George N. M.

Dear CGL, I thought you might be interested since you do a lot of equine related things. G

Dear Nikko, The imperfections I see on the anvil face appear to be from the impacts of hammers. So, if you are not working on it it will not be further marred. However, if it is in a damp environment you might want to put a coat of oil on it to prevent any rusting. Any kind of oil will do but vegetable oil or motor oil will remain greasy and pick up dust and dirt. A drying oil like linseed will dry out and not give that problem. Just be careful with the rag you use with linseed oil, don't wad it up somewhere. When linseed oil dries it is a exothermic reaction (produces heat) and under the right circumstances can cause spontaneous combustion. Just leave it hung out to dry somewhere like it was wet washing and you'll be fine. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

It has been my observation that there are lots of folk who have craft or profession, medicine, law, plumbing, black smithing, mechanic, engineering, carpentry, etc,. who think they can better their financial position by striking out on their own and hanging out their own shingle. They see their boss or company charging $X for their time but they are only being paid $Y which is only a fraction of $X. Unfortunately, while they may be excellent at their profession or craft they are not very good at running a business which take a whole different tool box of skills than their profession or craft. They are now dealing with expenses and head aches of running a business. And if they hire someone to help them they are now a boss with all the paperwork and hassle that being an employer entails. Even if they are successful they often find that most of their time is occupied with running the business rather than doing the profession or craft that they love doing. Very often they go back to being an employee because they get to do what they love and are good at and leave the business head aches to the boss or company. - My question is about the collar weld. When you wrapped the 1/4" around the rod you left what looked like a significant gap. As you weld the collar to the shaft does the collar metal move sideways and fill the gap and weld the gap in the ring shut? I think that is what must happen but it is hard to see what the metal is doing when it is at white heat. Thanks, very instructive video. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear all, Here is a link to an article about a Roman horse form brooch recently found in the UK. It is a cast rather than forged object but I though the treatment of the head of the horse was interesting. Horse ears are something that is difficult to represent when forging. On the brooch it looks like the interior of the ear was formed by a punch on the master (possibly wax) before casting and then the outside of the ears were formed from the metal upset by the punching of the ear interior. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/58037#comments I will want to experiment with this technique to see how it works forging. It will mean making a specific punch for the interior of the ears. Maybe I need to practice in clay or wax first. In any case, I found this object very cool and interesting. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Billy, If your Dad hasn't applied he is due a disability pension from the VA for exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. I know, I am in that boat. I have Type II diabetes, served in Viet Nam, and am considered 50% disabled and receive, IIRC, about $1300/month. It may even be legitimate because I was in areas which had been sprayed with Agent Orange but my father was a Type II diabetic. So, it could be genetic, too. Or, it could be some of each. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear CGL, The way I have generally priced my work is to time myself to see how long it takes me to make something and then multiply by what I think my time is worth given my experience skill, and knowledge as a smith. For years I have charged about $60/hour and I believe that Jennifer of JPL Services has mentioned charging $100+/hour but she is also a much better smith than I am and is almost certainly faster. When setting your hourly rate remember that you have an unusual skill that most people do not and that you can do things they cannot. This justifies an hourly rate higher than you might think. Consider what skilled crafts people such as mechanics and plumbers charge for their time. The local plumber we use charges $71/hour. It took me awhile practicing in front of a mirror to say it with a straight face but I normally charge $150/hour for my time as an attorney which is on the low end for this area. I justify it by realizing that this represents 3 years of law school and 33 years of experience. So, do not sell yourself short when figuring what your time is worth. Don't do a job that only pays you minimum wage. From what I've seen of your work you are a decent journeyman smith in my opinion. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Mark, You may or may not be aware of the poem "Invictus" by William Henley. At one time it was required memorization in schools. Because of it I like Invictus better than Invicta. Invictus By William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. I like the idea behind the Petal and Pony but I'm afraid that it sounds too twee by half. I'd just go with the Rose and Horse. It is stronger name to go with ironwork. Or you could drop the and so that you'd have the proverbial horse of a different color. In any case the name only has to please you. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Not really a ghost story but there have been times when working at the forge that I have felt that the shades of all the smiths before me, back to the start of the use of metal, were looking over my shoulder at what I was doing and how I was doing it. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The scythe sharpening field anvils that I've seen (I have one but in the move to Laramie it is in a box, otherwise I would post a pic) have a sharp spike base for hammering into the ground and some sort of "ears" to keep it from going too far into the ground. I'd say what Graywall has is some sort of anvil tool, the square peg base and large defined shoulder really say hardie tool to me. Great buy for a buck. I'd spark test it to get an idea of whether it is wrought iron or steel. That might give an indication of age. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

My late wife and I were staying at Castle Marne, an old mansion converted to a B&B, v. nice, and had a room on the 2d floor under the owners' apartment on the 3d floor. During the night we both heard the sound of light tapping like the nails of a small dog trotting around on a hard floor. In the morning the owners asked us if we had slept well and we said that we had and that we had heard their dog trotting around in the night. They looked at us a bit oddly and told us they did not have a dog. I don't suppose that ghost chihuahuas are very scary but it did happen to us. Also, when we lived in a 1907 house in Greeley, CO we would occasionally hear what sounded like footsteps upstairs when we were all downstairs. Never had any other unexplained experiences in that house and just figured that we had one or more spiritual roommates who kept to themselves. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Are the dark lines I am seeing in the wrought iron layers the result of the fiberous texture of the wrought iron as brought out by the acid etch? They almost look like cold shuts but because I am only seeing this in 2 dimensions I cannot tell if they are voids. Very nice work. It would have to be a chef to a royal household to have such a blade. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The primary reference in English on the mastermyr find is, to my knowledge: Arwidsson, Greta and Gosta Berg, The Mastermyr Find, A Viking Age Tool Chest from Gotland, Larson Publishing Co., Lompoc, CA, 1999 (orig. copyright 1983). It is available on Amazon for $17.95 + shipping. As Thomas says, you are probably going to have to research iron objects in collections and museums. The Swedish National Museum has a lot of artifacts described at their website. Most Viking and Saxon ironwork was utilitarian rather than decorative. Therefore, it has not been studied and published in the same way late medieval and renaissance iron work has been by art historians. As Thomas says, go back to the original historical finds when you can. However, there are degrees of authenticity in replicating historic artifacts. For example, you can make a very nice replication of the Oseberg ship tripod out of mild steel using a coal or gas forge. There are practicalities to making replicas such as obtaining bloomery wrought iron or even finding someone else to work with you in your shop. Good luck and report back to us if you find or make anything cool. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear All, When I moved into our current property I found in the barn (soon to be my shop) a number of what appear to be Jeep parts. There are 4 wheels, what appears to be a skid plate, and some kind of brace. See pics below. They appear to be new/unused, just dusty from sitting in a horse barn for many years. I will give them to anyone who wants or can use them and who may be passing through Laramie, WY. We are about a half mile from I-80. I could also easily take them down to our former home in Ft. Morgan, CO (on I-76, about halfway between Denver and Nenraska) to be picked up. Yes, I know I could probably put them on Craig's List or put an ad in the local paper and make a few bucks but I would rather avoid that hassle (and I have no idea of their value to put a fair price on them) and pass them on to my IFI family. Also, I could use the space in the shop. If anyone is interested please PM me. George "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Irondragon: Thanks, more pics are always good but the description in the History Blog article was meatier IMO. I still would not want to get stuck with it. GNM

Dear Thomas: That would fall into the category of unaffordability. I don't have the opportunity of a windfall of loot a Roman officer or NCO would have had. You are, of course, correct that an item like that, as with similar pieces down the centuries, would have been the product of many people working in their own special skills and crafts. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

An amazing Roman pugio dagger with scabbard and belt has been unearthed and restored in Germany. An article about it can be read here: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/57908#comments The blade is pattern welded in what appears to me to be a double chevron pattern. In the photo of the blade out of the sheath you can see the pattern welding near the fuller. This would be an amazing blade to re-create but the skill level, particularly for the hilt and the scabbard are far beyond my ability and I don't have a year or so of my life to dedicate to it. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

JHCC: I will admit that I have not done research in period materials regarding house burning for nail salvage but it seems to me that it would have had to be an actual significant problem for the Virginia Colonial General Assembly to have to pass a law against the practice. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jennifer, In colonial times it was often the case that the most valuable things in the house were the nail holding it together. Sometimes when someone was planning to immigrate westwards they would burn the house down and salvage the nails to take along to build a new house. Virginia passed a law prohibiting the practice. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Kycats: You can often pick up rose oil in health food stores in the essential oils section. I've used it on iron roses and had customers be surprised when they sniff the rose as a joke and then actually get a rose smell. I've thought about putting a small bit of steel wool down in the middle of the rose to hold the oil and scent longer. Pure attar of roses which is distilled from Rosa Gallic (aka the apothecary's rose) or Rosa Damescena is very expensive and used in perfumes. (NOT the deadly adder of roses) "By hammer and hand a arts do stand."

Daswulf; You seemed a bit confused by your grandmothers "grange" cookbook. The Grangers were a series of rural/agricultural clubs starting in the later part of the 19th century. There are still Grange Halls around in the rural parts of the country. In the late 19th century the Grangers were political opponents of the railroads and bankers and advocates of farmers' rights. If your grandmother was a rural resident it is not surprising that the local Grange Hall would have put out a cookbook just the same way churches, PTAs, the Ladies of the Moose, and other organizations put our cookbooks today. There are companies that, for a fee, compile these cookbooks for various organizations. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear CGL, Use your angle grinder to spark test the wagon wheel. My experience is that wrought iron has no secondary bursts of the sparks, just straight lines. Even mild steel has some secondary bursts. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Somebody on IFI (Frosty?, Thomas?, Jennifer?) said that the reason you do not try to catch anything in a blacksmith shop is that most things are either hot, heavy, or sharp and most things are 2 of the 3.

Still winter at 7500 feet above sea level here in Laramie. High of 27 today. High of 40 predicted for tomorrow and that is the warmest day in the 2 week extended forecast. We've had some snow on the ground since early December. Ahh, the joys of a high altitude continental climate. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Congratulations, Pnut. It is an accomplishment that you can and should be proud of. Don't worry about next February, just today and tomorrow. I'm glad blacksmithing has helped you. It is surprisingly theraputic on an number of levels. It has certainly helped me keep on an even keel for the last 40 years. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Billy: The bulges are what makes it look "authentic" or "period" because you made it with the technique that was current when trammel hooks were in use for cooking on a fireplace. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."