Here's a special variation of my tentacle bottle opener made from a special material. This particular opener is made from wrought iron sourced from Providence, RI. It came from a derelict building that was built sometime in the late 1920s (possibly very early 1930s). So, this iron would have been contemporary to the period in which H.P. Lovecraft wrote his more famous and tentacular Cthulhu … [Read more...]
Still Seeking New Shop Space
My time in my current shop space is coming quickly to a close. This means that I'll soon lose access to a power hammer. So, I'm doing tapers and tops for tentacle bottle openers until I run out of either time or round stock, whichever comes first. After that, things will move a bit slower on production. Maybe a lot slower. Anyway, for the next few days these are getting done at a good clip. The … [Read more...]
Forging Leaves for Exterior Project
I'm forging a number of leaves to go on an exterior build for author Christopher Golden in Massachusetts. I'm particularly happy with this one. To see how I'm forging these leaves, go to this page. Finished forged leaf (minus surface treatment). Final heat on this forged leaf. Preparing to hot cut the leaf stem. … [Read more...]
Forging a Leaf (blacksmithing tutorial)
Here's how I'm currently forging leaves. I'm still refining, but I'm pretty happy with the end results. Start with 1/2-inch round stock and forge to shape. I use both a power hammer and hand hammering. Forge in the center vein using a chisel. A curved- ended chisel works best. Use the peen end of a cross-peen hammer to create the texture on either side of the vein. Different peen … [Read more...]
Testing a Different Power Hammer Die
All of the following using the new (to me) hammer die on test metal... (Image 1) Tapered to square. (Image 2) Tapered to octagon. (Image 3) Tapered to hexadecagon. (Image 4) This is as facet-free as I can get it using the flat face of the die (someone with better power hammer kung-fu could probably do better...). (Image 5) A lot less faceting using the rounding surface of the die … [Read more...]
Next Batch of Tentacle Bottle Openers
(Image 1) This is eight tentacle bottle openers in waiting; 3/4-inch round stock. (Image 2) But first, I need to get accustomed to a new (to me...) tapering die on the Bradley 50-lb power hammer. Eventually, it should make my life easier. But we need to get to know each other a little better first. (Image 3) So, I'm going to bang away at this ugly bit of found scrap gifted to me by Nick … [Read more...]
Teaching My First Blacksmithing Class
In mid-September 2018, I went from blacksmithing practitioner to blacksmithing teacher (albeit in a very modest fashion). I taught my first absolute beginner blacksmithing course, “Forge Your Own Bottle Opener”, at The Steel Yard in Providence, RI. The Steel Yard in Providence, RI. For those who don’t know, The Steel Yard is a brilliant maker space and industrial arts education center … [Read more...]