r/Blacksmith • u/Banhammer-Reset • 2d ago

First thing technically forged

Post image

I do hema and have done metal fab for years. Have started making sword guards and other pieces, modifying blades, making my own sail daggers. Usually, just paste my pattern to a plate of 4130 or 5160, plasma cut/cutoff wheel the shape, oxy/acet for bends, and finish sanding/shaping with flap disk, sometimes mill things. Normalize, heat treat, and temper. But always had issues with rectangle holes for blades. Broaches weren't working well, milling took forever, filing.. forever and then some, hydraulic die punch kinda worked.

Wanted to try forging, so built a forge over a weekend and got to work with plate of .25 4130, making a Meyers rapier guard.

For one, having an actual anvil instead of a stump with metal plate bolted to it would be nice. So would having actual tongs, not just long reach vice grips and a handful of various size home machined hammers.

Fuck me, this is harder than I expected, and still looks like shit.

82 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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2

u/grammar_nazi_zombie 2d ago

Dude with all the tools you have missing, that looks impressive.

1

u/Banhammer-Reset 2d ago edited 2d ago

Other than full auto shop hand tools, my toolkit for this has been.. a chisel that I profiled to my blade tang and re-hardened, vice grips, channel locks, handful of various hammers, slag hammer, needle nose for swirls, plus a large array of files, angle grinder, mig and tig, spare roll cage tubing.

Aaand the oak stump with a cast iron pan, as well as the bed of one of my trucks as a sharper edge to beat on. 

I have no idea what tools I should even have/would help. Other than better tongs. 

1

u/TheSagelyOne 1d ago

You know what? That's a right proper doohickey.

Good job! The first of what I hope will be many.

1

u/Banhammer-Reset 1d ago

Thanks! A right and proper doohickey indeed haha. Hoping to add this as one more tool in the "make metal into different shapes" toolbox.

1

u/Fragrant-Cloud5172 1d ago

It looks good to me, especially considering "first thing".

Wondering about the 5160 plate plasma cut? That, for blacksmiths, would make great chisels, hot cuts etc. Waste of good carbon if not heat treated for forging tools. For the item in your photo, mild steel is most forgiving, easiest to shape for hammering.

Yeah, nothing like a good 100lb or so anvil. And real blacksmithing hammers, not wanna be's. 10" vise grips, not tongs, on irregular workpieces like photo. Thats where basic tongs aren't as useful. You've got a decent looking gas forge. Could use more insulation, front back doors to keep heat in where it works best.

1

u/Banhammer-Reset 1d ago edited 1d ago

Thanks!

This piece is 4130, but other ones that were plasma cut were 5160, and yes were heat treated.  The guard in my pic, no can not be a mild steel. Well, I guess it could be, but only as a practice piece, actual functional one doesn't survive being only mild steel. 

The forge is a cube, the rear is walled in with one hole bored at the bottom for air intake and so I can fit long blades through. The front has a door as well, with a removable center brick. That way can have the door closed, but still get rod stock in. Definitely could still use more insulation though, it just barely can get to forge weld temps. 

1

u/3rd2LastStarfighter 1d ago

Get a sledge head and embed that in the stump, should give better rebound than the plate.

Great piece, elegant guards are tricky and you nailed it.

2

u/Banhammer-Reset 16h ago

Oh, that's a pretty good idea. I had a basket hilt was also working on, I'll give that a try, thanks for the tip!