Blacksmithing Thread: Show off your stuff!

[Anonymous No.842573]

So I've been working on my first knife (plain steel, so I don't waste carbon steel when I screw up) but I've really having a problem bringing my forge to heat, usually getting orange at the best.

Are there any easy to build (read: no welding) plans for a forge out there, or even a decent propane or coal (even charcoal) forge in the $200 range someone can point me to?

[Anonymous No.842747]

i use a hole in the ground with stones lining it for charcoal and a steel rim for my coal

[Anonymous No.842766]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP7zIhzAggI

[Anonymous No.842797]

>>842573
How big is the air hole in your forge? If you're burning too hot too fast you won't be able to get the steel to heat evenly so it won't get very hot very quick. If you find yourself adding charcoal often this is probably why. But of course you could be not blowing enough air. It's all about finding that sweet spot.

[Anonymous No.842914]

>>842766

That's fairly clever.

[Anonymous No.843012]

Here's a knife that I finished and two that never made it through heat treating because of warping

[Anonymous No.843033]

>>843012

OP here, I just finished my knife.

[Anonymous No.843037]

>>843033
She looks nice, how long have you been blacksmithing OP?

>>843033

[Anonymous No.843041]

>>843037

Since February. So, Ya know, not very long at all.

[Anonymous No.843045]

Finished it no too long ago.

[Anonymous No.843066]

>>843012
>>843045

Do you guys have belt sanders or bench grinders? All I have (at the moment) is a set of files, and your polished stuff looks so clean.

[Anonymous No.843118]

>>843066
I have a cheap local hardware store belt sander, and a belt knife sharper. Those are my only power tools. I'm not OP btw

[Anonymous No.843125]

>>843033
Unless your a liar, Anon, my gf bought me that knife set for christmas.

[Anonymous No.843127]

>>842573

This would be awesome, really awesome if it was like six feet+ long.

[Anonymous No.843161]

>>843066
I have a 2x72 belt sander. The polishing is done by hand using sandpaper. The blade is actually mirror polished near the edge, but I didn't get a good picture that shows it.

[Anonymous No.843162]

>>843161
That's a weird blade to bevel contrast, I've never seen anyone do that

[Anonymous No.843223]

First knife finished few days ago

[Anonymous No.843264]

>>843127

I have to be honest I had Naginata on te brain while I was forging it, even though I wasn't actively trying to make it too like one.

[Anonymous No.843535]

[Anonymous No.843607]

[Anonymous No.843619]

>>843125
Op is cucking you, bro!

[Anonymous No.843621]

>>843161

This looks neato. Loving the roughness.

[Anonymous No.843653]

>>843535
you must have very small hands

[Anonymous No.843927]

>>843607
Nice, like the look of the handle.

[Anonymous No.843929]

>>843223
Looks good, keep up the good work

[None !STR4WB0SlE No.843933]

Do any ABS master smiths ever come here?

[Anonymous No.843935]

>>843933
Hi there!

You seem to have made a bit of a mistake in your post. Luckily, the users of 4chan are always willing to help you clear this problem right up! You appear to have used a tripcode when posting, but your identity has nothing at all to do with the conversation! Whoops! You should always remember to stop using your tripcode when the thread it was used for is gone, unless another one is started! Posting with a tripcode when it isn't necessary is poor form. You should always try to post anonymously, unless your identity is absolutely vital to the post that you're making!

Now, there's no need to thank me - I'm just doing my bait to help you get used to the anonymous image-board culture!

[Anonymous No.843948]

>>843935
>I'm just doing my bait

[Anonymous No.844449]

Blacksmithing noob here, I want to start pic related as a summer project. I have the tools (or at least most of them) to help start (shears/jigsaw, hole punch, hammer), my only questions are what type of metal to use, how thick should the metal be(the pdf I'm using doesnt state how thick the metal should be), and the type of rivets that I need for this.

Any help or advice would be well appreciated.

[Anonymous No.845100]

My brother gave me these Kevlar sleeves he got from work and i was wondering how does Kevlar work against that flaming hot scale that flies off?

[Anonymous No.845123]

Hey there! I want to start blacksmithing, i saw the youtube video on how to build a forge.. but i dont know if there is a difference between choal and charcoal! A normal choal like the one used for barbecue is good? Sorry for my bad english

[Anonymous No.845126]

>>845123
charcoal is fine.
propane will also work.
need forced induction for steel/iron if that's what you're planning on.

[Anonymous No.845145]

>>845126
Ok thank you! Are that you in the pic?
Then, could you advise(?) me a good guide?
thank you a lot

[Anonymous No.845180]

>>845145
Alot of good guides on youtube and the one book I can think of is The Complete Bladesmith.

[Anonymous No.845277]

>>845123
If you want to use charcoal use lumpwood charcoal. Not briqquetes.
If you want to use coal make you you have a chimney cause it gets smoky.

[Anonymous No.845294]

I saw Grant Thomson do a pretty decent and easy to make forge. Search on his channel on youtube.

[Anonymous No.845339]

Thank you to everyone! ^^

[Anonymous No.845470]

>>842766
I'm thinking of building this as my first forge. Have you had good results with this design?

[Anonymous No.845656]

Here's my first knife that I'm making. Keep in mind that I have no access to an anvil and can only use an old sledgehammer head. I'm a complete novice and would like some advice on how to get a good angle for the blade... I have access to a Tabletop Wheel Grinder, Angler Cutter/Grinder, and a Tabletop Belt Sander. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous No.846077]

>>845656
Nice job, but i have the same problem : i haven't an anvil.. how are you doing without an anvil?

[Anonymous No.846099]

>>846077
you dont need an anvil unless you're doing forge-work.

and most blade profiles can be made perfectly fine with stock removal.

[Anonymous No.846128]

>>845656
Looks good for a first knife. The belt sander is your best bet for an even flat grind. just start with some coarse grit sandpaper and work your way to some super fine 450 or 500 grit sandpaper. In the future, add some sort of a shoulder after the blade so you wont slip and cut your fingers. its bad form to get cut on your own part...

You can make your own anvil from a foot of old railroad track. It's not the best but it works alright.

[Anonymous No.846230]

>>846077
The size requires me to be more precise with my hammer strokes. I don't mind it's very therapeutically to take my time. This is what I'm working with btw, pic related.

[Anonymous No.846494]

>>846077
Anon in previous thread mentioned how cheap and easy railroad rails are to get. Not sure how well they work or hold up, but if they work okay IDC since they're so cheap.

I think I might try to get a hold of one in a month or two when I start on my sword. An actual anvil is like $2 a lb, so fuck that unless the railroad stuff really won't work.

[Anonymous No.846620]

>>846494
RR Track's too light for big forgework, but its fine for knives unless you're making huge things.

write to your local rail company and ask if you can buy an offcut. its what I did, they sold me a section weighing about 15 kilos / 30lbs for £5 - the price solely there so they had a record of its sale, so I never need worry about being accused of having stolen it from a railway siding - and they even delivered it to my door.

Rail track is usually 0.4-0.6% carbon steel, good stuff - better than the cheapo cast iron anvils you get in harbour freight or places like that. Yes, it'll never match a Vaughan-Hope anvil, or the likes, but for the small 10-15 kilo range anvils, RR track is perfectly fine. just takes a bit of work to shape from a track to a flat face with flame-cutting and a grinder.

[Anonymous No.846953]

OP here. My firebrick forge cracked yesterday, so I had to pull out the old brake drum forge with a few modifications. I cut a portion out of the side so I could heat longer stock and I worked with the tuyere so it fits better. Time to get some hardwood lump charcoal and get back to work!

[Anonymous No.847738]

mounting a small anvil on some 4x4 how should i bolt them together.

[Anonymous No.847860]

>>847738

I'm not sure how big your anvil is, but there are plenty of designs out there.

I actually really like this one:

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/27464-how-to-build-a-rustic-anvil-stand/

[Anonymous No.847892]

>>847860
wow that's nice.

its a small 60# anvil so i was just going to use 4 pieces of 4x4 but not knowing much about woodworking and being entirely new to smiting i don't know how much abuse those boards will take and if i need heavy strapping, massive 3/4" bolts, or deck screws.

by the looks of that link small wood screws will do, and i definitely want to scorch and stain it now.

[Anonymous No.848233]

I know why Japanese blacksmiths make their apprentices spend the first two years chopping up charcoal. Cause it's a pain in the ass to do it yourself and anybody who sticks with doing that for two years really wants to learn proper Japanese Bladesmithing.

[Anonymous No.849780]

My only baby so far. I need an place to begin my works.

[Anonymous No.850059]

>>849780

Looks nice, got any images that weren't taken by a potato.

[Anonymous No.850128]

i want to make one of those gunstock war clubs. Does anyone know how to make that metal spike to stay in? I was thinking just burning it in but that doesn't seem like it would be tight enough.

[Anonymous No.850874]

>>850128

Looking at some historical pictures and some modern ones, on some of them it looks like either the blade's tang either goes the club part completely, of they "hide" the brass pins by making them part of a pattern. I suppose you could also glue it in using a wooden pin or two, then sanding and finishing it to disguise it as "seamless"

[Anonymous No.851956]

would this forge work with coal, or would the impurities create to much clinker?
>>842766

[Anonymous No.852141]

Finished a letter opener for my Mom's birthday. Forged it up, sanded and filed it clean of scale, reheated the the handle (cause she likes that black forged look), then sealed it with beeswax.

She loved it, but I feel I could have done better.

[Anonymous No.852152]

>>852141
>She loved it, but I feel I could have done better.

It needs a better handle.

[Anonymous No.852157]

>>852152
>better handle
I think the handle's fine, but I think the blade could match its look better. The blade looks like it belongs with a wooden, bone, or leather handle.The color and shine dynamics don't match.

[Anonymous No.852470]

>>852141
very nice piece anon

> I feel I could have done better.
Next time you forge your point, alternate between turning left and right, instead of rolling it in one direction. That will cause the point to be more straight and that looks much nicer on a curl.

Also, before you twist, straighten the piece as much as you can, and make sure you don't bent while you twist.

You did make a very nice and straight blade, im jelly. i would however take more care when cleaning up, like make sure you sand only in one direction, and clean the base of the blade.

pic is a wand I made a while back, forged the ball too.

[Anonymous No.852480]

>>846230
Ah! Now, here's a question:

I have a lump of wood, I have a sledge hammer head, and I've seen them go together rather well for anvils on the cheap, but I never see them embedded into the wood like this. Why?

[Anonymous No.852485]

>>852480
The faces are hardened for sure, and the sides are not necessarily so. Also, often, the sides aren't even flat (not that the faces don't have a slight curve to them).