This was a custom order we received from some folks in the US. They had a rough design in mind, and it was up to us to decide on the execution of it. It’s an interesting process where sketch means reality, working within the constraints of the material and the functional requirements of the project (in this case, it was a sign that could be hung up securely, was black in colour and would be resistant to the outdoor elements).
The final dimensions were roughly 36″ across and 24″ tall by 1″ deep. The finish is a matte black Rustoleum spray paint. The frame was constructed with hot rolled mild steel and assembled via welding.
The completed piece with a matte black finish.The blueprint of the sign, to scale.
The design was originally created at a much smaller scale to ensure our customer was satisfied with it. Once that was finalized, we printed it at a 1:1 scale on multiple pieces of 8.5″ x 11″ printer paper, and the whole design transferred to a piece of scrap plywood.
The forged cross.
Starting to create the forged pieces and using the transferred design as a reference. This was a technique I learned in an ABANA course on making a grille. The cross was forged from 1/2″ square bar, upset at the ends.
Adding the scrolls on either side.
More pieces are added. The printer paper was covered in blue chalk on the back and I used a ball point point to trace the lines, thus transferring the design onto the plywood. I didn’t have a piece of rusty sheet metal large enough for the project. Metal is preferable because I’d be able to place a hot piece of steel against the design to see if it needed tweaking. In this case, I had to cool the part enough so that it wouldn’t scorch the wood.
The sign assembled together with scrolls and backing.
All the pieces are collected here, but not assembled. The penny scrolls on the sides of the frame were replace with a tapered scroll in the end.
Detail of the cross.
The “crown of thorns” detail was a tricky bit of work. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to tackle transforming that bit of design into reality, until one night I suddenly thought of barbed wire. The wire was just the right scale for the project, so I took a length of it and wrapped it up around itself.
A detail view of the edge and plate backing..From another angle.Detailing of scrolls.
Here we can see as the project came along that the side scroll finials changed from penny to tapered. The customer preferred the look of these finials, and it was a quick enough job to change them. The top and side scrolls met at the corner and were welded together.
Detail of the finished cross.Detail of leaf scroll.Detail of completed scrolls.The completed piece with a matte black finish.
Ornamental ironwork is a very creative process and I enjoy the occasional project.
If you have an idea that you would like to see come to life, send us an email at info@reforgedironworks.com
A local client contacted me about forging a railing for their front step. It went through a couple iterations before the client was happy with the design I drew up for them. Functionality is always a top concern, and the client was happy to let me handle the details of the ironwork and finishing.
The railing just after installation.
The installed railing was secured with anchor bolts into the wall on the top step, and concrete anchor bolts at the bottom. The rail itself is a solid 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ steel bar.
Side view of the piece.Detail of leaf scroll.
The leaf finial scroll at the front and end of the rail were forged separately from 1/4″ x 1″ bar, and then riveted into place. I was working within the limitations of my workshop, and being unable to forge a 6′ length of heavy bar, while keeping modern welding to a minimum, meant using the traditional riveting technique.
Detail of bottom scroll.
Each scroll is a snub nosed finial forged from 1/4″ x 1″ flat bar. The pieces were forged such that each scroll appears to flow out of the proceeding one, creating a sense of movement down the rail.
Detail of end leaf scroll.
The wall mount was forged from plate and given a leaf-type texture to tie in the motif. The second leaf finial scroll can be see here with the rivet details below. The wall mount was welded to the rail.
Top view where the connection between the pieces is visible.A complete view of the railing.Here all the leaf scrolls and spirals are shown.
The post is simply a 1″ square tube. Budget constrains required that I use modern welding in many places. Traditionally the post would be solid steel and connected to the rail and base plate with mortise and tenon joinery.
Left side view of the railing.
This photo really capture the flowing effect of the progressively enlarging scrolls “tumbling” down the under side of the rail.
Left detail of bottom scroll.Detail of middle scroll.Side view of scroll.
The finish was something I agonized about during the entire project. I detest paint finishes for a number of reasons, the most important being that it obscures the naturally beautiful finish that comes with forged ironwork. I consulted with another blacksmith with more experience in outdoor ornamental pieces and I settled on a mix of linseed oil, beeswax and turpentine tinted with stove black, a polish for wood stoves.
Before connecting all the pieces and after polishing all the surfaces with a wire wheel brush, I heated them to a black heat in the forge. This creates a uniform dark gray colour on the steel and helps to protect it from rust. The dark gray comes from a thin layer of scale that forms from heating.
Once the piece was assembled, I applied the linseed oil finish to the rail. Now, one of the benefits of a linseed oil finish is that it can be reapplied easily to the piece. If rust does happen to form in a spot, it can be scoured away and linseed oil applied. No need to repaint the entire rail in the future.
A 9″ hand forged blade mounted in an elk handle with iron guard and pommel.
Leather sheath created by Dave Lougheed.
This was a commission piece for a fellow Creston valley resident. She wanted a hunting style knife with an antler handle for her husband, engraved with the words “Irish” and “Wrath” as a testament to his heritage. Otherwise the design details were left up to me.
The knife design was based on a outdoor survival book I picked up a few years ago called “Bushcraft – Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival” by Mors Kochanski. Accordingly, I asked the client and her husband to stop by so I could measure his palm width, and both the handle and blade length were created to suit (being 4 1/2″ long for each).
Kochanski advises that the spine of the blade be flat or slightly dropped at the tip, and I decided to use a tanto kata that was generously given to me by Dave J Friesen of Crossed Heart Forge to help me shape the profile of the blade. Since the handle was made from an elk antler (also from Dave), I decided on a rat tail tang with a flat iron pommel so that I could rivet the knife together.
The knife was forged from an old carriage spring dating back to the 1800s, using a charcoal forge and Japanese fuigo bellows. I have finally started making my own charcoal so I’m proud to say that this knife was forged using fuel I made earlier in the year.
I chose to use yaki-ire to temper the blade, and the hamon can be seen from the hardening process. This is more thoroughly explained on the Elk Knife Process page.
Scrap 1/8″ plate steel with a hammered pebble texture form the guard and pommel. They were left just slightly oversized to the elk handle, and handle itself has had nothing done to it.
The farrier who stops by our little homestead every now and then to tend to our Norwegian Fjord was kind enough to supply us with rasps that are too worn done for the work she does. In trade, we forged this belt buckle for her from one of the rasps she gave us.
I used a angle grinder to cut the rasp in half and forged it oval-like, and put in grooves as one would see on an actual horseshoe. This was all made to the farrier’s criteria but she left the creative details up to me.
Rasps are made of a steel that has a higher amount of carbon in it. That can make welding a tricky thing. Luckily I know an experienced welder who managed that part of it. Just to be extra careful, I tempered the buckle after welding to remove any stresses that might have been in the welds. Best to have relaxed steel if it’s allowed.
Turning scrap into functional art is what we love to do best.
A neighbour and friend of the forge recently commissioned a coat rack from us, and we took their idea and made it our own. Instead of using any welds, the entire piece uses traditional blacksmith joinery techniques.
The finish for the coat rack and shelf unit was a bit of polishing with a wire brush, heating the steel to a “black heat” for a uniform colour, and an application of beeswax and linseed oil.
The scroll arms on either side were forged from this old piece of scrap that came from an old homestead on the other side of our little valley.
Bradding, or riveting as its referred to nowadays, was the technique used to attach all the separate pieces into one. A countersink was drilled in places where a rivet head standing proud of the surface would have interfered with function. Lorinda and I worked as a team to assemble all the parts together
I had the honour of hand crafting a hori hori for my neighbour to give as an anniversary gift. Since our forge is small scale, it’s agile and adaptable, and well suited to custom projects such as this one. Details such as having a heart stamped in both blade and sheath to make the knife truly unique, and making the sheath and serrations to match the needs of its owner, aren’t typically found with factory produced goods. Neither do my wife and I wish to compete against machines; it’s a losing battle every time. Instead we aim to provide an alternative: handmade, slowcrafted goods forged from reclaimed and recycled materials.
This hori hori was forged from reclaimed 1/4″ thick leaf spring, quenched in heated canola oil and tempered to approximately 50 to 55 HRC. The softer temper guards against breaking, and sharpening with a file much easier.
Detail of the matching heart stamp on blade and sheath. The heart stamp was a custom request from the customer.
Reclaimed hardwood slabs (most likely walnut) are pinned and epoxied to the tang. The tang is heat treated to prevent bending.
The serrations are hand filed with a chainsaw file, running four inches along one side of the blade. The teeth are on the top side of the blade for a right handed user, and would be on the opposite side for a left handed gardener.
The veg-tanned leather sheath is hand dyed and riveted with copper. The cross draw design of the sheath allows for easy access to the knife even when kneeling down, which is common for gardeners and foragers alike.
Blacksmithing can be a lonely craft. Thankfully, I have my wife to keep me company in the shop to help with striking, designing awesome driftwood and iron pieces and generally being a great support in our endeavours. This past weekend was the first Kootenay Blacksmith Association meeting that was held since before the covid pandemic hit the world, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
Troy speaking at the spring Kootenay Blacksmith Association conference.
This spring, the KBA invited a bladesmith, Troy Flanders of Flanders Forge, to speak to the crowd. What a source of information, and he barely scratched the surface of the bladesmithing craft. Regardless, I learned much from him and also got some useful tips on improving my forging techniques from a fellow member. I’m currently finishing up a hori hori for a customer, putting what I learned into practice and I can honestly say this is the best hori I’ve made yet.
Some of Troy Flander’s work.
I’ve been a professional blacksmith for over five years now, so I figure I know quite a bit about hammering steel and all the other accompanying skills that go with it. However, in order for me to learn anything from other ‘smiths I have to do two things: swallow my pride and listen. There is a vulnerability that comes with that because I have to admit to myself that I don’t know everything, that there are others who are better at this stuff than I am, and the only way I can learn is by admitting that to myself and to others.
Thankfully, the KBA members are gracious and helpful folks (despite the stereotype of blacksmiths being ornery and secretive), and if you’re willing to be quiet and pay attention to what the older generation of craftsmen are saying, you might just learn a thing or two. If you’d like to keep up with the happenings of the Kootenay Blacksmith’s Association, go to their contact page to become a member: https://kootenay-blacksmiths.ca/contact-us/
Railroad spike becomes a hori hori with riveted veg-tanned leather (finished February 2022)The original hori hori knives I made from RR spikes (August 2016)
It’s useful on occasion to revisit one’s earlier work. The two photos above contrast the results of my ‘smithing over a six year period. The first picture is my latest hori hori creation, forged from an old railroad spike, hardened, sharpened and finished with walnut handle slabs. The second photo is a set of hori hori that I made for the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens in Lethbridge, AB. It was a great learning experience for me, and looking at the older photo now I can see both how my design has changed over time, and how my ‘smithing has changed.
A “before and after” of the forging process, 2022.
The big, iron block is a 250 lb. Japanese pattern anvil I purchased from my friend and mentor, Dave J Friesen of Crossed Heart Forge. Using that, and an eight pound hammer, has really increased my efficiency. There’s quite a bit of material to move in the spike. It’s a mid carbon steel so it’s not as tough as spring steel, but it starts out at 5/8″ thick, and I forge that down to 5/32″ at the hilt of the blade with a slight thickness taper to the point. Two holes are drilled in the handle for steel pins to secure the handle slabs.
The finished hori hori and the two hammers I use to forge with. 8 and 4 lbs. 2022.
The serrations have seen some modification over the years, too. For the Nikka Yuko hori hori, I used a half round file but it seemed to me the teeth were too shallow and didn’t saw very well. I then switched to a small chainsaw file for the knives made from coil spring, and that worked ok but I think the teeth were a bit small. The serrations, according to my research and personal experience, are designed to saw through woody materials such as thick roots and small branches. The latest iteration uses a large chainsaw file for deeper teeth which should make for quicker cutting and sharpening (less teeth to sharpen).
The scooped blade is formed by forging into a shallow piece of pipe, cut in half. The first railroad hori hori knives had a very slight scoop by forging with a round peen along the length of the blade. I leave the scale from forging on the blade as it inhibits rust, and it wears off over time anyhow because of digging in the soil.
The blade and handle are hardened in room temperature vegetable oil. This gives a hardness a bit below an axe, and allows for quick field dressing with a bastard file and chainsaw file if needed. There’s no need to make the edge razor sharp as the first stab into soil acts like sandpaper. The balance between hardness and toughness is important; it’s hard enough so that sharpening isn’t required too frequently, while remaining tough so the knife doesn’t snap when prying a plant out of the ground.
The handle is a simple affair: two slabs of walnut, or whatever scrap hardwood I have lying about, pinned with two steel rivets. A woodworking tool that I love to use ever since Dave J showed me is the Japanese saw file. It works quickly and leaves a finish that needs only light sanding to smooth out. The bevels on the handle are formed with that saw file. A coating of linseed oil seals and protects the wood.
Our tuxedo cat comes by for inspection.
After discussing the sheath design with my wife and striker, Lorinda, I decided to try a cross carry instead of the traditional wooden sheath or vertical sheath that’s common with factory models. The cross carry keeps the handle out of the way when bending over or kneeling, which is a very common stance in the garden. The vertical carry can make drawing the knife a bit awkward, and these knives are easily misplaced if not kept near at hand. This is an experiment at this point, but I really like how it came together.
The leather sheath is fitted to the scooped blade to ensure a snug fit while preventing the edges from slicing up the inside of the sheath. Copper rivets secure the belt loop and the sheath itself. I thought about using copper rivets on the handle, too, but decided on steel for the extra strength they provide.
I look now at the requirements for a good hori hori knife and I realize I picked a really hard tool to start with. Back in 2016 I had only been a hobby smith for about a year. The hori hori has a difficult blade shape, two sharpened edges, and needs just the right balance of hardness and toughness. I ruined a good number of promising knives when they warped after quenching and tried bending them back. Pretty sure the neighbours heard my dismay when the blade went <snap>! Other times I would spend an hour or more heating up a warped blade, forging it straight, normalizing it and quenching once again… only to have it warp again. Thankfully, I can say that no one who has purchased one my knives have had them break or bend, which is a common complaint about the factory models.
I’m looking at trying my hand at other hand tools, now that I have a good number of years of experience under my belt. Wood carving knives, draw knives and broad axes are next. Hopefully I can make at least one of each this year and see where that takes me.
