dickb

The short answer is NO.  It will be soft and weak in  the area you heated. In this state you would have a SSO (shovel shaped object)

It would need to be properly heat treated to function as a shovel. It was heat treated by professionals at the factory when it was manufactured. An experienced blacksmith might (repeat might} be able to do it,

A "forger" is the person who prints counterfeit money or maybe paints a very good copy of another artist's work and signs it with the artist's name.

A person who makes knives might be called a blade smith, a cutler or maybe a blacksmith.

A hammer or an axe  is a serious piece of work, definitely not a doodad (Doodad definition, a decorative embellishment; trinket; bauble:)

You should probably start with  a piece of mild steel (AISI grades 1005 through 1025) and learn to forge it in to a taper.

Some shapes you might begin with are :
a four sided pyramid on the end of a square bar
a cone at the end of a square bar
a four sided pyramid at the end of a round bar
a cone at the end of a round bar.

The picture is a little confusing. It looks like a top view of a cast iron stove. Is that what it is?

I don't think it's suitable . You need to do a little research on how to build a simple forge, Either on Google or here on Iforgeiron.com  .

I am assuming you are referring to smithing coal, not anthracite.
I usually use smithing coal, nut sized bituminous coal because it is available around here, On a few occasions I have used commercial coke.  Coal leaves a lot more clinkers and ash than coke, Converting raw coal to coke in your forge throws off a lot of smoke and stink . All that smoke and impurities is money going up the chimney,  You paid for it but It doesn't heat the iron. With coke all the heat stays right where you want it, in the firepot.   I have also used anthracite in the forge, It burns, but it doesn't coke up ( fuse together into lumps) like  bituminous coal,  It just lays there like hot gravel   The only negative thing about coke is that it's harder to start. I once heard a blacksmith say he could start the forge fire with a greasy rag. I tried this and it actually worked with smithing coal.

The bottom line is coke has a lot of advantages over coal . Buy a bag of each and compare them .

As a matter of curiosity, how much does coal or coke cost where you live.  Around here it costs about twelve dollars for a forty pound bag.

I live in Rockland County, New York

Very nice.

Wire brushing is  good idea to clean up before wax or paint, but I suggest a hand held wire brush. Safe, inexpensive, and easy to use.

Will never snag in anything.

Punching isn't too hard, Here's how.

Heat the work to orange / yellow . Put the business end of the punch on the spot where you want to punch.  and strike  it one or two times . Then dip the tip of he punch in water to cool it. Repeat this a few times, reheating as needed to keep the work hot.

After a few repetitions you will feel the punch bottoming out, What I mean by bottoming out is it will feel a little less like striking hot iron and more like striking cold iron or the anvil face directly. Try a few times on scrap iron and you will feel the Bottoming out.  Turn the work over after bottoming out and you will see the spot where the iron has been squashed against the anvil . It may be cooler, or maybe shinier but it will be noticeable . Put the punch on this spot and strike it .  You will knock out a small slug of iron. 

A few cautions:
1. The business end of the punch must be flat, not a  center punch.
2. When you are punching from the second side, position work so the hole  you are punching is over the Pritchel hole. You want to protect the punch and the anvil face.
3. Commercial punches are made with the head of the punch slightly soft so they will not shatter when struck with a hardened hammer head. Pay attention to this when you make your own punches, Making a few (or a lot of) punches is good practice for a new blacksmith.
4. It's much easier to punch holes while the work is still flat, before you make the bend.

If I forgot something, I am sure someone will notice and comment.

Good luck and keep on punching.

I would like to quit using oil as a quench fluid for a variety of reasons:
stink
mess when somebody knocked the container over.

I am using 1040, 1084, and 1095 and would like to  change to water or brine.

The work is generally knife blades, approximately 1 inch wide X  6 to 10 inches long X 1/4 inch thick at the spine. 

Question 1.....   How much salt should I use to make the brine?

Question 2.....  Is there a simple rule of thumb how warm the quench should be?

A good source of steel is a local welders shop or a shop that makes iron railings and/or  fences. They always have short lengths that they throw away. When you get to the point where you need carbon steels , garages and any place that repairs cars are a good source. They routinely scrap springs, sway bars, etc, etc. . Some blacksmiths scorn on using scrap, but it's a whole lot cheaper than buying new material.

Bring along and show them some of your work, even if you are not satisfied with it. Nine times out of ten they will help.

There are dozens (hundreds?) of videos on YouTube, A lot of good information.

Might be a good idea if you mention where you live, City and State. Then other members can help you locate coal/steel, etc etc.

PS the tong half is a lot better than my first, and I had help from a professional blacksmith

Gentlemen

Are you are standing too close to the fire. ?

The erectors tapered drift/hole aligner is sometimes called a Bull Pin.

I have a couple of them, Both are tapered,  one round and one slightly oval

Before rebuilding the forge, you could try loading it up with as much fuel as it will hold and reducing the air blast.

It is generally considered,  by most blacksmiths,  that applying the hammer to your thumb is bad luck.

Ditto any piece of red hot iron to any part of one's body.

Did anyone notice the high carbon steel bit is wrapped abound the head of the axe and then welded ?

This is shown around four minutes into the video. .

What are the pros and cons of this method ?

You can check Admiralty Steel    (  http://www.admiralsteel.com/   ) or  New Jersey Steel Baron  (   http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/  )

Both carry all types of carbon and/alloy steel.

Both will ship.

I anything fails in the long overall process, then you have wasted a lot of time, effort, Fuel, etc.

I suggest you put it  aside and  consider it a lesson.

You are better off starting with a piece of steel closer to what you are making.

Many stores who rent equipment don't repoint work jackhammer bits. They throw them away.

For a big store, like Walmart it isn't worth their time and effort so they so the price is right (free).

Digger bars are great.
I have bought two or three at flea markets for about five dollars each. That works out to about a dollar per foot.

A holdfast will keep the iron from jumping around. Here's one that's pretty  easy to make:

Get a piece of chain, Motorcycle chain is ideal, but any non galvanized chain will work.

Attach one end to the anvil base on the far side of the anvil.

Drape the chain over the anvil and hang  a heavy weight to the free end of the chain.

To use it, you just slip the hot iron under the chain.  You should allow some extra chain in case you have to adjust it. Maybe even attach some kind of handle to make lifting the chain easier.  You can use an S hook to attach the heavy weight to the chain so it will be adjustable, a nice touch bun not absolutely required

A couple of comments and suggestions. 

Rebar is not a good good choice,The properties vary too much.

A railroad spike is a pretty big piece of iron to punch through.

Before attempting to punch anything that big you should practice on something a little easier. I suggest mild steel. You can find it at a local welding shop or a shop that makes railings of a Home Depot/Lowes/Ace Hardware. Just make sure it’s not zinc plated (galvanized). Try to get somthing about a quter of an inch thick and about an inch or more wide. Also try for somthing long enough so you won't need tongs. 

As to technique, 

Heat the iron to bright orange or yellow. If you get a lot of sparking when you take the iron out of the fire, that’s too hot and you’re burning it. 

Use a center punch to mark the spot where you want to punch the hole.  You can do this hot or cold. Doing it cold allows more accurate 

placement, hot leaves a deeper impression. Cool the punch frequently.. 

Put the punch on the center marked spot and strike it a couple of times and cool the punch again. 

Repeat this a few more times until the iron begins to cool. Remember bright orange or yellow. Turn the iron over and look at the side that was touching the anvil. 

After a few repetitions you will see a flat dark (cooler) spot. Punch this spot a couple of times and then slide the iron to put spot over the pritchel hole or even the hardy hole.

Put the punch over the center of the spot and strike it a couple more times. You might have to repeat this a couple more times, punching from both sides. 

A nice little slug will be knocked out.

Remember to keep the iron hot and the punch cool and punch a few holes in the blat bar before attempting the railroad spike. 

Now here’s something you might use the rebar for. Draw it out to a round taper about an inch or two long and grind or file a flat tip, maybe a quarter of inch diameter. 

You can try using this as a punch without hardening it. 

When someone advertises  "I use traditional and modern methods" he is trying to give  the reader the idea that he is just like  "The Village Blacksmith"  (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) . Strong, Honest, Trustworthy, etc., etc.

It is not impossible that he is actually one or some  of these.

My definition of traditional methods excludes tools that require electricity.

Traditional style is harder to define. There are some pieces that are clearly traditional and others that are clearly not.
I think traditional style is more in the eye or mind of the person looking at the work.

.

It's called a Brick chisel. 

Brick Chisel. Also called a bolster or brick set, the brick chisel is used to make smooth cuts on bricks. Rough cutting of brick is usually done with a brick hammer (which has a chisel-like blade opposite the face of the hammer).

Cutting a brick with a brick set isn’t complicated. Position the chisel perpendicular to the brick, with the straight side of the cutting edge facing the end of the brick to be used. Strike the handle of the chisel with a small sledge or club hammer, hard enough to score the brick but not to shatter it. Score the brick on all sides, then strike it once more to break the brick in two.

The waist behind the faces makes it look pretty. Then you can sell them for a higher price. 

I am using Rutland black furnace cement thinned with water to clay a blade.
I will be using a few thin coats instead of a single thick coat.  
First attempt at claying.

Can anyone suggest (approximately) how thick to apply it.
I know I may have to experiment a little, but I'd like to have an idea where to start,

I am interested in differential hardening, making a hamon is not an issue.

Never had a crack on anything I quenched in oil (just plain used engine oil) . I am using 1084, 1095 , automobile leaf and coil springs.

But I did crack a couple of pieces edge quenching in water. 

It's disappointing to crack a piece after putting a lot of work into it so I am sticking to oil quenching. 

I have read a few articles about using clay or Rutland black furnace cement to differential heat treat a blade.  I am going to try that on some blades where I am not satisfied with the shape as forged. 

Would it be possible to post a description of the steps used to make this beautiful piece..

I've made a few knives and lots of flint and steel strikers.

Some of the knives are 1084 and some are 1095. The strikers were made from worn out files.

The blade  are about 6 inches long not counting the tang. Some hidden tang, some full tang. The blade height is usually about one inch.

I would like to try making a knife with the spine hard enough to throw sparks when struck with a piece of flint.

Does anyone have a suggestion how to heat treat a blade so the edge and spine are hard and leave some softer steel near the middle to reduce the overall brittleness?

I would probably go with the leaf spring unless it is grossly too large. It already has a cross section similar to that of the draw knife and it's uniform in cross section.

The drawknife front to back dimension isn't critical, nor is the thickness. The main thing is the working edge.

In stead of forging the handles from the ends of the blade, you might consider forging he handles separately and then riveting them to the blade.