Mountain Men trying to get in on the Knifemaking Craze.

ya, I also call bs, limestone does not normally have any iron ore...

it's found in commercially viable quantities in certain regions, as hematite etc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_ore#United_States

the only iron you might find with limestone is in the form of red rust, which technically is a source of iron, but if he was using red (rust) limestone, he would need to mine a few thousand pounds of limestone to get enough for a knife ; )

outside of proper iron ore veins, the best bet to find iron suitable to make a knife is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_iron
(which I don't believe is normally found in limestone caves)
 
The most common source of iron for making small batches of knife steel in a tartara is magnetite - black sands - from river and lake shores. You can buy it on ebay. It runs around $4 a pound. The procedure takes some skill, but it is done with broken glass ( or silica sand), black iron sands, and lump charcoal .... lots of charcoal. Some people add small amounts of pure iron in the form of old nails and such to the mix. It gives a larger yield, and starts the puddle quicker.
 
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I really hope they come out with a line of branded "Mountain Man Knives". That would be so cool! ;)

I bought 75 of the "Forged In Fire" kitchen knife sets. Because heck, similar knives sell for $400 or more. Made from Surgical Steel, and I don't know of any surgery that's cheap, so it gotta be good. This is like printing money. Anyone want to buy one? Now only $250. Better hurry, they're going fast, only like 75 left.
 
That reminds me of an award dinner where they asked me to say something about my tabel ( it had won the best display award).

I said,
"Right now my table displays the largest collection of Stacy E. Apelt knives in the world. They may start selling any day now, so hurry over tomorrow morning and get one while the supply still lasts."
There was lots of laughter, but I sold more on Sunday morning than I ever did before.
 
don't no why!but I'm thinking to much moon shine+making your own steel is not a vary good combination .
 
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