Long story short I had the extreme fortune of visiting with my wife’s grandparents this past weekend in TN. It was a fantastic trip filled with family food and a little intro to forging! My wife’s grandpa has a forge and makes quite a lot of forged items. Anyway he let me play on the coal forge and boy was it fun! This is my first attempt at anything blacksmithing. He gave me a scrap of hay rake and this is what I came up with. I made the blade and we hardened and tempered it. Once I arrived home I finished the handle. The tang is full length through the antler and I then poorer the pewter caps. I tried to do as little grinding as possible as I really like the “forge finished” blades!
This sight has been quite amazing and watching others make things has given me the confidence to try my own! This has become a very fulfilling hobby and I owe a thanks to this form and community for the inspiration and encouragement!
Please let me know what y’all think!