Rugged As Iron Works

Rugged As Iron Works Self-taught blacksmith, metal fabricator, welder, machinist and leather worker. Commissions welcome.

I have been cold-working metal for over twenty-five years and blacksmithing for over fifteen years. I started blacksmithing because I was no longer satisfied with just bending sheet metal and wire. I wanted to make things from steel like knives and tools that you simply couldn’t do cold. Because I started learning how to blacksmith before Forged in Fire became popular and blacksmithing became cool

, there wasn’t the same resources available as there is today. Consequently, I am a self-taught blacksmith and this has always been a hobby for me. It took time to acquire the skills, experience and equipment necessary to produce high quality axes, knives and other forged items. It also helps that my workshop is where I go to unwind, get some exercise and make something physical; it’s a great break from a desk job. As I slowly approach retirement, I am also happily looking forward to spending more time pounding hot metal. I lean towards the bladesmith variety of blacksmith and prefer making axes and damascus knives. I have made about 200 axes and hatchets over the last few years, which was unexpected as I started making them only to recycle my overflowing pile of leaf-springs. I make bearded axes as I find the broad-headed style more impressive than a regular axe, and they excel at chopping and carving while still being good for splitting wood. Some of my more recent axes are made from railway rails, because there is just something satisfying about making an axe out of something that used to hold up entire trains. Over the years I have made around twenty knives, half mono-steel and half damascus, as well as four swords. I love making the damascus knives as the patterns that form are elegant, and so interesting to the eye. The coolness factor comes from knowing the knife you are holding is made from two different steels forge-welded together, folded and hammered over and over until the two steels are intermixed in hundreds of layers. Damascus is also a challenge, because while I can make a mono-steel knife with a grinder and a propane torch, you need a really hot forge, the right metal and the know how to make a damascus knife and not all smiths can do that. You also need a really big hammer or a really big arm, preferably both. However, given the large time commitment damascus knives take (10-20 hours) I tend to only make them only by commission. I also make a variety of other things or provide metal fabrication and machining services when requested or as time permits. I make decorative hooks for hanging things, rounding hammers and other blacksmithing specific tools and equipment. I can cast aluminum as belt buckles or hard-to-find tool parts, and brass for knife guards. I fabricate metal artwork, plant stands, and small items by request. I also perform small welding and metal repair jobs at request, although I am not a licensed welder. I take pride in my work, and I offer a limited warranty with all my products. if you manage to break a product through normal wear and use, I will do my best to repair it at no cost or at a reduced rate.

09/02/2026

Making a Wakizashi Part Two, the SHORT version

From short shaped steel to hardened, tempered and polished blade. With bonus fire!

The steel for the blade was made from a billet of 26C3 with an outer cladding of wrought iron, a technique called san-mai. These metal are reasonable substitutes for the Japanese steels found in a san-mai Wakizashi, which are not reasonably available in Canada.

Claying the blade is a Japanese technique that results in a differential heat treat, where the back of the blade comes out soft and the edge comes out very hard. The lines crossing the edge help introduce areas of hard and slight less hard that will theoretically limit any potential cracks from propagating.

The normalizing cycles refine the grain structure of the blade prior to quench, help dry out the clay and also remove and stress from forging and grinding. Surprisingly, it also caused the clay to bubble up unexpectedly!

Quenching the blade in Parks 50 Fast oil is a safer alternative to the water quenching necessary to produce a very hard edge and also introduces the curve into the blade. Quenching in Parks 50 turns to be very flammable, far more dramatic than my usual Canola oil and far more than water!

Tempering the blade reduced some of the hardness while greatly increased the toughness, making the blade able to hold a good edge while not being brittle. It also allowed for some straightening. 2-3 cycles of 2hrs are ideal. Testing after tempering produced a hardness of 58 HRC, which will make a very sharp edge.

After that it's all machine grinding and then hand sanding. While you can machine grind to 320 or with some setups 600, it comes with more risk of overheating the edge, destroying the temper and messing up the bevels, hence I started at 220 and ended at 1000 grit. A little bit of buffing and it produced a mirror-finish that makes the separation between the steels just visible.

Next steps are to produce the fittings and then assemble and test the blade.

09/02/2026

Making a Wakizashi Part Two, the long version

From short shaped steel to hardened, tempered and polished blade. With bonus fire!

The steel for the blade was made from a billet of 26C3 with an outer cladding of wrought iron, a technique called san-mai. These metal are reasonable substitutes for the Japanese steels found in a san-mai Wakizashi, which are not reasonably available in Canada.

Claying the blade is a Japanese technique that results in a differential heat treat, where the back of the blade comes out soft and the edge comes out very hard. The lines crossing the edge help introduce areas of hard and slight less hard that will theoretically limit any potential cracks from propagating.

The normalizing cycles refine the grain structure of the blade prior to quench, help dry out the clay and also remove and stress from forging and grinding. Surprisingly, it also caused the clay to bubble up unexpectedly!

Quenching the blade in Parks 50 Fast oil is a safer alternative to the water quenching necessary to produce a very hard edge and also introduces the curve into the blade. Quenching in Parks 50 turns to be very flammable, far more dramatic than my usual Canola oil and far more than water!

Tempering the blade reduced some of the hardness while greatly increased the toughness, making the blade able to hold a good edge while not being brittle. It also allowed for some straightening. 2-3 cycles of 2hrs are ideal. Testing after tempering produced a hardness of 58 HRC, which will make a very sharp edge.

After that it's all machine grinding and then hand sanding. While you can machine grind to 320 or with some setups 600, it comes with more risk of overheating the edge, destroying the temper and messing up the bevels, hence I started at 220 and ended at 1000 grit. A little bit of buffing and it produced a mirror-finish that makes the separation between the steels just visible.

Next steps are to produce the fittings and then assemble and test the blade.

Introducing an easier way to watch flaming blades and glowing steel: YouTube!
08/17/2026

Introducing an easier way to watch flaming blades and glowing steel: YouTube!

Quenching a Wakizashi short sword (with clay for a differential hea...

08/17/2026

Quenching the wakizashi short sword in Parks 50 quenching oil, a wee bit more flame than expected.

08/12/2026

Making a Wakizashi Part 1, the SHORT version

The steel for the blade was made from a billet of 26C3 with an outer cladding of wrought iron, a technique called san-mai. These metal are reasonable substitutes for the Japanese steels found in a san-mai Wakizashi, which are not reasonably available in Canada.

The billet was forge welded together from two layers, with the the core being of 26C3, a very high hardness steel that it is equivalent to the Japanese steel Hitachi White and produce a sharp, durable edge. The cladding or outer layer is wrought iron from a 100+ year old wagon wheel and it is a soft, non-hardenable metal that is a reasonable substitute for a lower carbon Japanese steel that will produce a soft spine and outer surfaces of the sword that will be shock resistant. It will also be faintly but visible different after polishing.

08/06/2026

Forging a San-Mai Wakizashi

Prepping, forging and rough grinding a Wakizashi.

The steel for the blade was made from a billet of 26C3 with an outer cladding of wrought iron, a technique called san-mai. These metal are reasonable substitutes for the Japanese steels found in a san-mai Wakizashi, which are not reasonably available in Canada.

The billet was forge welded together from two layers, with the the core being of 26C3, a very high hardness steel that it is equivalent to the Japanese steel Hitachi White and produce a sharp, durable edge. The cladding or outer layer is wrought iron from a 100+ year old wagon wheel and it is a soft, non-hardenable metal that is a reasonable substitute for a lower carbon Japanese steel that will produce a soft spine and outer surfaces of the sword that will be shock resistant. It will also be faintly but visible different after polishing.

Cooking a cooking griddle during a cooking hot week.It was another 30+ week and too hot for forging. So I finished a cus...
07/13/2026

Cooking a cooking griddle during a cooking hot week.

It was another 30+ week and too hot for forging. So I finished a custom carbon steel cooking griddle for a customer that will fit on a round charcoal BBQ or a barrel BBQ.

A short simple project, I cut a 21.25” circle from 3/16 plate using a strong magnet and a wire connecting the center and my plasma torch -something a CNC plasma torch would have done great if I had one- and then cut some hand holds that double as oil drips. I welded on lips to prevent the fat running to the middle and then ground off all the mill scale to bare steel.

The last step was to melt (cook) on some beeswax to pre-season and prevent rust, by way of a convenient, surprisingly multi-purpose w**d burner :)

07/03/2026

Testing out the rear differential side project…works!

Too hot to forge, so finishing the side project.I was going to forge out some blades this week, but we got a heat wave i...
07/03/2026

Too hot to forge, so finishing the side project.

I was going to forge out some blades this week, but we got a heat wave instead, with temps up to 35C without even running the 1200+C forge…

So I decided I would finish the rear differential side project for the go kart instead.

I measured and modified the go karts rear frame to accommodate the differential, added support bars, tacked on the bearing blocks from last week and then made sure everything fit before welding it all up.

Then I spent some time machining the rear axle pairs by sizing and threading them on an old (but new to me) atlas hobby lathe with a suitably ad hoc setup-this was necessary as they didn’t fit in my other metal lathe. Then I welded the axles onto the splined shafts I made earlier, In a way that could be easily cut and moved.

And then it was assembly time. I assembled the new rear axle with diff, bolted it all to the rear half frame and sized the drive chain. Then I reattached the rear half frame, shocks and put in the tires.

Some quick tests and I was confident the rear axle spun and the diff was working, and took it for a spin…and the go kart can now do a U-turn in half the original space without slowing down.

Speaking of slowing down, I should probably add rear brakes-another side project! But not until it cools down a bit more!

06/22/2026

Testing the DIY bearing blocks I finished tonight. They’ll end up welded to a go-kart frame to support the differential and rear axle.

Address

Angus, ON

Opening Hours

1:30pm - 10pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Rugged As Iron Works posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Rugged As Iron Works:

Shortcuts

Share

Category