Cyo

Since I've yet to reach the point where I can actually make my own tongs, what would you recommend for a couple of pair of 'general use' tongs that will hold me over until I can make the ones I need? The one pair I have look similar to the ones here.

I finally did it. I've been fussing around trying to gather all the 'right' things I 'need' to start blacksmithing. I finally got tired of waiting and threw some bricks in a pile, got a 3 foot black iron pipe, put a few holes in it, got my leaf blower and a router speed control and put the lump charcoal to the flame. I tossed in an old HC railroad spike and started fumbling along. The result: the first thing I've ever forged (not counting the things I ruined in fires when I was a child): I cleaned it up a little with a flap disk on my angle grinder and straightened up the edge a bit with a file. I'm going to finish it up and use it as a letter opener. What I learned--It was quite fun and harder than it looks! --Controlling the tongs was brutal. It seems learning how to hold and position the work is over half the battle. --The steel cools a lot faster than I expected. I lost a few full heats because it took me so long to get the spike held right for where I wanted to hit. --I love my big 17" 2nd cut file. It's a beast and was able to help me get my edge in a better shape. (Once I'm better able to forge an edge that's not so wavy, I'm sure this won't be necessary.) I was able use it almost like a Lansky knife sharpener-sweeping an arc along the blade-to get curve I like on the edge. Now... I'm off to make a titanium sword! :D

Shoot it and put it out of its misery.

Here are some similar pieces I found on my recent outing. I a few of the 3 shaped ones of varying thickness: Some channel ones: And the whole haul: And yes, the tie plates are really loud so I think I'm going to keep on searching for another ASO option.

I'm still seeking an anvil that I can afford with my ever shrinking budget. I went to a number of scrap yards this weekend but had no success. This disappointment was exacerbated by the fact that I couldn't even get any of them to sell me some scrap. Later, while driving around I went over some old, out of use railroad track. This got me thinking so I went for a walk alone these old tracks. My few hours of walking paid off. While I found no old sections of rail, I did find a large number of old spikes, some curvy solid steel things, some curvy channel steel things, a few large bolts, and the big prize 3 old tie plates. Two of these plates were around 14"x8" and weigh at least 25# each, the other was a bit smaller. They have nice large flat areas that I think I may use as my makeshift temporary anvil. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the most out these to make something anvil-ish. It would certainly be easy to attach one of these to a wooden base and just use it as is.

Thanks for the encouragement. I going to start to gather the materials to make a forge. I know of at least one scrap yard and one steel vendor in the area. I'm going to see if either of them can hook me up with something to serve as an anvil. I picked up Wayne Goddard's $50 Dollar Knife Shop book and that coupled with this site has inspired me to give it a go.

I'm in Eastern PA, near the NJ border. I've looked at a site for PA Blacksmiths, but there does not appear to be much happening there. Does anyone know of good places near the Lehigh Valley to get blacksmith supplies?

Howdy, I just found this place today and I'm thrilled. Ever since I was a child I've longed to be a blacksmith. Seriously. As a kid I would stand by the fire place and put the fire poker in the coals waiting for it to start to glow. On a few occasions, I even got out a blow dryer to make the fire hotter. I tried to 'play blacksmith' by getting a hammer and smacking the glowing fire poker. I only succeeded in breaking it. Fortunately, I didn't burn down the house. Now I'm far from a child but I'm still fascinated by forges and blacksmiths. Ultimately, I'd like to try and forge some blades. I've seen some home made forges and it seems like something I might just take a stab at. One thing that has held me back from trying this is that I am colorblind. Not severely, but I am red/green colorblind. It seems much of the art of being a blacksmith is in being able to know the state of the steel by it's color. I have the nagging fear that the inability to distinguish some tones may prevent me from being able to actually create my own blades. Ah well. I don't know if I'll ever actually break down and try it but it's still fun to dream about it.