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 ;)