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Workshop Door Hinges
Simple, traditional strap and butterfly hinge combination from heavy stock to support the solid wood blacksmith shop doors. The island workshop doors are built of reclaimed ship lap and other scrap wood, nailed together, and braced with a hand chiseled mortise. The wood had been outside for some time and is still heavy with moisture…
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Charcoal Retort Day 5
A standard burn for version 1.0 took an unexpected turn, likely due to the wear of high heat on some of the structural steel. We loaded the retort with some excellent construction cut offs, this time thanks to Tim and his crew at Bayshore Construction Inc., and sealed it up as usual. The one difference…
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Bush Forged J-hooks
Using the excess heat from the charcoal making process, a delicate pair of hooks formed with nothing but a hammer and anvil. While enjoying our backyard charcoal making party, a suggestion was made to haul out the old anvil and conduct some “bush forging” out in the wilderness. This lovely pair of hooks were the…
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Charcoal Retort Day 4
The weather was great and today’s burn was like a party with everyone out to help chop wood, fuel the fire, and roast marshmallows. The official version 1.0 of the charcoal retort was based on the 0.9 design but incorporated a better airflow design via a grate and used bricks rather than logs as a…
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Island Workshop Open!
Following the preliminary experiments with the charcoal retort, it was time to make a fire and start hammering again, island style.
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Charcoal Retort Day 3
Take two on the charcoal retort in an attempt to get the burn temperature higher and complete the process of charcoal formation. The first attempt was promising but seemed to take too long to get to operating temperature and did not stay there long enough. So rather than stand the drum on the ground, I…
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Charcoal Retort Day 2
The results of the first attempted burn of the D.I.Y. charcoal retort were not as impressive as expected but seem to be on the right track. Yesterday morning I picked up some nice cut-offs of spruce, cedar, and fir from Chris and his crew who were more than willing to assist with my experiment. I…
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Charcoal Retort Day 1
“Charcoal!”, he retorted. This is my first foray into high-tech low-tech clean charcoal production but I am stoked to try it out. For background information on fuel alternatives, see the post entitled: Sustainable ‘Smithing?. For this project, I visited the good folks at Demxx and picked up a steel drum along with a 6″ diameter…
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Island Workshop Day 6
Built a reclaimed fir boardwalk at the front of the shop, installed the leg vise and post drill, and built the charcoal retort, beta version.
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Island Workshop Day 5
Spent most of the morning rebuilding a hand-cranked blower, hooked up a light and a power outlet, and rearranged more tools.
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Island Workshop Day 4
Installed the chimney with lots of ground help from Neido~chan, built shelves, and started to organize tool boxes and scrap steel.
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Island Workshop Day 3
Built wall racks for steel stock and cleared some of the floor space. Moved the stump and anvil into place and leveled the earth floor.
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Island Workshop Day 2
Cut down the oversized smoke hood and installed it over the forge, finished set up of the forge table and installed the firepot.
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Island Workshop Day 1
Unloaded all 4000 pounds of steel and tools, stashed most of it under cover and out of the rain. Set up the forge table and sorted tools.
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We Are Moving Shop!
After several years hiatus in Japan, it was time to pack up the tools from cold storage in Canada, dust off the anvil, set up shop on Vancouver Island, Canada, and get the fire going. We are packing up house here in Kansai, heading to Canada this Fall, and will be located mid-island in the…
Traditionally crafted knives for people who wish
they could take things home from museums.
Crossed Heart Forge
Historical Techniques
Hand forged with handmade charcoal, constructed and finished with historical methods and natural materials.
see the process
Traditional Tools
Human powered hand tools are used from the time the steel is first put in the fire through to the final assembly.
tour the forge
Reclaimed Materials
Steel, iron, copper, and brass are sourced from salvage and scrap wood for charcoal comes from local sources.
watch a tanto being made