#PhotoOfTheDay is a sort of before-and-after photo of my railroad spike knife alongside a typical old and rusted spike as the "before" image. Many used spikes are in worse condition and may be bent, gouged, more heavily corroded, etc. Starting with one of the better ones simplifies the process a little.

#phto #photography #blacksmithing #maker

I was bought as a gift, perhaps 3 years ago, a blacksmith experience day. And the bug struck. I adore it. The miracle of hot metal and applied force. Things come from my head and become real. There’s a history of thousand of years behind me, behind every hammer blow, and by and large, a welcoming community.

Today was a good day, I got in the forge. I practiced making chain and of course had to make a nail.

#blacksmith #blacksmithing

i went to an architectural salvage/reuse place over the weekend. there were a bunch of tools including a few of what appear to be blacksmith made punches and chisels.

i picked up two reasonably priced ball pein hammers. the larger is in ok condition, but the smaller one's ball pein needs to be dressed- it's pretty marred up, but not so much that it's not easily repairable with a file or grinder.

you can see on the larger one that its handle has been hit a few times. i'll probably order a new handle and use this one until it breaks or i get tired of the varnished handle. the smaller one probably needs a new handle too, but i'm not sure which handle to get for it. i'll have to do some digging to find a suitable handle.

#blacksmithing #blacksmith #hammer

#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.

#photo #photography #blacksmithing #maker #HeatBeatRepeat