We got a new one here.

[mind taker]

Hi you guys have a new smith here.

 

I always wanted to get into blade and knifesmithing and finally got into it this spring.

I don't have the best tools extra. But my work is good considering that.

I mosty forge railroad knives but have plans to make a oil drum froge so I can make biger swords.

Right now I have a steel fire pit grill with a blower on the bottom. Which limits the size of metal I can work with. :(

 

Anyway here is some of my work. nothing special but I'm still abit new to this.

[ThomasPowers]

welcome; a lot of folks get started using spikes; but you do know that RR clips have up to double the carbon content as the spikes right?  And the rail is a good moderately high carbon steel too.  So if you want to do RR knives spikes are the last choice in my mind.

 

Car coil and leaf spring are another good beginner material to get you used to forging harder metals and allowing you to practice your heat treating too.

[mind taker]

welcome; a lot of folks get started using spikes; but you do know that RR clips have up to double the carbon content as the spikes right?  And the rail is a good moderately high carbon steel too.  So if you want to do RR knives spikes are the last choice in my mind.

 

Car coil and leaf spring are another good beginner material to get you used to forging harder metals and allowing you to practice your heat treating too.

I use spikes mostly because they are cheap and easy to get. 20$ can get you upto 25 spikes.

There more for fun and practice then to use. I made a few tools out of the spikes to, but they stay outside in the forge. I done some basic heat treatment with RR spikes too, not that it make a big difference.

 

I'm planning to buy some 1045 and 1060 to make more short swords. That and I'm getting into smelting as well. Starting with aluminum and working my way up. I may melt my first batch of aluminum this week end if the weather is dry.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you'll discover how many if the IFI gang live within visiting distance. It'll save you a bunch of headaches if you can hook up face to face. One afternoon with an experienced smith is worth weeks or more of figuring it out yourself.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Robert Yates]

I guess as they Say the Proof is in the Pudding .

 

Good luck with your Endeavors Young man 

 

Sam

[Steve Sells]

I use the same size fire to make swords as S hooks, and you may have a bitt of a problem smelting in a small forge thats true, but do you really mean smelting? and i never knew people could smelt aluminum small scale.

[ThomasPowers]

Note that Melting and Smelting are TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS!

 

Smelting is starting with ore and reducing it to metal.

Melting is starting with metal and making liquid metal from it.

 

Smelting of Al is usually done with an electric process requiring things like the TVA to produce massive amounts of cheap electricity.

 

Melting Al is fairly trivial and is often the gateway metal for getting into foundry work being easy to source and melting at a lower temperature than brass/bronze, copper silver, gold, platinum, steel, etc.

 

Note that liquid metal can be much more hazardous than steel 500 degF hotter!  Hot steel tends to drop toward the center of the earth, molten metal can and will come back at you with the least excuse of moisture---a drop of sweat falling into a mold or crucible can put you in the hospital and solve all your halloween options for the rest of your life.

 

If you have not worked with molten metal I strongly suggest taking a class, (I took and Out of Hours class in brass casting at a local University 30 years ago), or finding a local person doing casting IN A SAFE MANNER and learn from them.