So first of all, any assistance appreciated.
Starting on forging knives. I took a couple of glasses with a bladesmith on a coal forge and am hooked. I have a single burner propane forge that works well, a decent anvil, some hammers and tongs and grinders (both bench and angle). Its the bare minimum but I think it will work.
The first knife I made was a railroad spike knife. As will the next 10 be, since I bought 10 "HC" spikes. Yes, I know they are not the best steel but its what I know and I can play with to get a better idea of how to work steel. I'm sure I could find better 'free' steel and will later.
A few questions:
How thick of a piece of steel do you need to forge? I've got some .120 thick pieces from AKS but they look better suited for stock removal not forging. Am I correct or are these prime 'forge blanks'? I'm thinking they would also be easy to slice up for a Damascus build if I ever get there.
If you are forging a blade, do you start with bar stock and forge from that?
Are welders necessary? I know for Damascus you need to be able to hold it together but that is so far down the road it isn't funny. But using a welder to weld on a handle seems a great idea and you don't have to mess with tongs until you get it rough shaped.
I've seen on Amazon some 'bladesmithing tongs' that seem to hold the blade securely but when I went to the local blacksmith/knife making shop, they had never seen them before. What tongs do you all recommend?
lastly, anyone got anything against Ryobi angle grinders?