Greebe Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I have had a rough time with blacksmithing this past year. I had a tendon in my right arm rupture in September of '09, which leaked fluid into my arm creating a large shooter marble sized bump under the skin. It took most of this past year to heal and I have been holding off doing any blacksmithing from fear of re-injuring this tendon. I have been blacksmithing here and there since I was a kid, but still consider myself a beginner because I haven't been able to do much of it over the years from moving all over the country all the time. My wife and I now own a house so I have been getting a real set up finally. Pretty much the only things that I have made at the anvil has been tools and hardware. I have made wood working tools for log cabin building and carving such as chisels, gouges, draw knives, drill bits and so forth. As far as hardware goes, I just have made things for around the house and cabin, like hooks, fireplace pokers, spikes and nails, things like that. Anyways, I wanted to do some easy first projects to get back into the swing of things and to get my arm used to swinging a hammer again. So I decided to make a leaf and try my hand at making a knife from coil spring. So far so good. The arm feels fine and the projects turned out OK. This was the first time for me to make either of these projects, and I only had a few hours to work, so I am happy with the way things turned out. Anyways, enough jibber jabber, here are the photos: Greebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquamanlr Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I think they are great. LeeRoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greebe Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 Hey thanks. I want to try making another knife like that one, but bigger. Maybe go for a skinner or drop point style for something different. I think I will do the handle part that acts as a guard a little different though. I would also like to try making some feathers. I think that would be fun. I just need to ease into my hammer arm though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Good luck with your arm, Greebe. Your hammering looks like it did not suffer. Good job. Keep working on strengthening the arm and keep posting pix. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Glad to see you are swingin a hammer again. Your work looks great! Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greebe Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 Thanks for the comments. I used the knife last night for cutting up some apples and chicken for a BBQ. It cuts as well or better than the nice kitchen knives we have. I'm looking forward to getting to do some more projects soon. I hope the arm will hold out, because I really enjoy smithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Hopfinger Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Reading about your elbow makes me wince just thinking about it. Make sure you are doing any stretching that your doctor recommends and go easy. The projects look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLG Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Glade to hear your elbow is healing nicely. Three and a half years ago I suffered a detached tendon in my right arm. It was a work related injury. I lifted a sheet of 3/4 plywood improperly. It took about two and a half years to feel normal again. I did have the tendon reattached. I am an office "rat" so my day job is sitting at a computer all day. I do a lot of construction work on the side, but did not do much during that healing time. I am now into a heavy remodel and have a lot of demo work to do. I have been swinging the hammer a lot, both sledge and hand. I am happy to say the arm is working as good as it ever did. I reason I mention all of this is because I want to get back into smithing. I was an industrial blacksmith helper in the 1970s and recently have had a real desire to start forging again. I was worried that the heavy hammering would be too much for my arm, but that does not seem to be the case. I am looking forward to building a forge in the next year or so and start hammering some iron. BTW, nice knife and leaf. My interests are in knifes and hawks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick C Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Well done you, just take it easy and get into the "swing" again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 For only spending a couple hours and especially after a long injury related lay off those both look more than great! I've been on the rocovery wagon and know how it feels to finally make something, anything after being disabled for a while. My first return project was a little Fredric's cross for the wife of a local farrier who was nearly killed in an accident. Being able to once again do to iron and steel in a controlled way is important psychically and spiritually. Welcome back Brother, looking good! Frosty the Lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 looks good, just listen to your body, don't push yourself too hard!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Hey Greebe, Real nice work, especially for being away from it for so long! Did you play "Back in the Saddle Again" while you were hammering away? Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greebe Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 Hey thanks again for the compliments. I was going to try to do some more work today, but just got home from a friends wedding. After spending all day doing the wedding thing, I think I am going to lounge about. Do any of you guys have any recommendations for not injuring myself again? I hear that the Hofi method is good for people with injuries to their arms. I thought about looking into that. I want to be able to have many years at the forge. Thanks Greebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.