Ever thought about it all?

[Sam Salvati]

Ever thought about it all? I mean how many people on a daily basis expeirience steel, or ANYTHING for that matter in excess of temperatures exceeding 2,000F?!?! Let alone take that steel and shape it on an thought to be only in cartoons tool(anvil), and using a hammer?!?!? Following a careful and somewhat mystical yet precise method of heating and cooling to produce a length of steel that is both hard, flexible, tough and able to take a razor edge and hold it? I don;t know about you guys and gals, but i think that is mindblowing. There are people who in there whole life will not see something hotter than a kitchen oven, cut with nothing better than mass produced steel, never expeirience the thrill of making something that will last 100s of years, maybe longer. I love the look when i say to non metalworkers when i say i sprinkle laundry booster on hot steel, then heat it up again to high temperatures and hammer it together. I know why I teach.

 

[sunshadow]

The first time my wife came to Ithaca to my mother's house where my machine shop is, she came down the driveway, I had the tractor apart all over the lawn and I was fabricating a frame part for it out of scrap iron, some kids from RIT were supposed to meet me there to photograph me making a knife. She didn't believe that A) I was going to be able to get the tractor working again B) that I was actually going to be able to build a part out of the scrap C) that I was really going to make a crowbar into a knife, then it really broke her head when we needed a beer opener and I forged one out of the crowbar.
I love to make knives out of crowbars just'cause it breaks people's heads that I can take something that they consider immutable and squish it into something else!


-Page

 

[langchop]

The first time I had a look at molten steel from about 4 metres away I could not believe that it was busy singeing the hairs off my eyebrows from that distance... thats awesome

Another awesome thing we get to experience: The fact that we can have a piece of steel which is soft enough for us to shape and work, and then with a 'simple' heat treatment, that same piece of material can be rock hard, unworkable and able hold an excellent edge.

Lang

 

[J.Marsillo]

Sometimes I think about it and I feel like I know too much.I love this craft!People seldom believe that I own an anvil nevermind make knives on it.(you mean you have one of those things from the cartoons too Sam)
Mind you I dont want to seem like a know it all ,but somtimes I'd rather not mention that I make knives.The misinformed are always right!

 

[Bruce Evans]

The one that really blows peoples minds is when you say you took a piece of that old rusty cable or a chain from a chainsaw and made the blade for the knife they are holding from it.I love when they ask how you got that pattern on the steel when they look at pattern welded steel.
The all time best question is: Did you make the blade and everything,How did you chrome the blade?
I just roll my eyes and think,Give me a break! and answer yes I made it all I forgethe blade and when theylook at me dumb I say you know I put steel in a fire and hammer it out on a anvil,another dumb stare,heck Yes I made it end of story...ROFLMAO

You can put a picture out on a craft show table of you forging and you will get more questions asking what your doing,Isnt it great to know that using tools that built this fine country are not even recognized now days.

Donna was amazed when she saw me make things in the shop the first time also,it was funny..

Bruce

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

I remember my wife turning me a wedding band in 440C on an old SouthBend. Ahh, love...