Dad or moms first project

[tatertatum]

Ok hears what I'm asking, some of you started out as kids learning the very basics from your mom or dad. Sooo what was it they had you make first to get you interested in smithing, a spike, a ring? i want to start at the beginning but i don't have anyone to tell me were to start. ya I can go out and bang on steel all day and try to copy other people but were should i start. what did they hand you and say here is how you do it now you do it till it looks like mine.

[Drako11]

My parents and grandparents never blacksmithed, my great-grandpa did, but I never got to meet him unfortunately. Wish I had!

I got interested when I saw a video of a kid making RR Spike knives with a forge made from a grill. I had always been interested in smithing, but I hadn't realized it was that easy to get into!

Anyways I started out making knives out of RR Spikes, if you have a Rail Road near you they are easy to get and I learned a good bit about just moving metal with them. A lot of people say, OH NO DON'T START ON KNIVES!!! I actually found it pretty simple, albeit my knives are not the quality of more experienced smiths, but they are servicable and I learned a lot from making them as I mentioned. : ) Good luck with your endeavour!!

[MRobb]

No one in my family, or anyone I've known, was a blacksmith. I sort of got into it by accident. Anyway, trying to copy someone else's work isn't a bad thing. It's sort of flattering for them. Look through the gallery at what's there. And there is PLENTY. Find a few things to start with. Start with items that will help you with the basics. Drawing out, upsetting, hammer control, etc. It doesn't have to be fancy. S - hooks, key fobs, leaves, the list can go on and on. And hammer away.
Just remember to be patient with yourself. Allow yourself to make mistakes. And above all, HAVE FUN.



Mitch

[CBrann]

What is something simple you need or want? I started by myself... great granddad was a smith, and he made every thing but a living... S hooks... drive hooks... Nails are kinda hard to start with.. you need to make the header first..

I used to bang around.... now I am making my own set of tools... that is where I would start.... expect the first ones to be wonky... my first 3 tongs ...ummm.. didn't do well... shall we say. Look for improvement!!! not perfection. ... remember the smelters make more steel every day!!

its nice to use your own tools that you made... cause you know you can always "customize " them, till they are just right. Besides little hands need little tools!!! can be a good bonding experience!!!!!!!

Good luck, and post pics of your project!!
Cliff

[Mike Ameling]

I grew up on a small farm. We never did any blacksmithing. And we never had a torch or electric welder. But we did ... tinker ... a bunch. And we were always repairing/fixing things. Occasionally we even made something new.

I was in my 20's when I saw a blacksmith working (not counting all the welding shop stuff I saw in town) at a historical reenactment. That got me interested (hooked). Then the search for tools really started.

My one grandpa was a carpenter and home builder. But he did run a sawmill on the side out on the farm. The "blacksmith" in town was not related, and most of what he did was welding/repair. But I did end up with the one great uncle's anvil. It was just his "shop" anvil for the farm. (72# Haybudden)

So I became ... self taught. The blacksmiths I did get to watch and occasionally help out were working at various historical gatherings. And then I got to know more people who did blacksmithing work, and got to go to various gatherings (Hammer-Ins and Demo's).

I started with the usual smaller stuff - S and J hooks, fire pokers, campfire irons. And things progressed from there. As my skill and experience grew, I tried more things.

Now I primarily make flint strikers from all the 2500+ years they were originally used in, and North American fur trade iron work (muskrat spears, ice chisels, fish hooks, fish spears).

And the learning goes on ... and on ... and on ... and on ...

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

[Bentiron1946]

No kinfolk of mine were smiths so I bought a book and the first thing I made was a fire place poker. Make anything you want and try to make it well.:cool:

[Yance]

My Maternal Grandfather did some blacksmith work, but I have no idea how much since he died long before I came along. My anvil , some tongs, and part of my forge belonged to him, then a Great Uncle who passed them to my Dad who never did anything with them.

My "awakening" came in mid-July of last year at a reenactment while talking to one of the blacksmiths there. He was working with a small rivet forge and small anvil sitting in an angle iron stand. I was trying to ask seemingly intelligent questions and mentioned that I had this equipment and he asked "Are you forging?" When I replied "No", he asked "Why not?". When I told him I didn't have a place to set it up he simply reached over and raised up the horn end of his anvil and let it drop back in place without saying a word. Point taken.

The first of this year I began moving my pieces here and looking for a small forge. I lost my blower in a warehouse fire several years ago so all I really had left of the forge was the tyeure, clinker breaker, bottom plate and blower pipe.

I found out a friend had an extra home made rivet type forge and small Champion blower he let me borrow. My first project was a RR spike knife that still needs work. The same "friend" just happened to have a Champion 400 he wasn't using when I finished building my new forge. He told me to take it and see if it would do what I needed. Needless to say, it does. We finally came to "terms" on it yesterday so it's finally really MINE.

All I need now is time. Dang "job" sure does interfere with a lot of things.:D

[chyancarrek]

Ditto to the stories above.

Best thing to do is set up your equipment then just get to it.

Study up, do as much reading and researching as you can. Put the word out here on IFI to see if anyone is offering a class (or conference) in your area.

Begin with the basics and start developing your hammer technique by turning square stock into round and vice-versa focusing on maintaining consistent dimensions. You'll very quickly start to get ideas for what you want to do.

Most of all just have fun!

Keep us up to date on how it goes!

[tatertatum]

I was kind of hoping for someone to say thank god someone who does not want make a sword on day one. Then hear something like (make ____ 30 times and post the 30th one so we can tell what your doing wrong). I don't know i guess i expected to hear simple things I'm hopeful to get into Renaissance fairs showing things from wall hangers to dinnerware. but i don't want a skilled smith walking up and saying your doing that at the wrong temp or if you did it like this it would be better because i didn't spend the time learning the basics.

[DennisG]

I too am from a farm family but no smiths that I am aware of. My start was because I am a welder and love working with metal and with the introduction to blacksmithing by a friend was hooked. Several yrs ago I would take my daughter to the guild meets so she could get a little dirty. I started each with just the basic drawing out to a rat tail some piece of stock, then twist and bend, all easy, and they had something to show.

I am now getting back into smithing after a few yrs away. I have a copied book "The Blacksmith's Craft" that I am going thru. For those who do not know of or have a copy of this book GET IT!. Teaches you basic things but then has 33 lessons in it for you to do, has pics to help you along also. Might have to scan this thing and pass on copies if ppl are interested.

tatertatum, I hear ya there. btw great poem.

Edited August 21, 2009 by DennisG
obsesive compalsive

[Bentiron1946]

They are some here that grew up with a hammer in their hand but by and large I think that most of us learned it by doing, watching and listening. I read a by a Donna Melach(I think that's how you spell it). I was doing bronze casting at time and has a friend that was experimenting with forged steel in his sculpture and I tried it for a few hours and away I went. I banged away until I felt good about it. Then I saw some other work that was better so back to the anvil. One of the best things about smithing is the learning, always learning new methods. Smithing is what you make of it.

[MonteCristo]

My dad is a farrier, so I watched for years on the anvil. Finally at the age of 24, I got the chance to try it myself. I am gathering up a lot of equipment that he has stored away. Now I am trying to re-light his creativity and my own. First few things I made were letters and hooks.

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

I was in the blacksmith shop at the County Fair watching the smiths work, asked one of them how I could learn. He took my name and number called me when the next open forge was in our club, I was hooked. We ended up making a pair of tongs what a great project. I was a carpenter by trade and was sick of wood working and wanted to try some thing new. Need to do some forging before this County Fair and only have a couple of weeks to get it done. My 13 and 9 year old sons smith they started out making j-hooks out of horseshoe nails then j-hooks out of 1/4 in. stock. The 9 yr.old is making arrow heads out of bar stock. Find a club in your area or read books, can't do it if you don't try. Good luck!!!

[pkrankow]

I'm no help on where to start, but my dad was a mechanic, so I started wrenching at a very young age. I helped rebuild several auto and boat engines by third grade.

Growing up I helped my dad with cold forming of sheet metal for brackets, and when the furnace was replaced, duct work. We had a professional make the major sections, but all the installation, customization, and build-in-place was done by my parents, brothers and myself.

The garage step and a short piece of RR track served as anvils of sorts for straightening and bending all sorts of metal bits. I think my dad had us bang metal on the step so he could hear where we were and what trouble we were (not) causing.

Phil

[Frosty]

My Father actively discouraged me from learning blacksmithing. He was a depression era kid and his philosophy was if you're goig to learn a trade learn a paying trade. It wasn't till I was in my 40's before I convinced him it was a hobby, I do it for FUN.

Funny thing about blacksmiths watching other blacksmiths demo. You don't usually hear much criticism except the funnin kind. People who's grandfather was a blacksmith will step right up and tell you all the things you're doing wrong but not most real live blacksmiths. Not unless you ask them anyway.

Oh yeah.

Thank GOODNESS! Someone who doesn't want to make a sword for his first blacksmithig project!

Better?

Frosty

[MarkC]

Here are my two cents . . . forge up a bunch of leafs. Forging a leaf is easy and it requires most of the basics. tapering, drawing, hammer control ... all that. Chiseling your own veins into the leafs will give you practice at using an intermetiate tool, like a chisel or punch, as well as getting you used to working hot iron with an anvil hold-down tool, while you're using both hands to chisel the veins. It also gives you something really cool to show for your hard work right away, not just a lil S hook.

Taper the stems also and bend them into vine shapes, get creative. Better yet, make S hooks with leafs for ends.

Forge 10 leafs from 1/2" round stock. Compare leaf #1 to leaf #10 and be proud of your progress as an artisan. Then incorporate your 10 leaves into something cool.

Edited August 22, 2009 by MarkC