Thread: Kagi-ba-Sword forging shop

Building your own motor, very cool.
Making your own knife, still, very cool.
Making your own razor? I mean who does that? (Well we do!)

Smelting your own steel from rock you found. That takes the game to a whole nother level man. I can not wait. This a step beyond the ordinary. Talk about your DIY.

Hey, do black sands work? I'll have to do some research.

Jeff

Originally Posted by TURNMASTER

...Hey, do black sands work? I'll have to do some research. Jeff

Take a magnet with you. Pass it over the sand. If it sticks there's iron there. Make a furnace, make your own charcoal, it really is easy.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

Take a magnet with you. Pass it over the sand. If it sticks there's iron there. Make a furnace, make your own charcoal, it really is easy.

That easy eh ?

I would amend to say "simple".. and some of us know "simple" definitely is not the same as "easy". Kind of like how "flying is simply throwing yourself at the ground and missing".

Ah, ya got me. But I was trying to be encouraging to Jeff. Once he figures out the amount of work that goes into running a smelt, it'll be too late for him to quit. Even then, it might not work out. As gambling goes, it would be simpler and easier to make a fire and burn a few 100 dollar bills instead of days of time, sweat and your friends beer bill and raw materials even if you do find them laying about on the ground.

I'm absolutely loving this thread, thank you for taking us on the journey with you.
Grant

Holy Cow,
I just about spit cake all over the computer, laughing and trying not to wake up the whole house "Flying is simply..." LOL point taken

Thanks Mike, There is magnetic rock up north Hmmmm.....

Great Thread

I've watched Mike smelt steel. Simple, yes. Easy, no. Results worth it - priceless!

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

Ah, ya got me. But I was trying to be encouraging to Jeff. Once he figures out the amount of work that goes into running a smelt, it'll be too late for him to quit. Even then, it might not work out. As gambling goes, it would be simpler and easier to make a fire and burn a few 100 dollar bills instead of days of time, sweat and your friends beer bill and raw materials even if you do find them laying about on the ground.

Mike has the right of it. It is neither easy or simple. How the guys a few thousand years ago were able to make the complex chemical reaction (reduction of iron oxides) work and control it with out an understanding of the chemistry is phenomenal. But there in lies the appeal. Taking the Japanese as a for instance. They used what they had. No iron ore-use iron sand. Use clay and leather bags. Refine the process down to the minutest details in order to get semi-predictable results. It is technology accessible to us. It is a matter of knowledge and experience.

Originally Posted by baldy

I'm absolutely loving this thread, thank you for taking us on the journey with you.
Grant

Herein lies the reason. It is the journey I am after. Despite the hype over ancient Japanese swords, modern steels and heat treat methods have them beat functionaly hands down.
Last week as I stood ankle deep in a clear Texas stream picking up magnetic rocks I stopped and looked around. I had seen neither car nor human all afternoon.
The light was fading. I could see a small herd of deer picking their way through the trees. As the Sun went down the air cooled slightly. The change in temperature released a faint smell that is not describable. I am not a follower of Zen but two of the principles that I find admirable are to live mindfully and to live the moment. Harder said than done.

At that moment there was no before and no after only NOW. That moment is something I now own. I left that creek different than when I went in.

It is also the appeal of forging blades. Manipulating fire, hot steel, hammer, air requires NOW. If you can get them to talk about it most bladesmiths will tell you of times that they worked outside of themselves. Where they are not sure how they got from point A to point B. It is an addiction. I always return to a statement Don Fogg made. The hammer works on both ends. Forging the blade and the smith.

That and the fact that good forging requires good beer

Originally Posted by Danocon

.....snip....

That and the fact that good forging requires good beer

Or a good Scotch but only after you are done.

Who ever fires up and tries to smelt iron/ steel needs to know
that carbon monoxide is necessary to reduce the iron. Monoxide
is also lethal.

If it was me I would take some ceramic drain pipe
and combined with mud to seal all the edges least
oxygen leak in and kill the monoxide build a vertical
furnace.

I would fill the bottom with more than a couple sacks of charcoal
(briquettes should be OK) then add layers of crushed ore and
charcoal.

Start the fire and let it warm up the pipe slow
and steady eventually blowing enough air into
the bottom to make a "blast". Know that it
will blast sparks in the air and be a hazard.
A horizontal fire can extend the fuel. As long as
no oxygen reached the bottom of your stack that
charcoal will just glow. When you have the blower/ fan
going full on the fuel will be gone in almost no time.

Coke as a fuel is good because it has some more
mechanical strength that charcoal has. Charcoal
is good because it does not have sulfur that
much coal has. As far as iron ore the big furnaces
use pellets of ground iron ore bound with clay and fired
enough to have strength to maintain the flow
of reducing furnace gases. The magnetic iron
pellets are like rabbit poo in shape but a little
larger.

There are dangers. Toxic fumes can kill.
Fire burns... white hot steel .... sparks fly you get the
idea. Even steam to put out a fire can hurt ya. The
stack can crack and collapse.

Bring some friends for safety and as witness
to the action and go for it. Drink the beer
after you close the forge to kill the fire and
let it cool.

Do not forget to have a crock pot of hot chili
ready... and invite Mike...