Blacksmithing, General Discussion

What pet shares your life? Show me your blacksmith pets.

I know a lot has been written about rail spikes. Perhaps we should have a thread where rail spike ideas are all in the one place. Anyway, I was a bit bored after doing a heap of bottle openers, so I put a rail spike in the forge and drew it out just for the sake of it. Got it close to 600mm, but it was not easy work! (Need a power hammer - the 'Armstrong' model is wearing out!) The finished spike has virtually no practical function other than to demonstrate how much steel there is in a spike. I see on his website that Vaughn makes them into steak flippers. So what else could be done with spikes? Here's a pic of the drawn out spike in comparison:

I was looking for a listing of modern day sayings that originated from Blacksmithing. I did not find a list on the net readily. Perhaps we could make our own. When you post put the saying by itself for potential easy compilation later. I'll start with the easy ones. Numbering them from the previous post would be a plus. So whoever posts next start with 3. If the saying needs an explanation include it. I assume averyone knows the two below. If you have a saying that is perhaps not used much these days that is ok. Also, I think nails were sized and priced in regard to how easy they were to smith? ie 10 penny nails?... So if someone knows that bit go for …

As you get started in blacksmithing, you will be tempted to make at least some of the following basic mistakes. Resist that temptation! Mistake #1: NEGLECTING SAFETY. You only have one set each of eyes, ears, and lungs. Protect them from dust, sparks, flying scale, etc. A two-dollar pair of safety glasses or a twenty-dollar respirator can save you thousands in medical bills. Mistake #2: GOING IT ALONE. You are a beginner, a novice, a newby -- you are, by definition, inexperienced and ignorant. There is no shame in that; that's simply where you are right now. However, trying to learn on your own is incredibly slow. In order to get better, you will need informati…

IForgeIron contains some real gems and some pearls of wisdom you can find no where else. As you read the posts on IForgeIron and find one of these items, it may be interesting to list them here for reference. Flux is not glue Do not build a box, that way you do not have to think outside the box.

Welcome! A lot of smiths here on IFI; you're in good company. A few pointers for making IFI a rewarding experience: 1. Put your location in your profile settings You might be surprised how many other smiths are in your area or how some questions of resource availability are affected by your geographic location. Go to Settings to change this. 2. DO NOT MISUSE THE QUOTE FEATURE: When using the "Quote" feature, edit out of the quote everything except what you're commenting on or asking about. Also, delete all images from the quote, unless there's something extremely specific that you need the image to ask about. Pictures take up a lot of bandwidth, and it's a …

This may seem presumptuous as it is only my second post and the fact that I've only been smithing for 7 months. However, after studying this craft for a year and being in the thick of newbiness I've noticed several things that I feel should be discussed and avoided by my fellow beginners The act of heating and shaping metal is awesome in and of it self. The fact that its so cool makes people want to share whatever they heat and twist while calling themselves blacksmiths. This is like nailing together 2 mangled pieces of wood and calling yourself a carpenter. With that said: be picky about where you get info. Do not be satisfied with your forge if it only heats t…

This is the spot where you can post the stuff you made recently, that isn't quite big enough/interesting enough to create a new topic about, but you think is still worth sharing. I'll start it out with what I did today. Today I made a bottom fuller and a cupping tool for my striking anvil, and a business card holder for the guy who I ship my 2,000lbs of coke to (because he has a fork lift) and then we bring it to our house. Littleblacksmith

Show us what followed you home, and from where. Show us the steel, tools, equiptment etc, that followed YOU home. Also where it was found, such as the junk yard, street corner, alley way, flea market etc. And maybe a few details to give the rest of us non-scroungers a little help on how the process works. :?

Mostly I’m here for the memories of my deceased husband, Jerry Frost (Frosty). I can almost hear him talking when he responded to posts here). He’s been gone almost six months now and I’m reluctantly preparing to liquidate his metal shop. It’s HARD. I will have the assistance of members of the Alaska Blacksmith Association, but thought perhaps members here might be able to answer some questions regarding the value of certain tools and equipment? It’s a big shop, with LOTS of stuff mostly alien to me. Here’s a picture of Frosty the day he bought his Little Giant power hammer. Happy man - new toy! Sadly, he bought the power hammer just 6 months before suffering a severe TB…

Gabriel Craig of the Historic Blacksmithing Conservancy writes: Here is the Georgian grill cresting that Gabriel and his fellow HBC smiths made during Quad-State 2025:

Happy Monday, I have a friend whose dad has an extensive fab shop, and we have an argument. He believes that fabricating and metal 3D printing is better than forging on most fronts, in that fabrication is faster, offers more precise results, and there are more possibilities. I agree that it can be faster, and precise, but I think that in doing so, you lose uniqueness, and craftsmanship. Where do y’all stand on this?

It finally happened! A real estate friend called, and said he was selling a house with a coal forge. We drove down there, and he had a forge, anvil and vise. The man was very nice, and gave it all for free! Any advice on the forge? The original blower it is on there, and the clinker breaker/ash dump too, but there is no fire pot, and in its place is a weird depression. What are y’all‘s thoughts on getting this up and running?

I thought everyone would like this.

Wasn't sure the right place to post this, so hope this is acceptable. My wife and I will be traveling to Vietnam this November for an art tour that is primarily focused on her interests. I was hoping to sneak in some traditional blacksmithing/tool making at one end or another of the trip, and am looking for something a little more advanced than the typical tourist "knifemaking experience". While I'm no master smith, I am fairly experienced at this point and wish to do a bit more than tap on the steel a few times and sharpen the edges. Anyone have a connection or recommendation? I have researched a bit and know there are dedicated villages in Da Sy and Phuc…

I’ve been working on building out a viking demonstration kit. Last weekend I got a stump anvil finished up: Then today started a bick to go with it: The bick still needs cleaned up after hardening and tempering. Both we made out of forklift tine, and I drilled a 3/8” pritchnell hole in the anvil before heat treating. Ive been considering starting a new thread on this whole adventure… Keep it fun, David

Sorry it's in the wrong area, I couldn't find where it should be. What can you tell me about brake rotor metal? Is it good for anything specific, or nothing at all? Thanks, Dark Horse

This was a pretty cool video to watch from 1972 ARMY

Just got an IFI private message from someone calling themselves "Yulia" who want to discuss a "business proposition." Obvious scam. Beware. George

To All: I'm a farrier and part time writer whose in the midst of writing an article about farriers during the Revolutionary War. I found the attach photo of a traveling forge for the period and wanted to see if I could get permission to use it in my article. Chip Langston

I’m new at making knives and I found a company in New York called Jacksons Blacksmithing tools , is this a legit company? I’m trying to buy an Anvil and a Forge , and I don’t want to be scammed

I've acquired half a dozen bed frames which are basically just lengths of angle iron. What projects have others made out of bed frames? Or what ideas would you have to make things from this as starting stock? I've got fabricated hammer racks on the list, but really want something I can FORGE using this stock. I've been thinking of also starting similar "What can I make with....? " type topics. I've seen the RR Spike topic, but not a lot of others. Perhaps a more generic "Project Ideas" would be good to get some idea discussions going.

Hey all, I know how to tell if the pieces are good in person, but I was wondering if y’all thought this was a fair price. They want $1,100. The forge looks like it has been brazed. It includes the cart too. Cheers, Asa

Happy Friday all, I once saw a post about a huge Trenton that had had a dovetail milled into it at the waist, where it had been broken before, does anyone know where to find this post? I have searched long and hard, to no avail! Cheers! Asa

I'm hoping someone here can help me or point me in the right direction. I have a rare anemia from a genetic condition that keeps me from absorbing iron orally, and IV iron is too dangerous because of reactions. I'm trying to find a way to absorb iron and would like to try wearing a pure iron bracelet. In the sports field we use copper bracelets for skin absorption which helps with arthritis, but it's a lot easier to work with and find pure copper. I would need the purest iron available and I'm not looking for anything fancy...just hammered sheet or even woven wire would be fine. Is that possible to do? I know the Sikh tradition had iron bracelets but now it has …