The tuyere wasn’t installed yet but it is made of clay and works good.

Hello everyone ,

I’m having a bit of trouble identifying these object and naming them . I believe 2 and 3 go into the hardy hole . Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you so much for your help.

So, first time etching with FC. I have 43%. First time I tried etching two blades, one damascus 1095/15n20 @ about 30 layers, and the other some random hard steel, and mid, san mai (First try at welding).

I'm not going crazy with finish, but, ground down all the hammering marks, so i think all the decarb is gone (is it ALWAYS present?), sanded down flat, and then finished with 200, 400, 1200 grits. Still has marks, but....I'm fine with that.

So, etch in the 43% FC for 10min each....both just look matte gray. The colors/layers don't pop like you see. Why a matte finish!?! Started off as pretty damn shiny!! I can SEE the layers, but just barely.

Sanded back with the 1200, to re-shine, layers disappear. Read up on it, and see I need to dilute (does FC only come in 40%??? how does one know how much to dilute?), so i did a 4:1ish. The san mei turned BLACK and matte(10min)and the damascus was just dark, and matte again.

Whaaaat am I missing? Should I not expect dark layer lines like I see on videos? Do I just deal with the matte finish, and it'll wear down with use?

ps: I know, i need to take more pics.
pps: I did a coffee etch before I really finished the shape, just to see (also, before I had the FC), and the layers were REALLY dark!!! But I read coffee etch doesn't last at all.

Sigh.

Hello everyone, I just got started with forge (fired my forge up two days ago). I was hoping for some tips, tricks, anything to help me get started. I just have a single burner propane forge as I didn't want to go all out into something I didn't know. Any advice will help. Thanks!

I know they can have inclusions but is the steel good?

I apparently hardened my tang too much. I forgot to drill first.

So....hang out with the MAP torch, OR.....TIG welder? I can heat up the tang just in the drill areas to red, leaving the rest of the blade and tang hard.

Crazy idea? I guess I would throw it in some insulating material right after to allow a slower cool.

I'm just getting into forging and this is the forge I'm interested in getting. Do these three burner Amazon forges reach the temperatures needed to forge weld? I don't expect the world from it cuz it's just a $200 Amazon forge, but I know forge welding is incredibly useful so I'd like to get one that can do that.

Looking at building a forge to try and make a knife or two. Have anything but the forge part. Ideally a DIY build and as cheap as possible.just wondering if smokeless coal ( very easy to get near me ) will burn hot enought to actually heat anything up. I was planning on building my forge in a warehouse however ventilation is a problem and I'm worried about getting smoked out so trying to not use charcoal or wood. Any help is much appreciated

I am looking for tips on general but I do have questions 1 what clay should I use for differential hardening and how thick 2 does the blade need to be grinded before the clay is applied
3 does anything change if I use 1095 or a leaf spring on heat treatment 4 I can’t find any good sources on how I to contruct the tang

My skill I have made 4 knives and about 10 other simple projects (if you think this is too hard for me please let me know)

Hi. Ive been smithing for 7 years now and I'd like a kit that i can use in the sca. Ive not tried to make armor before.According to my local rules, if the steel isn't 1/16 in thick then it needs to be proven to be superior to 1/16 mild steel. Id like my armour not so fricken heavy so id like to make and heat treat something thinner.

What alloy is recommended? I have a forge large enough to heat treat most items. 1045 sounds easy and straight forward to me so let me know if that's a good idea. Price is also a big consideration. I don't have digital ovens so my heat treat is in the forge. If it's possible to make a kit without heat treat and just use carbon steel (hot working without hardening) that would be great too. Any resources are appreciated, patterns, ideas, and suggestions. Thanks

Because I just did and I want to know what others think. They’re bottle openers btw.

Took some advice from previous comments and decided to post the corrected version, thanks all!

It now stand 32" off the ground even and feels more comfortable.

As for the chains, the anvil is adhered to the wood plate and the bindings don't budge no matter how I carry it by the anvil. If anyone has other suggestions for chains, feel free to comment.

Using my forge and Little Giant from 1908 to get this bad boy made....

Where to go from here I wonder? It’s like a stump hardie and a tomahawk had a kid lol. Intention was to make my first hardie but didn’t quite work for my 7/8” hardie so I drawn the part I stick in the anvil to fit in my pritchet hole. Ended up looking like a cool start for a small axe. About 3/4” thick at its waist.

Begginer here...

I want to forge myself a tool like this for general house work.

What steel would you forge it from, how would you finish it against rust and would you HT the sharp edge?

I want to make damascus steel but am not sure about what to do in terms of my first press.

I found this press: https://coaliron.com/products/h-frame-press-builder?variant=44124966781176

For the price I'm not sure, but there's a used one near me that I can get for 2700 bucks. Apparently its basically like-new, its been used twice. I'm asking for more specs but its the 12 ton version. Not sure about the power pack situation, or if the seller will have information on it (they were not the original buyer).

What do you guys think would this be capable of forge welding damascus steel?

I just got into blacksmithing and built a shop. Been looking for an anvil and one of my neighbors said he had an old anvil out in the weeds by his house that was his grandfathers. Picked it up for free and spent the day cleaning and mounting it to a stump in the shop. It looks like a Hay-Budden from 1913 with an extra long face. It measures 34 inches overall and 204 pounds. The face is only 3 1/2 inches wide but I'm not complaining. It cleaned up pretty nice. it looks like the tail of the face was either damage and repaired or extended. Either way, I'm glad to have my new/100 year old free anvil.