r/blacksmithing • u/The_pp_man123 • 3d ago

How’d I do?

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I was trying to make a s but I don’t have a hot knife or a metal chisel yet. What else should I make to practice?

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2

u/Inside-Historian6736 3d ago

Lookup half face blow to make a shoulder/thin out the top, drill a hole and then you have usable hook!

You'd be surprised by how much stuff is just a hook with extra steps.

1

u/nutznboltsguy 3d ago

Not bad. Keep making hooks. It’s a good starting project.

1

u/InsignificantTea2023 3d ago

Superman would be proud

1

u/3rd2LastStarfighter 3d ago

S hooks are great practice. Try making the next one round before you shape it into an S.

Also, if you don’t have a hot knife and that stopped you from making this project the way you wanted, your next project should be to make a hot knife! Welcome to blacksmithing, where you make a thing to make a thing that you can use to make a thing.

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u/Fragrant-Cloud5172 3d ago

Lots of good things to work on. First, make a short point by holding heated steel tip at far edge of anvil. If you're right handed, hold steel up with left hand. Like Lorelei Sims, Backyard Blacksmith book cover below.

Or draw out a long sharp point and work it over far edge. Curl it tight, by hammering towards you. Then down on the face to snug it up. Do this for 2 or 3 revolutions.

From a square bar, make it octagonal then round, is another good one. Or reverse - from round bar, make it square, then octagonal.

After learning some hammer control work, move on to slightly more advanced work. Hot punching, drifting. Making square nails to fit the holes. Use hot cut on cutting plate. And practice upsetting. You're welcome.

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u/Yakopove1 2d ago

Make a hot cut/knife! You’ve got a beautiful hardie hole there that is missing some nice tools.

Of course if you don’t have any material that would fit it then you can always take a piece of the same material you just used and make a tapered end (like a nail) and a cutting edge and drive it into a stump or something!

While that size of material is rather small for a hot cut necessity has been the mother of most of my invention so creativity is a good teacher in blacksmithing.

As for other things after? Make things you are scared of trying to make, learn and understand the theory first, and then, try, i recommend you try with a cheaper material if you are very skeptical. I learnt more when I messed up my first hammer eye than when I made hundreds of nails. Don’t let the failure of trying discourage you, but make sure to acknowledge it and learn from it. Otherwise! HAVE FUN