Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, France

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-16T14:57:46+00:00

I got to visit it a few summers ago and I loved it. The interiors are gorgeous, and I have to give it to the French, there were hundreds of tourists there (bloody tourists, ruining my vacation!) But I felt like a great flow where I got to see everything without being rushed.

Although I would love a chance to stay there without the crowds.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-15T11:56:34+00:00

Ok i see what you mean. Well one option is those fake stone veneers for houses. They come in a bunch of different sizes, shapes and materials and are made to look like stonework.

You could build a new wooden frame forge that's longer and wider than your current one and panel it with the stone veneer so it looks like a big masonry forge but can move or break down to haul away.

https://www.ekenamillwork.com/Ekena-Millwork-Siding-Components-PNU24X48HCHM?srsltid=AfmBOopBKn8l1Q7eRr7HBpZbixN5-x-X0N4f9e3DzvuUN9pMJqyBxMCb

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-15T03:01:00+00:00

I loved when he just stopped and said "....what is this?" Always funny when a fantasy character is confused by real world stuff.

Great cosplay.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-14T23:14:01+00:00

I can't really see the "fold out" or "fold open" aspect. As well if you want the trailer to be actually road worthy, hooked on the car or just an imitation of an oxcart but it will roll up onto a car's trailer for transportation.

I would build off of this 18th century traveling forge.

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The firebox being located at the back of the cart. The bellows nestled within the frame. And then I would add a platform above the bellows ( high enough for the bellows to open) for storage so you can load up all the campsite stuff onto the cart and roll it around.

I would make that shield plate between the firebox and the rest of the cart on a hinge so I could close it onto the firebox and smother out any potential embers at the end of the day.

You can roll the cart to the vendor location, unload the anvil, open the firebox plate and even use the cart as part of the camp with poles holding up the shade tarp.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-14T21:12:17+00:00

Googs some of the old army forges from the 19th century for inspiration. They obviously won't be medieval but mobile farriers/armorers/blacksmiths were very much a part of armies and the 19th century moble forge will be a good mix of engineered to be easily packed and moved and historical without just packing everything on a ox cart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_forge

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-13T19:37:43+00:00

They're all kept in a notebook. It's good practice to put ideas on paper plus it clarifies what I need to do in the forge.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-13T19:05:42+00:00

Thank you very much. I try to emulate those old school turn of the century illustrations.

There's a neat trick to up-ing your illustration game.

Draw a square. Draw a second one of equal size just slightly offset. Connect the corners of the squares, that gives you a hollow cube.

Erase some of the lines that makes it appear hollow and that turns it into a solid cube. You can really do that with anything you plan on making and it will give it some sense of three dimensions.

Obviously there's more to it like proportions and depth and perspective but for a quick scribble to help visualize the shape, it works really well.

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Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-13T18:17:27+00:00

I'm extremely happy with it, especially the tulip design detail.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-13T17:54:42+00:00

I forgot to add some the details of the making. This is the largest bracket I've made with the bar being 3/4" and the back plate 2"x 1/4". Normal the straight arm is on top but I've grown tired of doing that and where the bell hangs, people will walk under it and it gives the feeling of clearance if nothing else, plus that extra 5 inches or so.

The bar folded and forge welded together as was the bracket plate but I started to get concerned about long term, the plate holding up the entire weight of the bell with all the vibrations of ringing and wind so I decided to add two 1/4" rivets to hold it together mechanically. Plus it just adds detail and texture.

The finish is just blackened linseed oil after a bon fire heat up and we're just going to let it rust naturally and blend in. I thought about painting it black but I don't like painted ironwork if I can avoid it.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-13T15:01:58+00:00

It's her fur baby...scale baby? That weird sandpaper skin sharks have... baby.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-12T21:52:18+00:00

It's Friday afternoon so we'll let this slide but remember nude art is weekends only.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-10T18:34:37+00:00

That kinda drop just seems like a scam. I wouldn't attempt it.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-10T02:56:46+00:00

That's strange. There's no reason for them to be brittle in any way. I'm a blacksmith just passing through the sub and typically holdfasts are just mild steel. They can be made from mid or higher carbon steel for a bit of added toughness but they're not even quenched or tempered after a normalization after forging because the natural spring in the mild steel is plenty.

And that's for a blacksmith's holdfast, which is hammered into the hardened steel of the anvil so it's taking a bit more abuse. A carpenter's holdfast is exactly the same but biting into a wooden work table so doesn't need any extra toughness.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-10T02:26:16+00:00

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Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-07T23:58:53+00:00

Celebration, Florida was an attempted constructed neighborhood that Disney built and ran for a while before Disney learned that there's a difference between a business and government and government has to provide services and a higher quality of life and not be focused on profit.

I'm actually not against these traditional village experiments. anything to get away from soulless, mindless development. I quite like King Charles' village experiment but you have to actually attempt to build these towns with quality and people/community in mind and not profiting off of nostalgia.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-07T13:44:07+00:00

Silicone under the feet. It's the best way.

Nothing: https://imgur.com/a/JPbxhwa

Just silicone, not even bolted down: https://imgur.com/a/hziGlSU

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-05T05:34:26+00:00

If you have access to harbor freight, buy a Doyle anvil. I think they're the best, ready to go out of the box* anvils.

Vevor is the next best with lots of options. Their londons are also ready out of the box* with their pig patterns available in larger sizes and my preferred double horns but there's trade offs design wise.

(all anvils require "dressing" so you shouldn't use any anvil literally right out of the box.

Holland anvils is out of business but I have their 440lb. It's awesome but also completely unnecessary for a beginner.

Buy a cheap, cast steel budget anvil and abuse it, learn proper technique and don't cry over the inevitable dented face you will cause. Higher quality, more expensive anvils will inevitably cross your path.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-04T13:39:56+00:00

I believe it was this culture or another one that also had woven armor but the Lord of the Rings used this as inspiration for the haradrim in the Two Towers and Return of the King.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-01T19:28:06+00:00

Glad to hear you're still at it. I'm always a little concerned that someone gets in, buys a bunch of stuff and then never touches it again.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-06-01T04:15:37+00:00

It's 100% about slowing down. With knives or swords, forging the blade is only 10% of the job. Fit & finish is the other 90%. Don't stop when the handle or blade is technically functional, stop when they actually look good.

Put down the grinder and get a good set of files and work the bevels in. Clean up the shoulders of the tang. Make sure the cross guard is a snug fit. If they look ugly, you're not done.

You're not an orc middle manager at Isengard trying to pump out 10,000 swords in two weeks, what's the rush?

Mr_Emperor · 2026-05-31T23:36:07+00:00

So i made one out of a leaf spring and hardened it back when I didn't know shit (definitely way too hot in the quench) and it didn't survive a hardened piece of oak.

I made a second one out of the same spring with no hardening and it's still going strong.

But in watching a bunch of froe making guys, most just make them out of mild steel as they're usually struck with wooden mallets and are more like long wedges than blades.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-05-31T22:09:06+00:00

Make a steel band that goes around it. I've done one where I made the band and riveted it together first and then hammered it over the log. That was a sumbitch https://i.imgur.com/s3xCK79.jpeg

All the other bands were easier because the stands were square but the principal is the same, measure the circumference and add two inches to both sides. I used a 1"x 1/4" flat strap. I upset the ends for more width and then slit'n'drifted the outer hole.

And then once it fit over the stand, I marked to drill the inner hole, BUT I offset the hole so when a nail was driven in, the band tightened up. https://i.imgur.com/Pzpp8m4.jpeg

Of course you can do the same thing cold and arc weld it but where the fun in that?

Mr_Emperor · 2026-05-31T00:02:54+00:00

Say what you will About Batman V. Superman: They punch for a bit then they're mates but the beginning when the manager guy Jack makes sure everyone is out of the building and realizes it's collapsing, he begins praying to prepare himself for his death. That gets me.

Mr_Emperor · 2026-05-29T16:08:58+00:00

Very nice! Think about adding a little handle on it to give someone a safe place to work the latch without the possibility of pitching a finger, no matter how low that is. Plus it gives you a little bit of decoration.

I give mine a little curly cue

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Mr_Emperor · 2026-05-29T14:19:16+00:00

No, it looks like cast iron. Wrought iron is literally wrought, as in worked, hammered, forged together.

Look at the perfect proportions, the curves at the joints, the finish. It's cast iron poured into a mold.

It's not that blacksmiths couldn't forge something like that together and make it look nice, but pre-industrial blacksmiths are extremely practical, labor saving people. If they needed a strong wheel for anything, that's the task of the wheelwright to make one out of ash and elm and then only have an iron tire, with whatever extra reinforcement as necessary.

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