first attempts with a forge

[Robin DuBois]

got to use a 'travel forge' this summer, here is what a few days produced..

this firesteel was an attempt using very inferior material, pretty much just iron i think, and despite trying to quench it in oil it is nowhere near hard enough to produce a spark, so, just shaping practice...


this is my first attempt at a knife, very weighty of course but sat nicely in the hand. getting the blade thin enough was hardly possible, since i started froma round section and had no straight peen hammer. disaster struck when i attempted to temper the blade, and like a true beginner, melted the blade really really badly.



so my second attempt, using the same materials and limited tools ended up like this, heat treated and oil quenched. The blade is still too thick, and the material just not fine enough to get a good edge on it, i tried but after everything its still so blunt its safe. looking forward to getting hold of good tool steel blanks and applying what i've learned. the next project will be a boar spear head, made from a flat billett when i find the right one.

 

[Mesquite]

Great first attempts

 

[crosslandkelly]

That's a great first try. What kind of forge setup do you have.

 

[Big Stu 12]

looking good for first attempts

 

[Dreadhead]

great for first time, bet you have caught the bug now!

 

[kristophish]

They look great dude. Ive been having real trouble forging handles. Your look spot on tho. Its addictive isn't it.

 

[Clouston98]

Great work! I must start to forge! I made myself a squirrel cooker in a wood burner before, it's great fun!

 

[Tracker NTS-054]

That's great for a first go!I'd love to have a go at blacksmithing, but it just seems such an expensive venture . . .

 

[HHazeldean]

They look good, nice work there! That first knife looks a little the worse for wear though haha! Thanks for sharing

 

[ozzy1977]

Cracking job

 

[Robin DuBois]

hi, wow thanks for all the positive feedback, i must have my notifications turned off i didn't think i'd had replies.
Yeah I've lost hours doing this its so engrossing. I'm hoping to get some leaf springs next time i get the opportunity to forge, first step is replacing my fixed blade, then a boar spear head, and if possible in the future, a khopesh to use as a one or two handed machete and veg/herb prep tool. lindybeige has a video on youtube talking about an original khopesh and it really woke me up to the idea of making a good tough one that, like it would have been to ancient egyptians, a tool for agriculture able to do anything from hack bamboo to fight enemies with shields.
any tips or example photos of boar spear, or other spear heads would be really cool to see

 

[Robin DuBois]

thank you very much! i'm third hand borrowing it from a friend of a friend, its called a travel forge, and i think it says it was made in london in 1942. quite small but large tray on legs with a hand cranking fan.

 

[Jonbodthethird]

That's a really awesome. I wish I had the space to do things like that.


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[Tony]

Good for you for getting stuck in, just getting on with it will give you loads of experience