Chimaera

Looks good! I really like the bolster pin pattern.

Congrats TP! Took most of yesterday to get out to the forge. I had some... mixed results. While I was able to knock out a very nice little hunting knife, my other projects didn't go quite as well. A garden trowel I was making for my mother snapped. The tomahawk I had finished forging cracked and delayed during heat treat. A piece of 1x6” cable Damascus I was working on was all welded up beautifully before I accidentally left it in the fire too long and it burned. A lot of frustrations, but hopefully some lessons learned for next time, and the knife turned out well

Absolutely!

Les, whenever doing that, I would always over-correct, leading me to spin out and fall off.

Thomas, I think that you should send me some gold and silver just to test that theory. Might as well send a pair of Ti tongs while you're at it!

I figured that out the hard way

I must admit that even while following this sage advice I've caused several injuries. Turns out aluminum conducts heat. The more you know.

have you had the chocolate bourbon pecan fudge? Quite possibly the best fudge I’ve ever had.

When I was younger, my dad would often bring me back honey from his business trips. One time he brought me back ten little jars from France, each one from a different plant. The lightest one was rosemary- it was nearly clear, fairly runny, very sweet and light, with just a hint of rosemary flavor. I think my favorite one was from pine- it was completely black, incredibly thick, and had an almost smoky flavor. That is probably the best honey I've ever had, it was just so unique. My other favorite honey is ginger creamed honey. My father would always bring me back a jar when he went to stay with the monks at Gesthemani. It's so creamy, a bit spicy... truly delicious.

Well John, maybe it’s bad perspective, but it looks like that box will last you as long as my box lasted me.

Les- lovely job on that hawk! That curly maple is stunning!

TP- The primary reason is even if I can get some bituminous, the cheapest I've seen it is $.75/lb. There probably is a way to find it cheaper but Anthracite is under $0.15/lb, and I'm on a budget here. Also, my forge is not well designed for a coke cave. I may also be upgrading to a new coal forge or even a propane forge this summer, and I already have a bunch of anthracite that I need to use. I'll try to go to quad state this year, and if I'm still using a coal forge I'll probably try to pick some up there. I'll build up a lump fire and burn as low oxy as I can when I try the weld, but for general forging I've found the anthracite works well enough, even if it is a bit tedious with fire management.

Unfortunately I only have anthracite and lump charcoal, so coke is near impossible for me to produce. I also have to run my fire with really high oxygen to get welding temperatures, but I’ve done a bit of welding and it works ok

SHC- right now I’ve only got a 60 gal and a 10. Never tried saltwater, don’t plan too until I’ve got a bit more confidence and a lot more cash. Besides, I prefer freshwater fish for the most part- I think saltwater stuff can be a bit garish if you’re not careful. However, I’d love to some day keep cuttlefish or a mantis shrimp. I also definitely need some sharks and rays, though freshwater rays are lovely. I don’t know if our oceans will ever be fully known, but they are definitely making advances. Just the other day I heard about the scaly foot snail, or sea pangolin- it’s a type of snail that lives on hudrothermal vents and builds it’s shell out of iron coming from the vent. It lives in this tiny area and is threatened by the possibility of hydrothermal mining. It’s a crazy world.

I'll look at that- only issue is that would require making a lot more tooling that I don't own- chisels, slitters, and drifts. I'll figure something out. Still have a while before the world thaws.

I've always been fascinated with marine biology, and I think that the Chimaeriformes are some of the best animals ever. They are the little known relatives of sharks and rays- also called ghost sharks or ratfish, they mostly live in deep, cold waters, where they use their wide pectoral fins to glide across the substrate. I think these animals are just incredible, and more people need to know about them. Also, the Chimaera of greek mythology- an enigmatic mixture, an abomination of parts scalped from other creatures. I think that we are all chimaeras in a way. Also the spelling is fun =).

I don’t have any tattoos, but there’s one I may get at some point- a tape measure on the bottom edge of my arm. Not even something artistic or stylized- just simple, discreet lines and numbers. Handy for when you forget the tape measure while fishing (or doing anything else).

What do you mean by a clean fire? Is that saying without contaminants, or a reducing flame?

I typically keep my anvil inside, and I can throw some hot steel on it before I get welding. Also far too cold for me to do anything right now :). I will wait till it’s warmer before I do anything

I’ve got a little 1.25# ball peen I will try to use. Unfortunately, my coal forge is homemade and doesn’t have a good spot for my anvil. However, I can just stick the anvil a foot away and pivot. Now I just gotta wait for the weather to clear up

Ok, that makes sense. I have done a bit of forge welding, but not much. I think I’ll just try the 3/16 stock I have, and if that doesn’t work then I’ll buy some thicker stuff. I’ll just have to be careful and not let it cool down too much.

John, would upsetting the welding area to thicken it be advisable? Just to add a bit more meat there? Then the eye I can leave as the 3/16, and I can weld in a 1/4” spring bit.

Do you think that 3/16x1 1/4 would work? I guess I could try to thicken it a little, but I've got a bar sitting here that would be perfect if that's acceptable. I've also got leaf spring flowing out my ears, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Les- That's really neat! I don't think I'd ever heard of a mouse hawk before. I want to make a tomahawk but dont have the right flat bar right now. However, I think I could pull off a mousehawk and such a small one would probably be quicker and less material to mess with (I've got a small forge and not the best tongs). Also, I think I would be able to use one of that size for throwing at home. A full size might be a bit big for my small property. As far as your handle- I've torched all my hammers, and I LOVE it. It gives a great feel, and if you hold the flame back a bit and are careful, you can get your grain to really pop beautifully.

Dharris, yup, that's him! I think they're very cute, and they're really easy to take care of.