From start to finish

K.C. · May 26, 2013

Just wanted to share some pics from start to finish with you guys. A while back I met a guy who had some fire brick I wanted so I could heat treat my first straight razor. Turns out he was moving and needed to let go of some other stuff too. He gave me a small section of RR track, an anvil stump, and the brick. He tried to buy the razor but it wasn't done and I always keep the first of any thing I make. Turns out the stump was a massive chunk of hard wood that came from a bridge demo. The bridge connected Texas and Oklahoma. It weighs about 250 pounds... It was uneven but worked well with the RR track. I had the track milled flat and fastened it to the stump with RR spikes. I recently found an anvil. It has a 7/8's hardy hole and is a hundred pounder only marked with a protruding M. If I drop a ball bearing from 18 inches it rebounds to 17 inches. I love it. I was reading some forums and learned about the router sled trick. My father came over with his router, we made the sled and went to town. After a few hours of work on the stump and enough saw dust to cover the state she was flat and true. I also countersunk the anvil base 3/8'ths. I then put a red mahogany stain on top and coated the sides and top with a clear stain/sealer. I re worked my hammer hangers and re organized them in order of use and preference. The pics are from start to finish. All the black hammers are ones I have made and the rest are my favorites I use all the time. The next to last pic if of my first three RR spike bottle openers. First time to forge anything. They get better every time I make one. Learning every time I swing a hammer. The last pic is my RR track re homed on a new stump with tie plates for extra working room and a 15 pound ASO.