Shawn's forging shed

[ShawnF]

Some of you may be familiar with my hobby, but for those who don't know in August of 2017 I set up a forge in my shed.
In less than a year, I have gone from a rail track "anvil" and trying to beat a piece of warm steel into my first pair of tongs, into actually having something that resembles a real blacksmith shop (with a real anvil now) and having active orders for knives and some other things.

So this is sort of a journal to show my hobby that I enjoy so much and hopefully provide some enjoyment for you as you browse the photos and posts. If something I do interests you, you can contact me at sfeile@yahoo.com.

Here are a few of the things I've done so far.

(The rack, not the pans. )

 

[BarberDave]

Fantastic Work Shawn. Welcome to the hobbyist section and Thanks for supporting the TSC. I'll bet you could make a killer strop hanger/holder huh?

 

[ShawnF]

And because we all like blades of some sort, here are some of the sharp objects that have come from my forge.
(In chronological order so you can see the progress over the last 7 months.)

Wood chisel for my father-in-law




Hunting knife for my stepson.


Kitchen knife and board for my step daughter.



A couple from my own kitchen.



One that I carry every day.

 

[ShawnF]

These are my most recent projects.

This one is homeless at the moment, but it was my first try at filing on the spine.





This one I just made last week and it has gone to it's new home already.







And I also made a tobacco plug cutter. This one was interesting as I had never seen one in person. I had to go from a few photos and make it up as I went along.

 

[ShawnF]

And because we are here for shaving, I have made one straight razor so far. Hopefully more to come in the not too distant future.

 

[ShawnF]

Fantastic Work Shawn. Welcome to the hobbyist section and Thanks for supporting the TSC. I'll bet you could make a killer strop hanger/holder huh?

Thanks Dave! And thank you, Chad, and Chris for giving me a place to showcase my adventure.
I have been thinking about that every time I grab the end of one of my strops. Not sure what I want to do for a design yet though. I'm still thinking.... Suggestions are welcome!

 

[dangerousdon]

Excellent work Shawn, and so happy you decided to become a hobbyist! I wish you all the luck!

 

[GearNoir]

Really cool!

I’m liking the SR direction!

 

[clyde72]

Nice work Shawn!

 

[ShawnF]

Excellent work Shawn, and so happy you decided to become a hobbyist! I wish you all the luck!

Thanks Don!

Really cool!

I’m liking the SR direction!

Thanks Chris! Hopefully more to come soon. It was a real challenge trying to get the hollow grind on it with the tools I had at the time. I have a new belt grinder that I'm hoping will make it easier now.

Nice work Shawn!

Thanks Craig!

 

[DocHoliday0831]

You and I may be collaborating at some point sir most beautiful work my friend!!!

 

[CVargo]

Shawn welcome as a hobbyist. Very excited to see what is made!

 

[ShawnF]

You and I may be collaborating at some point sir most beautiful work my friend!!!

Thank you very much TJ!

Shawn welcome as a hobbyist. Very excited to see what is made!

Thanks Chad!

 

[Spider]

Very cool. I love the wrought iron!

 

[ShawnF]

Very cool. I love the wrought iron!

Thanks KJ! It's actually all just hot rolled steel. Well except the blades of course. They are high carbon spring steel.
I have some wrought, but the first time I messed with it, it split on me. I didn't realize what I had and didn't work it hot enough and the layers separated. One of these days I want to mess with it again now that I know what I have. You have to work it hotter than the other stuff I have been using and not let it cool too much while working it.
You are basically forge welding with each heat with that stuff.

 

[Spider]

Thanks KJ! It's actually all just hot rolled steel.

Oh, thanks for the clarification, I didn't know the difference.

 

[NurseDave]

Wow, I had no idea. Very cool indeed!

 

[ShawnF]

Oh, thanks for the clarification, I didn't know the difference.

Wrought iron is an iron alloy that isn't fully fused and contains bits of slag. It was very common in almost anything that didn't need to be hardened before steel became easier to make. It has a grain in it that you can see if you etch it or if you over stress it.
Modern "wrought iron" items are just made from mild steel.

Technically, the term "wrought" means "to work". So wrought iron is "worked iron". So you really weren't that far off. If you look on blacksmithing sites though they tend to refer to the old grainy iron as wrought. Neither is wrong obviously, but the specifics of what you are talking about broaden or narrow depending on who you are talking with.

 

[dangerousdon]

Shawn dropping some knowledge here.

 

[ShawnF]

Wow, I had no idea. Very cool indeed!

Thanks! It's been a lot of fun learning. It's also rewarding to see the end product and knowing I took something that would have been considered junk and turning it into something someone wants.