Warning: Trying to forge a railroad spike into a chef's knife at 2am after three beers

Last week my buddy Dave dared me to make a knife out of an old railroad spike he found near the tracks out back of his shop. I figured it'd be a quick project, no big deal. Got the spike hot, started hammering it flat, and about 20 minutes in the whole thing split right down the middle like a piece of wet wood. Sparked up pretty bad too. Scared my dog and left a scorch mark on my anvil that's still there. Anyone else had a project go sideways because you were half drunk and in a hurry?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_ramirez17d agoMost Upvoted

Man I used to be one of those guys who said you don't need to be 100% sober to work hot metal. Then I tried to straighten a leaf spring after a few drinks and that thing snapped right in my face. Changed my whole outlook on that real quick.

stella27917d ago

Man I had a buddy who used to weld with a beer in his hand every single night. Never had an issue until he tried to tack a piece of rebar to a garden gate and somehow lit his whole sleeve on fire. He was fine but his jacket was toast. Now he's the one telling everyone to stay sober and it's kinda funny seeing him turn into the safety guy. Sometimes it takes one close call to flip the switch I guess.