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I was grateful for all the strikers that stepped in that weekend, all were beautiful for helping. Although of course you stuck out head and shoulders above the rest for 'ansomeness.

Finally got the axe finished that I forged and donated as a prize at the Wilderness Gathering earlier this year, my usual striker was ill so I had guest strikers wielding the sledge for me, all the axes came out well in the end ( made one each day) Picture shows the axe in my test handle...

https://www.woodberrytools.com/catalogue/ToolRoomMaterials/SilverSteel.aspx Hope I won't get told of for posting links! quite a few people do silver steel at decent prices, just have to bite the bullet and order enough that you don't pay proportionally too much for postage .

Nice Video, straightening springs is a pain have, buying something straight would work out cheaper in the long run. Silver steel is one of the more expensive tool steels, not sure exactly what size you would need but I reckon it would only cost 25-50p per awl. Forging time would be dramatically...

This seems odd to me Mark- why couldn't you differentially temper ( or differentially harden which is I think just as common on axes) stainless steel? Stainless steel encompasses a vast range of steels but all the ones I have tried are expensive and really difficult to forge, this is I think...

Looks good, think you are right about taking it slow. If you are carving for enjoyment there is no need to hurry.

I'm getting ready for the European Woodworking show - Cressing Temple Barns in Essex - this weekend. A great event and stunning venue, I'll be there with my oversized striker forging axes and adzes, do come over and say hello if you make it up there. A few I have got ready for the show this...

Assuming the steel is en9 - which is fairly common for hammers then I would quench it at 820-840 , no need to soak it for ages although a couple of normalising cycles from the same temperature would probably help. Warm Oil is safer to quench in, although water should be fine as well , and I...

Great knife- are you mixing c and F in these figures? - 800c sounds OK but 400c is I think too high for tempering, 400F is fine though!

If you use sleepers then you have to put them end on, if you cut them up and stack them like bricks they will be really spongy.

I am sure it would work, and it is unlikely to crack especially if you reinforce it. Not so sure about anchoring it into the ground unless you are 100% sure you now where you want it to be. A big stump is the easiest. Personally I would have the anvil higher than reccomended, which makes it...

Its a great show, well worth going to it. I'll be there forging Axes

Good pictures thanks for posting them- I didn't get to see the finished chainsaw sculptures. Perrari very kindly brought me a jiffy bag full of O1 offcuts- not a steel I have every used before. Be nice to see how it compares to my usual choices when I get a chance to have a play.

A bit Harsh Dave! although lots of diamond stones do wear out at a frightening speed that is hardly the reason that they are generally coarser. The main reason is that it is very difficult to accurately embed very small diamonds consistently. The guy I deal with guarantees his stones for 5...

It hard to tell precisely what finish is used especially from a picture. I part forge the axe from mild steel then cut a slot and weld in a piece of bearing steel, the initial cut is around 1" deep, When I weld it together and flatten and shape the blade out this gets close to 2" in some...

Thanks for the feedback on finish, I try to forge as close to size as I can to minimize grinding - I had a look at a SD axe last weekend and I am pretty sure it wasn't a painted finish although it did look very glossy, there was a fair bit of grinding that had then been blacked in the fire but...

Glad it got to you in time, added bonus that it slipped under your customs radar! Nice to see the axe being used and used well at that. Thanks for the review as well, always nice to get feedback.

Yes - some cheaper olive oils are blended with vegetable oils anyway from what I can gather.

Lovely work, I like the fact that it looks right yet doesn't look like any other Kuska I have seen. On a similar note whilst I don't have a great deal of experience with box wood I have never seem any with such visible grain.

Dave, I am afraid I have no idea how this compares to a HK, I don't think I have seen one apart from on a screen. I can alter the thickness of the blade either way without any problems. Not really sure if I understand the rest about stiffness, but as I see it most of the stiffness of the blade...