the handy rail spike

[Kdash]

 

 

I've done some stuff with spikes. 

 

 

[George N. M.]

Do you heat treat your spikes in any manner?  I use super quench on anything that has an edge.  It does not turn it into anything like high carbon steel bust it gets it as hard as it can.  No tempoering.  I always tell someone who buys or is gifted with a spike knife that they will have to sharpen it more often than one made of higher carbon steel.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Kdash]

At first I didn't but I learned about the super quench when I took a class at Tillers International.  I have been using it ever since.  I tell people about sharpening them more often as well.  I figure they are mostly just a cool novelty knife that sits on a shelf.  

[lary]

Thats an impressive collection Kdash. Sheath making is another skill I want to develop.   

[Kdash]

Thanks, i have done at least 30 spike knives now.  I did some leather work in  school. It had been almost 40 years.  At least I still had my old tools.  

[Les L]

I needed a bottle opener today and didn’t have one, so I trolled around in the shop, grabbed a RR spike and came up with this. After looking at him I think that I need to put him back in the forge and create a separation between the hat and forehead 

He will stand up, but the picture didn’t come out good.

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Now that's a proper and good looking Wizard bottle opener, well done. You could use a small triangle file or cold chisel to create the separation between his head & hat.

 

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus

[Les L]

Irondragon, thanks for the comments, I agree, this was one of those first time projects, where I sit back and ask myself why I didn’t do this or that. My wife recently told me not to give her any of my “firsts” because I always improve on the rest. 
While writing this your advice made me think about scoring a line with a hacksaw then dressing it up with the triangle file. Thanks for making me think of an easier solution than putting it back in the forge 

[Les L]

I took IronDragon’s advice for a simple solution and spent 5 minutes separating the hat from the forehead. 
thanks again, that’s one of the things I appreciate about IFI, it doesn’t take long for someone to come up with a solution to your problems. 

[Frosty]

Nice and Nicer! I like it, well done.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Les L]

Thanks Frosty, the gang liked it at our meeting today 

[Frosty]

I would've bet money on it.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Chad J.]

I got my hands on several small light gauge rail spikes to play with.  Make this bottle opener last night.   Going to make a few more and play with twists I haven't really tried yet.   For some reason I haven't done a cube twist,  or pineapple.   Perhaps it's because that takes a bit more planning than I'm used to. 

[Les L]

Chad, I like it, good job on the twist