Mark Ling Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 About a week ago I met a broad caster from one of my favorite stations, and we got to talking, and after a while I started talking about my blacksmithing, and of course, he has always wanted to make a knife, so I gave him my card, not thinking he would really follow through. A few days ago he emailed me and asked when he and his girlfriend could come over, and they came over today. He wanted to forge a knife, and his girlfriend had brought some rasps that he wanted to make one out of, and gave me a couple extra ones too. I started out making a knot, just something to do while we talked, and give them a small intro. After that we tossed a rasp in the fire, and got to heatin and beatin. His girlfriend helped some, but it was mainly him and me. I had him strike for me, as it was better than him trying to use a hand hammer, but let him help, and let me direct where the blow would go. we roughly forged out the profile, heated it up, and let it normalize. While it was cooling, me and his girlfriend forged her a horsehead bottle opener. as soon as the blade cooled, we got to grinding. this part was a little more boring, but with company it sped it up, and made it more enjoyable. He did most of the grinding, with me just telling him what to do, and what not to do. He was O.K with the grinder I guess. We drilled the pin holes, and heat treated the blade, with no warps or cracks, which was a relief. they had to leave after that, but that was about 10am-3pm. Oh, and he said that in return I can come down to the radio station, and look at it all, and go on air! Lots of fun it sounds like. they took a lot of pictures, so her they are. It was fun, he will be back 2 more times to finish the knife, so will update ya'll when hat happens. hope this isn't too many pics for ya'll! hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Great pictures, but.....what are you gonna do with all those fryin' pans?????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 Thank you arkie. I'll use 'em. There are a few that still need seasoning, but I use them when I'm doing open fire cooking, and they look good up on the wall! most of them I got at the scrap yard, that's not even all my cast iron though! Littleblacksmith Here is some pics of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 You just fry up some bacon n eggs, and we'll all be over for breakfast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 hahaha! you know how fun it would be though if all of us on here got together. it would be really cool. Hey, if all of ya'll come over here, I don't mind cooking some bacon and eggs! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 If you cook as well as you forge, I think they would be scrumptious! BTW, I like mine scrambled...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Gotta love the way that gal is handling that hammer. Classic "I've-never-used-a-hammer-in-my-life,-this-thing-is-way-heavier-than-i-thought-it-would-be" stance. The end product looks pretty good, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 no garunties! though bacon and eggs ain't too hard. I cooked a lot of bacon, but not much eggs. Littleblacksmith 13 minutes ago, Tubalcain2 said: Gotta love the way that gal is handling that hammer. Classic "I've-never-used-a-hammer-in-my-life,-this-thing-is-way-heavier-than-i-thought-it-would-be" stance. The end product looks pretty good, though. yup! that was even after telling and showing her how to hold it, and asking if she wanted a smaller hammer. oh well. Yeah, she only really forged down the neck of the opener, punched and drifted the hole, and hit the punches for the eye, mouth etc.. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 You could up grade those hooks the frying pans are hanging from Looks good I normally do not like people in my forge, so you are doing better with the PR. Looks like the items turned out pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 hey man, forged nails are as fancy as I get, and I don't want to have to make that many hooks, just for me! if it was for someone else who was paying me to, I would. Oh I love having people at my forge, it is much more enjoyable, and is always fun. PR?? what's that? Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Don't you love seeing cast iron at the fleamarket where they want US$20 for a pan and then finding *better* ones at the scrapyard for 20 cents a pound? (Modern cast iron may be twice as heavy as old cast iron was.) Do you use the burn off method or the lye bath method for cleaning old cast iron down for re-seasoning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 Yup! even worse is the ones at antique stores! I have passed up a few pans at the scrap yard, all of which I regret, but I already had a couple of the same size at home. I have never tried the burn off method before, Isn't that the one where you stick it in a bonfire to burn off the grease? lots of the time a wire wheel on the angle grinder gets it down to bare metal, though I have soaked a few in Vinegar, and had decent success. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Yup the burn off is the old method and it works but some pans will warp---uggg I recently learned of the lye method and found a hardware stores that still sold lye. You need to know how to handle it safely but a totally crudded up pan soaked in the lye bucket for a week will scrub clean under a hose in no time at all! It doesn't hurt the metal so you can stick it back in if you find a particularly hard spot to clean. Read about it on the internet for specifics. AND DON'T FORGET THE PPE! I once went to the scrap yard and found a couple of bean pots, a ribbed bottom skillet for cooking bacon and a high walled skillet for frying chicken. I snatched them up and am now feeding my kids' kitchens and camp cooking setups with cast iron. I'll continue to hunt as I have 8 grandkids (so far) that i want to gift sets too. I'm also hunting for one that has the spider trademark on the bottom to give to my wife the spinster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 I will have to try that. 12 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: I once went to the scrap yard and found a couple of bean pots, there was a bean pot that I had see at the scrap yard, a really nice one, that looked like the last time it was used was yesterday, it was perfect. I saw it about 10 yards away, and a fork lift was going in the same direction, so me not wanting to get ran over, gave him some space, and watched as he ran over the pot. Very sad, I still haven't found another one. That same time I had found a high walled skillet, which I really like the look of, and didn't and still don't have one, it turned out it had a hole in the bottom of it. again, very sad. I wish I was one of your grandkids! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Cast iron cookware like hammers, one can never have too many different types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 YYYYEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!! Or too many of one type!!! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Just counted and I have 11 pieces of cast iron + a cast iron lid within arm's reach of my propane kitchen range (plus two more in the pantry closet.) I have a son in law that is slowly regressing into the 19th century so I'm doing my best to encourage him! Recently I found a BIG graniteware "cowboy" coffee pot---holds a gallon---at the fleamarket for under $10---needs a new bail---if only I knew someone who could manipulate metal---bwahahahahahahahaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 2 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: Yeah, she only really forged down the neck of the opener, punched and drifted the hole, and hit the punches for the eye, mouth etc.. Littleblacksmith i'm not sure i'd be brave enough to hold a punch for someone using a hammer like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I have a pair of tongs to hold punches for "certain" people... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Way to go, Mark! I envy your patience though, forging with clueless adults can be very challenging. Bests: Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thief_Of_Navarre Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Cool pictures, looks like fun was had! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 14 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: hey man, forged nails are as fancy as I get, and I don't want to have to make that many hooks, just for me! if it was for someone else who was paying me to, I would. Oh I love having people at my forge, it is much more enjoyable, and is always fun. PR?? what's that? Littleblacksmith PR = public relations...radio folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 yeah, I held the punch in a pair of tongs. Thank you Gergely! they weren't that bad though! yes, lots of fun! Thank you Arkie for explaining. Here is a neat video she took while they were here. My anvil was moved out of place because he was grinding by the vice, and I had to move it out of the way. Littleblacksmith https://www.facebook.com/AviatorAlligator/videos/10154749320328379/ 10154749320328379.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Greetings LBS /Mark.. I've read a lot of your post and offered advice , some I'm sure is unwanted. I'm proud of your skills and enthusiasm about blacksmithing. I wish you lived a little closer because we share many interest. I too teach survival and cast iron cooking along with blacksmithing. Some pictures of my outdoor kitchen and cooking stations for Dutch ovens.. Keep up the great work..! Love the cat iron cookware. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 Thank you! Man, if only we were closer. That is a nice kitchen! I have seen the lid lifters you made, they are so functional it makes them a work of art. If you ever come down my way, you know where I'm at! That's to all of y'all! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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