BillyBones Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Got the handle done. Now just a little polishing and sharpening. 11" blade, 5160 ( old leaf spring from a 69' Camaro) zebra wood and blood wood for the handle. Aluminum and brass guard. Only 25 more to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 The only thing I did in the shop today was to put a previously forged piece in a vinegar soak to de-scale. The funny thing is that I had thought to use a gallon tub of joint compound, not realizing that I’d had the same idea two or three years ago to strip some pieces of galvanized pipe. The sight my eyes when I took off the lid was startling, to say the least, but I am pleased to report that that the the zinc was completely removed and the pipe (after rinsing) was pretty much clean as a whistle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virusds Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/14/2020 at 10:32 PM, Frazer said: Out of curiosity, was the one that broke also made from a leaf spring? A sword? That sounds like quite the endeavor. What style do you have in mind? To answer your first question, no, the dagger I had before this was made from a file, which was used already so it way have had micro fractures in it. My hope was that the leaf spring would be better as if would hopefully be less brittle. I can say that this is a much less brittle knife, from what I've seen so far anyway. To answer your other question, I am not sure yet, I am having trouble choosing, but I do definitely know that I want to make a one handed sword, as I don't have I big enough forge for a two handed one. I was thinking of making a sidesword, as that is my favorite looking sword. The only problem is that it might be kinda difficult to get it to the right thinchness. The other option I am considering strongly is just a plain and simple short sword, mabye 2 - 2 3/4 feet long. It would probably be easier to forge the shape and thickness of that blade, but I really want my first sword to be a real nice one and I don't know if I would be satisfied with that. Either way, I have a fair bit of time before I accualy start any type of work on the sword so I will have plenty of time to consider, though I would love u guy's input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Did a bunch of stuff this weekend including starting this leaf spring knife. Quenched in oil and tempered to dark straw. when I started smithing 3 years ago, I said I did not want to be a bladesmith but now it is some of the funnest smithing I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Virusds, maybe, but I think you were right initially, It was probably from the quench, or was just left too hard after tempering and broke from hard(er) use than it could handle. I guess that is one of the nice things about making your own knives is if something goes wrong you can just make yourself a new one. A long as no one was hurt by the failure then no harm done, other than you lose the time you spent making it. Which in the grand scheme of things is no big deal. And you learn from the failure right? I don't know much about swordsmithing. In fact, I know next to nothing. But once you pick a style, see if there are any books you can rent or buy that give you all the critical dimensions you should be working to. When you make a sword there are a lot more things to consider than when making a knife. Weight, harmonics, balance, heat treatment, all become much more important. Plus if your knife breaks it's a bummer and you lose several hours of time, but if your sword breaks it becomes much more dangerous and you lose a hundred+ hours of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Rojo, looks good, I often will clean up the forge scale and file/grind in the profile, choil and start of the plunge grinds and before heat treatment. Makes the finishing work go a little faster. When you go that route, make sure you leave enough material behind for heat treatment (2-3mm behind the soon to be edge). Just a personal preference thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Since you really don't want to heat more than a couple of inches of a sword up to forging temp at a time; how small is your forge? A hot spot the size of your fist should be plenty! Thursday evening I had an insulin crash; but this time didn't do a bounce test of the noggin! I did have the convulsions and bit my tongue----my wife came home and found me on the floor bleeding and just regaining consciousness. She was not amused and spent most of the next two days in bed recovering. Sunday I made it to the living room couch! Diabetes---a gift that just keeps on giving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thomas that is a heck of a crash to keep the wife in bed recovering for 2 days... All joking aside, glad you are OK. My dad is diabetic and i worry about him especially now with the heat and him wanting to be out working in the garden, on his car, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Glad you enjoyed the typo. My wife has been bribing my friends with food to keep an eye out on me in the shop. They claim to be more scared of her than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thomas: It sounds to me like your insulin pump either is putting out too much or not enough. I know it is fairly new but if it were me I'd be running or having run diagnostics on it. I'm sure there must be a way of checking its calibration without removing it from you. The silver lining is that you make me feel much better with my BS under control and my need for insulin decreasing. You may need one of those health alert things around you neck in the shop if they work in your area. Good luck. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Been wearing a Medic Alert tag for decades now. Carry a card in my wallet too. Being Type 1.5/LADA/AOJD means I can't go off insulin. If my pump was giving me issues I think I would be having problems a lot more often. More likely my body is not reacting uniformly. I seem to be a bit brittle in that just a little more exercise can make my BG plummet unexpectedly sometimes. Going on continuous glucose monitoring would be the best thing; but although my pump is designed to allow it; my insurance company thinks my copay should be in the hundreds of dollars a month for the sensors, on top of the insulin, reservoirs and sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thomas: I was thinking of one of those emergency button things that will call for help if you have an emergency. ("I've fallen and can't get up!") They have ones that do not need to be manually activated and sense if you have fallen. Also, are you being seen by an endocrinologist or a GP? If the latter from what you have said in your posts I would be seeing a specialist even if it meant a trip up to Albuquerque. I hope that I am not being a busybody but I don't want to lose the one IFI person that I've met face to face. Yours, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thomas: I got to thinking about whether I needed one of the emergency alerts when I am out in the shop by myself. Medicalalert.com has them for a subscription of about $30/month. I'm thinking about it and whether the risk of not having one versus the cost. My shop is about 100 feet from the house and I am fairly isolated there. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Today's work. I have a plan for getting the eye straightened out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I have been seeing an endocrinologist for a dozen years or so---ever since my GP said I didn't need to see one when I was having issues. Generally I see the endocrinologist more often than I see the GP as I have a standing quarterly appointment for them. I have speed dial on my phone and I'm required to carry the phone in the shop. The biggest problem is that when I have an insulin crash I am unconscious. People keep asking me questions about details and I have to say "I don't know, I wasn't there!" I also keep glucose tablets on me so I can load up if I feel like I am going low. Like this most recent time; I was already coming out of it when my wife found me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Apparently, the Medicalalert pendants or bracelets can detect a fall and call for help without being manually activated. That might be useful for you. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helena Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) This wasn't exactly today, but rather this past week. I hurt myself badly when an angle grinder kicked back and almost lost my hand. The surgeon repaired the two tendons and nerve and I'm much better now. It was a crappy angle grinder that my brother gave me. I never had the protective shield to it but I'll not use an angle grinder without one now. Either way, I took it apart, removed all the copper, melted that down and formed it into a bar and then forged a little leaf keychain out of it. Now I'm back to making stuff in the shop. Sorry I'm a pro lurker, but just wanted to share the journey. Edited August 17, 2020 by Helena Misspelling and wrong image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Helena: Cool use of a tool that you won''t use again. The key fob will remind you of the incident even if the scars fade. The lesson is to keep healthy respect/fear of power tools. We use them often, get familiar and comfortable with them, and, as a result, get careless. There is an old saying that the two most dangerous people to work around are the newbies because they are unfamiliar with things and don't know what is dangerous and what isn't and the old guys because they are too familiar with everything and get careless. We'd be glad to have you un-lurk and contribute. IFI can use some more female input. Sometimes the testosterone gets a little deep around here. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helena Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thank you George. I've recently been working on a couple projects so when they're further along I'll share. I do love reading the posts here though and being inspired by all the amazing talent that is present Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Glad your surgeon was able to put ya back together. I like those leaves, a nice touch with the burnishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twigg Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Helena, glad to hear your surgery went well! That leaf is awesome! I got a little time forging last week. I made my first karambit out of some leftover 1095 last week (it's pretty rough). I could've done a better job with the grinding, scales, and finish, but I didn't try too hard because the blade is cracked from me experimenting with an interrupted water quench. Overall, it's far from a good blade but it was a fun project and I'm satisfied. I got my hands on some mild steel 1/2" round rod, so I've been practicing leaves the last few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Chiming in to say diabetes sucks, did you know you can get it from a bum gall bladder? One of the knock on effects can be a damaged pancreas. I got some function left but have to take insulin and pills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 That's odd; I had emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder when I was 28 and didn't become diabetic till I was in my early 40's. However I have a couple of other autoimmune issues and as my Endocrinologist told me "Once you have one autoimmune issue you generally go on to collect them all over time!" (Emergency as nobody diagnosed a 155# 28 year old male in good shape as having gall bladder issues. When they finally figured it out they bumped a scheduled open heart surgery to get me on the table. Nice for me as there was only 15 minutes from diagnosis to going under for surgery. I still have some of the stones...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Thomas yes it was a good chuckle. My dad diabetes is not the most concern we have. He had a stroke about 7 years ago now and just aint been right since. My mom tries to keep an eye on him. But to give an example of his thinking now, my dad who worked constuction most his life asked me to help with a porch light that was not working. He was going to replace the switch and i could not get him to understand that only one wire goes in and out of it. He was going to wire it with the black on one side and the white on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdaggett Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Helena, that was a fantastic idea. I think melting down the thing that almost took your hand and making it into something beautiful is one of the most smith-like things I've ever heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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