Introduce Yourself

Hello everyone, I'm a new member and I hope you can teach me

Hey Folks, I was born in Alabama and moved to Battle Ground WA because of work. I've been doing some beginning blacksmith stuff for a few years. Mostly building a better forge, a powerhammer, grinders, press and such. But now, I'm retiring and plan to do this a lot more. I just discovered this forum, and this is my first post. I thought I could pick up some tips as well as share any new ideas I might have. Also, I''d like to share some pics of my stuff as well as get some new ideas of stuff to make. As I get more familiar with this forum, I hope to find a few pics of projects and ideas. If there are newbies in my area, I'd be happy to share wh…

I am interested in traditional blacksmithing, specifically muzzleloader gunsmithing, and figured this would be a good place to learn more about the larger craft and find resources to get started. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I'm a new-ish blacksmith from Colombia, who's been a lurker here for some time. I wanted to introduce myself as I'd like to start being a part of your community, which has helped me a lot in my self taught path. I started blacksmithing during the pandemic, as I was finishing my philosophy undergrad degree, because I decided that I didn't want to work in academia but rather learn and cultivate a traditional craft and do some writing on the side. It has been a bit wonky, but I've been able to learn a lot thanks to books, Youtube and sites like these, and I now have a little shop to work on My main interests are historical forging/reconstructi…

Howdy, y'all! I recently bought my self an ASO, a plumber's torch, and a couple of hammers: The torch isn't quite hot enough to get the metal to glow, but it was still good enough to make my first piece: a marshmallow roasting stick!

Hi everyone! I'm a new member from Italy, very happy to join this blacksmithing community! I started working with hammer and anvil six years ago as an hobby, thanks to my grandfather who transmitted me the passion for blacksmithing and metal working in general (he is a blacksmith indeed). I'm mostly interested in toolmaking, ornamental ironwork and restoration (especially machinery restoration). I'm looking forward to learn and broaden my knowledge in metalworking thanks to this community. All the best, CarolusFaber

Hi Guys I was told about this forum very recently and I am amazed at how much of useful information is available, a little overwhelmed even To be honest I do not own a forge, and do not really "forge" iron, but i like working with metal and fire A few years ago I started to make knives using steel bars that I bought online, for stock removal mainly, with hand tools: that takes time, allowing me to relax and "develop" my design as things progress That was already expensive (in addition to shipping costs everything imported is heavily taxed) but now I realized that there are "every day's materials" which could be sourced locally and are perfectly usable …

Hello everyone my name is Ruurd 15 years old from the Fryslân province in the Netherlands. I'm just starting out blacksmithing (having watched blacksmiths videos for a while:) A question for my fellow blacksmiths from the Netherlands. do you know any good places to get gas forge materials like kaowool and refractory cement?

Just starting out hammering metal in the garage(few months). I've always been drawn to forging, so figured I wasn't getting any younger. I'm hopefully adding pictures correctly and plan on sitting down reading a bunch on here. I've also invested in Mark Aspery books and any book I can find. Hells forge double burner setup and anvil stand.

Hey all, 50 yr old guy, just starting to get into blacksmithing...go figure, I decide to start hobbies as my body starts falling apart..lol I'm loving all of the threads thus far. I look forward to learning a lot from you guys... Pre-apologies for any dumb questions.

So I just recently bought a Mr. Volcano Hero single burner forge, and I'm still not sure what I'm doing, so I have a list of a few questions I have: I don't have access to tongs yet, so what can I use instead? Is rebar good for anything? I seem to see a lot of mixed opinions on it, and I have a lot of it just laying around. How do I tell the carbon content in steel? Is high grade stainless steel workable? I have a whole bunch of flatbar, ranging from 1/16" to 1/4" thickness. Does it matter what hammers I use? I recently found a hammer head at my mentor's shop and he let me keep it, I'm just not sure what it is (or if I could use i…

I signed up and thought I would say hello. I've been playing with blacksmithing on and off for quite a few years but I've never gotten real serious about it. I hammered out my first knife when I was probably 13 or 14 using a propane branding stove. Shortly after that I built a coal forge out of a cast iron sink and an old furnace blower. Had a pretty good setup with that forge and my grandpa's anvil. I had no idea what I was doing but I was having fun. Through the years and the moves and life in general, most of the stuff disappeared one way or the other. The only smithing tools I have left are a couple pairs of tongs and a couple big post vices. I have a buddy who h…

I'm new to the site. I'm new to the idea of blacksmithing. I'm in the process of building a coal forge and a propane forge. I have 4 kids and 3 seem interested in knife making and larger dagger type of smithing. I have always been interested in blacksmithing. My wife and I are in the process of building a homestead in the mountains of East TN. Slow painful process! Had double hernia surgery yesterday. Forums look like there is a wealth of knowledge and mentor-ship available across the smithing world.

Most people call me Bug or C. I am very new to smithing. As in I made my first piece last Saturday! I am working at getting a small smithy built. I have a brake rotor forge, three hammers, four tongs and a piece of railroad track. I figure that's a good place to start.

Hey all, thank you for taking the time to read this. Before starting out I wanted take the time to give thanks to those that have stepped up to create this forum and share their knowledge. I’ve lurked on here for quite awhile now and just wanted to say that it’s refreshing to see a trade/community where the experienced guys are so willing to assist and lend their experience to us that are still a bit green. So, my quick and dirty background/intro. I live just outside of Portland, Oregon and I’ve been forging as a hobby for about two years. I have experience doing ag/farming metalwork and welding my whole life, but honestly that just means I just know how to clea…

Hey all, hobbyist smith living outside Lansing, MI. I starting out with a six week course at our local Maker Space about six years ago and have been fiddling around in my garage ever since. I generally just make household stuff (hooks, bottle openers, etc.), and the occasional tooling I need. I tend to pick up and drop forging on and off as my life gets busy, but lately I've been trying to get a little more serious about it and try to not suck so much. Looking forward to learning from this community.

I've lurked here for a few years, felt it was time to participate. A little about myself... I'm a trade school taught and certified welder of 20 years. Worked in various shops fabricating just about everything from ornamental ironwork to structural steel from blueprints. Currently I'm operating a small blacksmithing business in Central Pennsylvania of 3 years and counting making ornamental ironwork, tools and equipment and I travel to shows doing demonstrations through the warmer months. This was my true calling, forging steel and iron. 2023 is already shaping up to be an even better year than the last 3 and can't wait to show y'all what I'm working on!

Greeting from the neighour down under. Not from the land of kangaroos, but next to them. I got the bug from watching smiths on TV as a lad, the blacksmith at the history museum as a teen, then lost it as a young manearning a way through the world. My wife noticed all the YouTube videos on smithing I was watching and brought me a knife making package at a neighbouring town. Thats all it took to set me of making a JABOD in the carport and getting some rebar to make some tongs, pokers, hooks, etc. I am socially akward, and things sound better in my head but can get lost in translation when getting translate into posts. If I'm unintentionally offensive, please …

Hi, I'm Glen and slowly gearing up to do a bit of blacksmithing/metalworking. I currently have a decent array of woodworking tools(planer, jointer, tablesaw, bandsaw, drill press etc) and have recently started acquiring some tools for metalworking/blacksmithing. I got a great deal on a 1x42 belt sander/grinder and just purchased a two burner propane forge. I have a couple pieces of railroad track which I know isn't the best to use, but figured it can get me started while I try to work out acquiring a used anvil. I'm a bit afraid to do any forging in my barn where I do all my woodworking since I always have plenty of sawdust and junk around, and I'll prob…

Okay, building my first forge, took an old 20 gallon air tank and cut in half longwayscut a hole and ran 1"1/2 inch black pipe in the bottom with holes drilled in the center. I did buy some fittings to fit the hose of my shop vac to the end of the pipe, covered that in gravel then filled the tank with sand the dug out the center. Currently I am dressing hammers I bought from Harbor Freight. Using the engineers hammer to make a rounding hammer, and cleaning up the face of the cross pine hammer. For an Anvil, I am at a loss... I am looking at a couple I found on EBay. Seen a few reviews on you tube and they were favorable. One is 66lbs and the oth…

Hey y’all, I just signed me up for this forum yesterday and wanted to send a quick note about myself. I am 1/2 owner of Overlook Forge (www.overlookforge.com) in Newberg Oregon, our shop primarily makes axes (me) and my business partner primarily makes knives. We have been in business (part-time) for approximately 5 years and have found our life’s passion. I am super happy to find this community, although I don’t typically spend a lot of time on the web as I prefer to spend my time actually doing / making things in real life, I can see the value of having a community of like minded people to connect and grow with. Thanks for having me! …

Howdy all. I've been a member since 10/16. Gleaned enough info to build my forge and mess around a little before life smacked me in the face and had to buckle down. Managed to pound out a few knives over the years but it slowly waned. Getting back into it a little and looking forward to catching up.

Hello all, My names Brian most folks call me ogre. been a student of the blacksmithing art for a little over 2 years as life and bills allowed. my wife and I along with our (5) boys moved from Oregon last august/ sept. due to the craziness of life forging had to take a back burner. Finally things got slow enough to get smithy and forging back to top of to do list. im looking forward to connecting with local crew and learning from those who are farther on this journey. Thanks and god bless

Hello everyone. New to the craft but I've been learning from this forum for years. And YouTube of course. Finally built my first forge and have a place to start messing around. Definitely didn't take long to figure it's harder than it looks... I've also got some questions already but I'll try to do my digging first. Haven't been able to find many people who are doing much blacksmithing in my area so if you're reading this and anywhere near the Flathead, let me know! So far I've primarily focused on decorative pieces (Christmas time and all) but eventually I would love to start making knives, swords and axes. That said, what kicked me into getting started was wanting to be…

Looking to buy my son his first forge and anvil to start trying to make knives something he's interested in for Christmas don't know how long he's going to stay interested in it but looking for something decent but it's cheap as possible for a starter didn't know if you would have any recommendations thank you.