Dean92

Thats a great idea, i dont know why i didnt think of that to be honest. Im not sure boot sales will be opening here for a while due to Coronavirus but as soon as they do ill get straight to them and see what i can pick up. The amount of times ive watched Forged in Fire and seen them re purpose steel from wheelbarrows and all sorts i should have a thought of that myself haha

I have a 2lbs ball pein hammer i plan to use to get me going. Im not planning on diving right in to making my own hammer, im just planning ahead and getting the information i need so when im ready i can crack on. This is a hobby for me, atleast initially anyway, im a carpenter during the week and without sounding too up my own....money isnt that big of a deal for me so im quite happy to essentially waste a few quid on some materials trying to make things that are out of my wheelhouse because A- practice is key and B- i will have fun doing it. I do appreciate your comment though and im taking on board everybody's responses. I didnt contemplate the possibilities of buying a hammer and reshaping it if im honest and maybe that is something i will look in to doing for a short term solution. Thanks Dean

Hi Frazer, thanks for your advice, ill bare that in mind when using scrap materials to forge with.

Hi, thanks for your response. Im not picky as to whether its new or scrap stock. There is a website that sells steel bars and sheets that ive been looking on, i just dont understand which of the steels are best used for what, for example, EN24, EN19, EN16 etc. I know some steels are labelled differently in the US. I fully understand what your saying, its best not to jump too far in the deep end before nailing the basics. I dont have much knowledge at all on tempering, annealing, grain growth, pretty much everything you just said above tbh. Im definitely going to start doing more research, reading etc and get in touch with the smith i did my knife making day with to get more info from him. I appreciate your input. Thanks Dean

Hello everyone, please bare with me if this has been asked before, i have looked through some of the discussions but didnt find what i was looking for. Ive recently picked up an Isaac Nash and Sons 298lbs anvil with a handful of hardy tools in pretty good condition. Im in the process of creating a space at home and buying equipment to start forging so in the meantime im trying to gather information to give me a better understanding of the craft. The one thing that continues to confuse me is different steel types/names, their uses and where to get them from in the UK. Ive got a few half inch round bars of mild steel coming to begin practicing the basics like leafs, pokers, hooks and such but i would also like to make my own rounding hammer rather than buying one which means i also need to make some tongs, spring fuller tool, hammer eye drifts etc. I have no idea what steels i should be using or where to get them from. Id rather not buy tools if i can make them because all practice at the anvil is valuable, even if i fail a dozen times before i get it right. I appreciate any advice/assistance that you may have to offer. Im not one of these that thinks im going to be pro after 2 weeks. I appreciate it will take me time, money and practice to get anywhere near good. Thankyou