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I've used it and like it. Another option, if you can get it, is cold-pressed garlic oil in a gel capsule. I take two or three of these a day, when I remember to get them, and not only does it help with overall well-being (Great for cuts), but mosquitoes and ticks can't stand the smell of it...

Looks like you have fun, and that's the important part. The more hides you do, the better you'll get. I've found that when wet-scraping the hide, it's best to forego the frame altogether. Lacing up the hide in a frame only reduces the amount of skin you have and doesn't really help you when...

The hides were raw, untanned, and have started to rot pretty well. Even with all the meat, fat and membrane removed, there's still plenty of good stuff for the bacteria to nibble on, especially when humidity, darkness and a lack of air movement is thrown in. Reindeer are no different than any...

Good bit of work there. The smooth tapers show you've got a good eye and steady hand. Can't ask for much better than that! How big is she?

Tom, I quite understand. By all means, please feel free to copy the design. If you have a bit of spring, it will already be too soft (tempered) to make a flint striker, but also too hard to easily work with hand tools and such. Just anneal it and start grinding. I'd estimate that it would...

Thank you all for the kind words. Tom, This piece was forged using traditional smithing techniques. What you describe is called annealing and is meant to remove the hardness from the carbon steel if you're planning to simply grind and drill it. Because I wanted something far thinner and...

In the seemingly endless quest to find a flint striker that I like, I came up with this..... Because folks don't use steels regularly, it seemed to me that making the steel something more decorative might be a neat way of "justifying" it's presence. Works great as a zipper pull or key...

I'm exactly the opposite and highly recommend a stick welder over a wire-feed MIG jobbie. The key to remember is that arc welders are all about matching the rod size and type to the work that you're doing. On thin metal, you want to use the smallest rod you can, at the lowest volt/amp that...

Thought I'd showcase one of my most favorite things to make. It's weird how people take to one thing or another. For me, I just really get a kick out of working with big nails. I like to leave them distinctly nail-like so everyone can see how they start life. Here's a 12" long nail that...

For me, military gear is usually a no-go. I find it to be cheap, true, but also heavy and not nearly as well-designed as I might like. The only exceptions to this are things like old swiss packs made with canvas and leather. They just look good, comparative to modern makers but at a...

Very nice. How'd you get the grey color?

Been awhile, so I thought I'd update with another bit of smithery. I've been trying to come up with a style of flint striker that I like, but is also distinctly my own, and I might just have hit the nail on the head. Future ones will have a more refined design, with the ends touching, but...

Nice stuff! I really like the curved piece you chose for the head uprights. It gives the whole thing a delicate air. And your bowler hat is perfect!

I'd definitely tan them, though I understand just how much goes into that. With large, heavy hides like that, I'd be sorely tempted to leave the hair on and make some sleeping robes, but your idea to make pants isn't bad. The holes can be sewn shut prior to the softening phase and will end up...

More openers and some flint strikers. It was a good day in the smithy!

G, thank you for the kind words. This is the first opener I've made from the metal I was given. I have more than a few yards of the metal, so plenty to practice with. This opener was something of a trial run because all I had was a vague picture off the internet - no measurements or steps...

The owner of the local pub was kind enough to give me a bunch of scrap steel he had laying behind the joint. Turns out that a car hit his awning decades ago and he'd never gotten around to removing it, so I said I would if he'd let me. Divine Providence.... most of the steel just happened to...

That's spectacular. I don't know what half of it does, but it looks awesome!

For cheap wood, look no further than your average shipping pallet. Most of them are made from the cheapest wood they can find in the region they're made. Soft, easy to work with a knife, and some of them are in large enough pieces that you could make a hatchet handle or the like. For native...

Toddy, that's a new one on me. Must be a localized custom as I've never heard it being done on this side of the pond. I would hypothesize that the amount of copper coinage being sunk into the timber to kill it must be relative to its size. In the States, indians used to regularly girdle trees...