Blacksmithing?

[BullDozerRIP]

Hello everyone!, i'm Dallton, i'm 13 (I know young)

Well I have always been interested in good ol' blacksmithing. I always have wanted to make swords, axes, spears, armor, etc. Well I just want to know if thats a good way to go or should I try to make other things? I really want to be a blacksmith, I don't really care about how much the pay is.

Also Is it better to go to school to get a better chance at a job? I plan on owning my own buisness but that always come after I know how to do everything. What colleges are good to go to for this and what classes should i take?

[ErictheRed1990]

well i was the same, but if you start dont start with big things like swords and axes and armor, start with smaller things to get a feel for working with the metal and how to form it.
i dont know about if its better to go to school or not myself, but where are you from itd be easier if people were to know atleast the country so people from there can give advice on schools. .

Eric

[BullDozerRIP]

Oh sorry, I thought I put that. I live in America, Springfield, Illinois

[Jymm Hoffman]

Start with this group, they have a weekend long event (called a hammer in,) near you in mid April: http://www.illinoisblacksmith.org/index.html

[Rich Hale]

Putter with smithing while youi finish a lot of schooling and make sure that includes classes in business. YOiu can gather enough information on this site to learn a lot without any help at all from someone that might. If you spend a couple of years learning by yourself and reading a lot on here,,starting with basics then moving to more advanced items..and spend a full week at it,,in a few years you can make hundereds of dollars a year. If you include some classes and involve yourself with other groups that smith. you may be able to shorten the time up a bit,,there is a list of groups on here. There is also a list of coming events that may help you by attending.

[journey333]

Hi Dalton. I grew up in Springfield also. I wish I had known what I wanted to do when I was your age. When you decide if you want to go to college, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has a Metalsmithing program that includes blacksmithing that may be of interest to you. (I took the blacksmithing class, but wish I had taken the whole program.) In the meantime, someone mentioned the Hammer In--see if you can contact that group and maybe they will know of local classes you can take. You might also look into a visit to New Salem State Historic Site, they used to have the smithy running on a regular basis. As someone else said, the biggest thing is to practice and I would add have patience and perseverance as well. Good luck.

[Jim-Iowa]

Dalton: When I was 13, I wanted to be a Race Car Driver. A.J. Foyt and Mario Andrietti were my hero's. That never came to pass? Things do change over the years I have had a career working in the factory and another in an office in the field of Customer Service. And now that I'm in my early 60's like you I'm ready to enter into the field of Blacksmithing. Each of the posters above have given you good advice. Especially getting with a group of practicing smiths in your area, for mentoring. The only thing no one can take from you in life, is what you know. So pay attention in school, easpecially in the area of mathmatics reading skill, and speech and even debate. If you intend to make a business of any endeavour , the most important skill you need is communication. Take all the shop classes your schools offer Machine shop classes are good and you will learn a lot about how tools are made and used.. I did not know wood working was applicable, until my machine shop class toured a foundry and we toured the pattern room and all the patterns for moulding cast iron were made of wood? Auto shop, and even agriculture (If your school has an FFA Club join you will learn a lot besides riding a tractor)and will help you understand mechanics.. Another time We toured a Tool and Die shop. I mentioned mathematics and the owner of the shop told us he could take a man with a strong foundation in mathematics who had never seen a machine tool and make him a tool maker in a year. This may sound like a lecture, bu what I'm trying to say is everything you learn in life will have application in your life whatever career you pursue. Get started, pick the smaller projects that you can acomplish quickly and build confidence and build on it over time. I can not play the trumpet, because I could not quickly make it sound like a Jazz Sensation and got discouraged? Don't make that mistake.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Jim-Iowa

[Randy]

Good advise, Dalton. I'd add in regards to education, yea, don't drop out,, you'll need all that you can get. Get some drafting classes. art and art history classes, vo-tech classes in welding and machining, business classes (how are you going to run a business if you don't know how?), and even maybe some language classes, say in German so you can go to Europe some day and learn over there, not only from the smiths, but also from the historic work that's there. On your own you need to learn the basics of forging. Read a bunch of books. There are a lot of good ones out there. Then take a beginners class. All of this will aid you on your journey.

Good luck and have fun!

[Colin Davies]

Rob Martin of Thak does a lot of weapons and armour, and is extremely successful at it (he's also the main supplier of blacksmithing coal in Ontario). He would be a good person to emulate if you want to make a living from your interests eventually.

I was in your shoes about a year ago, but I'm 27, so I have more autonomy to pursue my crazy interests. I took a weekend course in the basics with a local blacksmith, then a knifemaking workshop with Jake Powning at CanIRON VIII. Those things were a great intro, but I still knew basically nothing, had no skill at fire maintenance, hadn't done even basic scrolls and joinery methods. I wanted to work at this full time and turn a profit, so I decided to enroll in a 4-month artist blacksmith certificate program at Fleming College in Ontario. A degree or certificate in blacksmithing means nothing, except to people who don't know much about it. The important parts were the hundreds of hours working with coal and gas forges, and instruction from several accomplished blacksmiths plus short courses in drawing, design, and marketing/portfolio development for artists. That program brought me to the point where I can take on the financial risk of setting up a professional shop, without worrying that my lack of experience will cause my business to immediately fail (other factors may, of course!). I don't know of any other program in North America that is really similar - in fact there were a couple of students in my class who came up from the US for that reason. I know this is not something you can realistically take advantage of right now, but consider this an endorsement of intensive blacksmithing programs in general.

Starting up a business is a huge investment if you do it all at once. I know many people start blacksmithing as a hobby in a space they already own, and accumulate the equipment for a full-size shop over many years. To get everything up and running in one shot, I've discovered, is difficult to do for much less than $10000, and that's without power hammers and some of the fancier stuff you might want. Still, this is cheap compared to many other types of business. If you start thinking about this now and begin working on a business plan, you'll have a much better chance of success when the time comes.

Good luck!

Colin

[robert hanford]

Try books as well. The Backyard Blacksmith is a good one for beginners. Also Randy McDaniel's book is excellent and gave me my start!
Good luck!

[BullDozerRIP]

Thank you! You guys have giving me a lot of info! I found a local smith willing to teach me so I feel that im slowly on my way thanks guys!
Dallton

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Dalton, glad to have you!

Blades are more technically advance than general smithing and can be daunting before you've built enough skills. Armour is another thing almost entirely but sheet iron work has many applications, many of them well paid. Get all the education you can, as said already, drafting is good as is artistic drawing, melding the two is important. Geometry and general math are really handy. Business, money management and the bane of many smiths marketing are important if you're planning on making a living at this.

Getting in touch with local smiths and the local organization will really boost you on the road, smiths enjoy passing the craft to interested folk, especially the next generation. Learning the craft yourself is certainly possible, I did but I don't recommend it if you have an alternative, what took me years could've been done in maybe one or less had I known smiths.

Oh yeah, don't forget to ask questions here, post pics, we love pics and love answering questions even if we have to make the answers up.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Jim-Iowa]

I have a couple books to reccomend that don't have to cost a lot.
The Art of Blacksmithing by Alex Beal, found that one in a 1/2 price book store.

And since your interested in knife making.the $50 Knife Shop by Wayne Goddard.
He goes into depth on both Stock Removal and forged blades. Making fixtures and holding devises. And is a Master Bladesmith in the Knife Makers Guild.

Every kid wants to make knives, my first(at 14). was from an old file and never got finished ? If I had had Waynes Book I might have finished it?

I suspect your working on an allowance and don't have a lot of money. You can probably find those on Amazon.
If money is tight don't be afraid of used copies, my family buys a lot of out of print copies used and the quality is pretty good.
My daughter has gotten books from the UK in good shape and shipping was little more than if she had gotten them stateside.

[BullDozerRIP]

yeah thanks! Money isnt really a huge problem I have quite a bit

[ThomasPowers]

OK money not tight??? well act as if it is and it will go a lot farther!

For bladesmithing you will *need* "The Complete Bladesmith, the MAster Bladesmith and the Pattern welded Blade" all by Hrisoulas.

You will also need a good belt grinder---expect to pay in the $700 to $1500 range for a good one. But you won't need that at the start----you need to lean basic forging first!

Also a powerhammer, expect that to be above US$2K; but you need to lean basic forging first!

Think about taking Metallurgy now generally part of MatSci in college if you go the college route or welding and machining if you go the vocational route. (note that welding and machining *always* comes in handy for a blademaker---as does jewelry making!)

Either way if you will run your own business you will need to take accounting and small business administration from the git go----just knowing how to properly depreciate your assets can mean the difference from a profit and a loss in your business!

I advise people wanting to do this as a living to get a good job with health benefits and work on bladesmithing on the side until they build up that side income to match most of what they are making at "work" before switching over to full time blademaking. And marry someone with health benefits! Pretty much every pro bladesmith I know has had at least one accident requiring tens of thousands of dollars of hospital work---and down time. Most small businesses are *1* major medical bill from bankruptcy so deal with that up front.