Well I haven't forged since November since I packed all my stuff away. I really didn't want to wait for the gas forge to be finished, so I fired up the coal forge. The first thing I made was a hoof pick from half a horseshoe. I then forged a a horseshoe heart, which was pretty fun to make. The hardest part I had was trying to bend around the horn, but I assume that all comes with time and practice. The finish I got on this was amazing, and I am not too sure how well you can see it in the picture. What I did was lightly brush the horseshoe with a brass brush. I then threw a handful of coal on the fire and then held the heart in the flames. This way a bunch of soot got all over the heart. I had it in there for a few seconds and then brushed all the soot off with the brass brush. I then let it cool and then coated with trewax. I guess the mixing of the black soot and ash and the slight gold from the brass brush, gave the horseshoe heart a bronze looking color. I was quite happy with it. The next thing I forged was a split cross. It was made with 3/4" square stock, and the lines were all cut with a hacksaw. Cutting that stuff took a while, at least 2 hours. If you dont know already, it was brushed with a brass brush. The last thing I made was a bottle opener. It is not my best opener, and that is mainly because I tried experimenting with getting the diagonals on the head of the opener. Let me know what you guys think.

Looking good. I need to find time to fire my forge back up again.

1 hour ago, DSW said:

Looking good. I need to find time to fire my forge back up again.

You might find some between dinner and bed time.

 

I like the cross.

 

Forging Carver,

Gary Huston and Chandler Dickinson have some videos on making the horseshoe hearts, if you haven't seen them.  They show how to form the top part using the horn.

 I like the texture on the split cross it came out very nice. I usually turn hoof picks the other way they fit in the hand more comfortably.

Pretty nice all round.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

I find they usually want the hoofpick flattened on the end, rather than a point, and I've had a couple of people ask me to make one on each end, pointing in opposite directions. Or put a bottle opener in em. Meh.

Off to a good start, sir.

Thanks for the comments,

I thought about doing a bottle opener at the end, but thought that the hotshot was way to narrow. 

I'm of the school where you *ALWAYS* put a hole for a lanyard in a hoofpick so they can hang it on a nail in the barn...

They're not too narrow. Punch a small hole and use a tapered drift and/or the horn. Be careful, don't work it too cold, and know that you will lose a few, more while learning. I sell probably twice as many w openers than without. Although why on earth you'd want to use what you clean a hoof out with to touch your beer bottle......ew.

Or make the bottle opener the other way - as a lifting hook. There is always enough material to do that and there is no splitting that can go wrong.