c/blacksmiths

Had a guy at the Portland hammer-in ask me why I bother with a coal forge when propane is so much cleaner.

Serious question, after seeing a guy in Boise forge a perfect scroll with just a ball-peen hammer and a stump.

What's the most basic tool you've seen someone use to pull off a complex shape that made you rethink your whole setup?

I finally bought a proper post vise for my shop, cost about $300, and it's a total game changer for twisting and bending.

My old boss in Tulsa said to never quench a hammer head in water, only oil. I finally tried it on a 2lb cross peen last week.

I'm not convinced that a gas forge is always the upgrade people say it is.

I ran a coal forge for my first eight years, and I switched to a propane Majestic two years ago because everyone said it was cleaner and easier. I still miss the direct control over the fire's shape and heat I had with coal, especially for detailed scrollwork. Anyone else find they work better with the old methods for certain jobs?

I've been quenching my blades wrong for three years and only just saw it

I was making a hunting knife for a friend and the edge kept chipping. I always used a fast oil quench, thinking speed was key. Then I watched a video from a smith in Texas who said for that steel, a slower quench in warm canola oil gives a better grain structure. I tried it on a test piece and the difference was clear, no more tiny cracks. So is a fast quench always better for hardness, or does it depend on the steel and the tool? What's your go-to quench for simple carbon steel blades?

Just found out some old anvils were made with a steel face welded to a cast iron body

Read it in a 1930s catalog from a tool supplier in Pittsburgh. Anyone know how to spot one of these hybrids versus a solid steel anvil?

I thought quenching in used motor oil was just a messy old timer trick

My uncle swore by it for leaf springs, so I tried it on a truck spring last week and got way less warping than with my usual fast oil. The smoke was bad, but the piece came out straighter than any I've done before. Do you think the additives in used oil actually help or was I just lucky?

My main forge blower motor seized up solid yesterday afternoon, right in the middle of a commissioned axe.

Showerthought: My old coal forge was eating up way too much fuel for simple heats

I was going through a bag of bituminous every other day just doing small scrolls and bends. On a whim, I tried building a small firebrick box inside the forge hearth to shrink the firepot area. I used three standard bricks to make a triangle about 8 inches across. It cut my coal use by almost half because the heat was so much more focused right where I needed it. Now I only pull the bricks out for bigger work. Has anyone else messed with their forge layout to save on fuel?

I finally gave in and tried a Japanese water stone for my chisels

Honestly, I was sure my old oil stones were fine and the whole 'soaking a stone' thing was just extra work. Then I borrowed a friend's 1000/6000 grit King stone to sharpen a plane blade that was giving me trouble. The edge it put on was so clean and sharp it felt like cheating, and it only took about 15 minutes. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good way to keep the slurry from making a mess?

PSA: A demo at the Oregon forge meet changed my mind about using a coal forge for small work.

I was at the big meet in Portland last fall, watching a guy make tiny hinges for a jewelry box. He was using a small gas forge, and he could get the exact heat he needed in about thirty seconds. My old coal setup would take five minutes just to get to a good orange heat for something that small. I switched to a small two-burner gas forge for detail work about three months ago. Has anyone else made the jump from coal to gas for small projects?

I think everyone is wrong about using a 2x72 grinder for everything

Last week at the shop in Knoxville, I watched a guy spend 20 minutes setting up his 2x72 just to put a basic bevel on a small knife blank. Three years ago, I bought a simple 1x30 for under $200 and I still use it for 80% of my work, especially for smaller pieces and detail work. It feels like the big expensive tool became the only 'right' answer, but it's just not needed for every single job. What smaller tools do you all still use that get the job done just fine?

A near miss with a cracked anvil last Tuesday

I was working on a set of fireplace tools in my shop last Tuesday, just doing some light shaping on the horn of my old Peter Wright. I heard a sound like a dull bell, not the usual ring. I stopped and looked close, and there was a hairline crack running about four inches from the hardy hole. If I hadn't caught it and kept hammering, that whole corner could have let go. This anvil was my grandfather's, so it's seen a lot of years. Has anyone else had an anvil fail on them? What's the best way to check for these kinds of hidden flaws before they become a real problem?

I thought a cheap forge from Harbor Freight was a good starter deal, but it cost me more in the end.

I grabbed their $200 propane forge last year thinking I'd save cash while learning. The burner was impossible to tune for a consistent heat, and the lining crumbled after about 40 hours of use. I ended up spending another $350 on a proper Devil Forge to replace it. Anyone have a good budget forge brand that actually holds up?

Rant: The craft fair in Asheville last weekend had almost no forged work.

I walked through the whole thing, about 150 booths, and only counted 3 people selling actual forged metal. Everything else was laser cut steel signs or cheap imported stuff. One guy was selling bottle openers he clearly made on a forge, and we talked for 20 minutes. He said he's the only full time smith in his county now. It just feels like the hand made part is getting lost in all the mass produced stuff dressed up as craft. Has anyone else seen this shift at their local markets?

My kid asked why I don't just buy a new hammer when the handle breaks

We were cleaning up the shop and I was re-handling my old cross-peen. He's 8. He said 'Dad, wouldn't it be faster to get a new one from the store?' I told him I made this hammer head 15 years ago, and the wood for the handle came from an oak tree in our yard that came down in a storm. He got quiet for a minute, then said 'So it's like you're putting the tree back together.' Never really thought of it that way before. It's not just fixing a tool. Anyone else have a moment where a simple question made you see your work completely differently?

My kid asked why I don't just buy a new hammer when mine broke, and it stopped me cold.

I was fixing the handle on my cross-peen, the one I've had since my apprenticeship in Toledo. The head was fine, but the hickory split. My eight-year-old was watching and said, 'Dad, can't you just get another one? They have them at the store.' I started to explain about fitting a handle to the eye, about the weight and balance being just right, but then I realized something. We're not just fixing tools. We're teaching that not everything is disposable, that some things are worth the time to mend properly. How do you talk to people outside the trade about why we do things this way?

Warning: a judge at the county fair told me my knife handles were too slick

He said, 'That polished finish looks nice but it's not safe for a working blade.' I switched to a light sandblast finish for better grip, and it made a huge difference. Do you think a tool's look should ever come before its function?

Tried quenching a railroad spike knife in used motor oil, and it actually worked

Everyone says you need proper quench oil, but my buddy in Toledo swore by his old truck oil and I got a clean, hard edge on my third try. What other weird quench fluids have you guys tried that went against the grain?

Had to choose between a new anvil or fixing my truck's brakes last week

Went with the anvil, then my truck rolled into a ditch trying to get to the hardware store. What's the dumbest trade-off you've ever made for the shop?

I used to think a heavy hammer was always better for moving metal

For years I swung a 4 pound cross peen on everything, thinking more mass meant more control. Then I watched a guy at the Salt Lake City hammer-in forge a perfect leaf with a 2.5 pound rounding hammer, using way less effort. I tried it myself on a simple scroll and the difference in precision was immediate. I was just muscling metal around before, not actually directing it. Now I keep three different weights by my anvil. Has anyone else had to unlearn a basic tool habit like that?

Talked to a guy at the flea market who still forges with a hand crank blower

He was selling some old tongs and we got chatting. He said he's never used an electric blower in his 40 years of smithing, that the rhythm of the hand crank is part of the work. It made me realize how much I rely on my switch and how quiet my shop is now. Anyone else still use a hand crank or remember switching?

Debate time: coal forge vs. propane for a first-time shop setup in a suburban garage.

I chose propane for my 2-car garage in Tacoma to avoid smoke issues, but after 6 months I'm wondering if the initial cost and different heat control are worth it compared to the traditional feel of coal.

Shoutout to the old book that taught me how much coal a forge really eats

I was reading a blacksmithing manual from 1923 I got at a yard sale in Knoxville. It said a basic shop forge could burn through a ton of coal in a single month of steady work. That's like 40 of those 50-pound bags. I never thought about the sheer volume until I did the math. How did they even move that much material back then without trucks?