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.