Well everyone seems to have a different style or thing that they like to do with there leaf key fobs. So let's share 'em with each other and errrr...borrow ideas, yeh borrow ideas. Lol. Well, here are my two styles at the moment.

I'm keen to make a veiner soon so that I can start banging these out. I tend to keep my stems shorter to the leaf. To take a survey, how many use a loose chisel, home made veiner, or commercial veiner (a la centaur/Kayne)?

other than the length, my method is almost identical to yours for wrapping the stem

I use a chisel. I think the veins it makes look too sharp. I'll probably make grind down an old chisel to be rounded a bit and try to make the viens more organic looking.

Here is the only picture of the leaf key fobs I make. I use the hammer for veining, faster for me and each leave is different.

That's a neat way to do that Thomas. I'll have to try that. I don't polish mine, I just wire brush, and then apply beeswax.

Ok. Here's a couple I made.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5659/ppuser/2638
http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5658/ppuser/2638

Edited September 20, 200817 yr by MRobb

Thomas, I like those peened ridges! I think they are more natural for the steel than stamped veins.

I do a leaf as practice just about every forging session. the wife still keeps one of my earliest, clunkiest ones on her keychain. I've got a few as zipper pulls on my backpack, the kid has absconded with a few of those as well.

the one with the saw tooth edges was done by driving the threads of a bolt into the sides of the leaf blank while hot, haven't had much luck duplicating that trick.

Michael

the one with the saw tooth edges was done by driving the threads of a bolt into the sides of the leaf blank while hot, haven't had much luck duplicating that trick.

Michael

You can use a bolt for your leaf stock and the edges will have the 'points' on them. Makes for one of those "head scratchers" for some folks.... "Now how did you get all those points on the edge?" SHHH, don't tell anyone this secrete. ;)

Here a a couple of my favorite ones.

Here a a couple of my favorite ones.

dang, were the edges chiseled? this one is stellar

These are two I have made many of. The leaf is wrought iron etched with ferric cloride. The hat is mild steel.

The hat is mild steel.

I would really like to see a BP on those hats. I have seen a really neat little spring swage used to stamp out a quarter or dime into a hat but it had no where near the detail of that one.

I also peen mine, but finish with WD-40 which is essentially fish oils. Kinda stinks when burned, but comes out pretty nice, much like beeswax. It is just a small squirt for a small piece.

Love the oak leaf,
how aout a blueprint?

NateDJ.... The hats, although not really difficult to make, require a little tooling and a non-marring hammer (I use leather). The tooling is easily made by a blacksmith. I'll think about putting together a blueprint later this year.

a blueprint would take toooooooo long.how about some pointers here.I really like that oak leaf,great workmanship.

Blueprints can be put together in a week if they are presented in the proper format. Depending on what is already in line, they can be presented almost as fast.

I make my leaves by vaineing with a chisle[less tools to carry to demo,more variation].How do we access new bluprints if we miss the tuesday night showing?

We are working on getting the Blueprints back on line.