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Hi everyone! I just started smithing literally days ago. Never hammered on steel or knew anything about it. Being obsessed with the show Forged in Fire I set out to build a propane forge and start practicing. This morning I lit the forge and placed in a piece of 3/4" round (no idea of the grade but it does weld easily???). Took me about 4hrs but I got a rough knife shaped object out of it. I kind of let steel do what it wanted too until a shape appeared. I found it fairly difficult to move the steel and make a flat from the round bar. Any suggestions to help improve? Maybe ways or places to strike that you have found to draw material out more easily (width I was able to figure out but lengthing was almost impossible). Many thanks and I hope to participate in this forum more often as I grow as a Smith.

So I'm trying to learn more about forging. I'd like to get into tool, decoration, and probably weapon making. Everywhere I've looked has advised a larger anvil 75lbs+ but I can't seem to understand why. I understand the difference in types of anvil except for weight. Does an anvil weighing 150lbs have an advantage over the 100lbs of the same make, if so, what's the difference? Better bounce back or what? Everyone talks about how weight matters for your application but I've yet to read from any book, forum, or site as to why it matters. Thanks, Zack

Hi, my name is Jim. I am 37, a father of a two & three year old. I am a carpenter by day & well a busy father after. As my life is chaotic and I'm always busy either with work or taking care of others I needed some serious me time! So the adventure began, first it was straight razors but that just wasn't enough for me. I buy, sell & restore them. I got involved with the forums but I don't feel as if I actually fit there. I have nothing bad to say it's just you can't fit a square peg in a round hole. Now after taking a serious interest in blacksmithing & after long careful consideration I started buying tools. As I stated in a father and everyone knows that means "on a budget" so I bought a used 70# anvil without a makers mark, the only mark it has is on the left foot a 7 stamped in there. I paid just over a $1 per pound. I'd like to I.D. It but I have so many more important questions, like #1 being I have bought a forge to save time and hey the price seemed right ($130.00) it came with a 1" Rex burner and the forge inside diameter is six inches round by twelve long, made with refractory cement and by eye I'd say near 1/4 inch plate steel. So from what a have read it seems the burner is more than sufficient for the space. My question is do you think this will work out well and most importantly how do I tune the burner? I have played around with different air/fuel ratios and I just can't seem to get a " jet like" blue flame. In fact all I'm getting is a weak flame or I get what appears to be an invisible yet loud flame? I can't help but wonder if I should have went with coal?? Anyway I am going to end it here as I have so many questions I don't want to over load one post. Any help getting this burner flowing right and opinions on my setup even constructive criticism is welcome. I just want to learn & learn the right way. Sorry that I'm all over the place but I wanted to introduce myself and get my first questions out. Thanks, Jim.

Hello all, I've browsed through the the stickies and its information and found some insightful work! Everyone on here is so nice and I'm eager to pursue this hobby. I wish to create armor and weapons for me and my friends for their SCA battles (likely not using said weapons). I have experience in welding, receiving a certificate in gas metal arc welding. I'm following up on some leads to get an anvil for free or cheap. And I have a barn of tools, I also have a large deep tractor rim that I can use as the forge. Any recommendations for a novice at black smithing? I am eager to hear advice

I had a fun learning experience planned out, but then realized that I didn't know if it was even possible. First, the main question: Can one forge heavily rusted (not quite falling apart, but past "100% pitted surface") "mystery steel" using a wood/charcoal forge? If so, are there any special considerations I need to worry about? Just guessing, but I'd reckon (at least) one of 3 things would happen: 1. The hot carbon could actually Reduce the rust back into un-oxidized Iron/Steel; 2. The rust (which probably trapped some sort of dirt/minerals) would just turn to Scale and fall off (or get pounded into the base Iron as Inclusions if I didn't remove them properly); or 3. The Iron would just fall apart (from heat expanding all the rusted micro-fissures) before I could forge them back together. Here's the "why do you ask?": I wanted to do a "Building From 'Scratch'" learning experience. Walking along the beaches in my area (along an inland sea with partial access to Pacific Ocean), I noticed just how much metal there really is "just laying there". Most of this is in the form of very large bolts (1 inch diameter by 18 inches long or 2.5 by 45 cm) going through old "barrier logs" or broken dock pieces, or bits of Rebar protruding from pieces of broken concrete. Occasionally, one might find an old gate post with several large nails and a rusted/twisted hinge still on it. I'm fairly handy in the woods, but I'm no Les "Suvivorman" Stroud, so I plan on "cheating" on several aspects: having a tent, a cooler/backpack of food, a fishing pole, a canoe, and probably even my truck parked nearby. xxxx, I'll probably do this over several "visits"/camping trips that might be weeks or months apart. I know of some REALLY rural/desolate islands/beaches within easy reach of a few good "car camping" locations. As for the Forging aspects, which is the point of this particular exercise, I want to keep it as basic as possible: Only start with the "tools" I'd normally have on me any time while hiking/boating: a pocket knife, a lighter, a multi-tool (includes small hacksaw and general purpose "SawzAll" blades), length of "paracord", Magnesium fire-starter/"FireSteel", a leather belt, a roll of electrical tape, and of course my clothes. Those are actually all part of my "EveryDay Carry"... Everything else, including stock metal, will have to be found/scrounged "on-site". My "Mk 1 Forge" will be a driftwood campfire in pit in the beach sand, mostly surrounded by large rocks. If I found some natural clay to make basic cobblestone/cob, maybe make it slightly "beehive"-/"volcano"-shaped to hold in the heat and create a natural draft. Additional draft would be from hand-fanning the fire with something large and flat, maybe a piece of scrap plywood that floated ashore. "Mk 1 Anvil" will probably be a Granite boulder with a fairly flat top, or maybe a smoother Chert stone on top of said Granite boulder. "Mk 1 Smithing Hammer(s)" will probably be a roughly "grapefruit"-sized rock, either held in my hand or maybe tied between some sticks. Probably multiple rocks unless I manage to find a good one with a rounded end (AKA, "Ball-Peen Hammer"), a flattened end (umm... 'normal' "Sledgehammer"), and maybe even a straight "line" edged part (like a "Cross-Peen Hammer"). Basic idea is to "start with (next to) nothing and make tools to make slightly better tools to make better tools and see how far I can get with only items found on a stretch of beach and some woods." That said, considering almost all my metal would have floated through salt-water, if one can't really Forge heavily rusted steel/iron, my plan is broken from the start. Brian H.

Hi everyone! Got a few random questions, I know some of them fit into other categories on the forum, but I think this is faster and less hassle..SO! 1) Is there ANY such thing as 6mm square bar in south australia? I recently found myself a supplier of steel that sells most sizes for a really good price (It's mild steel or somethin') But they don't have 6mm square, and it's ALOT of effort to square up a 6mm round bar from end to end. 2) Can I sink a piece of thin metal without the use of a swage block? I'm only just starting out and it's hard enough to find hammers in this country :P I'm thinking things like leaves and spoons, so nothing major...I've read that I can carve out a dip in a log and soak the dip in water to stop the wood burning, but it seems like alot of work for something I'm only going to do occasionally... 3) Is borax I buy from the shop 100% suitable for forge welding? Or do I need to cook it first? I've seen on here that most of the time moisture gets back into the borax anyway, so is there REALLY a point? 4) Do I really require another person when I want to make a hammer (Eventually?) Is it something that IS possible on your own? 5) Is there any other source of coke in South Aus besides Farmweld? I don't mind buying coke from there if I need to, but I live a fair way away and it's a hassle to get down there.

Hello everyone. I'm new to the craft of blacksmithing and Just wanted to introduce myself. My over all goal is to make working replica's of both video game and movie knives/swords/armor, but right now I'm just in the planning stages of planning and getting set up, so it will be a few months before working on any actual projects. I'm mostly hear to search for useful information about the craft and will be popping in from time to time to ask questions and share what I've learned.

Hi everyone, second day of smithing... Sort of. Can I get a short tutorial on how to hammer a bevel? I don't want to grind too much and lose density in the metal. Thanks!

So I was hoping that by planting my railroad track, it might sprout an anvil. It is buried 12" deep on end so that it is a more comfortable height to work at. It has also dampened the ringing noise a lot (i'm sure my neighbors are happy). I have strapped it to the log (not pictured) using a ratchet strap. So far everything is working out.

Alright. So, I have nothing. No equipment, no job, and especially, no experience. any help?

I'm new to the smithing stuff and haven't even used a forge, though I would like to learn how and start my own forge when I get the money and knowledge on how to actually smith things. I was wondering if there are any smiths near Dresden, Tennessee, looking for an apprentice or just wanting to teach someone the basics. Please contact me if you have some information or would like to actually teach someone your craft. I can be reached on here or my phone if that's more appropriate (though it goes out on the 7th). Let me know if you need my number to contact me at a better time or a faster response. Thank you, William P.S. I'm 16 if that creates an issue for anyone.