Hey Frosty thanks for the words of wisdom. I didn't even plan on wire brushing the face, at least not with my powerful 9" angle grinder. Maybe I'd trust a drill wire brush attachment with that task, something that wouldn't have near enough power to do any harm. I've also got a 1" ball bearing on the way but I won't drop that from any serious height on it. Unfortunately I have to wait for a coming move before I get this situated on a stump or wood block and get to really using it. But it does free up that stainless stock for mill work if I want.
I did the tap test as I said, up and down the face and on the horn and tail. To my untrained ear, there were no dead spots but you're right I could be missing subtleties. I'll do a pseudo drop test with that 1" ball bearing while it's still in my trunk (it'll probably sit at a self storage, with a coat of oil, between now and my move) and see.
True, thanks. I added my location but it for some reason has no space between the town name and "Location".
Isn't there another strategy for getting sharper edges where you make (forge? mill?) a block with a knob that fits in one of the face holes? Hardy hole, that's the term.
And a last question, the numbers near the waist, to me it looks like "L 3 70" or "L 3 72" Are those meant to be the weight or year of manufacture? Thanks again guys.