Forge for wilderness tools

plowboy said:
Hey Fiddleback...

Great outfit. I'd not thought of a setup quite like that. About 20 years ago, my dad and I made a small forge out of a wheel rim. We bent a 3" pipe that ran up into the wheel rim (the rim was on 3 legs). We would then put a blower similar to yours at the end of the pipe and force air into the coals. Only difference -- our blower was electric. I forged a few knives...unfortunately, I don't even know where they are now. My dad still has the "forge." This thread may inspire me to get it going again.

Thanks for the pics and info everyone. Skunkwerx great thread you started.
:)
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Those pics are the example I built mine from. Mine is much smaller. I didn't mean to mislead.
 
SkunkWerX said:
Man, the Wilderness/Survival guys are gonna boot us out over to the Beginner Knifemaking Forums. ;)
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Not a chance John!!!

This is a SURVIVAL Forge, and if the SHTF, this is a skill we should all have. I have really enjoyed reading these posts and talking with you guys! Keep up the great work! You are inspiring me to learn a new skill!
 
SkunkWerX said:
Man, the Wilderness/Survival guys are gonna boot us out over to the Beginner Knifemaking Forums. ;)
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Maybe we should start a thread for po'boy/DIY knife and tool-making/modding here. I don't know who to ask to make it a sticky, but as long as one of us posts to it fairly regularly it would be easy to find.

The Makers' forum is a goldmine of info populated by people who love to help you out, no question, but it might be good to keep all these ideas under one roof in W&SS. For the guys that don't necessarily want to start a new career but love to mess around with their gear.

I know The ToolShed is here, and that's great too. I'm thinking of a specifically-survival-related thread. Orrrrrr maybe I'm overthinking this, that's been known to happen :o
 
Survival Forge

"Yeah! that's the ticket!"

Actually it is something good to have in your back pocket, figuratively speaking, of course.
There are some plans for small coal/charcoal forges out there made from old BBQ grills, metal brake drums, and such.

From a survival standpoint these "backyard" forges may not allow you to make samuri sword, but, you just might be able to beat a peice of leaf spring into some kind of blade.

"And they beat their plowshares into Roman short swords and slayed the menacing Zombie hordes"

what? it could happen.
 
Anyone posting to this thread who hasn't read "The $50 Knife Shop" , give yourself a light slap in the face and go order it right now. I'm not kidding, you guys are just about re-writing it as you go :)

http://www.survival.com/forge.htm this one is about as bare-bones as you can get. I like it. Literally built and used in the field.

Ammo cans! I've seen cool plans for ammo can BBQ's, so why not a forge? I like the idea of a secure lid on it, too.

Not to get too far off track, but as I recall a large percentage of what we now know as Japanese weapons forms came form peasant tools originally. The lower classes weren't allowed quality weapons. Please don't quote me on this, I'm sure not an expert on any martial arts. My point is... plowshares into swords, indeed. A previous tenant left an old lawn-mower blade in my garage, it's just crying out to be given a new life...

http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-knives-1.html great starter tutorial. Check their main page too, they have LOTS of great articles, looks like almost all DIY stuff.
 
GibsonFan said:
A previous tenant left an old lawn-mower blade in my garage, it's just crying out to be given a new life...
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"Hey what ya gonna do with that lawnmower Blade"

"Uh aim ta kill you with it. MMM"

If you don't know who Carl Childers is, nevermind.:D
 
Great googly moogly, I totally forgot about that!!!

"Sling Blade" whatta classic. I like the french fried pattaters, mm-mm.
 
I tried to make a wheel rim forge but I had no real charcoal or coal, and no insulator other then a bunch of firebricks that left lots of gaps.
Do you think I could have pulverized the firebricks and added some concrete to make some sort of mortar? That forge shape looks like just the ticket, fiddleback.
 
Liam Ryan said:
I tried to make a wheel rim forge but I had no real charcoal or coal, and no insulator other then a bunch of firebricks that left lots of gaps.
Do you think I could have pulverized the firebricks and added some concrete to make some sort of mortar? That forge shape looks like just the ticket, fiddleback.
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Would probably be best to grab some fire-brick mortar, like FBack was saying, and pour it into the wheel.

To make charcoal, get a metal container , punch small holes in the top of it, load it with some hardwood then bake it over a campfire/outdoor fire.
Once smoke stops coming out of the holes you made, you probably have charcoal.

They say you can use charcoal briquettes like Kingsford, but don't try to weld steel, those briquettes have impurities in them that will get trapped in the metal welds, and folds and cause problems.

I'm going to build a charcoal fire tomorrow for a heat treat job, using a basket I made for bbq smokin.
CharcoalBasket.jpg


Hope to heat treat this:
WoodsKnife2.jpg
 
Rescue Mike said:
Not a chance John!!!

This is a SURVIVAL Forge, and if the SHTF, this is a skill we should all have. I have really enjoyed reading these posts and talking with you guys! Keep up the great work! You are inspiring me to learn a new skill!
Click to expand...

RM, this is exactly why I started to learn this skill. Woodworking too. And butchering game. My parents live on 100 acres in Mississippi, and thats where we'd escape to if SHTF, but if you don't have the skills, what would you do there. You'd be bad off, and when you ran out of stuff, you'd be up a creek. This way I can make my own tools, furniture, butcher any game, etc.

So, I think this IS a survival skill.
 
GibsonFan said:
Anyone posting to this thread who hasn't read "The $50 Knife Shop" , give yourself a light slap in the face and go order it right now. I'm not kidding, you guys are just about re-writing it as you go :)

http://www.survival.com/forge.htm this one is about as bare-bones as you can get. I like it. Literally built and used in the field.

Ammo cans! I've seen cool plans for ammo can BBQ's, so why not a forge? I like the idea of a secure lid on it, too.

Not to get too far off track, but as I recall a large percentage of what we now know as Japanese weapons forms came form peasant tools originally. The lower classes weren't allowed quality weapons. Please don't quote me on this, I'm sure not an expert on any martial arts. My point is... plowshares into swords, indeed. A previous tenant left an old lawn-mower blade in my garage, it's just crying out to be given a new life...

http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-knives-1.html great starter tutorial. Check their main page too, they have LOTS of great articles, looks like almost all DIY stuff.
Click to expand...

The fifty dollar knife shop is GREAT. That primitive forge you posted is used in the third world EXTENSIVELY. And they make GREAT tools out of them.

AND, Ammo cans are a GREAT resource for the knifemaker. I've one for my HT oil. One for my vermiculite. And a few hold supplies, etc. The oil and vermiculite ones are a lifesaver. So easy to normalize a blade. Open the top, stick in the blade, close and leave till tomorrow.

GREAT post GF!


OH yea. Forgot to say. Walmart sells natural charcoal. The bricquettes are mostly clay, and it'll clog your forge.
 
First off i dont think anyone would get kicked from here about knife making posts i love reading what you guys have to say. I realy want to do my own knife.
MtnFolk where did you find the rail road track??? Im from los angeles and would love to get my hands on a piece.

sasha
 
sasha said:
First off i dont think anyone would get kicked from here about knife making posts i love reading what you guys have to say. I realy want to do my own knife.
MtnFolk where did you find the rail road track??? Im from los angeles and would love to get my hands on a piece.

sasha
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Start checking junk stores. Ebay has em. ETC. Google farrier supply places in your area.
 
Scrap metal yards. Sometimes they will have some pieces lying around.

Or go to the railyard, the place where they do the maintenance and construction on the tracks. Be nice, and they may toss you a piece.
 
Theres other options for an anvil, a large chunk of steel embedded in a concrete base, for instance. I used a small engine block I found on the beach, lugged i100 pounds of it up a steep muddy cliff and ground the top flat for an hour, then never got the metal hot enough to pound.
 
The engine block idea sound good. I can get a 4cly engine and maybe weld a chunk of metal on top.... Some metal feet to keep it up right. Thanks guys you gave me lot of ideas for the envil.

sasha
 
A few pics of the forge, and anvil situation!

My forge is made from an old roasting pan. My wife hated it anyway. This was its first firing. I heated up the rod of 1/2" 01 and pounded it a few rounds. Its a square bar now. Then my neighbor, policeman, came home from a night shif, so I stopped for the day. Really a lot of fun.
 

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