain to a jury in a wrongful death lawsuit that your creation was a SSO even though it partially beheaded someone just through blunt force and weight of the blade. In LOTR, a lot of the action swords had light blades made of aluminum so they were not swinging around spring steel blades carrying a ton more mass so if someone did have an oops it might be a bruise or tiny cut, not a huge contusion wound or loss of a limb. I personally think it's ridiculous that the maker of anything is held liable for the user's stupidity, but it is the world we live in. Just be careful Buzzkill, I'd hate to see some parent sue you and ruin your year.

Yeah, my ILL came from a small town library a couple of counties away when I found AIA. When I was interested in blacksmithing initially I checked out & read every book the ILL system had on the subject. It's a good way to preview a book to see if you want to buy it. I agree with Blackfrog, it's definitely a German Trenton. See my thread on my German Boker Trenton. Your anvil has the same feet that mine does. AIA states that indeed they were made prior to 1898 and I think the earlier ones don't say "Germany" on them and "Solid Wrought" is straight and not in a circle. I think the earliest they were made was 1880 so I'm guessing if it's stamped "Germany" that's more toward the 1898 date while the ones with the straight "Solid Wrought" stamp are earlier. That's just my ideas on it, someone here may know more about them than I do and can correct me. Some believe that the bases were made by Peter Wright or Henry Wright and sent to Germany for assembly. Mine doesn't have any serial number on it and the weight is stamped on the side between the legs. Some stuff I've read on the German Trentons say they are highly collectible and rare commanding a lot more $$ than you and I paid.

Anyone have any idea what the number 1 marking on the foot of my anvil means? Could it be a particular worker's mark or an inspection mark?

One of the first blacksmiths I met was a big quiet guy and I thought maybe he didn't care for my questions but it turned out he just couldn't hear me. I hope to silicone up and bolt down the anvil this weekend so I'll see how quiet she is after the silicone cures in a few days.

The horn modification would come in really handy for making hooks and I think the depression in the face would also come in handy for all sorts of things once you get using it. I get where you are coming from wanting to know the value. If you've ever watched PBS's Antique's Roadshow people with no intentions of selling things come to find out what their family heirloom is worth. You just have to realize that there's quite a few "one and done" posters here who join the forum just to get a free opinion on how old their anvil is and what it's worth so they can turn around and sell it then you never see another post again from them. Let us know how your new anvil works and what you are making with it.

Good point Stash. It's still creating a loud noise even if it isn't ringing. I wonder how many guys out there on IFI use ear protection every time they forge?

Deezall what you suggest works. I bought a cart from Harbor Freight and lined the top with hi temp kiln bricks (the golden ones with black specks in them) and have my gas forge elevated above the blocks by 4 of those bricks. So far it bows a tiny bit in the middle but I can easily wheel the forge out and in + have a place to set hot metal. A chain on the side of the cart holds my tongs and the shelf under it holds all sorts of misc. forging stuff. I keep a 100 lb tank outside and make sure the wind is not blowing the CO toward my closed garage door. Yeah, close the door just to be safe. You don't want to come inside to show your family what you've just forged and find them on the ground or worse. It's a pain, because every time you forget something you have to go back and open the door but this way it teaches you to stage your tools and work before you light your forge. Moving everything in and out gets old, but it's worth it to forge safely. If you want to see a picture of my forge cart let me know and I'll post a picture. If you haven't read all the threads on finding anvils, take the time to do that and also to check out a copy of Anvils in America from your local library so you know what you are looking for.

Bonus! I'll take it because between the stump and the anvil I'm wheeling out probably around 400 lbs. I had to get an antique barrel cart to be able to move that kind of weight. Now I have to slide the anvil toward the cart and strap the stump to the cart with a tow strap. But, those carts have metal wheels and man they don't buckle or bend a millimeter. JHCC did you prep the anvil base in any way? I removed the rust when I wire wheeled it.

Lionel H & JHCC - sounds like this will work great for me. Thanks for responding. I'm thinking maybe most of a tube of silicone will do it. Looks like it's pretty durable too. I won't need it to keep my anvil stuck to the stump, more just for the silencing effect.

Mongler, use the cheap anvil to learn on with the mindset of saving for a decent anvil. Charcold has a path many of us take in graduating up to a decent anvil. It makes you have a deeper appreciation for a good anvil you will possess someday. I've only been at it for about a year but started with a old and small subpar anvil. It's hard to move metal on an anvil that doesn't have a hardened steel face. You don't really realize how hard it is until you move metal on a good anvil - it's night and day. My advice to newbies just trying to get into forging is to buy the right tools if you can before you start. Take time to research what you need here on IFI. All the knowledge you need is here in the threads. It's too tempting to start with subpar equipment just so you can get forging, but I think your experience learning will be a lot less frustrating with a good anvil, a good forge, a good hammer or two, and a few pair of useful tongs. There are a lot of threads here on how to find a good anvil. I put the word out to friends and through a friend's friend's nephew I located a guy who had 8 anvils. Craigs list isn't too bad of a place to look, but ebay is a last resort IMHO. Just don't overpay. If buying a good anvil just isn't possible, there are also a lot of threads here on decent anvil substitutes that will work much better than your cast iron anvil. You don't need a full shop of tools to forge, but the right basic tools helps tremendously. Heck I was just outside forging last night with temps in the 30's. I'd love a dedicated shop someday, but I'm working up to that. It takes time and you won't be sorry investing some time and hard earned cash.

Everyone pretty much hit all the good advice. I've been setting up at shows to sell my flintknapping stuff for about 10 years now and I can tell you that having that unique item that others don't have is key. I'll say it again, get everything up so people can see it. Do this by creating levels with blocks of wood and boxes under a nice table cover at first and work your way up to the big displays like Three Rivers showed pictures of. I try to hit shows that do not charge a lot to have a booth. In the summers, go to outdoor shows where you can have your own easy-up tent. Thomas Powers is 100 % right, bring a ton of business cards. Keep them simple, but nice with something eye catching on it. I also try to hit both ends of the price spectrum. Make stuff you can sell for $5 or less and stuff that goes for hundreds of dollars. Try to also have something inexpensive that kids will want.

I'd like to silence my Boker Trenton anvil and have read everything here in the threads. I forged two Z clips for the front & back feet and I routered out the shape of the anvil base into my stump. I'd like to silicone calk it down before bolting down the Z clips. My question is if I just put a bead around the edge or do I cover the whole bottom in silicone calking? I don't want a super mess but want it to work. I've been using it for about 6 months just sitting in the routered-out stump and because it's 179 lbs it doesn't move a whole lot except when I'm out on the horn. I don't particularly like wearing ear protection so it'd be nice to get my old gal to stop singing. My last question is how durable is the silicone calking? I have to move this anvil/stump outside together each time I forge.

Way to think outside the box! Let us know how they work after you've used them for a while.

My Trenton is locked in the garage. It's a pain to cart out every time I forge, but she sure looks purty everyday I walk past her to get in the vehicle and go to work. I had to buy an antique barrel mover that used to move barrels for the railroad just to move the anvil & stand outside together. My back just couldn't take walking or lifting that 179 pound gal every time I wanted to forge. It's a nice 54 degrees down there year round so my old gal stays nice & warm through the winter.

As someone with only a year of forging I can say that there's always the allure of cutting corners to get started. It's a temptation I'd like to see all new to this craft resist. Not taking the time to get the proper tools and a suitable anvil all in hopes of getting at it quicker to make "swords and knives". Sure, you don't need a fully stocked shop with everything to start, but if you can't safely hold hot metal and don't have a sturdy anvil on a stand or platform you are asking for trouble. It took me over a year to find a decent anvil and collect enough tongs to be able to get going safely. I agree with John, but I also think people watch FIF and want to fast forward through the learning curve and make knives and swords without putting the time learning proper skills and techniques. I'm always amazed that the first question people ask me when I tell them I'm a blacksmith is "Do you make knives like that show on the History channel?" I have to reply that I don't, but someday when I learn all the necessary skills I will work up to edged things from knives to axes to froes and such but I'm having too much fun right now learning to make S hooks and hardware of all sorts. I'm in no hurry, but guys that cut corners on equipment and time at the anvil just so they can make "cool" stuff out of hot metal are robbing themselves and as we've just seen, possibly putting others in harms way.

Looks like a nice PW for sure. Any day you can buy a PW for under $2 a pound is a good day.

Don't a lot of blacksmiths who make swords test the quench with the cold blade prior to attempting a hot quench to see if any of the quench spills over? It seems I recall seeing that done or reading about it but we have some guys here who know better than I do.

When I started flintknapping it was the pre-internet days in the sense that nobody had websites and there was no such thing as YouTube so you had to seek out others to learn and buy VHS tapes on it. Now the people I teach pick it up so much quicker because of all the resources, but I will say they don't tend to form the deep relationships and friendships I've formed. I hope to form those same relationships with smiths in my area.