Starting Tomorrow...

fedaykincmndr

fedaykincmndr

Joined
Aug 3, 2004
Messages
971
...I'll begin making/destroying knives. I've got all my gear set up and I'll be pounding away. I'd be starting today if I didn't have to work overtime :grumpy: . I post here more than anywhere else so I figure I'd tell y'all and see if I could glean any last-minute words of wisdom. I'm really excited and cant wait to begin. I'll be using a charcoal forge (my grill) with an old hair dryer as a blower. So, wish me luck :D .
 
Good luck. I have no words of wisdom because I haven't tried it before, although I have thought about it. I like working with wood but never took the step with steel. Hope it works out for you. It will certainly be satisfying for you to use a knife you made.
 
Whats your anvil??

Use hardwood charcoal, not the briquettes.
 
Yep got that one down. The anvil is a hand-me-down; solid steel or cast iron. I'm not really sure what it's made of but the hammer bounces beautifully and it's probably 100lbs+.
 
I'd put a steak on the fire too, you got to take a lunch break sometime.
 
oh i forgot the beer, you can't have a fire without the beer. safety first. just in case the flames get out of control.
 
hey also good luck and have fun.

i always like working with steel. i just never mastered tempering that well.
 
Actually that's the part that's worrying me, but I'm gonna worry about that part when I get there. A beer is a great idea! Especially the safety part... :D
 
Update: Man that was fun! However, I thought I was finished spending money, however I'm not getting an even heat. So, two weeks from now, I'll be buying some refractory cement, a wash tub, and some steel pipe and make a forge like what Tim Lively uses. It should work much better then; I hope. I started out with a 1/4" round steel rod and ended up with a longer, flatter, and thinner blank after about an hour of work. I'm just gonna work on technique until I get my next paycheck to buy the stuff I need for the wash tub forge. Hammerin is REALLY hard work!
 
Awesome. Glad to see you're having fun! 1/4" rod is small. Pinstock really. But good practice all the same. Another good pracitice material is rebar. It can't be hardened, but you can make fireplace pokers, etc out of it.
 
hehe. I thought you might have been forging switchblades........
 
LOL No sir. If you've the time, sir, would you mind exchanging information (via email, etc.)? I'm new at this, obviously, but you seem to be fairly well versed in the techniques and such and I'm always willing to learn. I've an open email address on my login here at BF. Thanks in advance.
 
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