Another day at the forge.

[VaughnT]

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 be the perfect size for bottle openers, so I thought I'd try a new design that I'd seen on the net.

Not bushcrafty, per se, but an excellent beginner project that incorporates a lot of the techniques needed to make other things.

First step - draw out the tang and punch a square hole that's larger than the tang.


Second step - twist, bend, pass through and curl the tooth over.


Third step - test for function.


She works! Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't to some serious testing for long-term performance over a wide range of bottles.

 

[GGTBod]

So simple when you put it like that but it's always the way when you are watching, very iron age in style i like it it has similarities to a small knife i am occasionally dreaming without choice about owning/learning to make, did you make many, get much of the same metal?

 

[VaughnT]

So simple when you put it like that but it's always the way when you are watching, very iron age in style i like it it has similarities to a small knife i am occasionally dreaming without choice about owning/learning to make, did you make many, get much of the same metal?

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 laid out for me, so I had to do a lot of guessing. Of course, I goofed a few times and had to backtrack to save the piece, but that's par for the course.

The end result is a bit off here and there, but the next one will be better.

One of my hobbies, for lack of a better word, is searching for projects that beginners can do with a reasonable expectation of success. Making an s-hook might teach you a bit about creating a finial and doing a smooth bend, but that's about it. An opener like this, however, is fairly brilliant because it's simple enough that even I could do it, and incorporates just about all of the fundamental skills a smith needs.

Making the punch is all about drawing a square taper and then filing it to make the working end just right. No heat-treat needed. That's Smithing 101.

The opener is just as simple as I described it if you break it down into the various parts. Draw out the taper for the tang. Punch the hole. Bevel the front (makes a great lifter for can tabs!). Twist the tang, or don't. Bend the tang around. Insert tang through the hole..... The key is to not get caught up the big picture. Realize that it might look like a mangled mess, but you can always heat it back up and straighten things out. I did a lot of that before I snapped the shutter and posted pictures on the net!!

It might take time, but there's no reason you can't forge a nice blade for yourself, and I'd be glad to help however I can from this side of the pond.

Do I make many? I'm always experimenting with one design or another. You can't hardly sell an opener around where I live because folks are stingy and most bottles are now twist-offs. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Who'd pay $40 for a forged opener when they can get a chinese import at the gas station for a dollar?!" Such is the life of the starving artist!!

They're fun to make, though.

 

[GGTBod]

I am a long way from even starting the hobby of smithing, i'd need to move out of my high rise apartment first i think, but this is the type of thing i think of making if i did get access to a forge and someone skilled to learn with

 

[Dreadhead]

nice work!

 

[VaughnT]

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

 

[thejollyroger]

I really like that! It does look like something that could have been made in the iron age, if they had bottles that needed opening of course!

 

[VaughnT]

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 I like it well enough. Because I didn't clean the scale off my anvil, the surface texture is very bark-like and actually follows the curves, giving the entire thing the look of a vine.

At approximately 3"x1", she's small enough to pack but large enough to handle. Throws a decent spark, too. Now for Version 2.0.....

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[crosslandkelly]

I like those a lot, form and function.

 

[Clouston98]

Nice one mate .

 

[dwardo]

Great work there. Especially the striker.
Might want to put the bottle opener through some rigorous testing, maybe opening 20 or so more bottles and disposing of the contents responsibly

 

[VaughnT]

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 landscapers often use to fasten timbers together. The shank is about .375" in diameter.

Step one is to use a 1/2" punch that's been nicely rounded over on the end. I just use a bit of mild steel held in some vise grip pliers for this. The divots are about 2" apart and form the countersink for the screws that will hold the hook to the wall.

Bend how you like. Here's a bunch of them made with a 4.5" throat. There's a lot of metal in these big nails, so you have a lot of room to play with. I think these look well balanced between the horizontal and vertical, and they're plenty big enough to stow a ladder or your kayak.

And if that's just a bit too much hook for you, you can always scale down to the 6" nails. Their shank's about a quarter-inch thick and that's plenty to get a nice divot....

In both cases, the screw hole is drilled. It could be punched, but I don't like to risk deforming the nice swell that comes from forming the countersink.

The best part about these kinds of projects is that they are very much within the realm of ability of a beginner with no real tools. Even young children can turn out a very respectable nail hook with very little effort, and they actually come in handy around the home.

Give it a try - just remember to post some photos!