LEAF-VEINING HARDY TOOL

The CACBOA October trade item was a hardy tool for a one-
inch hardy—coincidentally suggested by the only one of us who
has a one inch hardy in their anvil. Mine and Garrett’s are 7/8”,
and Dale’s giant anvil has a hardy you could reach your hand
through. Well… almost.

So I was trying to figure out a hardy tool that was (a) within
my skill range, (b) didn’t require having a hardy hole of the
target size, and (c) might be halfway useful.

Here’s what I came up with.

1 Take a piece of square stock 2 Measure the depth of 3 Add a half inch for clearance, and
the size of your hardy and flat- your hardy hole on the cut the stock to length, so that
ten the last five inches of it until it side facing the horn. enough square stock remains to extend
is about twice as wide as it is tall. completely through the hardy.

4 Heat the metal up, clamp it in 5 Heat it up again and take it to your anvil to
your vise, and make sure the tool will lie flat on the anvil
whack the surface.
flattened
If you are making this for the size
part over
hardy in your anvil, you can do this in
on its
the hardy hole, otherwise you have
side.
to use the anvil edge.

6 Heat it up again and use a hot cut chisel 7 Heat, then use a very blunt chisel to widen out each of the
to start some shallow cuts cuts. I tried to
where the leaf veins will be make mine about 1/8”
wide, and about 1/16”
deep. It doesn’t really
matter if the bottom
of the grooves are flat
or rounded.
8 Most important, add your mark! 8 To use, heat the end of a piece of

(Unless it turned small (1/2”) round or square stock,

out badly and you and taper the last 3/4” to a square

don’t want any of cross-sectioned point.

the blame) Over the far edge of the anvil, create a

neck just past the taper, then draw the
neck up the stock 2-3 inches, leaving a
diamond shape on the end of a thin
“stem.”

Get the diamond hot, then lay it on the hardy

tool so that one of the “edges” of the
diamond is sitting directly down in the central
vein of the leaf imprint.

A few good blows of

9 Use a grinder to bring the top back the hammer should
flat and round the edges. Then use a easily transfer a deep
flap disk to polish off the worst of the impression onto your
grinding marks leaf.

You can then cut off

the stem, round it up,
and make a leafy keychain. People sell these things on Etsy for
$20-$35. Now you can crank them out in no
time. I’m sure you’ll remember me when
your ship comes in...