The spelling varies and sometimes it's a hardie hole while other times it's a hardy hole. Either way it is one of the most valuable tools in the blacksmithing arsenal. Well, it's a hole that you put tools in! And these are among the most valuable tools a blacksmith has. If you are looking to buy Hardie tools I have an ebay page right here on this site where you can check them out:

Hardy Tools on Ebay

The picture directly below shows the Hardie hole on the anvil (It's the square hole). You place some kind of tool in this. And you work your metal on that tool. One thing to note is that Hardie holes come in different diameters. This one is 1 inch wide. So, if you are buying hardie tools be sure to know which size to get!

The next picture shows two hardie tools. The one on the left is a cutoff tool and the one on the right is a swage. The cutoff tool is pretty easy to understand. You place your hot steel on it and then strike it with a hammer. The wegde shape of the tool cuts through the hot steel. The swage is a little subtler and swages come in a lot of different shapes. Some are even very specialized. Depending on the surface and shape you use the swage to get all kinds of shapes in your hot steel.

 

This picture shows a Hardie Turning tool in the hole. And you can see the rod of steel that has been turned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this picture shows me hot cutting a piece of steel on the cutoff tool.

 

In Summary: Hardie tools come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and they do a very wide variety of things. And many blacksmiths will even make their own tools to do specialized jobs.

 

 

 

I have a video that shows hardie tools in action:

 

 

New Sword Making Tutorial - I take you through the whole process of making a sword. And this one is a good sized sword! Really beefy and feels good in the hands. How to Make a sword

 

 

How to Make a ChainMail Coif (Headpiece) - Not a difficult project once you know how to make the chainmail loops. I show you the process to make a fitting coif step by step: How to make a ChainMail Coif

 

 

 

 

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