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Found 12 results
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Got all my stuff together this weekend and finally build my coal Forge. I need something pushing a little more air I think. If you see something I'm doing wrong or have any advise I would love to hear it. Brand new to all this. Thanks! 20180416_204026.mp4
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Hello, forum. Newbie here. I'm just getting into bladesmithing via a community forge here in Chicago and have finished my first blade. The instructor at the forge thought I was nuts for cramming as much as I did into the first project, but I've never been one to aim low... The blade is a railroad spike. The head of the spike became the guard. The end-cap is just a piece of mild steel we had lying around, which is peened. The handle is walnut. It's all glued together with epoxy. I also made a scabbard for it, too, because I was feeling adventurous. The scabb
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Hello everyone! I just joined the forum and if this is better suited to the beginner section just let me know. I've already learned a great deal here so thank you to everybody for spending your time sharing with the community. I have some questions as I'm preping for my first smelt and there is a lot to learn. I started by collecting what I believe is ore. (I posted some pre-roast pictures, if someone knows what it is I would love to know) I noticed it on a hike and checked it with a magnet and it was already slightly magnetic. I roasted golfball to softball sized pieces for about
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Hello everyone, this is my first post here but I have been lurking around for a while, studying all of the amazing work you create. I have been making chefs knives and a couple of daggers for a while but my goal have always been to forge swords. I decided to begin that journey at the end of last year and have been working twoards this goal since then. I have a full time job and too many hobbies to count but smithing have always been my number one passion and I have finally reached a milestone I've been looking forward to for a long time. I've finished my first sword. The proportions
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Kind of a weird request, but here goes: Hi! For a history project, I'm making a shortsword. I have never done something like this before; the closest I've come is melting slag chunks into ingots at a metalworks warehouse's forge. I do not need the sword to be pretty, super functional, or great in anyway; I just need it to exist. Because I have a limited budget, I was planning on using marine grade aluminum, because it's the only decently strong metal my basic, basic forge can melt. My problem is that Aluminum oxidizes so fast, so I can't really use an anvil to hammer it. I was thinking of
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Hi everyone I am new to bladesmithing and I would like a little feedback on a few of my knives. These are not the only knives I've made but they are the 3 I'm proud enough to show. All 3 are made from old leaf springs which I believe is 5160. I've made a leather sheath for two of them and I would appreciate feedback on those as well. Thank you for any comments or criticisms you leave, they are greatly appreciated. The thistle maker's mark on the third knife is my grandfather's maker's mark. He is an outstanding bladesmith but his motor skills have greatly declined lately. He can no longer smit
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Hi all, This knife is the first one that I'm actually proud of despite the flaws (my mistakes). I had made the blade a while ago and was having trouble figuring out what to do for the handle so it was sitting around. When I saw Dave J's post: http://islandblacksmith.ca/2015/06/making-a-hon-yaki-nata/ I had my inspiration. The blade is 1084 and formed by stock removal using an angle grinder for rough profiling, a drill for the pin hole, and files and sandpaper for the rest. The bolster is copper salvaged from plumbing fittings silver soldered (poorly). I over filed the opening for t
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This is technically my second Seax, but my first one broke soon after hardening. The steel is from a leaf spring, the handle is Bubinga wood from some very good friends of mine, and the pommel piece is also from a leaf spring: my friend and I are planning a sword build (he's the lucky one with the big forge and property) and I'm supposed to do the handguard and pommel. The pommel on this piece I was originally planning to use as the handguard for that sword, but I decided it was too small and used it for this. So here we go. Forging... Forging done, also showed next to my plan
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I just finished my first pair of tongs today ! they are made from 2 rail road spikes and it took me about 5 hours of work to make them.(Don't worry I had the forge outside with a nice breeze). The joint where the two peices meet were not level so I had to file it down and I had to use a bolt as an impromptu rivet. This is my third day forging and I am definetly getting better at hammer control. Any advice would be much appreciated becuase I know a bit about bladesmithing and blacksmithing in theory but very little in practice. They are perfect for holding rail road spik
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Hey, just finished my first folder. I copied/pasted this from my blog post, which I write for non-bladesmiths. Any tips/suggestions? Here is my newest creation; a friction folder pocketknife. It started out as a small piece of 5160 I had cut off while trimming a larger blade (I’ll post pics when I’m done with that one). I forged it into shape, did some trimmings here and there, straightened it, then I did the curls in the friction lever by heating and curling with pliers. Once all the forging and hot work was done, I normalized twice (which basically means taking out all of the stress form
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Hey Y'all This is my first post of a project. I've made some knives before, but I felt good about posting this one. You can see that the blade is an unusual shape, but I like my happy little accident. There's only a single brass tube keeping the tang in place, but half the handle is carved out so that it won't wiggle at all. The sheath and handle are white oak. They have been stained with the leftovers of an acid bath (apple cider vinegar) for cleaning rust and firescale. Basically it's Iron II and Iron III acetates in water. Iron reacts with white oak to make a very dark color. The other pie
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Hello, I have been lurking around the forums for some months now and finally managed to gather enough courage for my first post. This is the very first knife I have ever made and so far only one aswell. I made it in local community college course in January this year. College provided the tools but everything from forging to sheath is self made. (You can see it in the level of finish) The blade is highcarbon steel, unfortunately I don't know any name or specifics for it. Handle is made of brass, bogote (80% sure) and curly birch. Tang goes through the whole handle and is striked flat aga
