Alan Longmire

Vinegar doesn't touch grease. I just throw greasy cable in the forge as-is and let the grease act as a carbon source. That said, kerosene or diesel works fine if you want it cleaner.

Welcome back, Dan!

Hmmm... no telling so far. That patina looks like it may be from having been in a fire. If so, or even if it's just a magnetite shell, the middle may have rusted away. That would explain the light weight.

On the wrought bar, electrolysis will tend to make it go away. It's great for aboveground dry-land rust, but things that have been in water or buried accumulate deeper rust along the slag strings and electrolysis causes them to fall apart. If that's from above the tidal zone it's freshwater rust, which is no big deal. Forging it will fix it. Dunno what the other thingy is, how big is it? Edited to add: the electrolysis warning applies only to wrought iron and shear steel.

It's spelled "finitiob." Did you plate quench? I didn't know L-6 would fully harden in plain air. My thumbs and I are cringing in sympathy.

Just so you know, if you didn't, that is, that word was ripped off from Tolkein, who stole it from Anglo-Saxon, but he didn't change the spelling. "Dwimor" means dark magic (and also haunted) in both Tolkein's Rohanese and Mercian Anglo-Saxon. Yeah, I'm that big a nerd...

Tell me about it! Look, there's even TWO pathways!

Yes, just JB weld a hardened platen on.

Glad you didn't forget the springs. Cams and the lack of springs are why punch presses do not make power hammers. Something has to give.

This. Get a layer of tight scale on it and oil it. It'll be as close to black as it can get. Not shiny, unfortunately, but blackish.

Very much bad-ass barrow-wight indeed! Well done!

Whoa! It's almost as though the texture of the ivory carries over into the blade! Nice work!

Plus the soft ones are not the least bit flux-resistant.

Pretty darned sweet there, Gabe! Glad it didn't come home with you as well.

Good to know!