This is my latest hand forged creation. After I made the last bottle opener, I had to make another one on my next outing to the forge so that I can keep practicing the steps described in the last article that I wrote and make sure that I truly learned what I accomplished. After all, you could only get better at something with more practice, right?
If you haven’t read that article yet, I suggest you go back and read it first because I will be skipping over a lot of detail on how to make the bottle opener in this article that you are about to read. Here is the link again.
This is my second bottle opener of this type and it was another success.
The bottle opener shown above was made exactly the same way as the previous bottle opener with the exception of the last few steps in making the handle.
Shaping and texturing in different ways gives you much different results and this bottle opener shows you just that.
With bottle openers of this style, you will find hundreds of different designs created by various people. The designs are limitless and are completely up to your imagination.
Beyond on how to create a bottle opener like this, below is what I did to make the handle on this one different than the last and the tools I used to create the shape and texture.
Shaping the handle:
Sometimes old miscellaneous parts, tools, and who knows what else, come in handy for something other than their intended use. In this case, a hitch ball was used in this project.
I like to collect various old items that may or may not have a use at that moment or in the near future, but there is a possibility that it could be used for something somewhere down the road and it may not be for its intended use.
I had a feeling that I would not use the old hitch ball for what it is meant to be used for, so I had it sitting on a shelf for quite a few years until I found a use for it. In this case, it made a nice tool for shaping metal while mounted in a vise.
If you do not have an old hitch ball on hand, you can find them very cheap at garage sales or buy a new one for around $10. Most have a flat top like mine does, but I would really like to find one that does not have a flat top so that I can work the metal from the top of the ball when necessary, rather than the sides. I know I have seen a completely round hitch ball before, but those might be vintage and you might only find those at garage sales. If you know of a source for completely round hitch balls, please let us know in the comments below.
If the hitch ball is bought new, it would probably have a chrome plating or other finish on it. I would remove this finish down to the bare metal so that the finish does not transfer to the piece you are working on or chip, leaving an undesirable texture on your piece.
When using the hitch ball in the vise, you pretty much have one direction you can hit from and that is from the front or the back of the vise. If you hit from the side, the hitch ball will tend to slip in the jaws of the vise and you will need to stop what you are doing and readjust the ball in the vise. Its kind of annoying if you aren’t paying attention and have to make these adjustments.
I think if I had a completely round hitch ball, this issue may be minimized more since you can now hit from the top which would reduce the slipping.
One thing that I may consider doing in the future, is getting this hitch ball set up to fit within the hardy hole of the anvil, that way I can hit from all sides and not worry about it shifting around where it is mounted. This would also allow for a quicker setup time and keep the vise free for when it may be needed unexpectedly.
Texturing the handle:
A ball peen hammer is a great tool to have around the forge for times when you want a hammered texture like the one on this bottle opener. It is a soft, pleasant texture and is easy to create without any special or hard to find tools.
Ball peen hammers come in various sizes, but I do not think size truly matters here when texturing, other than that weight could help in some cases. Like a sledge hammer or other hammers you may have, different weights give you slightly different results. A heavier ball peen hammer may help in giving a rougher or deeper impressions in the texture.
Conclusion:
The handle on this bottle opener was made differently and was shaped by using a hitch ball mounted in a vise. The texture was achieved by using a ball peen hammer. These two inexpensive tools are all that made this bottle opener different than the previous bottle opener, yet it gave it a completely different look.
Find and collect different objects and tools to help make different shapes and textures. Use your imagination and experiment to find different techniques, shapes and textures. Some objects can be combined with others to make a completely different tool for completely different results.