[TheForge] Anvil

[Bruce Freeman]

You might like to visit:
http://www.swordsmith.net/roman.html
Mark Morrow shows up often at our open forge meetings, but since he's
in NJ, not NC, that won't help you much.

You do not need a large anvil for making a short sword.  Any 75# chunk
of steel with a fairly smooth, flat surface will suffice.  (That's
pretty much all the Roman bladesmiths used.)

You must have good tongs, but in a pinch can use vise-grips as tongs.
I prefer gas pliers to vise-grips, as they give you more feel.  Gas
pliers are just large,  long-handled pliers without a slip-joint.
Whatever you use, you must always have a good grip on your work, as
one of the most dangerous things in blacksmithing is for the hot metal
to fly loose from the tongs.

I could go on, but frankly I have a suggestion.  Get a piece of wood
and whittle a short sword.  Then paint it silver.  That will take the
time pressure off you for this outfit you're making, and also will
give you an appreciation for the shape of the short sword, which you
must have before you can forge one.  After that, try forging a
sword-shaped object at your leisure from mild steel.  (You don't want
an edge anyway, and mild steel will give you practice in forging the
shape.)

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 6:16 PM, Dan Scheid <damales at pollybutte.net> wrote:
>
> you need more help then you realize. contact your local SCA group and
> ask for some help from an armor.  www.sca.org
> for an anvil  pick up a four foot 4"X4"  steel beam  bury it . so it is
> at a good working height  polish the 4"x 4"  and hammer away
> Dan Scheid
>
>
> On 8/31/2010 1:48 PM, Matt Gallagher wrote:
>> My name is My name is Matt Gallagher, I am a 15 year old guy living in
>> Charlotte and I need to find or purchase an anvil. I have alot
>> of experience smithing with my Metalworking instructor in Boy Scouts. I am
>> attempting to make a Gladius (small sword) for a school Latin Club
>> competition as well as a Roman Legionnaire outfit for the same
>> competition. The sword will not be sharpened, i just want to be authentic
>> and make it properly and have it functional for a
>> Gladiatorial demonstration I will be participating in. I just need a
>> sizeable anvil, not too expensive, and a 1000 gram German style cross-peen
>> hammer. Also, i have a pair of tongs, but they are extremely old and rusted,
>> so if you could suggest an alternative I would be most appreciative. I don't
>> have a lot of money, but if necessary I can scrape some together. (if anyone
>> would like to loan and/or give me these, i would be EXTREMELY grateful) I do
>> plan on joining NCABANA but i have not had the time , money, or ability to
>> as of yet.
>>
>> ~Sincerely and hopefully, Matt Gallagher
>>                                       fudgumz at gmail.com
>> _
>
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-- 
Bruce
NJ