When Anna Visits

 Photo credits: Awesome photos by Brian G. Marino, crappy photos by either Anna or I

Greg Q&A Time:
1. Anvil and names of the parts of the anvil you're using.
    The only different part of the anvil we use in any of these pictures is the cutoff hardy.  The cutoff hardy is made to do exactly what it's name suggests, cutoff hot pieces of metal when to hammer against it.  When you're done using it, make sure to put it away, unless you don't like having fingers.  In this case we used it to help further split the two lobes.
2. Which tongs you're using and why.
    Tongs are a personal preference.  It's which ever ones fit your hands best, feel like a good weight and best grip the piece you're working on.
3. What steel you're using, etc.
    The type of steel we're using in these pics...  Who really knows.  We found a beefy looking bolt that Anna decided she wanted to play with.  I can make guesses as to what grade metal it is being that it's a bolt, but without knowing who manufactured it, where it was made and when it was made, it's just kinda an educated guess.

Various Project Shots

Ball Peen Hammer Axe Process Shots

These are the process shots for making an axe head out of a ball peen hammer.  Or really it's most of the process, I didn't take pics of some of the other steps. 

This is a plain old 24oz ball peen hammer from Harbor Freight.

This is the same hammer head after a good day of heating it, burning off the handle and whacking it a whole lot with a hammer.

This is the same hammer head after a rough grind.  The rough grind is the first grind used to give it it's shape before tempering, annealing and the final grind.

Same hammer head after tempering, annealing, the final grind and sharpening.