c/blacksmiths

Finally hit 1000 hammer marks on one anvil face

I've been keeping a tally on my anvil for the last six months, just a little notch system on the stand, and I finally passed 1000 strikes that actually landed on the face instead of the horn or the edges. It surprised me because I thought I was mostly doing detail work with small hammers, but the count showed something like 700 of those were just flattening and drawing out stock. I mean, it made me realize how much of the basic work still needs a solid flat surface, even when you think you're past the beginner stage. Maybe it's just me, but counting the hits kind of changed how I set up my shop, I moved my anvil closer to the forge so I'm not walking as far between heats. Has anyone else ever tracked their strikes or do you just go by feel and let the anvil tell you when it's had enough?

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lily_schmidt53•4d ago

Took 4 months to figure out my anvil was ringing because of the stand

Picked up a used anvil last spring, 150 pounder. Sounded like a bell every hit. Drove me nuts. Tried chains, magnets, rubber mats. Nothing worked. Finally my neighbor who welds came over and said the stand was the problem. Solid oak base but no give. Swapped it for a steel tripod with sand in the legs. Ring is gone. Wish I asked someone sooner. Anyone else deal with a ringing anvil for way too long?

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rivera.jake•5d ago

Stop flattening every billet, a buddy's leaf spring proved me wrong

Last month at a hammer-in near Springfield, I watched a guy take a leaf spring and just forge a knife out of it without drawing it out flat first. I've been flattening billets for years because that's how I learned, figured it was the only way to get the grain right. He said he stopped doing that after a trip to a forge in Finland, they work the material sideways and keep the mass where they need it. I tried it on a small camp knife this weekend, saved probably 20 minutes of hammer time and the edge came out just as clean. The piece had less scale too, so less grinding. Has anyone else switched up their billet prep and seen a difference, or am I just getting lazy in my old age?

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wright.michael•6d ago

Tried a leaf blower for the forge and now I get it

Honestly I was dead set against using anything but a hand crank blower for my coal forge. Thought it was cheating or something, but after a 6 hour session last Saturday my shoulder was shot. Buddy in Columbus let me try his setup with a leaf blower on a dimmer switch and the control is actually better than I thought. Problem was my fire was always either too weak or way too hot, and this thing holds a steady temp like nothing. I rigged mine up with a cheap harbor freight blower and a $12 dimmer, has anyone else made the switch and never gone back?

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the_wade•7d ago

Why does nobody talk about the 10,000th heatsink you make?

I hit 10,000 forged bottle openers last week counting every batch I've done since 2019, and the first one took me 45 minutes while the last one took 4, but they both sold for $12 at the same market, so which one actually mattered for the craft?

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willow672•7d ago

A customer's offhand comment changed my hammer technique

Last Thursday this old timer watched me forge a leaf and said my 'wrist action looks like stirring soup' and honestly it stung but he was right. I was using too much forearm and not letting the hammer bounce naturally, so I tried his tip about letting gravity do half the work and my shoulders stopped aching by day three. Anyone else had a random bystander point out a flaw that turned out to be the fix?

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ninah10•8d ago

Coal vs propane forge, picked coal and my arms pay for it

I finally got tired of flip flopping and built a coal forge last spring after running a propane one for about 2 years. The propane was easy, flip a switch and go, but the cost of those tanks added up fast, maybe $60 a month for my hobby work. The coal forge cost me $140 in materials, firebrick and a hand crank blower from a flea market in Ohio. I love the heat control honestly, you can get a nice soaking heat for bigger pieces way easier than propane. But man, hand cranking that blower for 3 hours straight yesterday left my shoulder sore, and the smoke in my shop is something I'm still figuring out with a better chimney setup. Anyone else make the jump from gas to solid fuel, and did you find a way to cut down on the physical work without going electric?

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gavin816•10d ago

Salt bath vs. oil quench, I was a hater until last month

I've been quenching in canola oil for like 8 years and always thought salt baths were just for the big shops with fancy setups. Last month I tried a 900F salt bath on some 1095 knives at a buddy's garage forge in Dayton and the difference in warping was unreal, barely any bend at all. Anyone else made the switch and dealt with the extra cleanup hassle, or is it worth sticking with it?

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kai463•12d ago

Vent: My anvil horn shrank after 3 years because I kept grinding it hot

I was always in a rush to reshape the horn on my 150 lb anvil, so I'd grind it red hot and beat it back every few weeks. Problem was, that heat cycling slowly worked the steel, and last month I measured it, a full 1.5 inches shorter than when I bought it. I tried the old trick of quenching in oil after every hit, but that just cracked the surface on two spots. What finally stopped the shrink was waiting until the metal was dull red, almost black, then working it with a lighter hammer and longer strokes. Has anyone else watched their horn crawl back or am I the only one who ruining tools out of pure impatience?

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sarah_brown•14d ago

The day my forge fireback cracked in half during a demo

I was doing a live demonstration at the Lancaster County fair last fall, showing how to make leaf hooks, when my 1-inch thick steel fireback split right down the middle after I quenched it too fast. I had to grab a spare piece of angle iron and bolt it over the crack just to finish the last two hours of the show, and the crowd actually thought it was part of the process. Has anyone else had a piece fail mid-demo, and did you stop to fix it or just push through and explain it away?

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diana_moore75•16d ago

Charcoal forge vs propane, the old way won me over

I ran a propane forge for 15 years, but last fall I dug out my granddad's old cast iron dish and tried coal. The heat control takes getting used to, but for scrollwork and leafing it beats gas by a mile. Has anyone else gone back to an older setup after years on modern gear?

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the_joseph•16d ago

Spruce or hickory for a replacement hammer handle? Tried both last week

I snapped the handle on my favorite rounding hammer on a Tuesday job and had to pick between spruce and hickory at the local lumber spot in Scranton. The hickory was $12 more per blank, but I figured I'd go cheap first with spruce since I was in a rush. It lasted two days before the grain started splintering near the eye, so I cut it off and swapped to hickory. The hickory blank took 20 extra minutes to shape because it's denser, but after a week of heavy use it's still solid with no flex. Any of you stick with one wood for handles or is it all about the job size?

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kellyg14•17d ago

Bought a $60 harbor freight anvil, regret every swing

Picked up one of those cast iron anvils last spring and the face chipped on the third project. Has anyone else had luck dressing one down, or should I just save up for a proper forged one?

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chen.jenny•17d ago

Coal vs propane debate, skip the arguing, check your vent first

I ran my new propane forge for 3 months and blamed the fuel every time my steel came out scaled and soft. Turned out my vent stack was 2 feet too short and the draft was pulling cold air straight across the fire. Has anyone else chased the wrong fix for a simple airflow problem?

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kelly61•20d ago

Paid $140 for a used anvil and it turned out to be a cast iron fake

Been hunting for a decent anvil for months around the Ohio area. Found one on Craigslist, old paint, some rust, looked legit in the pics. Drove 2 hours and handed over $140 without really checking the rebound. Got it home, hit it with a ball peen hammer and it just thudded, no bounce at all. Cast iron, not forged steel. Lesson learned, I guess. Anyone got tips for spotting fakes before you hand over cash?

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blake_williams•20d ago

I finally trusted the old guy who said to hammer hot, not hard

A retired farrier in Flagstaff told me to focus on timing my hits when the steel just turns orange, and after 6 weeks of fighting my own stubbornness, my scarf joints finally line up without gaps, has anyone else found that the heat does the work if you just wait for it?

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olivia_morgan8•21d ago

The shift from coal to gas forge changed my hammer control

I ran a coal forge for 14 years until last spring, then switched to a gas setup at my shop in Boise. The steady heat made me stop rushing my strikes, and now my scrollwork is cleaner than it ever was, anyone else find their rhythm changed after swapping fuel sources?

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rose_henderson•22d ago

Rant: That $260 propane forge kit I bought was pure junk

The burner flared out after 3 heats and the refractory liner crumbled into my first billet, so before you drop cash on those starter kits, what did you all use to build your first forge for cheap?

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lily_stone76•26d ago

I finally stopped using those cheap coil springs from Big Box Hardware

Bought a pack of "universal" springs for $18 at Lowe's last month and two of them snapped after just 3 rebends. Customer came back fuming because his garden gate fell off the hinges. Going back to ordering from Century Spring even if shipping costs more, anyone else had bad luck with those bargain bin springs?

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kai463•27d ago

Got yelled at by a retired farrier at a hammer-in last spring

I was at a hammer-in outside of Nashville and this old guy watched me dress a hammer face for like 2 minutes before he walked over and told me I was grinding away all the good steel. He showed me how to just stone it lightly and keep more material on there. Made me realize I'd been wasting hours of work every time I touched a grinder to a hammer. Anybody else get their whole technique flipped by some random stranger?

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harper_smith•27d ago

Wasted $200 on a 'premium' anvil that was just rebranded cast iron

Bought it off a guy on Facebook Marketplace who swore it was forged steel. Found out after my first hammer hit left a dent that it was just cheap cast iron with a thick paint job. Anyone else dealt with fake anvils from online sellers?

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michael_jones•28d ago

Had to pick between a $200 coal forge on Craigslist or building one from a brake drum for $40

I went with the brake drum route and after 5 hours of welding and fitting, I got a solid forge that throws heat just fine, but has anyone else dealt with getting the air flow right from a hair dryer setup?

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christopher952•1mo ago

Vent: Why do people keep using mild steel for knife blades? Stop it.

Honestly, I saw a guy at a flea market last weekend trying to sell a knife he made from rebar. Ngl, I almost laughed in his face. Rebar is just mild steel, it won't hold an edge for more than a few cuts. I learned this the hard way 2 years ago when I made a camp knife out of some scrap angle iron. It dulled after one trip to chop some branches. If you want a real blade, use 1095 or 5160 at least. Has anyone else had to bite their tongue watching beginners waste good time on junk metal?

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reese_taylor69•1mo ago

The anvil stand I built collapsed on me last Tuesday

I spent a whole weekend building a nice oak stand for my 150 pound anvil. Looked solid, felt solid. Then I'm working on a hot horseshoe and the whole thing just buckles sideways. The anvil tipped over and hit the concrete floor. Put a nice chip in the edge. Turns out I used drywall screws instead of proper lag bolts. Had to weld up a steel frame from scrap I had laying around. Anyone else had a workshop failure from using the wrong fasteners?

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kai564•1mo ago

Went to a reenactment village and watched a guy try to forge a knife from a railroad spike

Honestly, it was painful to watch. He spent 20 minutes hammering the thing cold before someone told him to actually heat it up. Has anyone else seen this kind of thing at those living history places?

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