I have hit a milestone in my forging abilities! Apparently I am finally getting good enough that my wife invites me to add hand forged accents to OUR HOUSE! (It’s a remodeled 1860s log cabin so forged accents fit the them)

I stole the idea for floating shelves that look like canoe paddles from an Etsy shop and made them better by using the cedar and walnut strips look of Feather Brand paddles. I actually thought about using real paddles but they aren’t really flat like shelves should be!

The brackets are forged from strips of wrought iron wagon tire that I salvaged from a wagon whee that had been used for yard decoration until the wood rotted away.

Thak Ironworks has a YouTube video series on forging the parts of a fleur de lis. That was a great start for making the finials. I ended up making multiple versions of the spears and side petals to get the hang of it. Then I picked the peices that mated best for two sets.

The band is decorated with a hot chiseled cord pattern and the metal got a black oxide finish (ferric nitrate solution) with brass brushed accents.

Very excited to be finally starting this project.

We finished this project a few weeks ago. Manzanitas are a quirky little tree native to the far west of the US. When we finished it, they asked to see what it would look like to add a couple midrails, so we came up with an idea for that which they later decided against.

I've been forging birds for a handrail out of 1" round stock. I'm demonstrating a few more places this year. (I'm demonstrating forging bronze) I'll be in Oklahoma with Ellen Durkan in October. In NW Texas the first week of November. And at the ABANA conference in Arkansas in November.

I also teach out of my shop in Richmond, CA

I’m interested in building some dies for my press. I want them to be durable but as economical as possible. Material needs to be roughly 1.5x3 inches. Other than h13 what would be a good option?

Using a guillotine tool to true up the transition between the eye and the poll

Hello I have this abandoned fireplace in my backyard and I really got into blacksmithing and want to take it as my new hobby.

I thought it will be cool to remake this place for forge but I really don’t know what to be aware of or what should be my game plan. Any advice is welcomed and I wish you great day!

Sorry for my English I am not native speaker :)

Has anybody ever Beaten there plowshares into swords like from joel 3:10?

Hey everyone

I just got my first gas forge lined in kaowool and I was wondering if there's any Aussies who have gotten refractory cement in Australia?

Sharing one of our All-Purpose Tactical Ginunting builds.

This version features a traditional-inspired Ginunting blade profile paired with a more tactical handguard setup. The build uses a rat-tail tang, stainless steel pin and ferrule, and an extended stainless steel handguard.

Specifications:

• Blade Length: 15 in
• Blade Material: 5160 Carbon Steel
• Hardness: 57–60 HRC
• Handle: Chico wood
• Scabbard: Mahogany
• Belt Loop: Stainless Steel Belt Loop
• Finish: Standard Satin
• Intended Use: Collection / Display

Mostly sharing this one for the showcase — would be interested to hear what you think about the blade profile, handle, and extended guard design.

This particular horseshoe doesn’t want to harden so it’s a letter opener. Don’t wanna push it as the nail holes are still there. Still a fun project and am looking forward to sanding this to a mirror finish if i can.

Trying to turn it into a small sword or something similar. So far it’s going smooth

Got this beauty on marketplace:
Its a 104 pounds John Foster anvil made between 1830 and 1860. Victorian era london patern with a 80% rebound, a perfect face and an okay horn, its in amazing condition considering it is almost 200 years old, cost me 400$ but for what it is its a steal
Can’t wait to work with this piece of blacksmithing history🔥🔥🔥

a bottle opener and a small knife in a similar twisted style

Heat treated just now does this count?made out of scrap metal and used a rock as a hammer and had a rlly small furnace I made from dry bamboo and a hole in the ground and blew air from a scrap pipe.used a few files to scrape sum metal off

Not sure if I’m not asking the right questions, but it seems like pulling teeth to get a steel pricing list from anyone. They just want you to tell them what you need and give you a quote. I’d like to be able to plan and also shop around.

Is this the norm? How would you recommend I approach a steel supplier to get a price list and where the breaks occur?

I’m not a major account right now but my quantities are slowly increasing. It seems like places would want to get you this info so they can win your business? Or is it just a waste of time because all the bigger customers negotiate prices so there’s no set quantities for price breaks and posting prices would be a competitive disadvantage?

I am wanting to get into blacksmithing as a hobby. I know there is a lot with this to learn, but was looking for some advise for starting learning. I have made a railroad spike knife many years ago at silverton co when a blacksmith was giving basic day classes, and enjoyed it. I want to start doing this myself, but was looking for some additional guidance. What are some good resources for books to start with and for forges would starting with a basic charcoal earth or brake drum forge be good to start learning or just bite the bullet on a vevor propane forge. For anvil was looking at the harbor freight 65 lb steel anvil to start with. Also what tong and would a basic 3lb hammer be good?

part of the deck fencing, for this project I hand forged approximately 6,000 bolts into faceted rivets

Forged by hand out of forklift tine