Quote Originally Posted by shooter74743 View Post
http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...ing-steel.html
Forging Public Service Announcement.

I figure the old hands know this already, but thought I'd share it with those that may not be aware.

When checking a piece of metal for heat, as in IS IT TOO DAMN HOT TO HANDLE, use the back of your hand. The skin on the back of your hand is thinner and more sensitive to radiated heat. It's much quicker to tell if a piece of metal is hot/uncomfortably warm that way.

AND if you mess up and stick the back of your hand or fingers to a really hot one, a blister on the back of your hand or finger is easier to keep working with.

That way you won't have to do like the old cowboy that picked up a hot horse shoe and then tossed it down real fast. When he did that the smith asked him if it was hot.

He replied that it just didn't take him very long to look at a horse shoe.