c/blacksmiths

Can we talk about that moment the anvil shifted mid-strike

I was working on a railroad spike knife in my garage last Wednesday when my anvil slid about 3 inches on the stand during a heavy hammer blow. The piece flew off and left a nice dent in my drywall, and I had to stop and build a proper mounting bracket with lag bolts into the floor. Has anyone else had a close call from their anvil not being secured tight enough?

Can we talk about that time my anvil decided to crack mid-project?

I was out in my shed last Wednesday working on a railroad spike knife for a client. About 3 heats in I heard this sharp ping and saw a hairline crack running right down the face of my 150lb Fisher anvil. I had to finish the piece using a chunk of railroad track as a makeshift anvil, which was a total pain. Ended up spending $200 on a beat up old anvil from a guy on Craigslist that same weekend. Has anyone else had an anvil fail on them out of nowhere?

That Tuesday my forge fire backfired and melted my safety glasses

Was working on a railroad spike knife, got distracted by a phone call. Came back to find the fire had reversed and melted the lenses right off my face shield. Anyone else had a forge fire do something weird like that?

Hot take: preheating your anvil before welding on it actually matters

I always thought anvil preheat was just old-timer superstition (you know, like the whole 'don't strike cold iron' thing), but after cracking my third weld on a 2-inch hardy tool last month I decided to try it. Threw my anvil by the forge for 20 minutes before welding and the crack didn't show up at all. Am I just getting lucky or does that heat soak really make that big a difference for weld integrity?

Burned $80 on a cheap anvil off Craigslist - should have saved for real one

Picked up a 55lb cast iron anvil from some guy in Tacoma last month. Sounded good for the price. First real job hitting a 1 inch punch on some mild steel and the face chipped like glass. Lost half my deposit on that thing. So now I'm out the cash and stuck with a doorstop. Anyone else get suckered by those cheap cast anvils?

That time a customer pointed out my hammer technique was wrong after 8 years

Had a guy come by my shop last month, watched me work for 10 minutes, then told me I was choking up on the hammer too much. Said it was limiting my power and hurting my elbow long term. Man, I was mad at first. But he was right. I switched to a looser grip and letting the hammer do the work. Took about 2 weeks to feel natural. Now my arm doesn't ache after a full day. Anyone else get a tip from a random person that actually made a difference?

I finally counted how many hours I spend on an average blade - 47 is ridiculous

Been forging kitchen knives for about 5 years now. Last month I actually timed myself start to finish on a 8 inch chef knife. 47 hours total from steel selection to final edge. That includes waiting on heat treat cycles and grinding but still. I used to think I was fast but that number made me rethink my whole process. Anyone else ever actually track their hours on a single piece?

Appreciation post: How a 200 year old anvil taught me a lesson

I was at a flea market in rural Ohio last Sunday and spotted this beat up anvil from like 1820. The guy wanted $300 for it and I almost laughed. Then I checked the rebound with a ball bearing and it bounced back almost 90 percent. My $600 new anvil from the big box store only gives me about 70 percent rebound. That old thing had way better steel quality and it got me thinking about how much we rely on cheap imports now. Found out later from a blacksmith group that those old anvils used a specific wrought iron body with a steel face that just lasts forever. Has anyone else tested old tools against new ones and been surprised by what worked better?

Bought a cheap anvil off Facebook for $80 and chipped it on the first project

It was some cast iron thing from a farm auction and the face crumbled like a dry muffin when I tried to upset a 1 inch bar, so now I'm out the cash and my time hauling it, has anyone else gotten burned by a fake anvil?

Old timer told me I was quenching wrong and he was dead right

Been doing this about 4 years now, mostly knives and small tools. Always used canola oil for quenching, warm it up to about 130 degrees. This guy stops by my shop at the farmer's market demo last month, watches me for like 20 minutes. He goes 'you're getting soft spots because your oil ain't moving enough'. Said I need to agitate the blade side to side, not just dunk it straight in. Tried it on a 1084 chef knife and the file skated right off. Felt like an idiot but man, what a difference. Anyone else get told some basic thing way later than they should have?

Stop quenching your chisels in used motor oil

I see so many guys at the hammer-in up near Springfield dropping hot chisels into a bucket of old oil and calling it good. That oil has metal shavings and grit in it that creates a crummy uneven quench. I switched to canola oil from the grocery store after a buddy in the trade told me about it. It costs about $6 a quart and gives a way more consistent hardness on 1095 steel. Has anyone else noticed a difference switching quench mediums?

Took me 3 years to stop being a gas forge snob, finally tried coal at a meetup in Tulsa

Found out I was oiling my anvil wrong for 3 months

I kept getting this weird sticky residue on my projects and couldn't figure out why. Turns out I was using too much WD-40 instead of a light coat of 3-in-1 oil, and it was gumming up from the heat. Anyone else make that rookie mistake when they started out?

Took me three months to figure out why my forge blower kept seizing up

Turned out it was just dust building up in the motor vents, not some fancy mechanical failure like I thought, anyone else wasted that long on something simple?

I used to hate power hammers until I watched one work for an hour

Last weekend I stopped by a shop in Birmingham and watched a guy use a 50 lb Little Giant to draw out a 2 inch round bar into a leaf spring in like 15 minutes. I've always been a hand hammer guy because I thought power hammers were cheating or something, but seeing how consistent his blows were changed my mind completely. The metal moved so much faster and it made me realize I'm just wasting time swinging a 3 lb hammer for hours. Has anyone else switched over after seeing one in action?

TIL some old railroad spikes make terrible knives

I always figured railroad spike knives were the coolest thing, right? But I watched this old timer at a meetup in Tulsa last month hammer one out and then he pointed out most modern spikes are high carbon steel but actually have a lot of impurities from being beat up on tracks for years. He did a spark test and it barely threw any sparks compared to a file. Now I get why a lot of those decorative spike knives are more for looks than actual cutting.

Why does nobody mention how much quieter a well-tuned anvil is?

I spent 6 months hammering on an anvil with a dead ring before I finally wedged a chain under the heel and now my shop sounds like a library and my neighbors actually talk to me again, has anyone else noticed how much ring affects your hammer control?

Hot take: Should you quench in oil or water for a cleaner finish?

I ran into a problem with my last batch of knife blades that took me three weekends to sort out. I kept getting cracks and warps with water quenching, so I switched to canola oil and it slowed the process way down. The oil gave me softer steel but less risk of breakage, which I guess is the trade off. My buddy swears by water for carbon steel, says oil is for beginners who can't control their heat right. I spent about 20 hours testing both on five blades before I settled on oil for my shop. What do you all use for your projects? Has anyone else found a middle ground that works better?

Burned $80 on a cheap anvil from Amazon. Big mistake.

I figured I'd save some cash two months ago and grabbed a 66lb cast iron anvil for $80 shipped. Looked fine in the pics but the first time I hit a hot piece of 1/2 inch round on it, the face chipped right near the edge. Like a whole chunk flew off and nearly hit my leg. The rebound was terrible too, basically zero. I ended up buying a used Fisher anvil off a guy on Craigslist for $200 and it's night and day difference. That cheap anvil is now holding my garage door open. Has anyone else had bad luck with those budget anvils or did I just get a dud?

Rant: I think fluxless forge welding is way overrated

I tried it for a solid two weeks back in March, and of the 15 welds I attempted, maybe 3 actually held. All these guys online saying you just need clean steel and the right temp are leaving out the part where you spend an hour grinding every speck of scale off. Am I the only one who just sticks with borax and doesn't see the big deal?

That $600 forge welding kit I laughed at actually works

I was dead set against those pre-made flux packs and fancy tongs. Seemed like a total gimmick. But after ruining my fourth billet trying to weld canister Damascus, I grabbed a kit from Dark Iron Forge. First try came out solid. No voids. No delamination. Has anyone else caved and bought a kit they thought was overpriced?

Coal versus propane: I spent a year with each and coal wins every time

I started forging with a propane forge because everyone said it was cleaner and easier. After six months I was tired of the inconsistent heat and the cost of refilling those tanks. Switched to a coal forge last spring and wish I had done it sooner. The fire is more work to manage, sure, but I get way better control over the heat zones and it costs me about $40 a month in coal versus $80 for propane. Anyone here ever make the switch and end up going back to gas?

Hit 500 hand-forged hooks before I even noticed

Honestly I was just counting inventory for a craft fair I'm doing in March and realized I've made over 500 of my little J shaped hooks. I started making them two years ago just to use up scrap from railing jobs. They're nothing fancy just utility hooks for hanging tools or pots but seeing that number on paper made me stop and think. Has anyone else hit a random milestone with a project they thought was just filler work?

Stop using plain steel for your hot cut chisels, switch to S7 tool steel

I was burning through cheap hot cuts every season, my old ones would dull after 50 hits on a 1 inch bar. Then I spent $30 on an S7 blank and hardened it myself with a torch and oil quench, it's held an edge through three months of heavy use. Has anyone else tried S7 versus something like H13 or 4140 for striking tools?

Switched from coal to gas forge last month and finally understand the hype

I spent 12 years swearing by coal because that's how my grandpa taught me, but after fighting with inconsistent heat on a big commission piece in July, I borrowed a buddy's gas forge for a weekend. The even temperature control saved me 3 hours of rework on a set of gate hinges. Has anyone else made the switch later in their career and regretted sticking with coal for so long?