Made a hot cut hardy today and the heat treat stuck a file just skates off it. I used a rail clip so it's about medium carbon it worked great for cutting nails. 

20 hours ago, New axe maker said:

 I used a rail clip

 

Nice, what did you make that out of?

Rail clip. Medium carbon steel

Hi New axe maker,

Good work with the hardy! You might wanna crown your hammer though - it leaves a bit too much of marks. (Or if it's already crowned, smooth its left side a bit more. - Left when the hammer is facing you.) 

Bests:

Gergely

Looks pretty good. I agree with Gergely it could use some dressing up, it doesn't need the hammer marks. Still pretty darned good.

Frosty The Lucky.

If it works, it's a good one and that's what matters, well done. I too first thought it could have used a little better finish, but hey, it looks like it belongs to that old anvil it's sitting in.

So for future reference it's not poorly finished, it's been skillfully 'antiqued' to match the aged anvil it will be used with. Most folks neglect to consider such astetics!

2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

So for future reference it's not poorly finished, it's been skillfully 'antiqued' to match the aged anvil it will be used with. Most folks neglect to consider such astetics!

Well said! I wish I could free my mind from its Eastern-European negativity! 

The reason for the hammer marks was from it being a high carbon steel than I'm working with even at yellow heat it didn't want to move so I had to use a 4lb hammer and hit it hard to get it to move. So need up with less control. 

But it cuts hot metal pretty easy. 

I can't quite see from the photo, but is that a crack or a cold shut in the first photo, just where the blade swells out from the shank?

Rail clips are great material, by the way.  BP0002 - Junk Yard and Rail Road Steels has them at 0.51% carbon, which is at the high end of the medium carbon range.

I believe its a Cold shut. I'll have to double check. Either way it still does its job and I could make more if needed I have plenty of rail clips.

10 hours ago, New axe maker said:

I believe its a Cold shut. I'll have to double check. Either way it still does its job and I could make more if needed I have plenty of rail clips.

If you bring a few clips to the next meeting I'd like to buy a couple. I like them a lot.

Frosty The Lucky.

I could bring a few. 

On 9/30/2016 at 2:06 PM, New axe maker said:

I believe its a Cold shut. I'll have to double check. Either way it still does its job and I could make more if needed I have plenty of rail clips.

Cold shuts can lead to what the rocket scientists call "rapid unscheduled disassembly". While this one is still holding together, use it to make another. That's what I did:

SLAG Says,

I suggest that you avoid orthodoxy and grind the cold shut out. It may avoid particles reaching escape velocity and entering Fido's eyes.

Just sayin,

SLAG.

Very nice.

I had my first go at making a hardy tool the other day also. Only partly done before I ran out of steam, and not looking anywhere near as good as yours!

I used the spline and threaded section from the outside of a CV joint. Probably twice the size it needed to be, which is one of the reasons I ran out of steam!

First time I had tried to work anything with any sort of an amount of carbon in it, just about did in my foo foo valve trying to get it to move compared to the mild steel I have played with to date! - yes 2lb hammer swapped out for 4 lb hammer, including accompanying loss of hammer control and target acquisition capability , resulting in the first two dent marks in my poor little anvil.

Going to fire the forge back up today and give it some more love!

Only suggestion is let the heat soak into it. And don't hit fast make every strike count. And keep the metal hot

Oh yeah, buy a squeeze bottle of Aloe Gel and keep it in the smithy. Get it on burns as fast as you can and get in and cool the burn off, it makes a huge difference. If you ask me how I know I'm going to hire someone to hit you with a rubber chicken! I've had to go so far as using the Silvadine.

Frosty The Lucky.