[TheForge] Don't laugh too loud

[Philippa Alderton]

----- Original Message -----

> Hope for a little advice from you guys (male and
> female) for a little problem with smiting.
>
> I've been pounding out knives and the occasional sword
> for a couple of years but I thought I'd try my hand
> with an axe. I used a leaf spring, 1/2" X 3" and tried
> to upset for a handle. What I got was either cold
> shuts or when I pounded out during the process of
> trying to upset, it got too long and not enough thick
> enough for a handle.

The guys are right- folding's the easiest way to go. And it's not really
something to laugh at you about- you simply had your mind directed at doing
things the way you'd do a sword, so you wore yourself out.

As one of the guys said, I think, you can actually make the body of
mild/milder steel, and weld on a high carbon edge later, but that's a lot of
work- using a longer (twice the length of the intended axe, plus about 2-3
inches) billet, and fold it, you've also got a more solid piece. Trouble
with high carbon steel, is it IS high carbon, and generally takes higher
heats to soften enough for upsetting, whereas a simple bend and weld can be
done much more easily- hey- smiths are lazy. We don' wan' no steenkin' Ben
Gay ;-)

Suggest you take your sore arm into the shower, and let lotsa hot water
pound on it for a while. Tomorrow, do some light exercise or hammering- no
more than a 16-18 oz hammer- for about 15-20 minutes, to loosen the arm up,
then try it the other way.

Phlip