StephanB

Vaughnt and Kozzy--that is some good advice. Though I do like the idea of practice  and making my own tools as I go, it does make sense to buy the tools I need now, in order to start making the items that might bring money.  That way I can afford to practice with the proper materials. If that all makes sense. 

Regardless, thanks for the advice!

Thanks, I've been doing some research. There seems to be a ton of info out there and hard to find specific answers. I was hoping for a general "you should start with this type and this type that will get you through most of your basic forging applications"  . Jacobs hammer, thanks for the direction. Those do seem easy to make. One question I haven't found any info on is if you can make durable tongs out of mild steel or do you need spring steel to avoid bending?

I'm a new smith. Its a hobby that I don't want to sink too much money in. With that said, I'm hoping to make most of the tools I need. The way I understand it, there are a ton of types of tongs out there, all with different functions and jobs. My question is what types should I focus on first? I got started as a way to get into knife making. I'm playing around with small trinkets like bottle openers, key chains, ect... to give you an idea of my needs. I've been using vice-grips when the material is too short for me to hold on too for now. But I want to make things easier for myself and this will also give me practice. Also what are good stock sizes and metal types for tongs, so I know what to look for at salvage yards? Thanks.

Its rough. I decided to do one of these for practice. May make a bunch to see if they sell. really need to clean up my work. But it definitely opens beers!

I've gotten the bug and as cheaply as possible I've put together a shop. Rag tag items like a forge made from an old grill and a piece of railroad track for an anvil. My mantra to taking on this hobby/ possible future business, is to make money to put forwards purchases. in my opinion wood as a fuel source is not very efficient. Seem to be going through a lot of it really fast without it ever getting really hot. So I may need to spend some money to make money and find a good coal source for my area. But I can't seem to find anything close by. Any Charlotte area smiths have any leads on any suppliers? Thanks in advance.