Hi!

A few months ago, I acquired a 1914-1916 124 kg (approx. 273 lb) german shape Söderfors anvil, along with a 6-inch leg vise.
The anvil has a base measuring 33 cm x 30 cm (approx. 13" x 12").

The anvil has been without a stand (a), and I’ve been looking for a good stump to mount it on.

Last Friday, I found an old 8-inch check valve on Facebook Marketplace at a very low price (20,000 Argentine pesos / approx. USD 13).

When I saw it, I thought it could serve as an alternative to the stump I hadn't yet found. (It has two 34 cm flanges and a 38 cm inspection cover / approx. 13.4" and 15" respectively).

I planned (b) to mount it with one flange against the floor and the other against the anvil, positioning the blind cover on the same side as the upsetting block. That way, it won't get in my way when I approach the anvil from the smooth face.

Since it has a small footprint on the ground , I found a gear —93 cm in total diameter, 3 cm thick, and with a 58 cm inner diameter— for another 20,000 pesos (approx. USD 13).

My family suggested placing the valve on two pieces of wood, with the inspection cover facing upward (c). However, I have concerns about the ergonomics while working.

Image (d) shows an alternative way to attach the valve to the gear.



Which option is best for artisanal blacksmithing, knife making, and general repairs? I might need to deliver some heavy blows at some point.

Thanks!!!

My third attempt at an ammonite- not perfect but getting there.

I do hema and have done metal fab for years. Have started making sword guards and other pieces, modifying blades, making my own sail daggers. Usually, just paste my pattern to a plate of 4130 or 5160, plasma cut away and finish sanding with flap disk, sometimes mill things.

Normalize, heat treat, and temper. Wanted to try forging, so built a forge over a weekend and got to work with plate of .25 4130, making a Meyers rapier guard.

For one, having an actual anvil instead of a stump with metal plate bolted to it would be nice. So would having actual tongs, not just long reach vice grips and a handful of various size home machined hammers.

Fuck me, this is harder than I expected, and still looks like shit.

My neighbour gave me this old anvil as part of a trade for some milling I am doing for him, and I just wanted to know how far I should go in dressing it up.

Top is relatively flat, and the edge that would be the far edge from me while I forge is *ok*, but close edge is fairly pitted and worn.

Should I be trying to fix these edges very much, or just learn to use the anvil as is? I've only worked on a new anvil so far, but this one is twice the weight, and an almost 6 inches longer and 1 inch wider, so I am stoked to try it out, just wanted to ask the hive before I got to far into it.

Hi, weird question.. I’ve got about 500 I think steel bottle caps from beers etc, I thought it would be cool to melt the down and make a sword or something out of them (obviously not a functional one) would this be possible with steel? Are there any places around London that would let me do this?
It should be said I am not by any means a blacksmith lol
Thanks in advance!

Went and looked at this anvil yesterday, believed to be a peter Wright although the markings are impossible to make it and weighs somewhere in the 125 yo 135 range. Had a nice ring to it and they are asking 400. Any thoughts on it from this picture? Any concerns about the edges being a little big rough?

I found them while I was cleaning out the garden tool shed. I made them to heat rivets to build a coal forge. Due to heat loss I found it was easier to rivet them cold. Now they’re relegated to dispatching dead vermin.

So i an looking to get a custom skillet, i would like it to be one solid piece. But the part that makes it diffrent is i want a 5ft long handle. Its not very practical or useful but i just think it would be cool as fuck to have

For those of you that have mechanical power hammers, what do you use to lubricate them? I recently set up a Fairbanks hammer in my garage and have not been able to find any manufacturers information on what type or viscosity of oil to use. Also there has probably been some new oil formulas that would work better than the manufacturers original recommendation that just didn’t exist when the hammer was made. Temperature is probably also a factor. I’m in Michigan and I doubt I will be using the hammer much below 20F. Any information on what you use to lubricate your hammer and how frequently would be appreciated.

Im about to get a makers mark made for blades how detailed can they be? Or is simple better

My first ever Puukko i forged from a old file. Not my first ever blade but the second one ever and first nearly complete knife. Second time forging anything. Shaped the handle to fit my fathers hand since i used his old leather belt inbetween the bolster and the wood. Still needs some finishing touches but overall im pretty happy with it. No cracks inbetween the blade and brass and got the handle very smooth to touch and the heat treating went well. Grinding was a pain in the butt with my 50€ vench grinder from Biltema with a 686x50mm belt attachment.

Basically I have 2 scrap bikes, spair chains/parts, and I'm trying to create a crankshaft power hammer but don't want to commit without someone else with knowledge giving my idea a glance over.

Essentially I plan to connect the Escooter to the bottom bracket of bike 1, have the back wheel weighted and act as a flywheel, then have that connected to the bottom bracket of bike 2 and that's where the crank will be.

This crank then is connected to a ram die that's guided to the surface of the anvil.

I need to work out the leaf spring between the crankshaft on bike 2 and the RamDie

If anyone has any suggestions, YouTube videos, or even blueprints I'm all ears.

Knows how to do knuckles dusters, Gauntlets, Swords, hidden weapons, staffs, and more. Also Because I want to support people who enjoy making this stuff and is not able to put themselves out there because of big companies

since my collection of hammers are either very light and small hammers (around 500g) or heavy hammers which are only cross peen (with 1,5 - 2 kg) i was thinking about something between those weights with different type like a ball peen hammer with 900g...

heavy hammers arent bad, i just want more control with the hammer, and maybe starting with a lighter one would be a good choice

First Reddit post ever but hoping this is the right place to ask. Bought a battle axe from cult of Athena a weapons distributer. The head worked great but the handle broke pretty quick. I’m trying to replace and noticed that the head needs a very strange kind of handle mount. Looked for other examples of this in other axes and I’m stumped. Does anyone know the style of axe mount this is? Two metal pieces welded inside the axe head. Any help is appreciated! FYI I messed up the metal with a drill bit getting out the old handle so please ignore that :)

Bah, this shit is difficult. Ive still got some left do tommorrow ill cover the bricks and try to cover the white spots on the walls.

I am worried ive done a colossally shitty job, the worse part is Im worried I won't be able to tell.

Any way to tell the kaowool is still exposed, aside from getting respiratory problems? Like will it smell when I start the first cycle with the burner? Or should I just wait for this stuff to dry and then apply another coat?

Recently commissioned tomahawk! This tomahawk is hand forged out of forklift tine which is equivalent to 4140 and a nice hickory. For the embellishments, the customer has specifically requested A leather sheath and collar, 23 brass pins and 2 inlaid military badge pin that he sent me. This might be the best tomahawk I've forged yet

A couple of arrowhead test pieces—just to experiment with the texture. Later on, I can create more utilitarian items out of steel, incorporating the complex, varied textures of volcanic rock and worked obsidian. I bought myself a jewelry engraver, so this is just the beginning...

Not too bad! Not sure why the photos look awful but they came out pretty well! The first one had a coffee etch on it I quickly sanded off just for a test run and see how it works.

Cleaver is the first made out of a leaf spring and the other is 1095 steel.

Didn’t go crazy on the finishes because there’s a ton of problems and blemishes but they’re sharp and they cut!