these folks sell a few different leaf dies, anybody know the difference between them?

[commercial link removed]

they don't seem to have a contact email but I might just call them.

or does anyone have knowledge of leaf dies in general? do you use them? can you recommend a source?

Edited April 2, 20233 yr by Mod34
Commercial link removed per TOS

Dies are useful if you're going to be using that texture or pattern a LOT. If you're not doing production work, they're probably not worth your time and money.

was just logging back in to add that question. I'm just a hobbyist, am I cheating by wanting a die?

it's also a fact that I've found I like making tools as much as I like making things with tools 

maybe I'll stick to hand marking and if I reach a point where I need a die I'll look at making one. Black Bear Forge has a good video on that 

It's certainly not cheating by wanting a die, and there's no such thing as "just a hobbyist".

Enjoying making tools is certainly legitimate, and it can both be fun and require less cash outlay to make a tool rather than buying a tool.

That said, whether hobbyist or professional or whatever, you are always going to be making cost/benefit analyses about whether it is better to buy a specialized tool, make a specialized tool, do a process with a non-specialized tool, or do something else entirely. One advantage of being a hobbyist is that your time generally doesn't have a cost, so putting time into something that isn't necessarily going to make you money isn't generally a problem. However, the flip side to this is that very often you don't have the experience to know whether or not that time investment is going to pay off, and you may end up spending a lot of time and effort (and sometimes money) on something that turns out to be largely useless. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

So, your "I'll stick to hand marking and if I reach a point where I need a die I'll look at making one" is a good way to go at this point. You could spend a lot of time making a die, but you could also spend that time getting better at making leaves by hand, which will improve your hammer control significantly more than a fabrication project would. That is always a good investment.

No, you are not "cheating" by using a die.  There is no such thing as "cheating" in blacksmithing unless you are trying to recreate blacksmithing tools and techniques of a particular historic period and going outside that period for convenience, e.g. using a London pattern anvil or a ball pein hammer for a Viking reenactment.  Even then, there will be "more authentic than thou" folk around, "yes, you are using a block anvil but mine is wrought iron and yours is steel."  As long as you are hitting hot metal with something you are a "real" blacksmith and not "cheating."

I have found the best selection of dies and spring fullers on line.  (BTW, you can mention a commercial company by name but do not put in a direct internet link).

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Good Morning,

Uri Hofi showed us that he used a Pipe Thread Machine, Die. You also could use a lower jaw from a Pipe Wrench. K.I.S.S.

Neil

first, didn't think about pasting a vendor's link, makes perfect sense that would be bad form

second, the bottom jaw idea is a really good one, I'll keep an eye out for a scrap pipe wrench