zcr07

Seller says it's 100# but the only making is the 10 stamp on the bottom. It's being sold as an "antique anvil" for $350. I'm not in a huge rush to pick up an anvil but I've been keeping my eyes out for deals. Is this worth it at all?

I know I've seen it elsewhere on here, but in the moment I can't seem to find it, but what would you recommend? Looking at Amazon for example, I assume I should steer clear of Rutlands. Is ITC-100HT what's been recommended before? Also in the same vein, would any 8 lb 1" ceramic wool be sufficient, or any particular brand better than the others? I see Kaowool everywhere, is that what most use? I've heard stories of those purchasing certain cheaper options and the "1 inch thick" wool was packaged very tightly to the point of compression so it wasn't all that close to 1 inch thick.

SLAG and ThomasPowers, Yes! I've checked them out already and was hoping I could get into one of the beginners courses next year, but in the mean time I definitely plan on checking out one of the regional meetings. I did read about the conference as well but unfortunately I don't believe I will make it to that one. I'll just have to keep an eye out for others in the future. I've also read a little about Billy Helton and TTown's Metal Men, here in Claremore and Tulsa. Billy offers his own beginning knife forging classes and I believe one of the last SCABA meetings was at TTown's Metal Mens' shop. Thanks for the info though!

I've poked around a lot of the Forges threads including Forges 101, and likewise with the Burners and Burners 101. I just had a couple questions, more out of curiosity than anything else, but I'll probably post them over there after I do some more reading. I'll leave the math and fluid thermodynamics to the experts. lol Thanks for the welcome.

Howdy all! I am Zech, a 29 year old hobbyist who's extremely interested in getting into blacksmithing. I've always wanted to do it in the past, but only recently do I have the time and space to really get into it. I just this forum about a week ago and have been reading here and there, among other readings, and I'm hoping to get started on building a forge in the next week or two. I've always been a natural tinkerer and handyman as well as a fast learner, so I'm trying to pace myself a little here too. I did have several questions about some specifics on burners and forges but I don't necessarily want to ask them here if it's recommended that I ask them in the Burners or Forges threads. Anyway, I hope to learn more from here as well as others in the area. I've already read about a couple smiths near me in addition to some beginning courses. If there's anything else I should know right off the bat, please let me know!