Uchidashi tool set

Unhappy weekend weather means more bench time, and more bench time means more time to look over my tools. I decided my uchidashi set needed a lot of attention after using some of them on wrought iron and they almost immediately got deformed or just too smooth. Most of them were in the same condition I left them in after taking the class oh so many moons ago (read as: crappy) and needed a lot of attention in addition to heat treatment to harden them up. Now they all have a very satisfying temper color range and happy little textured faces, ready for work.

Drifts

This is a complimentary pair of drifts I made recently, they're what you drive through either a drilled or punched hole in a hammer head, axe head - really any metal object that needs a handle. The cross section of the drift will determine the size and shape of the eye (the part the handle goes through) in the tool you're making.

These two in particular are meant for wee little hammers like the kind used for a whole variety of fine work, including but not limited to: carving/engraving, inlay work, texturing, chasing & repousse, uchidashi, damascening/nunome zogan, and probably more I'm forgetting right now. The smaller of the two needs a little work, measuring with calipers showed that the dimensions aren't as close as I'd like them to be and I'm happier with the shapes of the larger one.