j.w.s.

I would recommend the October meeting of PABA, I know I'll be there. The December gallery event isn't necessarily what most noobs are looking for. Either way, PABA is a great group of people and you don't need to be a member to attend any of the hammer-ins although you may be asked to do something else during the business portion of the meetings which don't typically take up much time. J

i had iimagined something more along these lines. J

I'm not too local to you, about 180 miles east in the Lancaster area, but feel free to PM if you need anything. Most of us PABA guys are in the East/Central Pennsylvania area but we've got some members out your way.. now go to Primanti Brothers and have a sandwich for me, and for gods sake, whatever you do, don't put the word 'yins' into your vocabulary. J

I've never had a problem with 4140 in brine, especially not in that thickness. Tempering wise I might do the same in the oven and then submerge the blade in water to draw the eye/transitional slope back a little more with a torch just because that's the portion subject to the most stress. J

I like Artu but you can't use them on mild or annealed steel and you need a press with fast rpm, cutting fluid helps. J

I named mine Underhill Forge, primarily because as a fan of Fletch and a former bartender my fellow liquor slingers and I would refer to each other as Mr Underhill whenever we'd comp each other's drinks.. fortunately it also happens to coincide with the Lord of the Rings and conjures a nice image when it comes to being a bladesmith.. J

I like this just a tad less than I like your take on the blacksmiths knife. Great job! J

Someone just sent me a message: Them: (picture) take a look this, you should make one. Me: ask to see it, whos mark? Them: ××××! lol oops, nevermind! They were at the shop thats selling my stuff.. too funny. J

Perspective seems off in the pictures. Blade is 15" & overall is 22". Construction is all traditional, using a peened nut to make a compression fitting for the assembly. J

Here's a seax that just I finished at the shop. Jeremy and I have been both working hard to get the new shop up and running and this is the first real blade to come out of from start to finish. Blade is forged out of 1084/15N20. Fittings are all mild steel. Handle is lace wood, copper and ebony. Here's some pics of some of the process and the final blade. I forged a companion piece out of the same steels. I created a small pocket in the larger sheath just for it. Anyway, enjoy. -J

Great video but what i really want to know more about is your initial slot punch setup. Looks slick and would probably work well in my world with guards for blades. J

Looks cramped and a little forced, definitely not big enough. Remember, the guard is there to fully protect the hand, not to "just barely" protect it. Is there a reason you're working the guard on the blade? J

0.125" should be fine. Suppose you could go thinner depending on the grade of stainless, but i think in this case you want it thin enough for the water to carry away the heat but thick enough to withstand some hot spots. That being said, I just use 3/4 back iron pipe and swap it with a new piece once or twice a year and never got around to building my water tank - it's a cheap enough consumable. J

Lookin good. I do a lot of san mai and I've found that after I've drawn my billet to its forging thickness that knocking the edges off at a 45 to expose the core a bit helps to get a symmetrical etch for the finished piece. I've got a piece I'm grinding right now that I skipped this step and wow it's gonna be some clever grinding to get it closer! That being said, I've got a yanagi-ba on the bench and for a blade like that where it's beveled for a single right or left handed edge, I 45 on the bevel side and slightly round the flat side - last thing ya want when doing San Mai is for your jacket to show below the core. J

Stupid forbidden

Muriatic on its own isn't the best echent for most pattern welded steels, but it's an excellent pickle for removing scale and oxidation - takes some time though. You can also make Ferric Chloride with it and a video can be found in the alchemy section. J

I've seen Dan's build before and have seen the videos he put out. He did a great job, marrying a tire hammer to the belt hammer idea, but I'm actually looking for pictures of the ones used in japan. Unfortunately, I don't know what the Japanese term for this exact hammer is so google isnt being super friendly at the moment. I have the opportunity here in the fall to possibly have a few disabled vets in the shop for knife making classes. Disabilities present problems for a number of reasons around the forge, but I'm at the least wheelchair accessible. The reason why the belt hammer is so appealing is the fact that they're designed to be operated sitting down and typically it just acts as a swifter version of what you can do hammering by hand, unlike a lot of the mechanical and air hammers we normally see here stateside. I don't want something that makes it easy to get carried away with. Light and speed variable, maybe in the 15lb range, nothing that's going to cause any real shock one handed if something goes off kilter. There's a lot of other things to overcome, but I've got a buddy of mine who's technically a quadriplegic (limited use of his hands but totally paralyzed from the waist down) who's also a whiz of a metal fabricator when it comes to building hot rods and he's already got me covered when it comes to things like grinding stations and how to overcome some of the problems they might present. Anyway, back to the original point. There was one here pictured in the tailgating section in 2009, yesteryearforge posted links to it but they seem to not be working anymore. Every video I find seems to focus on the smith and not his tools (who makes these videos anyway) and i havent yet come across any decent images or drawing in an image search but that could just be because the internet is dumb and cant figure out what i mean and not what i think i mean. lol J

Anyone know of any plans floating around or a good detailed description for a Japanese style belt hammer? These hammers aren't too heavy, from what I understand, but make up for it in hits per minute. I've got the bug to build a new hammer, and my 135lb Kinyon just isn't great for blade work where I'm dealing with thinner stock, typically 0.25" and less. Just really want something controllable that will help expedite my work. J

I'm going to be demonstrating at the Schaeferstown Fall Harvest Festival this coming Saturday 9/12. If you're in the area stop on by! I'll be demonstrating bladesmithing, doing some functional forgings and I will have a few copies of Steve Sells book on hand for anyone that would like to pick one up! Come on out, say hello, keep me company, pick my brain, enjoy some great Pa Dutch food and other folk crafts! Admission is just $5, 10am to 5pm! http://hsimuseum.org J

if you saw the hovel I was working in you'd understand why I'm keeping some walking around room now. and I'm still not used to this whole multiple forges running full tilt at the same time and it only being 74.5F in here. J

Dieing with the most toys makes you the winner.. why else would I have a shop with 750 sq feet more than I actually need? Lol J

Personally I never found a use for one, and everyone I tried just felt awkward. But the more I look at doing chasing and repose the more I think I might actually have to use for one. However if I built one it would probably be closer to one of the sit down style treadle hammers where the work is at a comfortable height and the top hammer leaves plenty of room for your hand and top tools. J

It was kind of a slow day here in the shop so I figured I'd share the two knives I finished up today. Both are 144 layer 1084/15n20. First is a loose rain drop with purple heart and bucote for the handle. The second is a random pattern with a split copper guard and black and white ebony for the handle. Just wrapped up doing the leather work and needed an excuse to sit instead of sweeping the shop floor like i shoulf. Enjoy. J

Why don't you first get all that clay out of there and build a trial fire just to see what you can actually get out of it? J

So well, you're hitting about 975F, but you've got to double that for most steel. Aluminum also conducts heat differently. If you want to forge steel we're looking for 1600-2100F just to be safe, and even then you'll want more for welding. J