If I remember correctly, you told me you were a stock removal guy, have you ever done any forging?
BTW are you going to BLADE? If so, I'd like to meet up with you, PM me, and let me, Rex
Rex,
Sorry I haven't had a chance to call you yet. Things changed drastically at work last week, throwing my schedule out of whack. Plus I know you've been busy with the new shop, and did not want to disrupt.
Yeah, for the most part, I do mostly stock removal.
I got bitten by this knife bug a couple of years ago whenever I wanted to make a few kitchen knives to go with my butcher blocks.
Interestingly, general blacksmithing seems to hold a good level of interest here, but bladesmithing/blademaking (in my direct area anyways) seems to be harder to find people to connect with.
Maybe they're here; just not coming out of the woodwork!
Forging was sort of a do-it-as-I-need-to sort of thing until recently. Made some various trinkets for gifts out of scrap like RR spikes, rebar, etc.
Didn't want to pay the exorbitant price for a set of crank-neck chisels, so I made my own.
Concerning blades, the only forging experience I have is a few Japanese-style blades; I have a friend who has an affinity for various Japanese martial arts, so of course I had to start learning about that. (Reunion gifts.)
Man, that's a lot to learn! Not just the forging, but the entire process.
The tanto turned out good for my first-ever forged blade. The wakizashi project took three attempts before I felt comfortable with the outcome.
I'm sure the "newbie" factor was a huge contributor to the mistakes and the ridiculous amount of hours put into it, but I also come from the school that says experience gained from mistakes can sometimes be the best teacher.
Now that I look back at it, I probably should not have attempted that type of stuff until I got more forging experience under my belt.
Oh, well, live and learn.
One thing is for certain, I will "keep forging ahead". (Pun definitely intended.):biggrin:
Recall from our previous conversation that the overwhelming majority of my experience with "heat" has been with casting, a lifelong passion of mine. (Yes, I still want to learn about tamahagane. Give it time, I'll get there.)
I tried to leave options open to artificialj, and want him to realize the options available to him. No way do I wish to open a discussion about what he needs (blown vs. venturi), or from whom he should purchase, or whether he should build rather than purchase.
But something I see come up on several threads is that a blown burner is needed for forge welding. Maybe, maybe not.
We all have different needs and budgets. More (or less) stringent requirements from one person to the next.
Concerning Rex Price's burners, I'm simply saying where I have had good experience, and I hope others contribute their experiences as well. Like I said in the earlier post, most of the stuff out there will probably suit him just fine.
Regarding Blade, I'm
still trying to reschedule prior commitments. But I've got these seminars for work I have to attend before end of the year, and I need to see if fall classes have openings I can shift into.
If I cannot switch, I will try to schedule vacation (what's that?!) for sometime this fall and plan a trip down South.
Will contact you soon.
Rob