Nate Thiessen Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Hello everyone, my name is Nate, I live in Conrad Montana. I am looking in to fulfilling a childhood dream of bladesmithing, and have finally gotten to a point where I can. So far I have only ever made one knife from a cut out of a band saw, and experimented with a nail, blow torch, and a hammer. As far as equipment goes, I have a couple of hammers, an anvil with a built in vice grip, and a grinder. I am hoping that in the next couple months I can put together a forge and work station and start working with some scrap metal to learn some basic techniques. I always welcome advice, tips, and leads on how to best start out and what to look for. I look foreword to learning from everyone here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 welcome aboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockmaker Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Hi Nate, Welcome. I have been through Conrad on several occasions, nice town. Do you have any specific questions? Having an anvil is a leg up on most beginners, you are going to need some tongs, and do you have a source of scrape metal? A forge of course is needed, are you thinking solid fuel, or gas? Either way don't go big, think small for now. The best thing I can tell you right now is to look around this forum and read it, the one thing about this forum that is unique to forums is there is little to no misinformation and half truths, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Thiessen Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 22 minutes ago, stockmaker said: Do you have any specific questions? Having an anvil is a leg up on most beginners, you are going to need some tongs, and do you have a source of scrape metal? A forge of course is needed, are you thinking solid fuel, or gas? Thank you Stockmaker! At the moment my wife and I are renting an apartment on the property, so for any forge it will have to be small, portable, and economically friendly. I have been considering putting together a coal forge as gathering the materials for one will be easier and less expensive (at least from what I have read on the forum and from other sites). I do wonder about the amount of smoke that a small brake drum coal forge would put off, and how obtrusive that smoke may be. Before I make any major investments, my wife has requested that I find someone who is willing to let me apprentice under them so that I can learn proper safety techniques; and to make sure that this isn't just because I binge watched Forged in Fire recently! I do have access to scrap metal as there is a couple of good junk yards and weld shops in town. From what I have read, spring/coils are a good starting point, as well as leaf brakes, old wrenches, and crowbars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Search the forum for "just a box of dirt". It's a great way to get started on the cheap. I would consider using charcoal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 For your situation I would look into a propane "soupcan forge" as being small, portable, no smoke, etc. Now you said anvil with a built in vice grip---did you mean and anvil vice combo? If you did you don't have an anvil. They were cast iron and not made for sustained hammering of a working smith. On the other hand a large solid chunk of scrap metal works as an anvil and a vice is a necessary part of a bladesmithing shop! I'd see if there was an ABANA affiliate group anywhere close to you and attend meetings and meet local smiths to see if one can provide you with some training. Have you picked up a copy of Weyger's "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" yet? (Hrisoulas' The Complete Bladesmith and Steve's "Introduction to Knifemaking"; Wayne Goddard's $50 knifeshop...could help a lot.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Thiessen Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 22 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Now you said anvil with a built in vice grip---did you mean and anvil vice combo? If you did you don't have an anvil. Thanks for the heads up about the anvil vice combo! I will take a closer look in to the soup can propane forge too. As for the books, I have looked at the $50 knife making, but have not heard of the others. Thank you for the lead on those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 So before the dogpile starts; I encourage you to read the pinned "stickies" in the knife making sections of this site as they will cover an amazing amount of what you want/need to know. And welcome to the confraternity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 $50 knife shop is a great book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Welcome aboard Nate, glad to have you. I heartily concur you want a soup can forge for your current situation. Hit the junkyards and see if you can find a truck axle, mounted on end at the right height they make an outstanding field expedient anvil. And don't get hung up on needing an anvil with a horn, heal, hardy hole, etc. an anvil is anything hard and heavy enough to hammer hot steel into submission on. many professional smiths in 3rd. world countries use sledge hammer heads for anvils. Take a look at Youtube videos of modern Japanese bladesmiths forging swords on anvils about 6" square and maybe 10" high, stuck in the ground. The effectiveness of an anvil is determined more by how much steel is directly under the hammer blow than how heavy it is. This is called "depth or rebound" and has to do with the shock wave traveling to the end of the anvil and back. It's a story, I'll save it . . . for now. Pull up a comfy chair bring a snack and some beverages then start reading the Iforge forum. No, not the whole thing that's a semester or two worth, honest. Pick sections that interest you, getting started is my recommendation. At the top of the pages are the "Stickies." These are links to posts that answer most commonly asked questions, probably the most clearly and even best. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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