c/blacksmiths

Finally got a consistent twist on a 3/8 inch square bar

Kept getting a wobble halfway down, so I tried clamping a piece of angle iron to the anvil as a guide for the first quarter turn. Worked like a charm on the next five pieces. Anyone else have a jig trick for repeatable twists?

I always thought a bigger hammer was the answer for moving more metal.

My mentor in Spokane watched me struggle for twenty minutes on a thick bar and said, 'You're hitting it, not pushing it.' He had me use a lighter cross-peen and focus on the angle, and the metal started moving like butter. How do you guys think about hammer weight versus technique for drawing out stock?

So I was messing around with a batch of 1084 steel yesterday, quenching in warm canola oil like usual, but I forgot to temper it right away. Left it overnight. The blade came out WAY harder and more brittle than expected, practically glass. Learned my lesson about not delaying that temper cycle.

Had to pick between a gas forge and a coal one for my new shop

Went with gas for the clean burn and temp control, but I miss the smell and feel of real coal fire. Anyone else regret their forge choice after a few months?

My uncle, who's been a farrier for 40 years, told me 'a cold chisel is only as good as the arm swinging it' when I asked about his tools.

Just finished my 100th commission knife and it hit me harder than I expected

I was updating my log book and saw the number. One hundred. I started this side gig five years ago in my garage in Boise, just trying to make a decent chef's knife. That first one took me a full week and the handle was a mess. Now, I just shipped out a hunter's skinner with a stabilized maple burl handle that a guy ordered from three states over. It's not about the money, though that helps. It's about looking at that line of finished blades and seeing the slow, hard change from someone who just hits hot metal to someone who can actually make a tool that works and lasts. I never thought I'd get here, honestly. Has anyone else had a number sneak up on them like that, where you just stop and realize how far you've come?

PSA: I was hammering way too hard on the horn of my anvil for about six months before a guy at the Tacoma hammer-in pointed out the sound was wrong.

He said my hammer blows were landing flat instead of glancing, which was why my scrolls kept coming out kinked, so has anyone else had a specific sound tip them off to a bad habit?

A talk with my grandpa about his old coal forge

I was helping him clean out his garage last weekend, and he pulled out this rusty old rivet forge from the 1950s. I asked why he never switched to propane, and he just said, 'You can't feel the heat with gas.' He explained that with coal, you learn the fire's mood by its color and sound, and you have to work with it, not just turn a knob. It's not about being old school, it's about the connection. I've only ever used my modern two-burner, so I never thought about it that way. Has anyone else made the switch from gas back to solid fuel, or am I just hearing a cool story from a different time?

Finally got a clean twist on that old railroad spike after three tries

I was messing around with a piece of scrap rail spike in my backyard forge, trying to get a tight, even twist for a bottle opener. On the third heat, I quenched it in my old oil bucket way too fast and it came out with this wild, almost feathery pattern along the twist I've never seen before. Has anyone else had a quench change the look of a twist like that, or did I just get lucky?

My cousin said my forge welds are 'too clean' and it's been bugging me

We were working on a gate hinge in his shop, and he watched me do a scarf weld. He said, 'It looks perfect, like a machine did it. But does it have any soul?' He thinks a little scale or a subtle hammer mark shows it was made by a person. I've always aimed for the cleanest join possible, so this hit different. Do you think a perfect weld is the goal, or does a bit of character matter more?

A simple change to my forge air intake made a huge difference in heat

For about six months, I was struggling to get a clean, hot fire in my homemade propane forge. The flame was always a bit orange and lazy, and I was burning through tanks faster than I should. Last week, I added a simple 4-inch section of steel pipe to extend the air intake away from the burner body, just as an experiment. The difference was immediate. The flame went from orange to a sharp blue cone, and my forge hit welding heat in half the time. Has anyone else tried tweaking their burner setup with something this simple?

I finally saw the forge at the old mill museum in Lowell and it's all wrong

They have the anvil facing the wrong way relative to the fire, which would make any real work a pain. The guy running it said it was set up for 'visitor flow' not actual forging. Has anyone else run into historical sites that get the basic setup totally backwards?

Bought a cheap anvil from Harbor Freight and it cracked after 3 months

I was trying to save some cash and grabbed their 70 lb cast iron anvil for about $60. The face started chipping on light hammer blows, and a full crack developed right across the horn last week. Total waste, now I'm out the money and have to buy a proper steel one anyway. Anyone have a good source for a decent used anvil around the Kansas City area?

Pro tip: I tried quenching a small leaf in a bucket of old motor oil instead of my usual quench tank.

I was cleaning the garage and had a half-full 5-gallon pail of used 10W-40, so I figured why not for a quick test piece. The leaf came out with this weird, almost waxy black finish that's actually pretty tough and hasn't rusted in two weeks. Has anyone else gotten a decent finish from something they were just about to throw out?

Forgot to flux the weld on a gate hinge and the spatter looked like a spiderweb

I was rushing to finish a set of hinges for a garden gate yesterday and skipped the flux on the final forge weld. The spatter shot out in these wild, thin strands that cooled into a weird web shape stuck to the anvil horn. Took me twenty minutes with a chisel to clean it off. Anyone else have a simple skip turn into a weird mess?

Found a weird trick for getting a cleaner weld on mild steel

I was having trouble with pitting on my forge welds for months. On a whim, I tried sprinkling a tiny bit of borax from the laundry aisle on the joint before the final heat, maybe a quarter teaspoon. The flux action was way smoother and the seam almost disappeared. Has anyone else tried something like this or am I just getting lucky?

Spent $300 on a new propane forge and it's a total game changer

My old coal forge was fine, but I got tired of the constant mess and uneven heat. This new one hits welding temp in under five minutes and holds it steady. What's the best way you've found to set up a propane forge for making Damascus billets?

A customer at the bar showed me a bad burn from a cheap apron

This guy came in last week, regular from the machine shop down the street. He rolled up his sleeve and showed me a nasty scar on his forearm, about three inches long. He said, 'Got this when a spark went right through my five dollar apron from the hardware store. It melted and stuck.' It happened in his home forge over in Milford. Has anyone found a good, heavy-duty apron that won't break the bank but actually protects you?

Bought a cheap anvil from an online auction and it was a total dud

I spent $400 on a cast iron ASO that cracked after about 20 hours of real forging. The ring was dead and the face chipped way too easy. Anyone have a good source for a decent used anvil around the Ohio area?

A demo at the Ozark Folk Center made me rethink my forge welding flux.

I was watching a smith there work on a Damascus billet, and he was using just borax and a bit of powdered iron. He said, 'The simpler it is, the less can go wrong.' I'd been using a fancy commercial mix for years, thinking it was better. That afternoon, I tried his method on a small knife blank and got the cleanest weld I've had in months. Has anyone else gone back to a basic flux recipe and been surprised?

Pro tip: try a piece of leather under your hardy tool

I was cutting some 1/4 inch stock on the hardy yesterday and the hammer blows were just brutal on my arm. I threw an old scrap of belt leather under the tool as a pad, just to try it. It cut the shock in half, no joke, and the cut was cleaner too. Has anyone else tried this or do you have a better trick for the anvil ring?

Hit 1000 hammer blows without a single miss on the horn

I was working on a big leaf spring knife yesterday, just trying to draw out the tang. I was in a good rhythm, and I started counting in my head. I got to 1000 hits right on the sweet spot of the anvil horn before I finally slipped. It surprised me because I usually mess up around 300 or so when my arm gets tired. That focus really made the steel move faster and cleaner. Has anyone else hit a weirdly high number like that and felt their technique just click?

My old post vise snapped its main screw clean off yesterday afternoon.

I was trying to hold a stubborn piece of 1/2 inch square stock for some twisting, and it just gave way with a loud crack. I'm looking at a replacement screw, but I'm wondering if anyone has had luck welding a new one on versus finding a whole new vise body.

PSA: The forge at the old Miller's Creek workshop is getting torn down next week

I was reading the local paper and saw they're clearing the lot for a new storage place. That forge was where a lot of us took our first classes, you know, the ones run by Jim Harkness back in the 90s. It's a real shame to see a piece of local history just disappear like that. Does anyone know if they're saving any of the old equipment, or is it all just scrap now?

Bought a 'bargain' anvil off a farm auction site and it's basically a doorstop

Spent $200 on what was listed as a 'heavy duty anvil' that turned out to be cast iron junk with a face softer than butter. I've already put a huge dent in it just trying to draw out some mild steel. Anyone know a good way to spot a fake anvil before you buy one?