Hello everyone!
I have always been interested by knife making and all, and I've had an (singular) attempt at a knife which didn't turn out too good in my opinion. I want knife making to become my primary hobby, but I am having a hard time finding good equipment that wont break the bank. I don't know what my budget will be but i can say i already have a nice little 45# farrier anvil, some protective gear ( although i will need to replace my gloves and my eye protection, also i need a good respirator) but that's about it. I have a coal forge but its highly inefficient and super loud so i was thinking of moving to propane. I also will need something to put my anvil on, log or stand, doesn't matter. To me the highest priority is safety, next is how expensive, then how efficient.
From what i can tell what i need is:
A Good grinder
A vise
A propane forge
An anvil stand/ log
A respirator, Some gloves, and Eye protection
Heat treating stuff (I.e quenching oil, and all that good stuff for tempering, hardening, annealing, etc)
Something to hold the hot metal (tongs, pliers, whatever it takes)
Possibly a few hammers (Already have a cross pein, and a ball pein)
Cuts and other hardy tools
Buffing wheels
Places to buy the steel (live in northern Houston) (can also buy online if necessary)
I think that's all but if i missed something feel free to say so.
Thanks!