coastalscouter

Hey everybody been a while. Got everything set up the way i want. Went out and bought a two burner gas forge works great neighbors love it no smoke. Got the grizzly bench grinder (B-Day). I just cant seem to get the grind right on my blades though. Is there a jig out there or something that can help. Or do i just need more patience and practice.

thanks will try to cut back on how long i keep it out of the fire and see if that helps

Tried forging with O1 tool steel for the first time tonight, got it up to temp, nice orange color. Banging along pretty good. Got it almost to 1/8 in and about an inch wide, and CRACK! out of nowhere i have this crack half way through the metal. never had this happen before on rebar rr spike or other junk metal i have used. am i doing something wrong could i have gotten some bad steel. the grain texture was very fine along the crack and pretty course everywhere else. broke a couple of pieces and found fine texture. am i working it too long or too cold. really frustrated right now. any advice of ideas. the piece was a 6 in cut from a 36 in O1 round from speedy metals. thanks

Got some 6 million year old marble slabs today from Brazil. a friend of mine knows a guy who is remodeling a house with this stuff. cost a few hundred bucks a tile. anyone ever use this before or any suggestions. thought it would be the same as working with jade or turquoise. (bad speller) any thoughts.

i purchased a 1/2 rod of 01 tool steel to try my first attempt at forging high carbon steel. was this a good choice or should i savwe it for later and try something else.

Brother I hear ya on the budget thing. my setup is on the back porch, wife is making me build a shed to get it out of her way. I have only been doing this about three months. The only problem is it is so addicting. Where did you find those tongs for such a good price. i got a pair of wolf jaws and they cost about 3x that with shipping. It is amazing what a little bit of imagination and outside the box thinking can produce. i love the twist on the knife handle.

Hey everybody, I am new to the whole forging thing. I have been doing it since mid july. made my forge from a brinks smoker and cast iron sink. Picked uop the anvil at Harbor freight with some hammers and have been banging away ever since. Glad I found this page. Thought I might post the first four knives I have made and see what advice I can get. The drop point and skinner are both made from 1/2 inch rebar and the other two are both RR spikes. Still working on the heat treating and hardening. Thanks.