I appreciate your comment and it's one reason why I mainly prefer to show most of the process of making whatever items I do in videos and not just do a time lapse style where I only show the best parts and a pleasing end result. I like to show how I actually got to that result... Thanks. Glen

Glen GS Tongs wow! thanks for the response

I'm very glad you can learn something from watching my videos - even maybe learn what not to do! Good luck in your work and sorry for the very slow reply. Thanks. Glen

John, There are some really simple ways to go about making a tool/jig for bending hot steel that don't involve forging but I figured having a hardy bending fork would be best for what I want to do. Thanks for watching. Glen

Walter, I think I will do basic technique videos in the future, knowing that there are lot of folks who are just getting involved in blacksmithing and are looking for direction. Thanks. Glen

Ron, At first, it was very hard to find my "voice" for making videos. In earlier videos, I sound like a robot reading off a teleprompter. I wouldn't say I'm much better now but just trying to be more natural. Sorry for the super slow reply. Thanks. Glen

Christopher, My hot cutter is made from H13 and the cutting angle seems just right for stuff like this. Granted this piece was only mild steel but the hot cutter edge didn't blunt at all. Thanks for watching. Glen

John, I'm not sure there's anything fantastic about this but I do appreciate you saying that! It should serve my purpose and I'll demonstrate using it in an upcoming video or two. Thanks. Glen

Walter, I'm just glad that you or anyone else might find my videos useful in any way. Thanks. Glen

Rick, If there is anything that you can learn from my video projects, that really makes me happy and encourages me to make more videos. Thanks. Glen

It doesn't take much (tool wise) to start to blacksmith. And wit the proper skill, any number of items can be created using just minimal tooling. Thanks. Glen

Ernest, More than a joke, that's actually very true. Anyway, I'm hoping to employ this bending fork to help me make some kinds of knots and will show that in an upcoming video. Thanks. Glen

That's a really good question ! In my own shop, every tool is covered with cloth because of humidity. By the way I wonder what is the best material to isolate an anvil from ambiant humidity. What's your secret Glen ? Thank you for your good work !

That's a good question. The humidity here is off the charts - tough environment to be a blacksmith... I feel that constant use of tools is the main factor in keeping rust at bay. Gabriel's idea of covering tools with (oily) cloths is a good idea and something I do for certain tools. And, I frequently spray and rub my tools down with WD-40. I like a light, sprayable oil like this since a heavy oil or grease would make things a mess when forging. I hope this answers your question. Thanks for watching. Glen

Mark, The block style anvils you see me using are my own designs which I had made here in Taiwan. I was having a hard time finding an anvil that suited my work style / need and so took advantage of the resources available to me and got these made (three styles in all). I am very pleased with them. They are made for 4145 steel and completely heat treated, top to bottom. Thanks for watching and good luck in your work. Glen

Ron, That cone shaped hardy tool is a mini cone mandrel. It used to come to a finer tapered point at the top but I cracked it when heat treating (it's medium carbon steel) and so the top is more blunt now. Thanks. Glen

Sean, I used to offer my smallest anvil for sale but the high shipping, back and forth for different operations, and low margin on such an item made me stop, at least temporarily. But due to these videos, a lot of people inquire about my anvils. Thanks. Glen

I see, let me know if you ever start making again.

Rounding them off would definitely have been a smart move. I used my angle grinder after it cooled to ease the sharp edges some. I wasn't thinking too hard when I made this. Thanks for watching. Glen

Albert, Thanks for your input on this. I will look into setting up an account and see what comes of it. Some people may find it more appealing/convenient than Paypal... Glen

The block style anvils I use are my own designs that I had made here in Taiwan. Could be called hornless anvils or maybe swage anvils since they have swage functions. Thanks for watching.

Bryan, To be honest, I'm fairly terrible at filming myself and editing the footage. However, the software I use is just i-movie which is on my Mac computer, that's all. Once you get used too it, it's convenient for non-pros like myself to combine different clips and do basic editing. I used to just use the editing feature on KZfaq but it's a bit limited for some things. Thanks for watching and good luck in your work. Glen

Scotty, I used mild steel for this bending fork. For my purpose, it holds up fine. Thanks for watching. Glen

Martin, Thanks for reminding me. I thought that would make a good project but forgot to work that out and make one for a video. Hopefully, I'll get to that soon. Glen

William, I designed my block style anvils and had them made here in Taiwan. All told, I had three different designs made and am thinking about a forth. Very pleased with them... Thanks for watching. Glen

Good question! I'll use this hardy hole bending fork to bend sections of hot steel, like when I want to forge knots. Glen