#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.
@croyle
I have the answer to my first question it seems ^^
Attached: 1 image #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. #photo #photography #blacksmithing
@magnetic_tape By "twirled" I'm assuming that you mean twisted... It's been a while but the order I think was:
1- Twist
2 - hammer
3- grinding (multiple steps)
4- heat and final dark finish on grip area
5- final grind/sand/polish of blade.
If you're going to heat the metal up hot enough to twist, it will become black/dark once it cools. So the steps have a logical order depending on what you are trying to achieve.
Thanks, and I hope that answers your question!
David Croyle
Jonas