No worries Chopper re: the warm up...what about some photos so's I can check the progress and so's I can get an idea about when I'll need to consult the copyright lawyer...only gaggin'... you just have fun...you too So-Steve

my nickels worth. 1/4" rod. Cut about 10-15 pieces about 14-16" long. Draw the ends square and then round again for tips. Make a small loop on the end, and then turn hook. Do this both ends. You now have short woman hooks to hang flower pots from ( tall ceilings inside house ). If you wish, you can forge a section in the center of the hook square, and then twist this. Working with small stock like this makes you appreciate the fire and no tongs needed ( unless you in a gasser ).

G'Day again ,
AP Man ,bloke , i's only type as i's talk mate .

Strine , when youse comin' up again ? And as for the leaves , mate i can't make em as good as you ( yet )

Dale Russell ( aka ) chopper

:o Woah, so many accents.

Chopper: Thanks for the practice tips. The leaf thing sounds like a good idea, it's something I've been trying to practice anyway. Maybe I won't exactly go for tapering down to those sizes like that, might bore me up a bit, though I have no doubt they would be helpful. I will take your advice about heat and missing hammer swings. Sometimes it does get to the point where I can't left a hammer anymore after about a good 6-7 hours of work. Better to take a rest and call it a day than lose some fingers .

Apprentice: An hour and a half? Boy, that's close. Yeah, I woulda told ya to say hi to Tom for me, but I guess it's a little late now . Tom's a really good guy.

Ten Hammers: Unfortunately, I do use a gas forge, but no worries, I need to practice with tongs actually. I wish I had a coal forge, much more fun, but neighbors don't like not being able to see into my backyard . That hook idea sounds pretty good though, I've been dieing to work on some little scrolls as I need to choke up on the hammer more. I'll get it eventually!

Thanks guys, keep'em coming, you've all been a big help whether I've taken your advice or not. Also, I was thinking, just to help me with handling tongs, I'm probably going to just go walking around for a day with tongs and do all more normal stuff with tongs, just to build tong control. Sound good?

Something that might help with your patience a bit. If you have trouble getting a gas forge up to heat, use it to your advantage. Try putting in 2 or three pieces and alternating which ones you are working on. In coal I wouldn't recommend it as it's too easy to get some high heat and make a puddle. But for a gas forge that's not designed well enough to get it hot enough to melt, why not make the best of it?


remind me and i'll try to post some pictures of the puddles i've made later:o

hey steve ,

try making some simple tongs to get a good feel for your hammer . after that try to make some horse shoes . this worked very good for me when i was starting smithing

Dave (Netherlands)

Steve Where You Been Man!?

I am going to bring this thread back to the top so beginners can benefit from the material discussed there.

Drason: Huh, that's a pretty cool way of making a fuller. I might try something similar or totally different, but I need to make one soon. Your idea gave me a few of my own, so I'll definetly try a few things.
if you live near a railroad or near a railroad town ( rail yards) see if you can locate a few railroad spikes. great carbon steel, excellent for knife makinf and other stuff.also
sometimes there are pieces of rail track sliced off in thin segments laying around. these can be modified into fullers and such. i think there is blueprint in anvilfire files.
buzz

RR spikes are *NOT* excellent for knifemaking:
American Railway Engineering Association's Specifications for Soft-Steel Track Spikes. Original document, 1926, revised last in 1968

Two classes of track spikes are given specifications, both low carbon and high carbon. Two sizes of track spike are identified, one of 5/8 inch square shaft and one of 9/16 inch.

Page 5-2-1. "A low carbon track spike will not contain greater than 0.12% carbon nor greater than 0.20% copper.

Page 5-2-2 Section 11. Marking. A letter or brand indicating the manufacturer shall be pressed on the head of each spike while it is being formed. When copper is specified, the letters "CU" shall be added.

Page 5-2-3: Specifications for high carbon steel track spikes 1968. Carbon not greater than 0.30%, nor greater than 0.20% copper.

Page 5-2-5 Section 11. Marking: A letter or brand indicating manufacturer and also the letters "HC" indicating high carbon, shall be pressed on the head of each spike while it is being formed. When copper is specified, the letters "CU" shall be added."
---

So a "high carbon" RR spike is at *most* at the very lower edge of medium carbon steels.

Now a regular car coil spring will generally have *twice* the carbon of a "high carbon" spike. An old black diamond file will have *four times* the carbon of a RR spike.

RR spikes are cheap and available but not excellent for knifemaking. (though they are a acceptable alloy for rough duty throwing knives) I would go with coil spring and learn to work with carbon steels.

Coil springs are also available in countries that use concrete sleepers (rr ties)