Forging a hand

[Marc1]

i would like to know if someone here has experience in forging a hand. 

Specifically how to get the knuckles to stand out. i want to make a hinge for a gate where the hand holds the top pin of the gate hinge. So it will be more a fist than an open hand. 

The gate is a bit of a Adams Family gate

Searching for "forging a hand" will invariably lead to "hand forging" and a million hits

 

[So Cal Dave]

Something like this?  It gives the impression of a hand.  

[Steve Sells]

or perhaps Hofi student that made the wonderful hand  a few years back,   If you want to find it just look through this section,

[Marc1]

On 5/21/2018 at 6:31 PM, So Cal Dave said:

Something like this?  It gives the impression of a hand.  

Yes, something like that, but I can't get the knuckles right. Remember seeing a wonderful example of a hand here somewhere but good luck finding it again.

Steve, which section should i search? 

[Jim Kehler]

Lee Sauder has a technique that should work well for you. I t should be findable on-line .

[Buzzkill]

13 hours ago, Marc1 said:

Remember seeing a wonderful example of a hand here somewhere but good luck finding it again.

Here's a couple links:

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/52335-digit-al-card-holder/

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/51517-hand-made-blacksmith-sign-hehe/

 

[Marc1]

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, those a very nice hands, and I am in no way taking away from their value, but both have no prominent knuckles and that is my problem. 

Lee Sauder does come up but no hand.

[Frosty]

If you use angle iron for stock the outside of the angle has plenty of extra stock for knuckles. The trick of course is finding large enough angle iron in a short enough length it doesn't break the bank.

Failing that you're looking at upsetting into a corner to provide sufficient material for the knuckles.

 Years ago I made a torch cut fist as a door knocker for a friend's place, he couldn't hear anybody knock and the door bell didn't work so I made him one nobody could miss. Getting prominent knuckles wasn't easy, on the second attempt I folded the torched hand double and upset the knuckles using a torch for localized heat. Not perfect but worked well for the door, it'd make things rattle on the walls if someone had to knock a second time. You could hear it in the shower.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

 

 

[anvil]

I've made a hand/peace sign and an eagle claw holding a rock. The hand was forged, the claw and rock was "sculpted" like an animal head. Sorry, no pics.

So to keep it short and simple, either do like frosty suggested and have an upsetting experience,, or, better in my opinion is to start with material that is at least the same size as the knuckle or slightly larger, then forge the "bones" to size and have a long drawn out afternoon.. Use whatever tools needed to detail the knuckle. To be precise, you can use "equivalent weights" to actually figure out the parent stock needed to get the needed length of each digit segment. For me this was the easiest.  

[Ken Elwell]

Marc, i will second Anvil’s reply about beginning with large enough stock for knuckles.

also, check out Claudio Bottero in Italy, his hands are amazing! I think he even had some process photos on his Facebook page.

[WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith]

to make the knuckles I use a curved chisel each opposing like this ().

Wayne

[POZ]

I have little forging experience, but your question was interesting so I googled it, "forging a hand" and found this from Central Virginia Blacksmith Guild.

chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://cvbg.org/assets/CVBG_Newsletter_July_17-_Web.pdf

If you use quotation marks in your search it searches for the exact phrase.

 

Edit: I missed that other people had already replied, the link has a brief overview of how Lee Sauder makes his hands