hochewa

READ! Watch! Listen! Since most time spent at the anvil is devoted to thinking about what to do next, it really helps if you do a lot of the visualization before you even buy your first hammer. Back when I started in the mid '70's, there were not a lot of books on 'smithing let alone videos, youtubes, etc. I thought I had a handle on the process but the most humbling moment of my life was standing next to the anvil, work and hammer in hand and thinking to myself, "Now what?" ABANA, PABA and other relatively local (to you) groups like MASA, BGOP, etc.are great places to get to see and talk to other smiths. I started in a real vacuum. There are many articles and videos out there on minimalist set ups. For a absolute beginner, the major advantages are size and affordability. Remember the rule of hammer weight to anvil weight is about 1:10. For a 2 pound hammer all you need is 20 pounds worth of "anvil". My first anvil was 135 pounds and I have yet to pick up a 13.5 pound hammer. A close by resource is Hopewell Furnace, NHS. From West Chester it is 100 N to 23 W to 345 N. I am the Master of the Blacksmith Shop. Sheep Shearing is in early May and Living History starts about mid-June. The best way to contact me is the call Hopewell and have them get in contact with me. I know smiths that drive Mercedes, I know smiths that can hardly feed themselves. I have a day job, thank God. I do not take commissions as I pass the work on to other smiths who really need them. It is a great hobby, it is a path to a career. The best path is to stay in school and work you way into it.