samwiththej

Oh, wow! Thank you everyone for your tips and advice! <3

12 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Many if not most people prefer not to have a glove on the hammer hand for reasons of grip and control, let alone the feel of how the steel is moving. I don't see a big problem with using them when you first start and would get bad blisters. I will use one when my hands are sore or cut up from my day job. It's rare tho. If starting with gloves to get your hands "conditioned" a bit find some thinner gloves like mechanics gloves so you have a good grip and control of the hammer. 

Control of the hammer and workpiece is important, even a safety issue. Hot steel flying out of the tongs can hurt.( don't ask how I know  ) 

2lb hammer is a good starting hammer weight.  The handle shape/size is a factor too. There are threads here even on hammer control and handling as in grip and posture etc.. 

Just so you know the search function on the site isn't the best so if you use your search engine and type" iforgeiron " after it it should bring up more and better hits to the question on this site. 

I shall get gloves for next time! I did have serious burns from welding during my first time, so I'd really want to do it safe for next time. Haha.

Thank you so much for your tips!

9 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Welcome aboard! Nice work for your first time at the forge. 

Hard to say what the weight of the hammer could be without knowing the dimensions of that anvil.  Over time your hands will strengthen, ugh, I think the tape on the palm is worse then actually wearing a glove. You'll get there, Keep at it. 

There is a Lot of info here so read up and if you have any questions there are many here to help. 

Thank you! I was told the hammer was around 2lbs. I have really small hands, so I'm looking to have my hammer customized (hopefully make one for myself in the future). I actually forgot to get gloves, so I just covered all the wounds and blisters with bandage and tape. Hehe. Thank you so much!

Hello, everyone!

I am a beginner, but have always wanted to get my hands at blacksmithing. It  is my dream to build actual knives, swords, and armors, as well as plenty of other things from metals. I started with an introductory course with a non-profit organization here called Le Forges de Montreal. The first things I forged are here: https://imgur.com/gallery/wm9xo. (A fire poker, nails, chisel, center cut, coat hanger). I am looking forward to learning and growing as a smith with everyone!