ThomasPowers Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 hardness depends on Alloy, Heat Treatment and Work Hardening Not knowing the details it's hard to say where the issue is. I have some trolley rail and some mine rail I will have to check their hardness and as quenched hardness sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 i heat treated the small anvil but not the large piece maybe that has something to do with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 kin of unrelated but i also have a couple spikes and was wondering if they can be flattened in a hydraulic press cold because me teachers keep winjing about me using up the acetylene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 well that depends on your press, your spikes and what you plan to do with them afterwards; too much cold deformation will tend to make the steel brittle if not start to crack from work hardening. I have once taken a US HC spike and twisted it cold to show off the capabilities of my large postvise and large twisting wranch---but I don't plan to do anything with it save use it as a display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 i think i have hc spikes because i made a small axe and it heat treated well ive actually never found marked spikes all the spikes i find are unmarked unless i know for sure what steel im using i just make whatever from it and see how it goes i actually got a peice of flatbar from school and my teacher told me it was mild so i made a machete out of it because it didnt bend like mild and it turned out great i rely entirely on scrap steel and old files because i dont have the money for new carbon steels from suppliers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 i tried making me re bar hammer and welded leaf spring on the face is looks a bit crap but it'll work next im planning a 4140 cromoly sledgehammer from 70mm round bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 i ended up just stacking 4 pieces of the rebar and welding them up then put a handle on it id say its 20-30 pounds and has a handle a little over one foot itll do for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 18 hours ago, treytheknifeguy said: i ended up just stacking 4 pieces of the rebar and welding them up then put a handle on it id say its 20-30 pounds and has a handle a little over one foot itll do for now Please tell me that's a typo. I don't see you having 4 pieces of 30mm rebar at a reasonable length for a hammer being even close to 20 lbs (9.07 kg). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 im just guessing the size and weight it feels heavier than a 20 pound sledge and is slightly larger plus the handle is shorter then most sledgies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Can you upload a picture? I'm just confused as to how you got such a heavy hammer with so little steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I'm with Michael on this one. Using approximately 500 lbs./cubic foot for the average steel density I get around 15.2 lbs./ linear foot for (4) bars of 30 mm rebar. Not including any losses to scale when forge welding, or the hammer eye opening, a 20-30 lb. hammer head would have to be between one and a half feet and two feet long (unless the billet was upset quite a bit after forge welding). I think a trip to your local post office to weigh your forged head is in order. However, if you can "one hand" forge with a 30 lb. sledge (which you would most likely be doing with only a 12" handle) I certainly won't argue with you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I have found that since I started moving anvils around my capability to accurately guess the weight of smaller things has gone far down till sometimes it's almost "lighter than an anvil" OTOH I have noticed the capability of non-blacksmiths to judge the weight of an anvil is low and they often exaggerate it a lot. ie a 96 pound anvil is estimated to be 200# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 When I'm guessing weight by hand I hold a known weight in one hand and the mystery weight in the other see how they feel and then swap hands. That gets me close enough for government work but it's still not a very accurate way to weigh things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 i didnt forge it i wanted to but i didnt have the time however i plan on eventually forging it all i know is it has to be at least 20 pounds because i swing a 20 pound easy but this not so much but as i said it could just be the short handle its not the best looking hammer in the world it looks a little crappy but it wont break for a long time judging by the thick welds ill have to remember to take a pic wen i get home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 11 hours ago, treytheknifeguy said: all i know is it has to be at least 20 pounds because i swing a 20 pound easy but this not so much one handed?? are you sure that you don't mean 2lbs....... Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I have a friend who made an excellent Mjolnir replica out of solid 4" x 4" stock. I believe it weighed just over 30 lbs. Choking up almost right to the head I was able to lift it and flip it into forging position one handed, but I'm pretty sure my wrist would give out if I swung it a couple of times. If you can easily hammer one-handed using a 20 lb. sledge I won't get in your way. I'm a pretty big guy, though no body builder, and a 4.5 lb. hammer is about my limit for any useful forging one handed. I can choke up on my 15 lb. sledge and make a couple of one handed strikes, but I usually only do that for driving punches or drifts, and only a couple of times a session under duress at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 8 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: one handed?? are you sure that you don't mean 2lbs....... Littleblacksmith im sure because the hammer i made has a 1 and a half foot handle i made from some roundbar i had leftover from a vise i didnt finish and i definitely know it aint 2 pounds because my 3 pounder is like a feather compared to it 6 hours ago, Latticino said: I have a friend who made an excellent Mjolnir replica out of solid 4" x 4" stock. I believe it weighed just over 30 lbs. Choking up almost right to the head I was able to lift it and flip it into forging position one handed, but I'm pretty sure my wrist would give out if I swung it a couple of times. If you can easily hammer one-handed using a 20 lb. sledge I won't get in your way. I'm a pretty big guy, though no body builder, and a 4.5 lb. hammer is about my limit for any useful forging one handed. I can choke up on my 15 lb. sledge and make a couple of one handed strikes, but I usually only do that for driving punches or drifts, and only a couple of times a session under duress at that. i aint a big guy myself heavy tools don't bother me much though im only six feet tall but i do have a viking bloodline so im built for wielding huge hammers and swords Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 On 2016-08-19 at 2:03 AM, treytheknifeguy said: im only six feet tall but i do have a viking bloodline so im built for wielding huge hammers and swords That is an interesting statement since it means that you can follow your ancestors down to the 12th century. The numbers of familys that can do that is extremely limited. Besides, The hammers of those days were quite small - at least those known to the arcaeologists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 i only know of my ancestry coz me grandad had a mark or something on his hand and the doctor said its because of his viking ancestry unfortunately i don't have it because im too far down the bloodline its funny because my grandad hates violence and the vikings where the some of the most violent war loving people in history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Yes that is the picture given by those who feared them. They were very successful sailors, ship builders and warriors but not more violent than their contemporaries and definitely not as violent as ISIS. The famous "massacre" at Lindisfarne was reported by a French bishop to a king in order to put fear of god into him. - "The vikings are God's punishment four your sins". We still have a letter from one of the "murdered" monks dated years after the "massacre". A large part of the viking journeys were for trade. The doctor was pulling his leg. There is no distinguishing mark for vikings - or for Scandinavians for that matter. Most Swedish people who are not immigrants have vikings in their ancestry. That is statistics not genealogy. However Sweden has not been in war since the napoleonic times. That is 200 years of unbroken peace. Yuu have 46 chromosomes, 1/2 from your father, 1/4 from your grandfather. There are about three generations each century - each halving the number of inherited chromosomes. Thus there is less than 20% chance that we have inherited any trait at all from a specific ancestor three hundred years ago. - unless there is a number of cousin marriages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treytheknifeguy Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 id hope not about the cousin thing hahaha check thisun out though this ones more decorative and hasnt been finished but xxxx its heavy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Heavy, yes. Potentially an interesting art piece, sure. Hand hammer??? There I have my doubts. What happened to the picture of your rebar hammer? Would love to see one of it on a scale with the weight showing as well as one showing you using it for forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Remember Gote that the axe was the common weapon and swords were more for the elites. Though the elite guard for kings might be equipped with the two handed danish axe... How do you tell the difference between a "household axe" and a "war" axe? Is the person holding it running towards you yelling? (Actually battle axes tend to be lighter than felling axes, heavy is slow and slow is dead on the battlefield!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Thomas, It was not me who mentioned hammers. The spear was also an important weapon. Odin carries a spear, Thor a hammer but I think that hammers were not in use in warfare until medieval times. Axes are not so difficult to make as swords so they were probably more common. I am sure you have read about the warriors who had to straighten their blades during battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Sorry about that; it was Trey and I just saw it when you quoted his post. About the swords; I remember the saga where they were fighting a holmgang and had swapped out the good sword for the bad one and it had to be straightened. Rather reminded me of the description of the Romans straightening their swords after a battle. With small isolated farms and villages, shared genes were probably fairly common. I know I'm pretty much related to *EVERYONE* whose kinfolk used to live in a small Arkansas USA hill town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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