I decided to get into blacksmithing a while back as a hobby, and one of the most fun things to forge are blades. Seeing as how the machete and the sword have been recently added into the game, I decided to try my hand at forging a machete in my propane forge.
Although I lack the proper 100 wood and 75 metal fragments in real life, a used lawnmower blade and some para-chord will have to do! I'm confident both could hypothetically be found in the Rust world. Now on to the forging!
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9RNAWONl.jpg[/IMG]
The first step is to get a nice consistent heat of at least 2,000 degrees, and since lawnmower blade steel is a soft, basic steel, it heats up rather quickly. Since I am a novice (and a little impatient) I take advantage of the wonders and conveniences of propane gas for my forging projects. Now its only a matter of "heating and beating" the shit out of the bends and twists in the blade itself, making a nice flat work-piece. This part took me about 2 hours.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/4geHVZ7l.jpg[/IMG]
After forging, I then proceeded to grind away the unnecessary metal and form more the blade and tang's shape using my belt sander and grinding wheels. After forming the blank, I put a rough bevel onto the edge which I would sharpen.
Lastly, I heat treated the metal in preheated, used 4 cylinder engine oil to lock in the blade's strength. With scrap metal such as lawnmower blades, it really is a hit or miss when it comes to heat treating because you never know what kind of steel they used to make the blade, so you might get unlucky and have a blade that cracks or snaps apart because you fucked up the heat treat. This is why professional bladesmiths cringe at the thought of using scrap metal, among other reasons. But hey, I'm only a hobbyist, so don't expect Sheffield quality knives from me.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/jGRsNwSl.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/eTiqfv7l.jpg[/IMG]
Not bad for backyard work, oh and by the way, the reason for so many hammer marks is because my anvil was not set at the correct height. Since I stand at about five-foot six (168 cm), having an anvil 4 inches above my waste is not good for your arm or your hammer technique, not realizing the ramifications, I foolishly continued on with the machete.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GJv8rwKl.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OqW6dKRl.jpg[/IMG]
It cuts through thick foliage pretty well, and with a little batoning, it will split wood large enough for the campfire. After all the torture I put it through and accidentally striking a rock with it, there are no chips in the blade. Again, not bad for my first machete.
Looks more like a bloated knife but it'll do.
[QUOTE=itisjuly;48214470]Looks more like a bloated knife but it'll do.[/QUOTE]
Can't afford to be picky in the Rust world. :v:
Yeah, I kinda cheated, machetes on average are around 10 inches, this one is 8 and a half inches.
I imagine we will see this in the next community blog. Very nice work!
[QUOTE=Thor-axe;48216377]I imagine we will see this in the next community blog. Very nice work![/QUOTE]
Thanks! I got a bunch of lawnmower blades left over. Since the heat treatment went well, I might try for different designs and improve my hammer striking technique.
Great job man! If I had any sort of talent I would try something like this; a rust inspired creation. Maybe you can grind down a wrench into a sword as well! :dance:
[QUOTE=dark hunter;48217773]Great job man! If I had any sort of talent I would try something like this; a rust inspired creation. Maybe you can grind down a wrench into a sword as well! :dance:[/QUOTE]
Actually, I've seen people make bottle openers out of rusty/broken wrenches, so I might try that as well if I can find one at my local scrap yard.
Btw, don't think that because you might not have the talent that you can't create something inspired. Go for it and see how it turns out, I'd love to hear about it. :smile:
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