Chimaera

Yes, it was certainly a big mess. Many people don't realize just how long the egyptian empire lasted. The actual empire went for two or three times as long as the Romans and certainly had complexities throughout that entire time (nevermind the period before it was really an "empire")I read a book called The Last Man Who Knew Everything about Thomas Young, a polymath who was one of the people to really crack heiroglyphics. One other "egyptologist" translated a group of glyphs as such "The protection of Osiris against the violence of Typho must be elicited according to the proper rites and ceremonies by sacrifices and by appeal to the tutelary Genii of the triple world in order to ensure the enjoyment of the prosperity customarily given by the nile against the violence of the enemy Typho". Who knows what that is even supposed to mean. Turns out it was simply a cartouche, the name of a pharoah or other important person (don't remember who precisely). The previous guy had just made it all up.

I'd forgotten about Atenism. Fascinating period. My understanding is that Egypt was never truly monotheistic under Amun-Ra, but rather Amun-Ra was thought to be so powerful and important that the other gods were considered to be minor deities of little importance. 

Frosty, what are your thoughts on the triangle M? Just trying to get opinions on different options. I also tried a smaller M inside but I like this version more. I personally like either this or the AMON, but would appreciate others' inputs before biting the bullet. Both have some merits.

Aamon is also a demon described by Johan Weifer in the Pseudomonarchia daemonum in 1583. It is described as having the "likeness of a Wolf, having a serpents tail, [vomiting] flames of fire". The name is adapted from the egyptian Amon and/or Ba'al Hammon of Phoenicia.

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

AMUN is a more accepted translation of the ancient Egyption  "God King". IIRC adding Amun as the suffix to Egyptian king's names started with TutankhAmun

Yes, the egyptians loved to mix things. For example, Amun was a very old deity. Then they moved over to ra as the king of the gods, and eventually just mixed them together to form Amun-Ra. Some egyptologists have even suggested that it could be considered a largely monotheistic religion during the period of Amun-Ra, as he was so much more important than any of the other gods. Similarly they'd throw Amun on as a suffix, like you pointed out.

My initials are AKM but my last name starts with Mon which is why I was considering that. My understanding is that Amun is a more common spelling but Amon is also widely accepted. I have been exploring the M inside a triangle idea as well, I think it has some merit.

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

I had to look that one up and it changed my thoughts. Inverted seems to be a requirement to the form. So the question here is, is inverted necessary to YOUR logo / touchmark? 

Not certain what you mean by this. Could you expand?

Jennifer,

I will probably order some online. I’ve looked into custom vinyl ones. Still trying to decide on a logo though. I think my last name is too long, so I’m trying to decide what they should be. I’m looking at my initials (AKM), AMON (first initial and first few letters of my last name, also Egyptian King of the gods before ra) mor a more abstract logo. I’ve been using a basic Sierpinski triangle as my touch mark. May continue with that but wondering if it would be easier to trace words/letters back to me. Open to any suggestions.

Made a redneck electro etcher. Not variable or anything, but it does a good job (forgot to get pictures of any of the test pieces). Thinking it probably shouldn't be too dangerous, but we'll see. Need to order some good stencils now.

Nautilus is looking great! Did a bit more work on this one… bone still needs some more degreasing. Also need advise for the transition. I’m thinking this will be more decorative than functional, and the vibe I’m going for is “sacrificial dagger”. I think I might torch the bone. Considering a sinew wrap, but not sure.

On 9/23/2023 at 10:08 PM, JHCC said:

ried out the electric etcher I got from the industrial surplus place:

Looks good. How much was that? I've been thinking of switching from a touchmark to an electroetcher... It's easy to electromark with just a 9V but deep etching requires DC. Thinking of making a DC converter from an old laptop cord, but don't know if it's worth the time, money, risk etc.

Thanks frosty, but no job offer for me?? 

Looking good everyone. Quadstate was a blast, I met up with some guys from the Cincy Blacksmiths' Guild and got an opportunity to do some forging with them. Mine are on the top, my father's (with a bit of help from yours truly) are on the bottom. Was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to do some with my dad. I got a bit overly fancy and tried to do a leaf on my bottle opener. Do not like how that turned out, and additionally I accidentally made it left handed. Will probably cut off the leaf, clean it up a bit, and give it to one of my lefty friends.

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Ahhh, that is SO much easier to see Chimera. The paring knife looks pretty good but shouldn't we wait till you finish the Kris before opining?

Not sure when that'll happen. I'd like to use that deer radius as part of the handle but it still needs a good cleaning. And also I hate working with bone so might procrastinate on it. Glad the other stuff is looking good, my things have come a long way.

3 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Welp, off to Quadstate

Heading there as soon as I finish classes. Hope to see you there.

John, I guess that could work. It looks halfway inbetween a persian and a kris. I guess that's what happens when I get bored.

7 hours ago, Irondragon Forge ClayWorks said:

Your link is not working.

Thank you. 

SOrry to hear that Goods, welds didn't take or something else? Heat treated a pair of neck knives, forged and HT this abomination (kris dagger?), and made this little paring knife as a thank you to someone for some wood. My first time trying a saya, a bit tricky but lots of fun. Can't wait for quadstate after classes tomorrow!

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been trying to keep the eye round throughout the process, but it makes sense that that would make it much harder to get a good weld. Hopefully the next one works out if I can't make this one happen.

Goods and Jennifer, great tomahawks from both of y'all. I'm still on my 4th (5th?) attempt with no luck yet. Praying this one will take, but not too hopeful. It's welded in the middle but not anywhere else.

Jennifer, love the spoon and fork. I've been trying to make a copper coffee scoop for months, but just can't get a good bowl. Did you use a swage block?

4 hours ago, JHCC said:

Rather happy with the texturing tool,

Hey, that result looks an awful lot like most of my forging when I forget to brush my workpieces!

It's a bit rough but it's definitely an owl, and definitely a lot better than whatever I could do.

Took y'alls words to heart, started to clean up the garage and think about what I really want to make. Decided it's about time I try a bottle opener, especially with my brother's 21st coming up. Think I'll probably do a classic flat one and put a hammered bronze scale on it. My anvil horn is a little flat and I don't have a cone hardy, but I think I should be able to figure it out. At least hopefully.

That'd be great if you can make it! I don't really know anyone who has any smithing experience so it would be really good to talk to some people who do.

Looks great John!

I've been all over the place: set some mokume welds then lost interest. Thought I finally was able to set the welds on a tomahawk (this is probably my 5th attempt) but nope, it's coming apart. Got frustrated with a short sword project. Got distracted and burnt the end off a small knife that was supposed to be a present. All in all, pretty unproductive. Just feeling a bit burnt out, and I get lonely when I forge by myself.

I plan on going to quadstate this year, hoping that meeting some folks and seeing peoples work will help reignite some of that spark and get me back in the groove.

Thanks for the info George. That definitely makes sense. Yes, I where a mask whenever I remember but I think sometimes my disposable masks don’t seal well or are just not up to snuff. They’re also very uncomfortable and cause lots of fogging, so that’s another reason I’m looking for a better respirator. 

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

whiff of sulfur or phosphate smoke which turns to sulfuric or phosphoric acid

That's what I was wondering. My understanding is that anthracite generally doesn't contain much sulfur or phosphorus, but probably enough that especially if I'm forgewelding I might get a whiff sometimes. I generally don't smell the sulfur, but it would make sense for it to be one of those. If it is sulfuric acid, it is definitely an issue in large concentrations, but at the concentrations and frequencies I'm dealing with it shouldn't be too harmful.

Thanks for the help Das. I was going to get some extra cartridges so I can swap them out when need be.

Yes, I only forge outside unfortunately. Would love to have a shop indoors but no luck.

Makes sense. Thanks Frosty. Currently I don't have a source of coal (forgot to buy some at Tractor Supply before they stopped for the season) so I may end up just using propane anyway this summer haha. Have calling some people about it on my to do list. Not sure when I'll get to it though, been pretty hectic recently. ]

95% of the time I don't have any issues, but then I occasionally just get a moment of almost feeling like I have mild chemical irritation in my throat (think what it feels like when you get a big whiff of boiling vinegar) when forging with the coal. It isn't that bad and only lasts a few seconds, but I have to imagine it's an indicator of possibly more serious issues. Haven't had it with propane so I figured it was some impurity in my coal burning off. I use anthracite.

Thomas- I did look at those, and while they look excellent, at over $1000 (for all the ones I saw) that would make it more expensive than my entire setup for forging, grinding, and woodworking combined. However, if I am simply looking at the wrong things, don't hesitate to correct me haha.

Frosty- I figured that the coal fumes would be a different canister from the grinding. While I usually don't have issues, I do sometimes feel a little ill after forging (though that may be due to fatigue). I also think that I end up with a bit of coal dust from whenever I'm adding fuel. Perhaps I should just wear something whenever I'm getting to the bottom of my bag? I couldn't get a beard even if I wanted to, so that's not an issue.

Das- Thanks for the recommendation. It looks like a good option. I looked at a couple threads on IFI but weren't exactly what I was looking for. I can look again.
 

John- I saw your thread on the Resp-O-Rator. I looked around and found the website, but nowhere that they are for sale.

Thanks for your help everyone!

After doing some grinding yesterday, I took off my N95 mask and was horrified to see how filthy it was. When I blew my nose, it was black. Needless to say, I'm now rethinking my personal protective equipment (PPE) choices.

I know that many of you don't do as much grinding, but I'm hoping to get some recommendations for a respirator that's suitable for forging and grinding. I think I would prefer a full-face respirator over a half-face one with goggles because it's less likely to fog up and I won't be as tempted to just use eye protection without a mask. However, I don't have any experience with either, so I'm open to suggestions.

While I do my forging outside where it's well-ventilated, there are still occasional fumes from burning coal, so I want to make sure I'm protected. I assume that the style and cartridges needed for coal fumes are similar to those used for welding, but I thought I'd ask for advice from those who are doing similar work.

I don't have a lot of money to spend, but I know that investing in my safety is always worthwhile. After all, a $100 respirator is much cheaper than a $900,000 lung transplant. Thanks in advance for any recommendations or advice you can offer.

Chimaera

Started in on another paring knife and got a hidden tang hunting knife rough forged. That is, before the tang melted... Thought I was finally getting the hang of this. No pictures.