RiffRaff

Frosty - no worries about being real. I'd rather have 1 person give me the hard ugly truth than 100 people telling me wha they think I want to hear. The more I research, the more I realize that as you said, bladesmithing is a specialized niche that you get into after learning the basics. Yes I am definitely guilty of creating a wish list instead of a need list. I'll have to refine that, thanks for forcing me to keep it real. Mike - I've been to the calsmith website already but thanks for sharing the link in case I hadn't found it. I shot an email off to the closest ABANA board member to me and got a quick reply with the calsmith website and a contact for a group up around me who he says call themselves the Jefferson Smiths so I shot an email off to them too. Do you know anything about them? On the CBA website it also give contact info for a Redding member of CBA who does classes by appointment. Is this something that is usually expensive?

That was the 1st thing that popped into my head as well!! Those look great!!

For all of you business owners out there. What is the best way for me to approach a blacksmith shop for a job as someone with no experience? I want to learn this craft, and although I know I could teach myself with time, there is nothing better than learning from a pro. I live in Northern CA and a string of internet searches only came up with 2 blacksmith listings in my area. From the research I've done it seems to me that blacksmiths as a whole tend to be pretty down to earth people who are happy to impart their knowledge onto spongy minds eager to learn. I am currently unemployed so a paid position would be ideal, but is it typical to get a paid apprenticeship with no experience?

I want to start smithing!!! Specifically I want to make straight razors and eventually knives, although working in the opposite direction would probably be smarter. I created a GoFundMe campaign with dreams of getting help setting up my equipment, but I am not holding my breath or counting on it to succeed in order to move forward. The equipment that I plan to get/build is: This Forge - http://zoellerforge.com/firebrickforge2.html This No Weld Grinder - http://www.mickleyknives.com/html/no_weld_grinder.html I'm still looking around for the best anvil for my buck and once I find it I'm thinking a good sized stump with a rubber mat underneath will work nicely. I know I'll need standard blacksmith tools (hammers, tongs, safety gear, hardy tools, large magnet, etc) I plan to use a toaster oven for heat treating and tempering providing I can find one that will maintain 400+ reliably, if not I'll use an oven until I can get a quality kiln. I'll need a standard band saw and drill press for making scales and handles. I also know I'll need buckets and oil, water, sand, etc for quenching and annealing. Is there anything I'm missing or over looking? I haven't even struck my 1st hammer blow and I can already feel this addiction creeping over me like a tidal wave!!! I live in a small town just south of Redding, California for those of you are close. I would love to pick your brain and visit your setup!!! Edited to remove self promotional links