I'm new to blacksmithing, and I was wondering what tools I should make. I'm drawing a blank on this one. 

Punches, chisels, tongs, a hot cut is very useful, fire tending tools. Just starting out. Other then that you may find you need a tool so you can research and make it.  I'm pretty sure the topic has been covered, try searching IFI for more ideas. 

First off, welcome to the forum.  A couple things up front.  You should probably put your location in your profile since this is a world-wide forum and some answers vary depending on the location.  Next, it's a great idea to grab some snacks, a cold drink, and a comfy chair then spend a few hours reading through the topics that interest you the most.  Unfortunately your question is very vague to us.  We don't know what interests you the most, so our answers cannot be tailored to you.  The short answer is you should make the tools you need to do what you want to do.  Ornamental work and blade smithing share some common tools for instance, but there are some that have little use in the other category.  Do a little homework on here, figure out what you want to accomplish, and chances are you'll have an idea of what tools you need.  If you still don't know at that point we should be able to offer better suggestions then.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Most of the pertinent suggestions have been made, there are tens of thousands of posts archived on Iforge by category. You don't need to read all of them of course but you'd do well to start in the basic blacksmithing sections and THEN look at the shop and tools sections.

It's a common beginner's mistake to try and design the "perfect" shop and or tools before they know what they really need. Most of us have done it and have forges and tools gathering dust in the shop.

A little reading will give you a handle on what you want to do and what it'll take. Sure the basic kit of the blacksmith isn't much, anvil, hammer, fire at it's most basic. However it isn't the tools that do the work, it's the person using them and that's where your focus needs to be. A LITTLE knowledge and a LOT of practice is THE secret to mastering the craft.

Oh, the anvil. An anvil is ANYTHING you use to beat iron/steel on, sledge hammer heads, broken axles on end, RR rail, smooth boulder, etc. Don't get in a hurry, especially picking up an anvil, there are lots of dud anvils out there. Andy just posted a terrific article about: evaluating, testing and choosing an anvil.

Frosty The Lucky.

To start out out, you just need the Four "H"s:

Something to Heat the metal,

Something to Hold the metal,

Something to Hit the metal on,

Something to Hit the metal with.

If it does the job, it's the right tool.

Can I use mild steel to make a hot cut?

Yes; it will be about the same amount of effort and cost as using 5160 from a leaf spring and won't work nearly as well but it could be done.

If it will be a top set chisel type you will need to be careful about bradding the end in a hole you are cutting.,

On 10/10/2016 at 10:09 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Yes; it will be about the same amount of effort and cost as using 5160 from a leaf spring and won't work nearly as well but it could be done.

If it will be a top set chisel type you will need to be careful about bradding the end in a hole you are cutting.,

I used a railroad spike before I even knew what I was really doing. It needed sharpening at the beginning of each forging session, but on the upside, it made a great small fuller by the end of each session. 

Bottom line: There is a big difference between something 'working' and something working well. So, railroad spike (which is low carbon, doesn't harden) is workable, but its really a make-do sort of thing. Much better to have something that just plain works, and works well. 

On the left was the spike, and on the right is a 80 point carbon steel hardie that I made. The difference between the two is astounding. So, if you do it well the first time, no need to redo it! 

That can be an issue too.  If your first try "works well"; you are less likely to want to make a better one when your skills get better.   I have a terribly ugly gouge I forged about 35 years ago that I expected to replace after I got better.  Still my go to chisel when cleaning up root/fence wood for turning on my lathe.  I guess I'll replace it when it gets damaged past re-sharpening....AND wish I had noted down the exact metal and heat treat I had used back then... On the other hand  you can spend the time making different tools instead of remaking 1 tool multiple times...