Guy Thomas

Great story! Though using the bus isn't entirely a bad idea, lol. I could probably get away with a short bus...

Man you got that right, being 60 doesn't help, not like you get more energy as you age right? lol Yeah, the distance involved makes it a whole 'nuther beast, incredibly daunting actually

So a 1500 mile move "may" be in my future from the Deep South to the Far North. Just moving a household with 30 years accumulation of stuff would be bad enough but I've never seriously considered what moving all my anvils, shop fixtures, power and hand tools and miscellaneous crap would entail. Not sure loading a Uhaul with all the household stuff AND a couple (or three or four? it probably adds up even in a small shop) thousand lbs. of anvils, hammers etc etc etc would be a great idea. Or trying to ship stuff like that in a POD. Maybe commercial shipping of a packing crate with anvils and heavy tools etc. by a trucking company? Any thoughts/tips especially from anyone who has gone through this are greatly appreciated. This would entail thousands and thousands of individual decisions on what to keep, throw out, sell or simply replace not only of household stuff but shop stuff too. I mean do I try and take an overbuilt 8 foot long wood workbench that probably weighs in excess of 600 lbs?

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated, and yes this is a probe on which the dissimilar wire junction is completely exposed outside of the sheathing at the tip. I remember now when I was ordering I had to leave my computer for a time and came back to it as I was trying to get to bed and placed the order without double checking it. Tim, you are right, a manually controlled gas heat treating forge is definitely not an application that requires split second feed back from the probe and thanks for the advice on the grounded vs ungrounded probes. Omega's website offer's this: An exposed junction is recommended for the measurement of static or flowing non-corrosive gas temperatures where fast response time is required. Pretty sure a gas forge qualifies as corrosive as far as oxidizing goes but talking with Omega's tech support does seem a good idea. Tim, I need to go back over a number of your posts on the Amal burners, I have the 1/2" propane injector (which are in stock again at their website), with the #70 jet it came with and I believe you have said it runs reasonably neutral at heat treating temperatures with that gas jet?

So I recently purchased a new thermocouple probe primarily for a propane heat treating forge but also for general forge applications. Meant to choose the grounded option but inadvertently ordered the exposed tip. So will the exposed tip hold up to the atmosphere in a gas forge over time or do I need to go through the hassle of returning it to Omega? I fear if I end up with any corrosive or oxidizing damage to the tip I'll have no way of knowing if I am experiencing a drift in it's accuracy.

Looks like a grand time was had by all! I am sad I missed the first one. Turns out though I was having the last full weekend with my faithful daily companion, my aging dog Billy Goat, who had a terminal illness so I am thankful I was here for him. Next year!

Yup, just a single location here has it, an indoor shooting range, and just the spray. I would have been using it for years if it were commonly available! I've heard it is food safe, but I don't know that I'd go that far, lol

Am I strange for liking the smell of Ballistol? lol And why isn't it on every hardware store's shelves?

Stood staring into space in the middle of my shop... and then looked down and saw the detachable work table for my Grizzly metal cutting bandsaw sitting in plain sight on an open shelf right in front of me. I've been looking for it for months! I then processed a bunch of old underwear into shop rags because... well using them whole was rather disturbing.

Yes, as a club it leaves much to be desired doesn't it. I've been relatively fortunate though, the disease has gradually worked it's way from my coccyx up to my neck/shoulder area where it currently resides and I've remained relatively flexible and active. It may in time "burn" itself out which may be why I'm now able to go for days without medication if I try (I'm beginning to fear the side effects of taking the medication for extreme long term use more than the disease). It's not NEARLY as bad as it was when I was much younger and it affected the sacroiliac joints too or later where my ribs connect. In my late twenties through mid-forties I had what I called the "ruptured-duck" walk, lol. Damn I ramble too much these days!

Thanks Alan, about what I thought. Of course this happens right when I am trying to wean myself off as much as possible the daily Indocin for my ankylosing spondylitis that I have been taking for far too many years. Took my dose last night and the thumb is much better today, lol

I figured I'd find something here on this. I seem to be having issues with my left hand thumb/wrist that appears to be most certainly this De Quervain's Tenosynovitis though I haven't been to the doctor with it... yet. Appears to be relatively mild at this point, the Finkelstein test doesn't cause excruciating pain, just discomfort. Some of the exercises/stretches for it seem to be helping and I'm going to start using ice this evening. I'm thinking it won't get better however unless I simply don't use that hand much for a time? With a brace maybe? So does it go away completely or is this something you can count on re-occurring?

Sam (the Eagle) is the man! Really nice work

The slippery slippery slope, lol.

Beautiful bronze work as usual Jeroen!

The construction method of the hollow pommels are a mystery to me too. This X-ray of the hilt, also from from Vegard Vike's Twitter feed, shows the actual shape of the hollow, very regular with an even bottom. Made with a drift perhaps? Doesn't explain why one side appears to have been chiseled out further at angle further toward one side lobe.

I just found his Youtube channel yesterday! Good stuff, he has excellent content on Twitter too about the Gjermundbu maille shirt and the Gjermundbu helmet as well. Best way to find them is by Google searching.

The T-rivets would appear do appear to be iron to me. I've always been puzzled by the exact means of T-rivet construction, in this case they appear to have been trapped in the channels by pushing the edges of the channel over the head of the T-rivet. This was a funeral pyre burial and if I remember many of the artifacts, like the maille shirt, show evidence of melted copper. Perhaps why much of the hilt decorations like the twisted wire and much of the overlying inlay is missing. It must have been stunning!

I found some outstanding photos of the Gjermundbu sword hilt components detailing their construction posted by Vegard Vike back in 2018 on his Twitter account (@VegardVike). To be clear, these are not my images, but presumably it is okay post these here as Twitter is an open platform and his posts can be freely retweeted by anyone. He is an archeological conservator at the Kulturhistorisk Museum in Oslo and his twitter feed is a treasure trove of fantastic information!

Very nice, beautiful clean lines and nice contrast between the finish of the hilt elements and the blade. This type of sword has small secondary bevels for the edge right? Great imprint on the leather grip too, I'm curious what type of chord you use for the overwrap while it's drying. Looks like you "may" have used twisted wire. I've been looking at hemp chord online for that purpose. It has a smooth and very even twist. Just found your Instagram account (I always appreciate extra pictures of process!). I see you are using a good sized heavy (cotton?) chord.

And nice anvil, very similar to my inherited anvil and like Alan said you don't need to do anything else to it but use it! What's the weight?

Hi Chase, well I was going to recommend the Grizzly 2"x72" grinder as it used to be the standard entry level grinder for many, however (and holy smokes) it no longer appears to be the affordable option it used to be years ago as it seems to be running near $800 or more with near $200 in shipping. Considering it's has a number of inherent limitations for our uses I believe that money would be better spent on a home build or saving up for one of the quality 2"x72" grinders of more specific use to bladesmiths. You can keep an eye out for used, which is how I got my grinder. Bear in mind grinders create a lot of very hazardous very fine particulate airborne dust so keep in mind ventilation, air filtration and contamination of adjacent areas in your choice of grinding locations. In my case I no longer do much grinding with my 2"x72" in my shop which is my attached garage/laundry room and have considered a mobile base/platform to allow me to wheel it outside. Don't stint on good personal breathing filtration too! Bear in mind lot of very good work can be done with just forging, files, scrapers, stones and hand finishing (just more slowly and at a greater labor cost, lol).

So, many years ago, (alright, 40 years ago) I was active in the SCA and at the time the replica sword makers Del Tin Armi Antiche supplied swords for resale here in the states through Museum Replicas. I purchased the Model 2133 Sword of St. Maurice because I really like swords with brazil nut pommels. Really nicely balanced sword as well, handles like a lighter sword though at 1600 grams and a blade length of 33" a bit of a beast to haul around. Anyway, shortly after getting it we attended an event and proudly showing off this beautiful sword handed it to a friend who, much to my horror, proceeded to flex the blade into an extreme "U" shape to see it return to true as these swords were advertised to do by Hank Reinhardt. It is a testament to Del Tin's heat treatment and steel choice that the blade did return to true... mostly. It did have a bit of a curve and twist to the blade which I minimized over time by flexing the blade in various ways. A slight curve and twist were still noticeably there however. Fast forward some 37 years and I unearth this sword thinking I will tear the hilt apart to repair the loose guard, re-peen the pommel which is gradually working itself off the tang so that there is now a slight depression where the tang was peened on the pommel (the probable reason for the loose guard), examine the wood core and replace the twisted wire wrap with leather. I swing it around some and take a gander down the length of the blade to relive the "event" and wonder of wonders the blade is now as straight and twist free as the day it was delivered to me. A decades long experiment in steel having heat treatment "memory" I suppose!

I'm glad to hear of other people never finding any, I've been looking since I was a kid (that was a very long time ago now, lol). Closest I've come is when a local lake (Lake Jackson) which periodically drains down two sinkholes, had done so and the dry lake bed was exposed. I was exploring and found an area of waste flakes where tools had been made. They looked to be chert, the only locally available material for tool making. Perhaps associated with the nearby Mississippian mounds culture site here though the local area here in Tallahassee has been occupied by a number of different cultures.

I just saw a Grainger commercial on TV, which I thought was interesting in and of itself when I recognized the smith briefly showcased on it was Ric Furrer. I hope he gets a royalty for every showing, lol.