Hey guys. I'm wanting to learn more about swordsmithing and the like. And was hoping I could get pointed in the direction of some good material for learning how to start forging blades.
Now to get this out of the way, I know it's probably a better path to learn on small blades; knives, trinkets, general blacksmithing etc... but pure honesty here, i'm not too interested in making those as this is going to simply be a possible side hobby. And I don't mean for that to come across as disrespectful or egotistical. I'm fully expecting to make some absolutely terrible blades many times before i forge anything worth holding lol.
Now, I can't spend a ton of money unless it's in small batches over time (i.e. would rather learn from books/dvd's than taking classes somewhere to pay for it). As i don't make a whole lot of money. I love what I do, but my chosen profession isn't exactly the most lucrative (atleast for now...we'll see in the future where I can take it)
As far as the forge, the one I was looking at making involved the 55gallon drum, and making it charcoal fueled.
So yea, any advice or starting points for that would be great!
Thanks