I've been working on making a lot of small, quickly forged pieces to sell, these are a few of them.  Some railroad spike utensils, a hasp for a shed or gate, and a Viking-era fire striker.  The striker is made from a spring-tooth harrow.  I had tried making them from some coil springs I have but I was having trouble with cracks, these harrow teeth forge better, spark great, and I haven't had any crack during forging yet.

Greetings Nick,

 

Nicely done.... It's fun to do smalls ... I try to have a few on hand for the visitors as a gift...... ( the ones I like)  It always amazed me that this is the type of hand forged stuff that sells the best...   Did you punch or drill your hasp?   Keep up the great work...

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

I have seen some really nice knives and some not so nice knives made from spikes. It is refreshing, however, to see nice things besides knives made from rr spikes. Very nice, in deed, Nick!!

You do nice work! Amazed at all the things folks think up to make with RR Spikes. I like yours!

Dave

Thanks.  I drilled this hasp, but I think I'll punch and drift the next one.  Donald Streeter has a neat punch for making slots in his Professional Smithing book.

More nice stuff Nick. It's the kind of thing I see selling at public events. Everybody can identify the source and see the transformation making the forging process real and personal.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

You just made amazing forged stuff. Do you have some basic rules or like techniques in forging? What works best for you?

I don't think my technique is unique, though we all have our own unique methods and styles.  One thing I do, though, is I always upset the point of a railroad spike back, not to completely remove the taper but to make it easier to shape the end as needed.

 

Here's a couple things from today, another fire striker and an 18th century, colonial American skewer set.

They all look great and functional. Like the organic and rough look of your products. Can't beat making own custom tools. Great job!