Not a hatchet

[Nobody Special]

So....one of the great freebies of scrap that you tend to end up with is the lawnmower blade, right? 

And most beginners tend to want to make a knife or a hatchet.  They're then promptly attacked on FB or wherever and it turns into an ugly discussion of the quality of scrap in general and lawnmower blades in particular.  But I think most people miss the point with lawnmower blades, i.e. it's a flat bar with holes in it.  So why not use it as such?

I've made knives out of lawnmower blades. Check block. Wrapped and welded hatchet? Check block. And if you're not sure of the steel, you can weld a bit in.....

Or....you can use it for coat racks, backings, brackets, bracings, hinges. Towel holders, Mini-chandaliers, your own Game of Thrones Iron Crown (king of the north!) .............anything you can imagine that you can make out of a flat bar with holes in it.

This one in particular is an easy beginners project. How do I know? My kids worked on this one. I helped. Hence the rustic, (okay, let's call it textured and asymmetrical. Be nice, they're kids. ) look.  You can also drift the middle a little and add a coin, pic, or slump glass for a nice effect.

[Michael Cochran]

I like it. Hopefully when my son gets old enough he'll wanna help in the shop so we can do neat little projects like that.

[Charles R. Stevens]

I do hope you are as proud of them I think you are.  Not only dose it look good, but it honors the traditions of our craft, from a time when iron and steel took 4 men a weeks work to make a couple of pounds. recycling is a core tradition of blacksmithing. I understand and respect cutlers and production smiths oppinion of using new, known steel, not only can you more acuratly predict the performance and working properties of the steel, but after investing time and fuel you greatly reduce your failer rate. Simply by controling one of the  Veriubles. Tho A36 is as much a craps shoot as rebar these days (or 19th century steel for that mater). 

Continue to love and teach your children, I will be proud to share this world with them

 

  

[Jim Coke]

Greetings N S ,

Great project for beginners.. Sounds like all the kids had a great time . Expeculy the big one.. Love designing beginner projects and working with our youth..  Cudos and keep the projects coming.  

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

 

 

Edited April 2, 2015 by Jim Coke

[Frosty]

I love it N S Good times working with your kids. When are you going to break the news they no longer have an excuse for not hanging up their coats? Good times, life long memories, nothing better.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Might be time to cast a new hand for the "kid"

[Frosty]

Very cool Jammer. My father had the cast aluminum ashtray I made for him in Jr. high school metal shop on his desk 20 years after he quit smoking. Heck it was on the side table next to his death bed last time I saw him. Now I'm all misty eyed.<sniff>

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Frosty

[Charles R. Stevens]

Raised girls myself, now i have grand daughters, not much chance of them geting taller tham me. 

I bet taking him out to the shop and presenting him with the mold flask and grean sand and casting a new set for him to take home with him would get to him. Remind him that it will be his turn one day. Some times we need reminded just exactly who tought us to be men. I think its as much our fathers as it is our children.

[SJS]

I have dreamed of having all my children striking for me at a conference where I was demoing...  Sadly my middle son is severely Autistic and wouldn't take to the loud noises and scale burns...  My oldest and my baby girl might strike for me yet;-)  One of my most cherished memories is of my wife striking for me, and my oldest son when he was 2 or 3 years old standing at the heel of the anvil with a 4oz French pattern hammer taping the anvil while we worked...  We were forging a coronel lance point out of a stainless spring alloy.  It took a lovely polish when done, but was BEASTLY to forge by hand;-)

Edited April 4, 2015 by SJS

[Charles R. Stevens]

My oldest has cerebralpalsy, SJS, watching your child struggle will certainly make a man of you. My hat is off to you.

[notownkid]

It does make one proud to have children helping and growing up to be independent.  My son & daughter grew up around our New Car Dealership both "Helping" in the shop.  My 5' 71/4" daughter called one night from MO asking a question on changing the frt. brake pads on their Tahoe.  How much to tighten the caliper bolts without a torque wrench?  When I said her her 6'4" X Marine husband should hand tighten till snug with locktite she says " I'm doing the job not him he's holding the light as it's dark in the yard".  When  I reminded her she was 6 months pregnant she said she could still do it in a third the time he could and plus he needed the truck to go to work with in the morning. 

My son is working with me getting our new shop going.   

 

My hat is off to both SJS & Charles. 

 

[bigfootnampa]

Actually most rotary mower blades that I have run across are about 1084 to 1090 carbon and will make very fine cutting tools... including knives!  Limited sizes and the inconvenient holes are drawbacks.  I sometimes run into some edge damage that is a bit of trouble to work around as well.  None of the old blades that I have on hand are low carbon!

[bigfootnampa]

If you are collecting some, the thicker ones are preferred as they are more versatile.

[SJS]

I thought I remembered that mower blades were L6 or something comparable?  A little Nickel, and some Chromium for wear resistance, have a little bit of shine (some brands have more shine than others) when you pattern welded with a file and or some leaf spring???  I can't remember which brand of lawn mower blades Billy Merritt said had a particularly good flash when welded up in a billet.

[Nobody Special]

SJS, everybody seems to want to give me mower blades. I've found they're all over the place. Some soft, some hard, some hi-carbon, some not so much, some that act stainless-ish. (some harden in oil, some in brine, some just don't, really) Older ones maybe a greater likelyhood of mid range carbon or so.  So I've just taken to skipping and using em for everything else. Although the holes do invite creativity.............

[VaughnT]

I really like lawnmower blades for things other-than-knives.  Right now, I'm working on a dead-bolt that uses a mower blade for the back plate.

 

Keep up the good work, hoss.

[SJS]

Yah I have noticed that the manufactures of these different products don't feel bound by the junkyard steel lists at all, or even the ASTM lists.  That is why Billy Merritt says for doing junkyard Damascus you should try to stick with known quantities, like John Deer mower blades for commercial mowers like on a golf course.  Find a brand that works on the mower, and in the forge like you want, and then stick with it till they change the steel on you...  For random scrap blades that people just give you out of the blue, cause your a blacksmith you can use this, I can see how that can be a crap shoot...