Sneak Peak - Donor Tree

Recently, Wayne was approached by some good friends of ours up in New Harmony about a project. The project was for something called a "donor tree"... neither of us had heard of a donor tree. After doing some research and speaking with our friends that approached us, I've found many different beautiful donor trees that people have done, from making them solely from steel or using steel and wood.

We've created an organic things from steel before, such as our tree gate we did back in 2011 (which is still my favorite piece we've done, pictured to the left and below). It was one of the first projects that I really did a lot of work with Wayne. Wayne had the concept in mind to blend modern fabrication with traditional smithing methods. The main body of the gate, which formed the tree was cut with a plasma cutter, while the leaves and locking mechanism were all hand forged. Let's be honest, if I had to hot cut 3/8 plate as big as this gate was with a chisel, hammer, and anvil... we'd still be out there cutting it 3 years later! The color scheme we did on this gate was cool, too. We used a black paint, tarnished copper green, and some other greens and grays to give it an old look and then used a gold wire brush to add a gold sheen to the leaves. Once all of the colors were applied and dried, we added a nice clear coat to keep it looking like we intended it to.

I think referring back to these ideas we used for the gate have been a extremely helpful on this current project. One of the hardest things about making something that came out of nature, which has no definite straight lines or right angles, is making that something with materials that come only in straight lines. It can be hard to replicate the asymmetrical beauty of nature, but one can get close with enough patience and creativity. This is something I think Wayne hasn't forgotten on this project or the last. It's projects like these that I'm reminded that no matter how much research I've done, how many videos I've watched, or how many knife blades and axes I've hammered out that I'm still the apprentice of the shop and this man is the true master mind that has a practicality and creatively cultivated by years of fabrication projects of the most unusual, practical, and unique stature.

For this project, we wanted the tree to represent the project. We wanted the project to be an embodiment of what trees are; life at it's greatest. Of course, there is no doubt that is why these types of donor trees came about. What better organism to represent life and giving than a tree? A tree can have a longevity that can outlive most organisms on earth, but with the smallest little bore hole made by a green bug that tree can die, lose it's leaves, and fall. Trees are such giving organisms. I could write all day about all of the things that trees give us, physically and physiologically. But I think most of you reading this should have a general comprehension of those characteristics. I think this is a good representation of what a donor should be. A donor can give so much to someone who has so little, a donor can breathe life into someone who is staring death in the face, and a donor can bring a smile to someone who hasn't smiled in a long time. Let's re-cap that. Trees represent life, trees donate things to us human beings, thus donor trees are cool.

We wanted to do something different for this one, something subtle yet striking. I was really starting to worry if we were going to be able to fulfill those expectations we had for ourselves. Then, of course, he did it again. Wayne said "I've been stewing over an idea for the last week or so. Copper behind the trunk, raised to the front through gaps of woven steel, textured to look like tree bark. What do you think?" There was only one thing I could say to a marvelous idea like that...

"I think you're on to something"

So, there it started and from the start it has blossomed to near completion. I wont show much more than this picture of the textured trunk, for I want to save the best pictures for last when it's fully completed. I was really excited at first when we were commissioned for this project... but that amount of excitement is only a fraction of what excitement I'm filled with now.

Anvil identification!

Hey folks! We need some help identifying this anvil of ours. It's big, it's old, no markings really at all. Any suggestions?!

A Weekend of Fun

A weekend full of some type of craft work is pretty hard to beat. For myself, it doesn't matter if it's blacksmithing, wood working, or even conceptualizing for a new project. All seem to be possibilities to grow and learn something or many things.

Within the last few years I have learned how fulfilling doing things with your hands can be. For myself, there are few things that feel as rewarding as taking an ax or tomahawk that I've just forged and putting it through a bit of a stress test, seeing it perform, and knowing that it is performing due to my craftsmanship (or sometimes seeing that it
ISN'T performing due to my craftsmanship...). One of those few things that do compare to stress testing my crafted goods has to be helping someone make something. This weekend I helped one of my closest friends, Heath, finish his knife before he heads off to South Dakota for a summer internship. When I say "helped", it was more of being present and offering little tips here and there. Heath did 95% of the work on this beast and it sure is an impressive knife. Some of you reading this may know that Heath is a taller guy and so the larger handle on it is a pretty good fit. He found the design idea of the handle from a knife that his dad Tim (Tim, Timbo, Timbo Slice, T-Hoff... I have many nicknames for his dad) has that has a beautiful dark curly handle on a damascus blade. Personally, I think he hit the nail on the head. I've shared images of his blade before, but I cannot emphasize how cool the texture from the farrier's rasp is. When coupled with the overall shape of the blade, I think this is one of the coolest blades that I've seen. I mentioned this on facebook, but Heath should be the knife smith, not me! 

I've had some time to work on a few other projects lately. One of them being a spike hawk from a rail road spike. This one actually hardened more than the previous. A great looking piece, I think. I need to work on having some clean lines but this definitely has a hand-forged look. I'm going to be sending this to a friend once the new, clean hawk handles come in (hopefully today). I forged this one different. Instead of upsetting the spike end of the railroad spike and fuller the material to make the blade part, I used the opposite end since it already had a nice bearded shape. I then drew out the end with the spike on it to be more pointed and sharper. What amazed me is the amount of time this took to forge. The last hawk I did (from my previous post) took me almost 5 hours to craft. This one took me about an hour and a half. Using my mandrel from Kayne & Son is saving me a ton of time, and if you're starting out making hawks you should definitely look up their tomahawk mandrel. It's worth the $40 due to the amount of time it saves. It will give you a perfectly shaped and tapered eye every time! 

We've also been commissioned to two new projects from up in New Harmony. We've been working on a donor tree, which I'm super excited about. This project is letting us get a bit more artistic than some of our other projects. Wayne has the basic outline conceptualized, and we have two different prototypes we're working with at the moment. At this point, it's just down to deciding which style we like more. I'll share more pics once we've gotten a bit farther. Shown is a picture of Wayne hammering a piece of steel that we've cut and adjusted to resemble a tree bark like texture. 

Also being laid out is a new handrail that we won the bid for. I'm excited for this project as well. As much as I love forging and fabricating, I really enjoy painting the fences and handrails we make with a spray gun for auto-body work. I can pop in some tunes and go to town for hours while painting. No pictures of that, yet. Soon, though ;) 

Happy hammering! 

Newest Member of the Family

My smithing preferences remind me of a line from George RR Martin's series "A Song of Ice and Fire". When a character named Shagga is asked what kind of weapons he wants, he says something along the lines of "a double-bladed ax... for each hand". In response to this, Tyrion Lannister quips "...Shagga likes axes". Well... I like axes. I like forging them, shaping them, and fitting them with a handle much more than I do making knives. I enjoy them both, but I get far more pleasure from forging an ax head.

As most people are aware, there's a large representation of people making things out of railroad spikes these days. Depending on who you ask, there's many reasons people are making things from spikes. Some say its because of the ability to get cheap carbon steel, some say it is because of the cool look. As you read further, I will be giving you some insight into the reasons I like to use spikes.

By no means do I consider myself even a journeyman smith. However, I feel as though I have picked up on some things that I consider to be core foundations of the trade. If one has the desire to forge axes or forge anything, that person has to gain a moderate amount of hammer control. Being able to control your hammer blows to a point where they're precise and still powerful is a very important thing. Having the capability to do so increases effectiveness and efficiency. Forging a ax or hawk out of a railroad spike forces one to focus on hammer control through techniques that without control can greatly increase the forging time. Being able to precisely land hammer blows keeps from having to reheat multiple times per task, which each time the metal is reheated a bit of carbon is lost. I am still working on this, as I think most smiths are throughout their smithing career. Smithing is a lot like a martial art in my eyes. There is always something to improve on and there is always something to learn. Something I tell my friend when he comes over and hammers with me, "don't swing so hard. Choke up on the hammer, control your hammer blows, and use the weight of the head, not your arm, to move the metal". Most people don't realize that not always does there have to be so much oomph behind the hammer. If the right weight is used, let the hammer do the work.

There is almost a smooth, robot-like tempo to get into. In this tempo, watching the heat, flipping and moving the piece, and timing your precise hammer blows all flow together. This is important when augmenting the metal in a way other than just hammering it flat or into a different shape. Knowing the heat and knowing what will happen not only to the part of the metal that is struck, but to the rest of the piece as well. When splitting the eye for a piece like this, knowing when to stop is a big factor in a successful slitting, splitting, or punching. Even if the tool is hard, after a certain amount of heat loss, each blow is no longer doing it's intended function, it is just damaging the tool. Oh, quench that tool, too. Keep it cool or else you can mess up (or totally remove) your temper.

Besides teaching hammer control and other techniques, I like to use spikes because they're a great looking piece. If you hand someone something and tell them it's made out of a railroad spike it's easier for them to put into perspective the transformation that the piece has undergone. If you want to check out some seriously stunning railroad spike knives, look here (even though his shop is on vacation, Cris makes some truly awesome knives). Or, you can check out some of his work that gets posted on the Blacksmith Gulid Google+ page.

For this hawk, I was going for something a bit different from what I have been making in the past. My previous ones I've gone for a more "bearded style". This time I wanted more of a tomahawk look, but it almost ended up looking like a medieval style boarding ax or rope cutting ax. I favor the bearded style far more. After shaping with a file, I was content with the look. Here's where I ran into a problem; I couldn't get this steel to harden. I quenched the piece in oil three times and no avail. Luckily, my friend Aaron Armstrong of Blackcat Forge addressed this issue. Evidently, if a spike is more of a mild carbon steel, as opposed to being high carbon, they have a better effectiveness of hardening in warm water instead of warm, used motor oil. My plan this weekend is to strip it down, get the wax coating off and try to get it to harden so it will take a better edge (and so that edge will last longer).

I think I've addressed this before, but a lot of people ask me why my creations have such a rough look. That's the look I like. I like them to look old and represent being handmade instead of being made in a factory. I like the scale skin that covers the piece and the dark, black-abyss color the piece takes on one you apply some beezewax to keep the rust away. My favorite part is that it highlights the bright look of the grind, bevel, and edge. Also... I'm hooked on Kayne & Son's hawk handles. Those are pretty hard to beat, especially when they fit perfectly after sized on their hawk mandrel.

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings!

Hand Forged Japanese Tanto and The Peg-Legged Blacksmith

I haven't posted any updates on here lately because I've developed this horrible habit of starting a project, and then starting 4 more and not finishing any of them. And of course work has been busy, but who's occupation isn't time consuming on and off the clock?

When I do find some spare time and work up the gumption to head out to the shop and work, I've been working on a project that is near and dear to my heart. I believe I've mentioned this project before, and where I got the inspiration from. If not, refer back to this post. I really  feel I've made some serious progress on this project. I know, I know, it really doesn't seem like it when compared to the photo on the right. So far, I've gotten most of the scale off, shaped the general curvature of the blade, and the grooves for the hibaki started. I've also got the full length bevel started, but you can't really tell from these photos.

I'm super excited about this project, mainly because I'm using no power tools at all.  All of the initial shaping was done not with a gas forge like usual, but with a coal forge, 70lb anvil, and the hammer that our family blacksmith used on our farm close to 70 years ago. Fun little side tangent, my grandpa says our blacksmith, Lee Vincent, who despite his peg leg was the strongest man he's ever met in his life, even to this day. My grandfather, whom I consider to be one of the strongest people I've ever met (physically and emotionally) has undeniably met some strong people through the war and all other aspects of life he's seen. Our blacksmith evidently used that 4lb hammer and another that my grandfather said "I don't see how the hell anyone could swing that without two hands!"

I'm also utilizing another old style technique for this project. One that's slow, tedious, and exhausting but much finer and easier to control. Many of you who may be reading this have probably heard of draw-filing. Instead of using your typical cross filing with a metal file, one holds the file at the desired angle, and draws or pulls the file. This gives a totally different effect from cross filing. Here's what I learned:
- The file stays clean and doesn't get clogged with metal shavings.
- The metal shavings that this method does produce are like little razor blades and will stick in your skin and eat you alive. A leather apron and gloves are a MUST.
- This really helps keep things level, whether you're filing the tang, or the bevel! (see what I did there?)
- This technique really lets you get to close spots or angles and still take metal off without breaking your direction that you've been filing.

I wouldn't necessarily say this technique is slower, as it takes off just as much if not more metal than cross-filing. This method does require a bit more attention to detail, though. For me, this style is preferable, although I would thing they will both take the same amount of time. This will undoubtedly be the longest project yet, but I have no doubts that it will be the most fulfilling.

Kayne & Son - The Blacksmith's Depot

It had been a while since I had really treated myself to some things that I wanted. I decided to break that dry spree of saving my money and splurge a bit on some items I had been eyeballing for quite some time. Quite frequently, I scan the different product categories on multiple different smithing supplier's websites, but The Blacksmith's Depot had three items of interest to me. First they offered a great deal on a tomahawk mandrel complete with a tomahawk handle for $40.00USD. I've been looking for somehthing to help me get my eye shape more consistent on my hawks for a while now, and when I came across this product, I knew I had to have it. It is a very nice product, made of cast iron, and clean with no burs. The handle is nice, too. Seems to have a nice waxed coat on it, too.

I also ordered their didymium safety glasses. I know a glassmaker that uses these and they make all of the difference in the world (considering that when glassblowing you cannot look at the glass without wearing these). It's a bit different to get used to your color of your heat being a bit off, but it's nice. They're comfortable, stay on, and actually let you see MORE color within the material. At $60.00, I would say they were a solid investment well worth the price.

What I was most excited about (and most pleased with) was the modified gooseneck tongs made for holding railroad spikes. As much as I love working with spikes and as many ideas as I have to make stuff out of them, it drives me crazy when I cannot hold on to the spike to work it. Well, Kayne & Son definitely solved that little issue. Most of our tongs out in the shop are old and from auctions or estate sales and tend to be a bit rickety sometimes. Not these tongs, they're solid. They hold a tight grip on the material without having to squeeze so hard your hand cramps. They come with a nice wax coating on them which gives a nice slightly sticky grip. By far, I was extremely pleased with the product. Not only were they made in the USA, but they are just a solid piece of equipment that I can tell will last us a long time.

I'm extremely pleased with the service that Kayne & Son provided. Quick shipping, reliable products, and a great viewing experience for their products. I also emailed them yesterday to ask about another product, and boom! They emailed me back today with not just a short half-assed answer, but with suggestions and facts regarding their product and what seems to work best for other customers in the past. They certainly will be getting my business again.

1,000 Views!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I just wanted to thank any of you that take the time to read my ramblings and babblings, it is much appreciated! I Hope you'll continue to read some of the things I write here and maybe even be convinced to pick up a hammer, fire up a forge, and start swinging.

I stripped the handle off of my first knife (which can be found further back in my posts) and put a new, slimmer handle on it. I used black walnut and tung oil instead of red oak and Tru Oil. It's not a masterpiece, but I consider it an improvement. Enjoy!