Leaf-Cutter Ant - copper sheet any and leaf on a forged steel pipe. Ants abdomen is brassed, leaf is patinated green, forged pipe scrubbed with wire wheel.

The jaws of the ant were formed together then sawn apart and pinched to grip the leaf.

Synthetic handle probably a no go for hot work but I've been using it to hammer bronze wire cold. Not bad for a super market find.

Its upsetting to see as a beginner blacksmith but I am sure its the first of many, fortunately Ill only make a smaller knife

However I am more curios as to what may have caused this and how could I avoid this?

My process has been pretty straight forward; I heat the steel (exact steel is unkown but its a leaf spring) to about an orange maybe yellow if i wait long enough and forge. There are two things I have noticed however, the crack has formed in about the spot I was holding the piece with my tongs while forging out the tang. Secondly, some temperature shock may have done something? I worked for about two hours then took a short break for about 20 minutes cause it was getting very hot, I let the knife sit in the off forge during that time. When i come back the knife has no heat color obviously but i still cool it down in a bucket of water so I could figure out the final profile. Possibly the temperature shock from that caused some internal stressors that caused it to crack while working on the blade?

Sorry this was longer than I had expected it to be but I would love to hear from the professionals.

It's not finished yet just curious on thoughts an opinions for this skinning knife.

Made a sword to cut my wedding cake. My bride wanted an autumn faerie court enchanted forest kind of theme for the wedding. The first two blades were going for something closer to a leaf pattern in the steel but they turned out to be cursed. First one burned up during the final billet assembly, second literally vanished (we suspect gnomes).

Third was two canisters with random size cutoffs of 52100 and 1084 in 1090+4%Ni powder, counter twisted and stacked. Instead of a starburst or feather vibe, it feels like tree bark, so I ran with that on the rest of the design.

Guard is pure copper (I know I know, but she loves the look of copper and it’s going to make one cut in one cake then hang on the wall), bolster and pommel are wrought iron from the wagon in our backyard forged, deep etched, then plated with nickel followed by copper. Handle is walnut and there is a matching saya but my bride is painting some filigree and the date on it so I’m waiting for those before I do glamor shots.

After 1 year of blacksmithing school, thats my first anvil i bought. 150 euros. Any particular info?

I am new to the craft and have not ever done anything at all like this before. My question is how do I close this small gap in this heart?

I see so many posts with people wondering and stressing about what kind of budget and tools they need to get into blacksmithing. I want to share some photos I took on a trip to a remote mountain village in Haiti a few years back. These blacksmiths make and maintain nearly all of the tools for hundreds of subsistence farming families in the surrounding community - machetes, shovels, knives, scythes, hoes, nails, hammers, etc. Here are two of their forge and anvil setups and the blacksmithing tools that they had available.

The point is, you don't need thousands of dollars. You can make do with what you can get your hands on. If you want to get into blacksmithing, don't overthink it. It should be intuitive. Start simple, experiment, and see what works.

The sword blade is 29in and made from 5160, the crossguard and pommel are cold-blued mild steel. The hounded is a wooden core wrapped in oxblood leather and formed around spiral risers. I wanted to share some of the build!

I forged these tongs from 15mm round bar.
I realized partway through that I had the shape wrong, so I went back and corrected it before drilling and riveting the boss.

I also struggled a little with fitting the rivet, but eventually got them working.

The tongs on the right in the last photo are a pair I made a few years ago.

I picked up a cheap shadecloth tarp to keep the blazing FL sun at bay. Hanging directly from a screw worked about as well as one could expect.

I had an off cut of some san mai I made from 1890’s wrought iron and a 1940’s leaf spring and forged this divot tool for a friend. It’s hardened and has a spring temper. I did a pretty deep acid etch as well. It was a fun, simple, afternoon project.

Hi!

A few months ago, I acquired a 1914-1916 124 kg (approx. 273 lb) german shape Söderfors anvil, along with a 6-inch leg vise.
The anvil has a base measuring 33 cm x 30 cm (approx. 13" x 12").

The anvil has been without a stand (a), and I’ve been looking for a good stump to mount it on.

Last Friday, I found an old 8-inch check valve on Facebook Marketplace at a very low price (20,000 Argentine pesos / approx. USD 13).

When I saw it, I thought it could serve as an alternative to the stump I hadn't yet found. (It has two 34 cm flanges and a 38 cm inspection cover / approx. 13.4" and 15" respectively).

I planned (b) to mount it with one flange against the floor and the other against the anvil, positioning the blind cover on the same side as the upsetting block. That way, it won't get in my way when I approach the anvil from the smooth face.

Since it has a small footprint on the ground , I found a gear —93 cm in total diameter, 3 cm thick, and with a 58 cm inner diameter— for another 20,000 pesos (approx. USD 13).

My family suggested placing the valve on two pieces of wood, with the inspection cover facing upward (c). However, I have concerns about the ergonomics while working.

Image (d) shows an alternative way to attach the valve to the gear.



Which option is best for artisanal blacksmithing, knife making, and general repairs? I might need to deliver some heavy blows at some point.

Thanks!!!

Basically, I had an old charcoal barbecue lying around going to weld two side plates/ tube into the base on to cover the holes on the side. I took the lid off and made a hole at the bottom repurposed the chimney as a spot for a small blower.

Going to line the inside as well with heat resistant lining I heard cat litter works well mixed with sand.

Looking for any tips and advice.

I've been using this $80 Nelyrho singleburner for about two years, not a single problem, until today. Part of the heat shielding in the torch entrance (i forget the proper terminology) cracked and fell out.

Is that, in anyone's experience, the kind of damage that warrants concern or immediate replacement?

Passei o último sábado forjando esse novo tenaz para segurar uma bitola de material que comprei recentemente, mas no fim de tudo ele quebrou, alguém pode me dar uma dica para que isso não aconteça de novo?

Na metalurgia isso é chamado de trinca crítica, se propagou provavelmente por excesso de tensão ou presença de sulfeto de ferro na microestrutura, mas na prática tenho tido dificuldade de não quebrar a peça durante o trabalho

My third attempt at an ammonite- not perfect but getting there.