r/Blacksmith

Found these at an old abandoned saw mill near my house and wondering if any of it would make good knife making material?

I found a free railway track offcut and I’m planning to turn it into a small anvil for jewellery work (silver, small forming, etc.).
The surface is quite rusty and slightly pitted, so I want to clean it up and make it usable rather than aiming for a polished finish.
I’ve got access to an angle grinder with flap discs, but I’m a bit concerned about accidentally making the face uneven if I go at it wrong.
What’s the best approach here?
My current thinking is:
Use a flap disc to remove rust and high spots
Try to avoid “digging in” and creating waves
Focus more on usability than a perfectly flat surface
Main question:
How do I clean and level something like this without over-grinding and ending up with a lumpy surface?
Any tips on technique (or things to avoid) would be appreciated.

It is my first straight razor. It will cut grapes and tomatoes but cannot get it truly sharp enough to shave with yet. The spine is too thin. The 15N20 was to thin compared to the 1080 blanks, so the pattern doesn’t read well. I have a few delamintions. As a first piece of this type I am thrilled with it.

Have been cranking out stuff for blade show 2026 Atlanta. I won't have them on the table, but just ask me,ill whip some out.

Friend of mine found this piece of solid 1.5” round on the railroad near his house. Shoots big sparks, very stiff to forge. Has/had a hole on either side nearby a wallow or wear mark as seen in photos. Seems like an axle of some kind to me but wondering what people think and what it would be good for forging

One of my jobs today, tapping out rusted off rivets, re-riveting the hinges and hanging the gate. A beautiful old cemetery, and my coworkers' granfather is buried here, so it's nice making the place nicer again.

Picked up this thing for a quid in a carboot, showed it some love

Come see us! Table 20-S

I cant believe it actually works, holy shit, its one thing watching a shit ton of videos and preparing and another thing actually firing it up and hearing that fucking roar!

HOLY SHIT!

Any general advice is appreciated, please and thank you!

What happens when a bladesmith and a welder get married? 😂

We’re trying to find out if we can use a tug torch to force manipulation of the pattern on a forged Damascus knife

The idea is that if we get the right penetration (giggedy) we should be able to at least shift the steels around enough that it could create a sort of mirage effect or even distinct patterning when it’s ground and etched. I have no idea, we’ve never attempted this 😂

The knife is ~300 layers of 1084, 15n20, and procut. The pattern is random, and I’ve added steel along the way and made sure to keep the blocks different sizes for restacks (to keep patterning more varied).

We did the welding after forging but before profiling or heat treating. Stay tuned to see how it works 🤙🏻