George N. M.

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Yes, that tool is generally known as a hardy (hence: hardy hole) and is used to cut hot metal in the manner you describe. They are about $50-75 new. Don't use it on cold metal. The advantage to boiled lindseed oil is that it is a drying oil which will form a hard surface over the metal like shellac or varnish whereas something like mineral oil always stays a bit sticky and accumulates dust and gruck. This is why BLO is commonly used as a finish on forged metal. It can be mixed with turpentine or another drying agent so that it dries faster. I hope you and your friend find the craft as rewarding as I have for the last 44 years. It has been fun in good times and has helped me through tough times. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Nodebt, I hear you. When I need something I would much rather go to a brick and mortar old fashioned hardware store but with covid we have gone to internet shopping for lots of our needs. Also, when you live in a rural area there are not the same density of small. specialty suppliers as in a metro area. So, the internet is a god send for things that your local small or big box doesn't have. This is particularly true for books. If you even have a local book store how many blacksmithing books will be in stock? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Here in the US I can get bagged coal and coke at a farrier supply place about an hour and half away from home. I'm sure there are farriers in NI. You might contact them to see where they obtain their fuel, if they are not using propane forges that is. Around here some farriers use solid fuel and some propane, pretty much as a person preference. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Most western states have a state office of brand inspection which maintains books of registered brands. Brand Inspectors are sworn law enforcement officers (like game wardens) who have full arrest powers. Using someone else's brand or an unregistered brand is a criminal offense. Branding household items, yourself, your kids, etc. isn't a problem but if you use an improper brand on livestock things will get pretty old west real fast. And, yes, cattle rustling and horse stealing are still a serious criminal problem. Even buying livestock without the proper paperwork or brands is a criminal offense. Brand Inspectors do a lot of their work at livestock auctions. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Welcome aboard from 7500' (2286 m) in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. Boy it is really tough to answer your question from almost 5000 miles away. I could give you some educated guesses in the US but not the UK. It sounds like you have a high grade bituminous coal which may have been sold for home heating in open grates (coal fires) or other specialized uses. You may have to do some research in coals of Ireland and the UK and what may be available today. You should look for high BTU content, low ash content, and good agglomeration (coking). As Irondragon says, someone with better local knowledge than us Yanks will probably be more helpful. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

L like the mountains and anvil but what does the T represent? GNM

According to the manual for my HF model the blade should be tightened just beyond where it is slipping on the drive wheel, no tighter. I think that if over tightened the blade would have more of a tendency to jump off the wheels and would put an unnecessary strain on othe components like bearings and might even break the blade. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear All, It is time for my annual Memorial Day posting to remind everyone that here in the USA this isn't just the first weekend of summer but a time to remember the men and women who were not as fortunate as I and the other veterans who made it home and grew old. I think most of the folk here, particularly the vets, are aware of this but I feel a duty and responsibility to those who didn't come home to make this reminder. "They will not grow old, as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will rmember them." -Laurence Binyon- George LTC, US Army (ret) late of 1/C/1/12 Cav/!st Cav Div (Airmobile), Republic of Vietnam 1970-71

My experience with super quench and mild steel is that I have never seen something shatter or chip off. It hardens the mild steel as much as it can be but it doesn't get brittle. For a struck tool it will probably mushroom over on the struck end faster than a hardened and tempered high C tool but much slower than untreated mild steel. I'd super quench it and call it good. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Whatever type of hoisting arrangement you decide on I suggest that you "proof" it by lifting a weight twice or 3 times as heavy as the maximum you would normally expect to lift on a regualr basis. If something is going to fail you don't want it to be when you've got a customer's machine up in the air. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Mine is almost the same as Irondragon's but without the split and the leg attachments. I like it much better than my old one which just had a leather thong around the neck and one around the waist. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The other question is whether you want to personalize it to yourself (MJL) or your business (TMI). If TMI has a negative connotation how about "Two Mountains Forge?" Or "Two Mountains Blacksmith?" Or, since you are in an officially bi-lingual country, "Forge des Deux Montangnes?" GNM

Nat, I think the amount of sociability or isolation a person experiences through his hobbies or other interests is dependent on a couple of things. 1) How many people are there fairly nearby who share your intersts in X? I started blacksmithing in Wyoming, the smallest population of any state in the USA and it wasn't until 12 or 15 years later that I met another smith. This was before the days of the internet. 2) How social are you to begin with? Someone who is very extroverted will make anything into a social occasion. Someone who is more introverted my prefer only their own company no matter what they are doing. If you want to share your interest in X you will probably seek out folk with a common or similar interest(s). It largely depends if you are a "lone eagle" by nature or not. Also, there may be a difference in social attitudes toward X. Here in the USA if someone finds out I am a smith the response is usually very positive because it is seen as an unusual and uncommon activity and the media, particularly the knife making TV show Forged in Fire, has portrayed smiths in a very positive light. There are plenty of misconceptions but the attitude is that it is a cool and positive thing to do. However, there are places, and maybe Bosina is one of them, where any kind of craft or working with your hands carries a negative connotation of being lower class. It's sort of ike attitudes towards sun tans. In some countries a good tan implies being fit and active and well enough off to have the leisure time to lie around in the sun. But in other countries a tan is associated with being a peasant who is out in the fields and sun all day. That is why the traditional women's dress is some countries covers much of the skin and an umbrella or parasol is often in use. The internet has increased the communication between folk with uncommon interests by orders of magnitude. IFI is a prime example of this. Myself, I like to keep a balance between things I like to do by myself and social activities but covid has pushed me very hard towards the former. GNM

MJ, yes, I like that better and it avoids my concerns. The only other suggestion that I have is to be conisitent with serifs (the little "feet" on the tops and bottoms of letters). Your T and M are "san serif" (no feet) but your I does have serifs. I suggest consistency one way or another. Personally, I like serif fonts (the one we are using here is san serif) and studies have shown that people read a bit faster in a serif font. The serifs apparently "lead" the eye from one letter to another. Of course, that is of little concern with just 3 initials but I find it interesting. Whatever you find aesthetically pleasing to your eye. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Interestingly enough I tend to bounce between using imperial and metric units. If I am doing something where I have to divide into equal incriments I use milimeters because the divison is easier than to deal with fractions. I'm comfortable using metric to distance, weight, and volume but I can never get my head easily around the celsius temoerature scale. If someone says it is going to be X degrees C outside today I don't know whether to wear a parka or cut offs and tee shirt. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

MJ, I would go with the one with the single cross. I largely say that because I am of the opinion that faith and craft/business are separate parts of a person's life and should be kept separate, at least as they are presented to the outside world and other folk. An expression of faith or political belief can elicit both positive and negative reactions. A cross or an icthys or a political bumper sticker can turn people on or off and, IMO, it is better to avoid that particular can of worms. Even as a Christian I have always thought that a business listing or sign with a icthys was tacky because it seemed intended to attract customers because of their and the business owner's faith rather than business considerations. I've always thought that the name "Christ Centered Ironworks" is semi-inappropriate because of that and that it diminishes the faith by mixing it with worldly and mudane issues. I recognize that faith is very important to some people (me included) but I don't think wearing a symbol of your faith on your sleeve all the time is the way to go. IMO faith is demonstrated to the world by how you live your life and your actions rather than a label or sign. Just my 2 small currency units. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

If you click on my avatar photo twice, once to get to my profile page and once when you are there, and get to the rectangular, not circular, version you will see that I've got my touch mark on my apron. I've mentioned this before but it is the Anglo-Saxon rune for G. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Frazer, I have one suggestion: Put a large version of your touchmark in the center, above the pockets. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Adapted from something I read buty it really seems to apply: When I'm in the shop my mind is like an internet browser, 17 tabs are open, 4 are frozen, and I don't know where the music is coming from. ;-) "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Frazer, that is a lovely apron. Great work. You have activated my apron envy reaction. I'm sure you will do better work in it. Is the pocket/pouch on the chest large enough for your cell phone? Also, could you comment on the virtues or drawbacks of a split/leg apron, like yours, versus a solid one? I'm sure folk would be interested on why you went with this design over a different one. I have debated it in my head for years and come to no solid conclusion. I see virtues in both designs. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

I hope Slag weighs in on this since he has the patent and trademark expertise. I'm just a simple country lawyer. The question is always whether a particular term, used in a particular context, is a "common" term or word which cannot be legally reserved. "Saber tooth" or "sabre tooth" in the context of knives might be able to be trademarked as a knife model or maker name but not when referrring to the Pleistocene felid with big teeth. I suspect that the term has been used for many things over the years and that kind of broad usage argues against someone being able to reserve it for themselves. And, as Frosty says, there is always the question of the cost of the fight versus the benefit gained IF you win. And in most cases courts in the USA follow the "American System" where each party pays their own legal expenses. There are some exceptions such as a frivolous law suit or one obviously designed to harass someone but in the vast majority of litigation everyone pays their own filing fees, attorney fees, and expert witness costs. "By hammer and hand (and laws) do all arts stand."

Since you will probably doing mainly small stuff you probably won't need to add much, if any, extra mass to the base to keep the anvil and base from walking in use. If you were doing heavier work with larger hammers on your smaller anvil you might need more weight in the base but I think it is unnecessary in what you describe as your situation. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

PS There is a lot of good advice about running a business in the "Business Side of Blacksmithing" topics. I suggest that you or anyone else thinking of making money from a craft review them. Open your favorite beverage, sit in a cmfortable chair, and spend several hours reading through them. Take notes. GNM

Doug, welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. You have given some good advice, particularly not to try to power through and finish something when you are tired. That is a good way of making a mistake and either injuring yourself or damaging a knife. Also, keeping your business and personal money separate is excellent advice that many folk do not heed. However, more important than this is, IMO, the decision of what you are doing. Is it a hobby where money is not a consideration and you will gift your output to family and friends or is it something that you are try to make a living at and support yourelf and your family? Or is it something in between, a hobby that pays for itself or a supplemental income. If it is truly a business, either self supporting or a primary income generator a person MUST recognize that the skills of running a business are very different than the craft of knife making. It is a completely different tool box and many, if not most, folk who are good crafts people do not have the skills to run a successful business without training. And most people with a craft, skill, or profession do not like the down and dirty job of running a business. There are many, many people who have decided that they do not want to work for "the man" and hang out their own shingle, mechanics, knife makers, lawyers, doctors, etc. and discover that running the busness side is not something they like or that they are good at. Withinn a few years they are back working for a wage or salary. Also, everyone should recognize that the market for custom knives is limited. If someone wants a blade to cut string or boxes or dress a deer they are probably best served by a decent commercial blade. However, the number who are either collectors or are willing to pay for the special, custom blade, not because it does its job any better, because it is hand made or made to their specifications and who have the disposable income to pay for the time and effort it takes to produce such a blade is limited. Any way, glad to have you and I hope you keep posting. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Davy, I will add that some of the strong negative opinions regarding the idea of milling your anvil is because of the respect and reverence with which many of us regard old tools. This is not surprising given that we practice a traditional craft. Your anvil is a survivor. It has performed its function in 3 centuries and that is to be recognized and honored. I don't think that many of us would be very bothered by seeing some cheap, Chinese made, tool misused or damaged but it hurts our souls to see an old tool which was in use before our grandfathers were born to be treated badly. It is not an arbitrary, "Thou shalt not . . ." Rule which must not be violated upon pain of a terrible penalty but a sense that the life of an old tool should not be cut short or unnecessarily diminished. Not to get too touchy feely but some of us feel (I do) that we do better work with old tools. New tools have not acquired any "soul" or "karma" from use. Maybe it is a sense of responsibility to the memory of the smiths who have used the tool before to do better work with it. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."