my first attempt at forging

X

XxBOSSMANxX

Joined
Jan 3, 2002
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28
Got tired of the old grind and decided to try my hand at forging,basically I just packed the edge and let the steel flow where it may(I did grind the top down into a curve,so the hammer would lift the point back up).I cleaned up the top edge and ground out the hammer marks,but the edge is just how it came from the anvil.Whatcha think?
It`s 3/16" 1095,I plan on making it into a camp knife with curly maple handles and a brass guard.I also think I`ll put a wavy yakiba temperline in it as well.

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Bossman
 
Good job, hows it feel to move the metal instead of just grinding it away? Bet you can't forge just one.
 
Well, how bout it Bossman? Was it fun? Gonna do some more forging? I found that once I started pounding the steel instead of grinding it there was no comparison. It's not what I would call addicting as much as all consuming. Have fun with it and keep those pics coming!
 
Thanx,guys.
Yes this will not be my only attempt,I`ve done quite a bit of reading on the subject,and everything seemed to work the way it should.I could really tell the difference in the way the steel moved when it had that nice full bright orange color to it.
Max,yes I think my grinder is about to start playing second fiddle,more of a finishing tool rather than the primary.
you guys should see my "bubba"forge,it consists of about 15 fire bricks(not mortared)stacked kinda lego block style,with one of those big propane burners that roofers use to melt tar patches stuck into the side.Hell,it worked great and I`ve only got about $40 invested in it.I`ll take a pic of it tomorrow when it`s daylight,it might influence some more neophytes to get the urge,I think I`m going to call in sick tomorrow so I can stay home and play with my new toy.
I`m hopelessly hooked.
Bossman
 
Hey Bossman, that's some pretty good back yard ingenuity. But you might want to check out some different burner styles. You keep using that roofers torch and the propane huggers are going to be boycotting in yer front yard :D
 
hey smiths!

any one of you can give a step-by-step procedure for an aspiring robinson crusoe? here are the conditions:

i'm marooned in an island with absolutely no tools at my disposal. animals and fish abound but trapping and preparing them for eating is such a biiiatch without any tools. then i discover the river beds are full of iron filings (Fe3O4).

problem: how to make even just a crude knife given the above conditions.

thanks.
 
I will need to fly to your island to give you the instructions personaly. Is that your picture on the Avatar?
 
Originally posted by Bruce Bump
I will need to fly to your island to give you the instructions personaly. Is that your picture on the Avatar?
Click to expand...
thanks a lot, lover-boy, but i'm a guy. how about this new avatar? nice eyes, 'eh?
 
Can't help you but I will trade your island without anything on it except game, fish and no people for my piddling 10 acres and two story house, shop and about a million people I don't like living all around me.:rolleyes:
 
That was the best offer ive had in years. Sorry, What kind of knives do you want to make? Is the Iron sand on the beach the same as the Japanese used to forge into swords? You may be sitting on a forgers dream come true. I know the island and fishing sure sounds good.
 
i think i started with the wrong question (and avatar). sorry, fellas. i remembered this tv feature in the 80s. a group of americans, europeans and aussies volunteered for an experiment. they were to live under wholly primitive conditions for a whole year without any assistance. all they had were rudimentary clothes (men and women) and a few domesticated animals.

the first few weeks were tough. building a fire was the easy part. what edible plants they can find in the 200-acre area can feed a few people for only a few days. they managed to catch some fish. when the time came to slaughter some of the animals, it was a mess: imagine butchering an ox using rocks, sharpened sticks, thorns, teeth and nails.

then, one guy thought of scouring the potholes in the river and found enough iron filings. he smelted it for more than a day and came up with a glowing lump of pure iron the size of a walnut. he shaped that using a stick and stones, voila! he had a knife!

that little invention improved their living conditions significantly. they were able to eat better, built better shelter, clothing articles, and were in fairly good condition when the year ended. scientists observing the whole thing agreed that the turning point in their "existence" was the invention of the knife.
-------------

so, how do you make a knife from iron filings and suing only a stick and a couple of rocks?

:)
 
Collect as much iron off the beaches as you can. dig a hole in the ground and put in coal and iron. Light it on fire and pump in air for several days until the coal is burned out. The carbon from the coal will make the iron into steel. Now forge the steel in a coal fire and shape it into a knife with a rock. Heat the knife to cherry red and dip it quickly into the ocean. Rub off the scale until you see a shiny edge and then heat the edge until it is the color of the brown beach grass. It should be hardened now. Finally sharpen the edge on a flat rock. Go kill something and use one of the bones for the handle. Attach the handle with the sinew from the fresh kill and use the raw hide for sheath. I was just thinking..If you have a computer on your island Im surprised there are no knives.
 
well, thanks for the brutal advise, bruce. here in the philippines, there's actually a beach made entirely of iron filings. mining it has long been outlawed but that hasn't stopped guys from going there to collect a few handfulls at a time.

my next question: are there smiths (particularly sword-makers) who still carburize their steels? or is this process passe since one can get really good blanks and billets with enough carbon in the iron?
 
Sorry but that wasnt brutal advise. Thats really how its done when thereare nothing but fire and rocks to start with. Primitive man had to work up to where he is now somehow.

Yes there are sword smiths that make them this way but the ore is collected at iron foundrys instead of on the beach. Cant think of any names Maybe Mike Bell in Canada.
 
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