Andrew W Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 A copy of 6th century English archaeological finds, staring from ore. The finished blade. Heterogeneous bloomery steel blade, horn handle (drilled + burned in hidden tang). A closeup of the other side of the blade. This billet is only 18 layers--I wanted to maintain the messy metallurgy we see on so many of the originals. I smelted the iron back in March. Unlike my first half-successful try, this smelt went well. I got a nice, steely 14lb bloom. (This photo’s from the preheat, just before I switched from wood to charcoal.) Obligatory photo of the slag tap, near the end of the smelt. The 14lb bloom of new iron, birthed (via c-section) from the side of the furnace. The bloom was steely already, but I decided to do a hearth melt with some of the scraps that fluffed off it while I was compacting the main part. I tossed those scraps into a charcoal hearth, and got a nice lump of much more consolidated steel from it. The smaller bloom from the hearth melt, and the billet into which I forged 1/2 of it. I forged that billet into a blade! Polished and etched. I love the textures of bloomery steel. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Looks great! Burning a tang in horn smells delightful, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew W Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Alan Longmire said: Looks great! Burning a tang in horn smells delightful, no? It’s one of those sensations that you never forget... Incidentally, I finished this up in a new forge with the Black Beauty burners you recommended to me. They weld bloom effortlessly. Thank you for putting them on my radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibor Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 This is what I like!!Congratulations!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Nice! You guys who do the bloomery work are hard-core. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Lester Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 (edited) I like the handle on it a lot. Definitely a step above wood and the pattern from the refined bloomery steel is kind of neat too. By the way, have you gotten the smell out of your work shop yet. I ground some antler once and it took 3 -4 days to get the odor out of the house. Doug Edited June 14, 2019 by Doug Lester I'm an illiterate idiot with dyslexia HELP...I'm a twenty year old trapped in the body of an old man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew W Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 I do it outside, preferably somewhere with a breeze! But no, it never goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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