February 13, 20215 yr 2 city boys came out to the woods to do some deer hunting. After most of the day they finally bagged a huge buck with a giant rack. they each grabbed a hind leg and started dragging it out of the woods when an old hillbilly comes along. The old guy says to them "If ya'll drag it by the antlers it is easier, the antlers wont snag on the under brush." After another half hour of dragging one of the city boys looks at the other and says "That old guy was right this is much easier." to which his friend replied "Ya, but we are getting farther away from the truck." George, my family lives deep in the woods of KY. We will just sit on the front porch and wait. No, really though it will be kind of a family hunt. Of course the kill will go to whoever gets the tag. Aint none of us ever had the chance for an elk hunt so it will be pretty cool just to go along. I know deer are hard enough to get out of those hills, i could not imagine trying an elk by myself or even another person or 2.
February 13, 20215 yr Most of my meat every year is deer. I didn't get to hunt this past season due to my ailment but my brother had a good season. On good days I can help process the meat. Together we processed 11. Freezer is full. I can imagine what it's like processing an elk or moose.
February 13, 20215 yr 54 minutes ago, BillyBones said: "Ya, but we are getting farther away from the truck." Oh THANK YOU for a morning laugh! It's such a good way to start the day. Moose processes just like deer. The BIGGEST deer on the planet that is. A fillet from a mature bull almost covers a salad plate, a 4 way split is enough for dinner with fixens. The liver is excellent but is easy to overdose on, little, 1/2" x palm size, slices are more than enough. A large chest freezer is a must. We usually see if we can find someone willing to proxy hunt our limit for a cut. We need to wait till the front porch freezer is more depleted so we can fit maybe 1/8 or so. Frosty The Lucky.
February 13, 20215 yr 2 hours ago, Daswulf said: You'll need to anneal it to get it as soft as it will get. I will se to do it. I think that I can "feel" when steel have high carbon in it like this file, it is basically more brittle more harder to forge it, less softnes. I dont know am I right but I worked with mild steel that thing is something like clah comparing to file steel.
February 13, 20215 yr Here it is. I left tongs (tail) from file maybe I will.drill hole In wood and attach it as file. Need more work to be done, it is curves a litle bit and twisted, need some straightening , tip od one inch break off , it is like iam forging stone not metal. File was triangular
February 13, 20215 yr I froze my behind off! I really need to get heat in the shop. My propane forge couldn't keep up with the cold. I fired up the coal forge for the first time and...I really need to mount a motor on that thing my arm is toast. I did forge a rough coal rake and now that I have one I can make a nicer one since I can keep the coal where it should be. Other than that my steel cooled so quickly I felt like I was hitting it cold... and my beer froze. Excuse me while I go thaw out next to a radiator.
February 14, 20215 yr Frosty- bull moose got nothing on the largest deer ever- the Irish elk. Absolutely massive animal, with a rack to go with it.
February 14, 20215 yr Love me some good liver and onions. When i was a kid, around 5 or 6 my parents and i went out to eat at some restaurant. The waitress asked what i wanted and i said liver and onions. The waitress literally stopped holding her pen and pad looking at my parents like "Uh, what? Did he really just say that?" My mom was just like yes you heard correctly. So yes i have always been odd, it is not a new thing for me. I have eaten a lot of different critters but i can honestly say i have never had moose. 16 hours ago, Chad J. said: I froze my behind off! Chad 1 word : Torpedo. Or salamander depending on where you live. You can pick up a torpedo heater fairly inexpensively. It does not get WI cold here but it was 10* out yesterday and i was in the shop with just a t-shirt and it was around 70* in there. Bets part is the beer dont freeze.
February 14, 20215 yr I've been busy ans haven't taken the time to post much recently, been trying to keep up using my phone while I'm on the run, but I hate trying to post from the phone because I make too many mistakes hitting the wrong thing with my big fingers. Made this last Friday getting ready for our Blacksmith club's conference next month. My wife said she would have "confiscated" it if I hadn't made her one last November for our anniversary. My cousin found this picture of her mother from when she was in her 20's, she's 102 now, and asked me to make a replica of the original plastic frame ,that had scrolls on each end, which was broken. They gave me my uncles forge and blower when I started blacksmithing a couple years ago so this was a special project for me.
February 14, 20215 yr Really nice work Les L. Wow! 102 years old. I look forward to seeing the frame for the picture also
February 14, 20215 yr CGL, The copper colored frame is the one I made, The roses were from a piece of 1/8 x 1 flat bar, everything else is made from 1/2 square. The plastic piece in this picture is the original frame.
February 14, 20215 yr Oh my bad! I think I need better glasses. I zoomed in and I can see it. What lovely detail. Very beautiful. I will be sure to look more closely from now on
February 14, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, BillyBones said: Torpedo. Or salamander depending on where you live. Just make sure you have good ventilation. The fumes from those things can been nasty. (I’m from salamander territory originally, but currently live in torpedo country.)
February 14, 20215 yr JHCC, my old torpedo is one that burns diesel, yeah it gets pretty nasty. My dad has one of the newer ones that runs propane and it is way way much cleaner. However i do not know if it is his regulator or what but it will go through a 20# tank in about 5 hours. That seems excessive to me, $16-$20 dollars in propane for 5 hours just dont seem right. I also keep a door or window open and i have an exhaust fan that is wired up so that as soon as i turn the power on in the shop it comes on. CGL, aint seen ya in a while. Hope everything has been good for ya'll down in your neck of the woods. Alexandr, well, as always...stunning. Gorgeous work.
February 14, 20215 yr John and Billy, salamander out here. I have a 50k salamander for my shop or garage and, yes, it does suck the propane when it is turned up all the way. I usually crank it up to take the chill off and then turn it down to low to maintain. Or, if I have my propane forge fired up it takes over the temperature maintenance task. Today is too cold for shop work. -7 right now, -28 win chill. Have plenty to do in the warm house. Billy, are you filling your propane tanks or are you doing an exchange? Here, bulk propane is running about $3/gallon or about $14 for a dead empty 20# tank. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
February 14, 20215 yr Irish elk WERE big but they're extinct. The official largest variety of deer is Alces Alces Gigas, the Alaskan giant moose. The Largest Deer in the World - World Most Irish elk - Wikipedia If you have any Irish elk inn your freezer I'll pay the shipping for a cut. What we call Salamanders are vertical fuel oil burners usually seen in orchards but we're known for renaming or mispronouncing things in our own way. I don't think I've ever heard them called a torpedo. I have a "Herman Nelson" that's supposed to run on kerosene but is perfectly happy with diesel and 120v ac. It won't "heat" my shop but does a good job of taking the chill off in general and makes it comfy if aimed at you from a distance. I don't know about what you're using but Herman Nelsons are approved for indoor use with enough ventilation to make up for oxy consumption. There's a LITTLE diesel smoke fumes when you start it on a cold day but in a few seconds it's just clean hot air. There are propane versions but you don't see many in use. Frosty The Lucky.
February 14, 20215 yr I have an Alladin Blue Flame kerosene heater that does fine when the temp is 20-30 degrees. When it drops to the teens, I go in the house and watch NASCAR while having a Cafe con Leche.
February 14, 20215 yr Remember to preheat your anvil and tools to get longer time at the anvil! Yesterday I was sweating in the shop wearing a long sleeve shirt over a T shirt. (One of Glenn's of course!) Today the wind chill is negative 7 degF and I'm sitting in front of the wood stove in the house sipping hot tea. I did go out and whimper a bit at the snow drifting in the gables. I need to put in some fiberglass panels and a 4' sq set of louvers at the peak to keep some light and ventilation. I've actually been thinking of having the fiber glass panels kicked out at the bottom to still encourage air flow. Yesterday I did take a couple of large ugly pieces of fire wood---multiple limbs and sledge and wedged them into submission for a 3'per: Sledge practice, clean up the yard and the firewood we are burning today---14 pieces out of the two logs! (Using my WW2 broad arrow marked sledge; it's brother is out in the shop.) My uncle told me that after his Fathers death he was talking with some of his Father's old friends who always went hunting together about how good a hunter he was. The told him that a lot of them just stayed in the cabin and played cards and drank beer while his Father went out and filled everybody's tags. The said his Father sure would be missed!
February 14, 20215 yr Phase II of the Kriegshammer #1. Now I just have to harden and temper it... then finish/polish and handle.
February 14, 20215 yr Now are you going for a horseman's hammer or one suitable for Foot Jousting? Obviously not a Lucerne hammer. The blade for a back spike would indicate intended use on unarmoured people and the size looks to be more of a horseman's hammer.
February 14, 20215 yr Patterned from a German War Hammer (or a ~30" handle Horseman's type) and the photo is a little deceiving, it's not quite a blade, although it does have the profile of one. It would go through a helmet no problem, but it would not go through 100 helmets no problem for sure. Luckily, if I ever use this thing, it would probably only be once.
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