KLO

so an old hoof knife? rightio, I might look at what I got

yay I was right for once

I have a similar hammer but it doesn't have the large knobs on the ends of the head, nice find

I found a few of these from an old blacksmiths forge on my property, but they had been rusted out a heap and they had much shorter handles, im as lost as you

looks like an old pair of pincers or horse nippers, maybe a nail puller

helps in my metalwork class at school as I can bend a piece of metal, rather than filing for hours, I do half the filing and smash the iron the rest of the way, it also helped my whole class with heat treating, and welding

these, although unsafe are excellent ideas for me

nice idea, might try it when I get the chance again

cut it in half for 2 weights and you'll also be able to drill it easier

it looks like a splitting hammer

we call these plug taps and starter taps, we also have intermediate taps, plugs are for finishing a thread, starter taps are for starting, and intermediate taps are for rough cutting where it will be temporary. I absolutely hate taps and dies because I always learnt with plug taps and cheap dies that would not cut for the life of them.

What brands are the Aussie ones? Diamond? Wiltshire? those are some of the more elusive brands to me.

it seems to me that old mining towns and areas are great for finding improvised tools. I found a good log splitter that does the same job with a bit of facing. and old jackhammer bits are perfect for hardy tools.

no I think the hole is a little small for that. plus who in xxxx would use steel rod for a handle

one was used as a punching surface or as a drilling surface.

I have to keep my files out of the hands of everybody, I once caught my brother using one of my favourites as a chisel and pry-bar. he then went and used my favourite wood chisel but left it in my tool box with my spanner set. I trust nobody with my tools now, even hammers cant be left around as my brother will start smashing two together. these idiots are the reason I have severe trust issues and only allow them to use the cheapest files from a $2 store.

I personally dislike a perfect mirror finish, this is down to the fact that a mirror finish will rust after a day, a week. but a forging that is left rough but still well done will always be my preferred style. I don't care for the mirror finish because it provides no real protection to the bare metal. I will always prefer an axe with a patina over the mirror finish. the patina will protect the blade or metal. I don't mind a small hammer mark here or there as long as it doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the tool or piece. A door handle will always do the same job hammer mark or not. the same goes for everything. but there are exceptions like if the tool was for use in the food industry you would clean it up so that bacteria could not build up, or if the prospective buyer specifically asked for a mirror finish, these are the times where I will accept the mirror finish. A finished forging is one that does its job, that is if its a door handle all it needs is a coat of some anti-rust agent, if its a knife for a buyer then its up to them.

I had the same reaction to mine, after reading this thread I was surprised at how high the carbon content was. I was expecting wrought iron or some mild steel. I tested the whole thing and it is all high carbon steel.

46 years with the same alloy. that sounds reasonable, I guess that will make identifying the steel easier.

ah yes I assumed it was pine because of being so cheap and being treated, but as you say the wood could be hardwood, it was used to carry animal feed. that I recall I didn't put a wedge in it and just soaked the head in oil.

Old Nicholson files and some good Wiltshire ones get me around, I also have a few rare "diamond" tool co files which are almost impossible to track down. I get old ones mainly but also some $2 file from reject shop that I use to knock off scale.

I will put my 2 cents in, I have a lot of ball peins, and I started taking a liking to an older 3 pounder, but needed a smaller hammer for lighter work around the place so I dug up an old 1 pounder that didn't have a handle. I was in a fix and had no access to a lathe or any hardwood, so I got an old pallet, (you know the kind they use to haul xxxx around with), and I broke out a foot long piece and started to shape the handle to the head very roughly and just sort of well, pounded it into the eye and I couldn't remove it, so I left it in there, this was about 2 years ago, the head hasn't flown off yet and the handle is still rough as guts, but the hammer works well and the handle hasn't cracked yet, so im happy. this is just a cheap pine wood btw.

it is at the very least 20 years old I will throw it in the forge and see how well it hardens. The eye and tips are terrible but the rest is still usable, I will probably just use the leaf spring I scavenged for knives at the moment. I don't have access to/don't know how to use electrolysis but the spark test will tell well enough. I have learnt something new today and will think more about future projects. Also what would the carbon content on newer mattocks and pickaxes be.

I have an old pickaxe that I was thinking of cutting up into 3 inch pieces to use for knife making or something like that. It would be great if I could know if it would still be usable. its in terrible condition so I cant restore it, It was sitting under the earth for a few years but it still has some usable steel on it. There was also, in the same general area, 2 axe heads in rough shape and most of an 8 pound sledge, which I know I can use. I will get pictures week after next, or when possible.

I was just asking a question in which I got an answer. thank you though I live in Australia and the metallurgy could be anything.