BillyBones Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 Les, thank ya. Irondragon, that spike you used looks much longer than the ones i have. I have seen those walking stick ax things a few times. Just recently i watched a movie from Ukraine that featured them prominently how ever "fokos" did not quite ring the bell i saw what they were called. Now that JHCC made that post i see that they called them "barkta" in Ukraine. JHCC, i like that concept for the rose. And nice rose also there Goods. Rojo, i have to ask is that handle comfortable for the knife? Just seems those ridges might bite you a little from the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 The spike I used is a very old wrought iron one, that I drew out (a little too long I think). I was going from a drawing my Maternal grandfather drew from memory years ago for me. The walking stick he brought from Slovenia was confiscated from him at Ellis Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 That walking stick was the sort of thing I was going for a couple of months ago, except I was shooting for the head being shaped like the Thrush Muffler logo. Screwed it up when I tried drifting the eye. I was working it too cold and split the side. I need to try again. It amazes me when people actually know how their line came to be in the US. We know nothing about ours. All we know is they came down from either Kentucky or Tennessee to NE Texas and the SE part of Oklahoma around 1863. That was my Dad’s side. On my Mom’s side we only know they settled in the IT near Ft Smith. As for yesterday, I started attaching the bolsters on a knife. How can I get a better fit? I tried using a file to get the surfaces of the blade and bolsters true. Didn’t work. Then tried sandpaper on a block. Didn’t work. Then I tried my beat up HF 1x30 grinder. Better, but I still couldn’t get them totally flat. I was using a magnet to hold them to the belt, but I just could not get the edges to stay flat. I found myself just chasing after something I could quite get. Maybe try on a better grinder next time? I believe I can make the gap a little less noticeable with JB Weld. Just now while typing this it occurred to me I forgot to temper the blade. Any way I can do that now without breaking down the JB Weld I used to attach the bolsters to the blade? I tapered the holes for the pins, so they should hold even without the epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 As the tang should be drawn way back compared to the blade, nope! As for flattening: is the tang dead flat? If so you should be able to flatten the bolster by placing a sheet of sand paper on a dead flat surface and then drawing the bolster across it slowly under even pressure until it's flat. (Milling can also work.) Some makers use a layer of material between tang and bolster that has a slight give to it or even colored epoxy to "fill" voids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 On the knife I’m working on, I wasn’t real happy with the guard/bolster fit up and wanted it very secure without pins. I ended up soldering it in place. It served both purposes well, but it did require some cleanup. Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfgreen Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 everyones work and projects are amazing nice work to all. job and weather still holding me back but have lots of great motivation to get back at it right here on this site thanks to all keep up the great work. JHCC i have not forgot about my stuff at your place i just literally have had no time and no car for month now when i get time i will let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Thanks Les. It tested as medium carbon with the water quench showing a little tighter grain and broke like glass. Oil quench test was very hard to break to the point that I thought it was going to bend but was very springy and eventually broke. I went with oil for safety and it is super sharp. Will see how it lasts. Billy the handle is pretty comfortable as the ridges are close together and I sanded it a bit. It fits the hand surprisingly well. It was done for novelty but I might make a sheath for it. Everyone seems to like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 8 hours ago, Gandalfgreen said: JHCC i have not forgot about my stuff at your place No worries! Another thing from Sunday: needed to straighten some coil spring and had an idea to break out the treadle torch for it. I heated up 2” sections 180° apart and twisted them each 180° out, resulting in the following S-shape: This was then straightened further in the forge. Worked pretty well, but in retrospect, every 90° would have given a gentler curve that would have fit in the forge more easily. Next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Back in summer of last year I posted some pictures of the panels we were welding in my FFA chapter’s shop for our barn. I doubt anyone remembers that but I told y’all I’d post pictures of the finished projects and it just occurred to me that I never did. Here’s a picture of my pen, I wish I could get a better picture of the gate from the front but the wall is in the way of me getting far enough back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Looks nice to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Nathan, looks like someone is in your pen! Looks like the project turned out well. I've always liked learning tasks where you end up with something tangible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 2:50 PM, George N. M. said: The flavor of honey is very dependent on what flowers are being processed When I was younger, my dad would often bring me back honey from his business trips. One time he brought me back ten little jars from France, each one from a different plant. The lightest one was rosemary- it was nearly clear, fairly runny, very sweet and light, with just a hint of rosemary flavor. I think my favorite one was from pine- it was completely black, incredibly thick, and had an almost smoky flavor. That is probably the best honey I've ever had, it was just so unique. My other favorite honey is ginger creamed honey. My father would always bring me back a jar when he went to stay with the monks at Gesthemani. It's so creamy, a bit spicy... truly delicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 The best honey I have ever had was the stuff I robbed out of a bee tree that blew over in a storm a few years back. Only got stung once, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Kraft Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Nathan, looks like someone is in your pen! Yes! This year will unfortunately be the only year I get to use the pen, as well as the luxury of the indoor heated barn. Next year I plan on showing a steer, which will mean being out in the cold twice a day every day for a couple hours at a time in the dark. Man, the lengths I'll go to to show livestock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 JHCC, when i glanced at the pic i thought it was a snake at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 If there were a snake that big in my forge, I doubt my student would have been standing so still with her feet so neatly together. On the other hand, I could be wrong; she's pretty tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfgreen Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 looks like snake for sure next one hammer into a snake haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Nah, the spring steel is for knives and tools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Sounds like a South American snake: La Coil-ebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Today I worked outside all day, I had a Kid call me for work this morning and I told him come on, we must have moved 5 tons of machines an metal, we also piled up some brush and raked up leaves and limbs, so after the work day I set the pile on fire and am currently burning up some cut up green elm limbs on top of it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Today I started a pair of bolt jaw tongs out or rr spikes, it was brought to an end when I brilushed my left elbow against the hood when I leaned in to check the steel while cranking the blower. Got a really nice burn on my elbow now.... packed some snow around it and kept going for a while, then when I went in for dinner it really started hurting. Put some aloe and honey on it and wrapped it up. Maybe I'll get back to the forge after work again tomorrow. For now, its quits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Looks good, CLB. Take care of that burn. I made an old wrench into a couple of bottle openers and forged a ball fuller out of a piece of car axle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 23 hours ago, Chimaera said: My other favorite honey is ginger creamed honey. My father would always bring me back a jar when he went to stay with the monks at Gesthemani. It's so creamy, a bit spicy... truly delicious. I don't live too far away from the monastery and I'm a big fan of the writings of Robert Merton. Coincidentally I've also dabbled in beekeeping. My last name is derived from the Old English word for beekeeper. I've made a few trips to Gethsemane over the years. The plants are pretty varied and it's a wonderful location for honey making. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Robert Merton, I don't know, but Thomas Merton certainly wrote some great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 17 hours ago, JHCC said: Looks good, CLB. Take care of that burn. I made an old wrench into a couple of bottle openers and forged a ball fuller out of a piece of car axle. Those are some neat bottle openers! I need to get ahold of some axle shaft to make a few hammers and top tools. My elbow is doing surprisingly well today. It itches more than it hurts, so it must be healing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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