How did you get started blacksmithing

[don't tread on me]

Me I got started with a bonfire, a pear of lethermen pliers, a hammer, and a slabe of conreat at the age of 13. PS. this topic is to enceredeg all of you who are just starting that a lot of us started small.

[southernforge]

Wood forge lined with bricks, plywood bellows about 37 years ago.

[Jeff Seelye]

I was fortunate enough to have a torch, and had been given a piece of railroad rail to beat on. The next year, I bid on a a forge at an auction. Then I found others (SOFA, MABA, & Tillers) that had the same interest.

[Anderson G. Phillips]

Wood fire, rail road rail and a ball peen hammer.

[Steve Shimanek]

I built a charcoal forge from a discarded barbeque grill lined with adobe and a hair dryer for a blower, had a cheap import anvil, engineer hammer and made a set of "tongs" by heating and bending a set of long handled needle nosed pliers circa 2006. Have come aways since then.

[edge9001]

originally my moms BBQ grill and a brick using a claw hammer when I was 13. the second time around, watching youtube and making a brakedrum forge and buyiung a crosspein hammer from lowes. y first anvil was the same on eim using now a rr coupler

[Sky Campbell (somewhere)]

Hot glass led the way that and a very inspirational friend. Now I just can't get enough. Spent my day playing with large fold formed elements that tell me they want to be a new wine rack. That was after I installed my wifes new forged pot rack. Oh the places you will go.

[glen56]

a piece of railway track ,a car spring and an old kero torch 12 years of age,yep took forever

[Harley]

A scraped together forge from 1/2 in. plate, angle iron and plumbing fittings with a shop vac in blower mode for a blower. Used coal . With a Fisher Norris anvil I had found in scrap yard and a hammer I bought at the hardware store. Now ,11 yrs later I am so busy I don't have any free time anymore. Be careful what you wish for , you just might get it.

[cavala]

I was looking for a job and it looked cool. I'm lucky I guess started with gas forges and power hammers.

[rokshasa]

woke up one day and just had to smith, was lucky that i found an older fella that was downsizing his shop. sold me all i needed to start including a small rivet forge and a drum of coal , 3 years later and i have a way better setup than i would have ever expected. now i cant put my hammer down lol

[beslagsmed]

While in Idaho I worked as a guide and hunted all the time. When I moved to Denmark I needed to find something to do with my time as hunting over here is not hunting for me. Being a farrier, having the anvil, gas forge it was a natural progression to blacksmithing as a hobby. I later found a coal forge, built different tongs and started doing pieces out of old shoes. I like making knives so that brought me to build the power hammer. You guys know how addicting this stuff can be!!

[maddog]

I've been at it on and off for about 15 years. I used to do woodworking with hand tools. I got into making my own planes and found out how to harden and temper the steel for the blades. That was the thin edge of the wedge and smithing displaced my woodworking. I got a big boost when Jimmy Treadwell gave me an afternoon in his shop and made me my first two pair of tongs. The second big step forward was when my family ganged up on me and bought me a seat in one of Frank Turley's courses.

[leighwill]

I did a three day course with a friend of mine last year with peat oberon after the 1st day I was hooked after the course I spent a week looking for an anvil and found one, and built myself a forge. I try to get as much time as I can at it. I'm booked on Hector Coles blade course in Feb and going to book another course with peat

[Jreed]

I started with a flower pot, charcoal briquettes, 8" desk fan, and a large rock. Not prety but it worked until the pot broke up to much to be useful.

[Max Mulholland - Tetnum]

campfire old muffler pipe moms shopvac some 1/2" rebar a claw hammer and a rock and it was a really good excuse to play with fire 5 years ago

[Rcrew]

Eight years ago I couldn't spell blacksmith, now I are one, Maybe.

[pkrankow]

I started with a flower pot, charcoal briquettes, 8" desk fan, and a large rock. Not prety but it worked until the pot broke up to much to be useful.

This one takes the cake for a simple forge! WOW!

Phil

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

A Dad who was curious about everything, and never stopped learning. He got the bug, so myself, his coworker, and Dad all took blacksmithing classes together at the local junior college.

[Ian]

I started by tipping my melting furnace (I was making silver and gold jewelery) on its side and putting in a bit of railway tie rod/clmap. Beat it against a four foot length of railway tie with a ball pein hammer and a pair of mole grips.
Now five or so years have gone by, I've travelled to a lot of places all over the globe, met some amazing guys, learned a few tricks and I have my own forge in London thats just starting to take off.

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

A friend got me started, he had an extra blower, firepot,and anvil all for $110.00 I was hooked.

[JeremyP]

Being a welder for the past 10 years I starting looking for something different in the metal working world, was looking for machining apprenticeship or sheetmetal coarses at my local college when I discovered a blacksmith coarse at that same college. Took it out of curiousity and now I cant get enough.

[quick60]

Attended the Civil War Days reinactment three years in a row. The Tidewater Blacksmiths Guild demoed there each year and a fella named Dr Dan tried to talk me in. Finally took Dr. Dans advise and joined the guild. The next year I was making my first leaf at the Civil War Days.

[firebug]

I have been in the Ornamental Iron Business since 1976. When I was 12 my grandparents started an ornamental iron business and I started at the bottom of the totum pole. I wanted to get into blacksmithing probably 20 years ago but just couldn't. While working at the Montgmery Fire Department a friend would take a rose bud and heat 1/2' square bar and make a wizard while we had the truck at the Fire Department Shop getting repaired. I thought that was the best thing. I have owned my own business since 1990 doing the typical cut and weld gates, security windows and doors, railings meailboxes etc. What can I say it pays well. I would stand and watch the resident blacksmith at Dollywood for hours when we visited there that was about 12 years ago. FINALLY I started gathering tools about 5 or 6 years ago. I took air hammer classes with Hofi in North Carolina before I knew how to use a hand hammer. I then attended Hofi's hand hammer classes in New York at Fine Architectural Metalsmiths. I have been to Israel once and I am scheduled to return this February. Even though I was going to classes my personal and business life along with the Fire Department held me back from truly learning and practicing my skills that I had been taught. I retired from the fire department 2 1/2 years ago and can finally get serious about smithing. Thanks to Hofi I have learned a lot in a relitively short period of time. So with me it was a very slow process over many years that went from wanting to be a blacksmith 20 years ago to a painfully slow process of actually begining to forge steel. I have so much to learn it is almost overwhelming but I am going to take it one day at a time.

[Drq]

I had a horse rear up and go over backwards on me when I was 14. I learned that people are supposed to be on top, not horses. While wheeling myself around "Pioneer Days" at the local museum in a wheelchair, one of the old folks that I have known my whole life gave me a book on blacksmithing. Figured I might find it interesting. After reading it cover to cover I wondered if there might be anything left of my great grandparents old blacksmith shop. Went out the next day and sure enough the forge was still there and so was an anvil. Its all down hill from there...hehe. The coal dust and dirt never did come out of my casts. After that my grandparents never did seem to mind me coming in black from head to toe. They said at least they knew where I was and that they figured if I was going to burn it down the fire probably wouldn't reach the barn.

Been out in that shop for ten years now.

Its funny how life comes full circle though, when I was really little my cousins and I used to run in to the scary dark old shed thats now my shop, steal the few remaining tools, and throw them back into the shop through the windows.....