Drop forge hammer, hammer press, et cetera

C

CEHknives

Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
17
Where can I find machines like the one used in this video for sale:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1024667-The-Youtube-and-Video-Link-thread?p=11684964#post11684964

I am making knives and working with an awesome group of people right now who are teaching me but I would like to buy something for our shop that would benefit all of us. They have been extremely generous to me and I would like to do what I can to help them out but I am very new to this but have fallen absolutely in love with the art of knife making and hope to make it profession in some years time. One of them owns an iron working company (gates, tables, etc real nice work) where the real money is made, another is a certified master blade smith, and the other owns a large horse stable so a lot of horse shoeing goes on etc. I would like something we could all use for our love of knife making and professions. Big thanks to anyone who can point me to quality machines of appropriate size for the applications.

I know I could ask them but I'd rather keep it to my self for now and highly respect the knowledge here as well as my teachers.

P.S.

And yes I am sure I do not have the proper vocabulary for what I am looking for so far I am only finding giant forging machines like this in my google searches:

http://www.mankoopresses.com/drop_forge_hammer.html

Clearly were not doing 6000+ ton billets lol...
 
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Just wanted to add we have a hammer press but from reading in my searches here hydraulic is nicer for flattening/straightening and patterning. So if you could point me in the right direction there I would greatly appreciate it. I believe what the guy in the video is using is a hydraulic? I love how it is really quiet. Our hammer is loud
 
Ok took me an hour or two but I found a post here that answered my question by one of my favorite knife makers:

I'm sorry to intrude on your guys conversation but the answer to everyones question I read is Jeff Carlisle's hydrolic press. He's in Montana but ships all over the US. They run about 2500 and are compact but have all the power you need. It's what I've run for years and works great. His phone number is 406 452-1246. His web site is [url]www.swainsspring.com I don't know if he has the press on his website because thats not his main business but they are great presses built for the knifemaker. josh smith www.joshsmithknives.com[/QUOTE]"]
joshsmith said:
I'm sorry to intrude on your guys conversation but the answer to everyones question I read is Jeff Carlisle's hydrolic press. He's in Montana but ships all over the US. They run about 2500 and are compact but have all the power you need. It's what I've run for years and works great. His phone number is 406 452-1246. His web site is www.swainsspring.com I don't know if he has the press on his website because thats not his main business but they are great presses built for the knifemaker. josh smith www.joshsmithknives.com
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Hopefully this will help someone out there with similar question.
 
Other hydraulic presses would be the ones sold by Riverside Machine, Tommy McNabb, and Ron Claiborne.

Generally the ones that go "squish" are called hydraulic presses, and you want one with about 20-40 ton capacity. I've seen smaller presses than that used, and I've seen that some knifemakers have presses up to 80 or 100 tons, which is monster for knife work. They are more useful in knifework, but can be quite handy in an artist blacksmith shop.

The ones that go "bang bang bang" or "smack smack smack" are called power hammers. They come as small as 25 lbs. ram weight, or as large as several hundred lbs. ram weight. 50-165 is a useful range for knife work. Some are mechanical, some are pneumatic. Pneumatic is generally smoother and more desirable, but more expensive and may require a large external compressor. Some pneumatic hammers generate their own air supply. Power hammers are useful for knifemaking, and are more commonly used in artist blacksmith shops than hydraulic presses.

If you spend a few days learning about them online, you could get quite an education. Try anvilfire.com, bladesmith's forum boards, shoptalk here, iforgeiron.com, etc.
 
If it's a forging hammer you're after, you can also make one, many blacksmiths and bladesmiths do. I've made three so far. Here's my current one:

DSCN1370.jpg


DSCN1374.jpg


I just happen to be in the same town as you. Contact me and you can come take a look at it if you wish.
 
The guy in post #4 is using a bio-powered Israeli 2000g hammer. They are good tools, but results vary from user to user.
 
Thanks a lot for information and proper verbiage. I emailed about the Xpress and I am waiting to hear from the supplier as I emailed the part maker so I will update with any information for those interested. I am also checking out anvilfire.com thanks for link.
 
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