Doug Lester

That's not as good as the one for free, but in my not so humble opinion, you're grandfather made out like a bandit. Doug

I wish my sheath making skills were that rusty. That's a great looking knife. Doug

Absolutely top notch. Doug

Not really familiar with those box like charcoal forges but see what would happen if you add another row of brick on the bottom and make your fire deeper. With charcoal you need several inches of fire under your work and a few over it. Doug

Chaim, it looks like you need a little book learning. The Master Bladesmith Advanced Studies in Steel by Jim Hrisouldas is a good one. Don't let the title throw you. It covers a wide range of information. Even though I don't recommend it for beginners, Steel Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist by John Verhoeven is a good one to explain what steel does and what heat does to it. For now just put it on your wish list. It's a pretty pricey book. Another suggestion that I would make is to use only a known alloy, something simple like 1084 or 80CrV2. Also, the steel that you can f

Simpler ones! Not hardly. Extremely well done. Doug

Just as a second thought, you could try some Kevlar gloves. They should give you more wear resistance and more of a feel for your tongs. They will still be a consumable item as Owen pointed out. Doug

I only use a leather welders glove on my non-dominant had to protect my tong hand from the heat of the forge. A glove on your hammer hand will make the hammer harder to control. The reason I use a welders glove instead of a leather work glove is that welders gloves are quicker to get off if they overheat. Doug

That is a work of art. Doug

The knife, the sheath and everything is spot on. I'd love to see you do fancy. Doug+

You could take a look at Atlas Tools knifemakers anvil it doesn't have a horn, which I almost never used as time went on, but it does have a hardy hole which could hold a bick tool to replace the horn if you needed one. The lack of a horn also reduces the weight and places the mass of the anvil under the work so it will be more efficient than a European pattern anvil of the same weight. Doug

One thing to look at when buying a pyrometer is to look at the rating of the accompanying thermocouple. A lost of times they are rated at temperatures lower than most forges run at. What you want is a ceramic shielded thermocouple. Doug

It's starting to look nice. I'll be interested in seeing the finished product. Doug

They're all very well made but the feather damascus gets my vote. Doug

Everything just flows together and I love the shape of the blade. Doug