Brad_VIIVI

Thank you guys again, excellent information and links, certainly clearing the fog away. Just wanted to chime in for those who have contributed last and say thank you again, much appreciated and i will certainly pay it forward as i grow.

Thank you all very much, you have given a lot of great information and even a little rhyme to get started. There is allot of information in each of your post and i will be studying this thread and researching each aspect out to gain a proper understanding, thank you for your time and patience. i will have to look into gas ventilation, and models that have the best chance of having a hood set up. My rational was to try and keep sparks from the fire etc from burning down the town ha. Again, thank you for your time and willingness to share, my only experience with Blacksmiths has been this thread, and it certainly looks like a great group of guys who are open and willing to share. Got some research to do ! Brad

Wow, thank you both for such a quick reply, i appreciate it. 10-4 on the ventilation and safety gear. I have chosen to go with a propane forge, for me it will keep things simple and clean. I live in a very dry environment and fire containment is a large issue for me, that mixed with me being new, propane forge made some sense at this stage. Thank you for the article Sir, that is actually the very one i read to get me asking. I dont know of the man in the article, but what i can tell is he was and is very respected in the craft, and that he had a whole lot more experience and knowledge than i do, and prolly more than i ever will. Which is alarming to me, if a man of that level could make a boo boo, i need to get this right from the start. I will be buying outright all the metal i use for quite sometime, until i am certain what im dealing with and my abilities to recognize it. Having said that, when walking in to steel supply here in town, is there particular metals i can outright ask for and just not have to worry about it ? is there a stamp or way of recognizing these metals to be truly what another may say it is ? One i get to heating things up and hammering, and got a vague feel for things, id like to basically start out making my tongs and fiddle with some knives (simply because im familiar with what the end product should be) and over time and practice build up to some more technical projects ( as if making tongs and knives werent going to be technical enough) haha Again, i really do appreciate your help, thank you. The quicker i get this concern put to bed, the quicker i can get on to getting out there and making it happen ...putting on the burn ointment that is ;)

Greetings, I'm new to the forum and glad to have found it, it seems like a valuable resource. I apologize if this question has already been answered and covered, being new to Blacksmithing and the forum, my skills in neither are up to par. My question revolves around a concern, I have been reading and stumbled across the issue of metal poisoning and even deaths related to selecting the wrong metals, being new, if were being honest wouldnt know the difference if they were labeled. I was hoping to get some of the more experienced folks on here to share what exactly are the safest metals to work with and how to know what im looking for. I know this is a path i want to walk down and am fully committed to learning the craft, but safety first is prolly a good thing, Thank you in advance, and many thanx for the site. Brad