Oh... So THAT'S what a bad forge weld looks like...

Transcribing ideas from conception to the forge and anvil is never an easy thing. Constructing these ideas and having them go awry is even more difficult to deal with. However, like many other things in life, you live and you learn. Recently I had forged a folded tomahawk in which I had forged a carbon steel insert for the edge. Forge-welding is something that is still elusive to me. It is not the easiest of techniques and I still need a lot of practice. Luckily I got a weld, or I thought I did, on the second try. 

By looking at the images above, one can see a few "questionable" spots. I had seen these, but in my ignorance I assumed they would be fine. I was pretty excited for this project, as it was a bit bigger of a head than I had forged previously. I bought some more oak for my handles, and spent an evening carving and shaping my handle. Once mounted and wedged, I decided it was time to give it a test. I grabbed some wood from our woodpile that had yet to be split, and started plugging it in the log repeatedly. I was also testing the edge, too, to make sure I got the right hardness (I'm ashamed to say I cannot remember tempering this piece or not). After about a dozen or two times, I noticed some fragmented wood stuck towards the tip. I came to realize that part of my edge had not properly welded and the metal literally started to peel back like an orange peel. Of course, I was instantly upset that my work had not held up to the test. I had yet to suffer a catastrophe like this. Once the mild steel started to separate from the hard steel, I came to realize that my bad weld was a bit larger than I thought, and that there was literally a gap between the steels. The second picture below shows a bit of the spots. The bad weld can be seen up towards the top of the edge where matter can be seen. 

So, I'll hang on to this piece and use it as a throw around ax whenever I need a bit more splitting power than my railroad ax will provide. I definitely learned my lesson on "assuming" a forge-weld held. My next project I'll be starting soon will be a traditional style woodsman ax with a drawn eye. I'm excited because there will be no folding. I've managed to acquire a pretty large concrete jackhammer bit that I can square up, maybe upset a bit, and shape it from there. I'm drawing my inspiration for my next ax from Autine. Check them out, absolutely breath-taking axes. 

Ramblings, Forgings, and a Tanto

My friend told me this week "You have so many hobbies and projects, you don't have enough time to finish any of them". In reality, he was not wrong.

I have this horrible, yet wonderful problem of having so many ideas floating around in my head that I never know where to stop... or end. Recently I found a traditional style Japanese tanto on Etsy and decided to do some research on the smith of such a beautiful work of art. (Go ahead, check it out. It's beautiful and can be found here)

Other than the sheer beauty of this tanto, there are other reasons I am highlighting this piece. Slide over to this smiths website and you will understand why. Dave is the living representation of ideologies of modern blacksmithing that I did hours worth of research for my final independent study project. Dave uses entirely reclaimed materials and resources for all of his pieces. One of the arguments for today's revival of what was seeming to be the dying art of blacksmithing is the idea of using old things and turning them into something new. Many state that there is something appealing about holding something old in your hand, such as a railroad spike, and after a few hours at the forge, holding the same bulk of material in your hand only to be gazing upon something totally different whether it be a wall hook, ax, knife, or some sort of mounting bracket. Walk into your living room right now and turn on HGTV, History, TLC, or DIY. On all of those networks one can find at least five shows that are about some form of salvaging things off of or out of old buildings and establishments. Such a trend is a major driving factor in numerous ways of life right now. Second hand stores and yard sales are followed by a large representation of seriously devoted people, occupying neighborhoods or entire towns to hold an extravaganza of changing hands.

It seems that all things old are involved in this endless cycle of when they are wanted, not wanted, and ultimately discarded or destroyed. Say for instance: A man goes through his parents barn and finds a chair that was his as a child and has not been used since. The man then cleans the chair up, repairs if need be, and puts it in his house for his kids or grandchildren. Without a doubt, there is an immense feeling of satisfaction felt by the man, seeing younger generations get use out of something he used so much as a child and then repaired by his own hands. The same concept and cycle applies with smiths. Finding something old and turning in to something that other people use and receive satisfaction from is a driving factor in many smiths' work. This is what is sparking a revival of not entirely traditional blacksmithing, but a form of what I label as "neo-blacksmithing". This atmosphere is pulling in large numbers of young smiths, not unlike myself, that are drawn to this idea of finding, re-working, and re-using.

In closing, after scanning nearly every inch of Dave's site, having a conversation with him via email, and reflecting on all of this, I've decided to try my hand at my own tanto from reclaimed materials. I'll be happy if this blade is a fraction of the caliber of Dave's work, but we all have to start somewhere, right? The blade, pictured below in its rough, raw, early shape is forged from a tool steel jackhammer bit. The handle and sheath, or tsuka and the saya, will carved from some planed wood leftover from a cabinet (walnut), and fittings from an old copper pipe (if I can properly solder everything). So, that currently adds to the list of: 1 unfinished hatchet/tomahawk, 1 dagger, 1 work knife, and one decorative knife as a gift.

So much excitement, not enough time!
Cheers!

Sharing the Knowledge

I would like to touch on the topic of "sharing the knowledge".

There are a lot of people who will say that blacksmithing, bladesmithing, or any other kind of metal smithing is a dying trade that will so be lost. That is so, so utterly wrong.

Why do I make this claim, you might ask? It is quite simple, really. I make this claim because the smithing community is so adamant about sharing knowledge with our fellow smiths, regardless of their skill level. Concepts, techniques, and even ideologies are passed down through generations of smiths much like what is passed down through generations of martial artists and warriors. Some of these things are retained and some are lost, as is the cycle of many traditions in an ever-changing society.

There are some smiths that when contacted, they are not willing to help and share what they know, or even answer even the slightest, most broad questions. There may be some people out there (and there probably are) that inherently disagree with me, but I think this is not the mentality to have in this trade and lifestyle that we so diligently practice. Granted, there are some things that people may not be inclined to share, for it may give their product a special niche within their market. (For example, some knife smiths will tell you that their quenching liquid for hardening is a brine, animal fat, or used motor oil mixture... but may not tell you what exactly that mixture is).

You may be wondering what has spurred this latest rant of mine. It isn't because I asked someone something and they gave me a curt reply, it is actually due to the opposite. There have been a few recent conversations I've had with some smiths asking of material, technique, and general information that were responded to with the utmost detail and helpfulness. What better source of information is there for a beginner smith like myself than to receive first hand, interpersonal help and information from people who produce awe-inspiring show quality work?

Social media has opened up an entirely new realm for sharing the knowledge of trades. For example, the blacksmithing, bladesmithing, and blacksmith guild Google+ communities I'm involved in has flourished to a roster of smiths from all across the globe that are always willing to offer advice, constructive criticism (NOT SLANDERING OF WORK), and ideas to help each other further their skill. These are some of the nicest people I've come to know in my life. It's frequent to have someone join the community, state that they're interested in getting started in smithing, only to be responded to by multiple posts that are saturated with experience, knowledge, and great links to other sites. It's all about involvement, folks. There's a reason why seminars and rendezvous are such a great place to pick up tricks of the trade and establish contacts.

On a side note, here's my latest little blade that I forged out of a section of high carbon concrete drill bit. The lines that look like cracks are actually weld lines from the twist of the drill bit.

So, I felt like making a dagger!

A good while back I had started a project that I left to linger next to the forge for a few months, staring at me every time I would work out in the shop saying "I'm still here, you know". We had acquired an abnormally long jackhammer bit, so at one point I had flattened and drawn it out in the shape of what I would consider a "leafed" dagger blade. I thought it would be really cool to make a fully functional, semi decorative dagger that could hold a pretty keen edge. The other week, I dug this blade in the making back out again, only to lay it down for another few weeks. Finally, last night, I decided its time to knock this out and get it finished. Part of the reason I have yet to make a lot more progress on this knife is simply because of the roadblock I have seem to crash face first into. I can't decide where I'd like to take this dagger. Half of me would like to polish it up, make it really pretty, and put nice fixtures on it. The other part of me wants to leave it raw, have it look old, like it just came out of a medieval grave from under a London parking lot (see what I did there?).

Whether I know where I am going with this project or not, I started working on the blade, handle, and scabbard last night. Previously I had thinned the tang, forged and split the eye for the cross guard, and formed a slight bevel. However, last night I realized that entirely the blade is still too thick. In response to this problem, I fired up the forge last night to thin the blade a bit.

I had a few different routes I could take for this task. I could thin the blade and move the metal in the shape of my bevel by using a regular cross peen hammer, or I could use a rounding hammer and possibly move the metal with more speed and control. The only thing I don't like about the rounding hammer is when polishing, it can be quite a pain to get the texture from the blows to come out of the metal. I ended up using the rounder to thin the blade. I made quite a bit of progress, too. I then moved to the handle, in which I measured to my desired length, cut down, and then took to the drill press. Once the pilot hole was drilled, I hit it with a bit bigger drill bit, and from there was just work with a rather aggressive round file. Still have some more to do, as I don't quite have my fit I want yet. I would really like to re-do the cross guard out of bronze or brass, mainly because I want to work with materials that I haven't worked with before, but I'd have to order most of those materials in (except for the brass, I could get that here in Evansville). I still have much to finish on the the blade, though. More filing, more shaping. Many hours left, but that's the price you pay for doing all by hand... I'm okay with that, though. 

But really, let's cut to the chase. What I'm most excited about is the scabbard. I saw a technique online that I really liked, and I hope I can produce something that is 10% as effective as this guy did. I started with two cuts of black walnut. I've traced the blade, and now I'm working with relatively dull wood chisels and relief carving tools to carve out the shape of the blade. Then, glue and press, and finally move on to shaping the exterior of the sheath. I'm very, very excited about this. I just need some sharper tools!