Dani L.

Thanks for info Frosty  this helps a lot

Thomas, I'll have to try a nail. I tried to square up the hole with the handle of my small file. It helped a little but wasn't ideal.

Also, viking jewelry sounds neat.

Pnut, I think you would like working copper. I personally chose to start out with it because it has more give, so I can work on my hammer skills before I move to steel.

The winters here in Iowa can be in the negatives so not having to fight the metal to stay hot will be nice.

Thanks Daswulf 

Hey everyone! Just wanted to show you all what I just finished. 

Bought some copper sheets online and some 1/4" copper from the hardware store.

My photography isn't great, sorry. 

Had fun and learned a lot. My hammer marks were visible on the stem, but I ended up liking them so I didn't smooth it out. I decided then to give a few twists so it wasn't plain.

The petals are a little loose. I'll have to make myself a square punch for future projects.

But, with my wonky flower and green fingers, I am happy 

For starters, I'm relatively new to smithing. I took a class last year and have read books and forums on this site and finally decided to get my own setup.

My plan is to start small with horseshoe nails. On etsy I found this fire brick forge for knifemaking. I would like some personal thoughts if this would be a good starter forge or if making a box out of several bricks would be better. Any recommendations with brick brands? I would use a propane torch with it instead of a tank. 

Link to etsy listing

Any additional guidance to help a rookie would be appreciated. Thanks