most difficult forging

[medieval]

Last night a student asked me what was the most difficult thing I had ever forged. I just gave him a blank look. I am old enough, but I still don't have a good answer. I tend to think of an item, or a technique, rather than an "anything I haven't tried" type answer. Forge welding was hard to do, until I practised awhile. Same with damascus. Or something as (seemingly) simple as making the next piece the same as the last.
Making a quality knife is much the challenge, but the forging part isn't difficult. All the other processes have a long learning curve. Grinding, fitting, polishing, etc. What do you say????

[monstermetal]

Shoot thats easy, the hardest one is always the one I am about to do.... They are always easier looking back than looking forward.

[Frosty]

I'd say forging a painting is beyond me but I can't even sketch artistically.

Okay, a serious answer. I don't really know how to answer your question, I love it on the learning curve so having to learn a new technique is what I do this for. Well, next to getting to play with fire and hit things that is. Unfortunately since taking a batting lesson from a tree I just don't remember some of the little things. Things like what particular technique was harder or took longer to learn. I do remember the first time I got a forge weld to take, not how many times I tried first but what getting it was like. I remember most distinctly the color of the steel and how it splashed when I tipped it the first time. The most educational memory though was what happens to even a good weld if you beat it to pieces in your excitement. After I got my first one I didn't have any trouble welding, not now though, I'm still reteaching myself to forge including welding.

Stay away from trees!

Frosty the Lucky.

[Timothy Miller]

I just made a steel faced wrought iron hammer just to try it. It took me three tries to weld steel on. First time I could not get the barbs on the steel to grip the iron bar. Second time I burnt the steel. Third time It worked well. That is one of the harder things I have done. Im sure If I did it agian it would go a lot faster. I also made an acanthus leaf using just hammers and stakes in cold sheet iron. That was hard too.

[John B]

I also made an acanthus leaf using just hammers and stakes in cold sheet iron. That was hard too.

Thats why they are usually forged hot, If cold anneal first

[Timothy Miller]

I was working in 18 gauge enameling steel. No need to anneal this kind of steel it is almost pure iron. I was also worried about scaling as it was so thin. I took a class on french style stake repousse this was the method I was taught. It took about 6-7 hours to make a acanthus leaf.

[Rob Browne]

For me its making identical pieces in a set. Easy enough to make a one off but when you need multiple copies the same it really gets difficult.

[Sam Thompson]

For me its making identical pieces in a set. Easy enough to make a one off but when you need multiple copies the same it really gets difficult.

I'm afraid that my usual, slightly cynical, response to "art" is: "Very clever, now make 10 more the same.".
.

[Mainely,Bob]

I'm afraid that my usual, slightly cynical, response to "art" is: "Very clever, now make 10 more the same.".
.

That is my problem,making things match.I now settle on an "average" or a "consistent look" and make a few more than what I need knowing I`ll end up hanging the spares on the wall or recycling them when it comes to detailed or complex "art parts".
If I was after absolute matches then I guess I would put my time into making a set of dies and stamping them out like our neighbors to the East. :(

[ThomasPowers]

This depends a lot on what you are used too. I came into smithing through blademaking and so welding up billets always seemed a whole lot easier than forging a set of tongs.

In general I do small work so what has been the most difficult fairly recent project was forging some 2.5" stock into 36" shafts for medieval stake anvils as I was just not used to working that size---even borrowing the use of a series of powerhammer (mainly used a 100# LG and a 200# Chambersburg)

I'm definitely going to put in a small jib crane in my shop near the big forge and my small 65# powerhammer!

[Sam Thompson]

I think most of us would like to be able to make something that would make other smiths wonder how it was done. When I've made mine, it'll be the most difficult thing that I've ever made.

[Bentiron1946]

"What was the most difficult thing I had ever forged?"........Like most things that require some degree of skill it really hard to say. Now that I'm making some jewelry there are lots of difficult things to do, mainly just because I've never done them before. When I started my first job after the Navy as a civil engineer draftsman I didn't know a cosine from a sine because I'd never had geometry in high school so that was pretty difficult for the first couple of months but after that it was easy. It's the same with most anything, you start out dumb as mud and progress. A baby starts to raise up on it hands and knees, starts to crawl, starts standing, starts walking, then watch out! Same with forging, I still got my first little doodad, looks awful, not good at all but it was hot stuff at the time for me. It's all difficult if you never done any of it. Adding 2+2 is hard until you understand the concept behind it, once you have that, the foundational material, you one day will understand trigonometry. Simple forging skills like drawing out and such, foundational material, then one day you're Brian Brazeal or, God forbid, Grant Sarver who can and does forge anything. :blink:

[divermike]

I am currently struggling with punching and drifting "on the diamond", this has really gotten my attention, my buddy John Rausch has a piece of grill work he is doing entirely "on the diamond" so of course I had to give it a go, and so far it has kicked me to the curb hard!! Consecutive square corners seem pretty hard, and any repetative forging which numbs the mind is almost beyond me, but of course I do it only for fun, so no drive for $$$ is in effect in my shop, so I just say the heck with it if it becomes too aggrivating.