#PhotoOfTheDay is of a nice toasty hot railroad spike bottle opener with a twisted cube design.
I really love the heat colors on this one. The finished piece turned out well. I sent it off as a thank you gift to my son's friend's parents who were hosting him for a long weekend visit in San Diego.
#PhotoOfTheDay #blacksmithing theme week continues with this railroad spike knife that I forged. The contrast between the dark, crunchy spike end and the shiny blade is always something that I find aesthetically pleasing.
#photoOfTheDay is of a railroad spike bottle opener that I forged in my usual style, although there are many variations.
I think I've given away all of these that I've made except for the one I kept, but this one I sometimes think should have been the one I hung onto.
Building a gate the hard way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtWeDcEkzYA
Found this very educational and well made.
#PhotoOfTheDay is of a hot railroad spike in the process of being twisted in a bench vise. Paper-thin forge scale from the surface has flaked off of some of the twisted section.
This was one of my early spike twists, back when I was using the small engineering vise instead of a post vise, and the twisting had bent the spike which I had to straighten back out later.
#PhotoOfTheDay PART 2 of 2.
Random snaps I took along the process of forging my table knife from a piece of broken spring or something. If I'd had more forethought there would be more and better photos. :) As requested by @kr1st.
Brief descriptions in the ALT text.
#PhotoOfTheDay is a string of random snaps I took along the process of forging my table knife from a piece of broken spring or something. As requested by @kr1st. Part 1 of 2.
Brief descriptions in the ALT text.
I like the heat… Weekly Recap 3/23/2026
I’m the kind of guy that likes getting into a hot car during the summer.
I like hot showers. I like saunas. I like hot tubs.
And I like hot, sunny days at the beach.
So all this weirdness that we’re having right now in Florida—where its hanging out in the 60s or low 70s—that’s not my jam, man.
Hand me my jacket.
Daily writing prompt What is your favorite type of weather? View all responsesGood morning and happy Monday, friends!
Happy Spring Equinox! The “official” equinox happened on Friday at 10:46 AM Eastern, but we’ll be celebrating with the coven later this week.
Speaking of weeks, this will be a significant one for me. I made my first full pass over my manuscript a few days ago, then I sat it down and let it breathe. I haven’t looked at it since then, but I’ll be giving it another read through now… and then… if I don’t make many changes? Submitting!
I also got word that my author copies of Fluid Condensers are shipping from the warehouse. And for all of y’all that have pre-ordered, yours will be shipping in just about a week!
In other news… Selene and I encountered some very tasty tacos.
Freya continued to teach us lessons in being comfy.
I had an unplanned trip to the forge over the weekend.
We started working on a group project. I’m not exactly sure how frequently I’ll be back to do things to it, but at least I did something.
And now my knife-in-progress much more closely resembles an actual knife shape.
Slowly, but surely… it will get there!
And for the most important announcement, I have once again reclaimed my status as a pokemon master.
Okay okay. I know I promised a new episode of M3 soon. I haven’t quite gotten there yet, but it is in my queue and I am actually finishing up some of the final edits now. It should be done later this week.
Oh, and have you guys watched Begonia? It was the most pleasantly surprised I’ve been by a movie in a long time. Go watch it if you like weird stuff involving aliens and crazy people.
That’s all for now, my friends. I’m off to go read an entire book out loud. Stay tuned for more soon!
#blacksmithing #cats #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1886 #knife #pokemon #tacos #updates #weather
#PhotoOfTheDay is another shot of the table knife that I forged out of a found spring or coil that was "rusted and busted." It cleaned up nicely.
The little dark specks are from imprecise hammer strikes, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand I shouldn't make them (I've gotten so much better) but also they show that the knife was made by hand & not just cranked out by a machine in some factory. The aesthetic of my work is important to me.
David Croyle
CBC Montreal
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar
Aerik Arkadian