Tried to forge a tiny dragon using leftover 1095 steel from a knife project

I figured it would be a fun weekend thing, just a little 3-inch sculpture. Got the head and body shaped okay, but when I went to add the wings, I accidentally quenched the whole thing. Forgot it wasn't a blade. Heard a loud *ping* and it shattered into like 5 pieces on my shop floor. My buddy watching just said 'well, dragons are mythical'. Learned that not every piece of steel needs the same heat treat, obviously. Anyone ever successfully forge small decorative stuff from high-carbon steel, or is that just asking for trouble?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethb4523h ago

Man that ping sound is the worst, right? I mean, maybe try annealing it next time? Could help with the small stuff.

troy_reed20h ago

Wait, you can actually hear the ping? My setup must be terrible because I only ever see the number go up. Annealing for small parts sounds like a lot of work for a tiny fix.