Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Hi, I'm Nick and I have been dreaming of setting up a forge since I was a kid, have followed as much youtube/TV and reading as I can and I'm finally at the point that I want to get cracking. Managed to convince the missus and I'm off. I was hoping that I might also be able to find some UK smiths on here (perhaps even close to Northamptonshire!?) for advice on UK specific purchases etc. If you are (or even not) from the UK I would seriously appreciate a shout! Thanks all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Welcome to the addiction. If you edit your profile to include your location other smiths will know wher you are. Otherwise we will forget your in Northampton shire prety quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Good, tip! Will do, thank you! Is there a way to search for other UK members within the forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Welcome aboard Nick, glad to have you. Oh yeah, there are a number of smiths in the UK hang out here. Give it a little while they'll speak up. I believe smithing equipment and tools are a LOT more common in the Isles than around here so you can be at least a little picky. If possible hook up with an experienced blacksmith and get a handle on what works for you tool wise. Every day, even hour you spend with an experienced smith is worth many days even weeks of figuring it out yourself. Believe me I'm largely self taught and I really, REALLY wish someone could've told me, "don't do THAT! LOL" There's also a regional organization and or location sections of Iforge. Scroll down the front page till you hit it. I'd link you but I know all the guys around me so I just tip folks where to look. I can be pretty lazy sometimes. What do you have in mind to make? I wanted to beat poor defenseless steel into submission since I was a little kid myself and still love it though I'm not as active at the anvil as I was. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Equipment does come up a little but nothing compared to what is in the states. If I search for anything on eBay a few items come up in the UK but then it offers a bazillion US products I don't know what or why but for some reason my area is a crafting dead spot. Smithing seems a lot more common in the South West in Devon/Somerset/Cornwall etc but nothing here. Some items come up in London but if there are smiths around here they are not easy to find or are fully commercialised smiths that wouldn't want a pain the backside hanging around I checked the regional ones but there is only one for the South West and that seems pretty inactive. I just really want to get set up, spend a while making tools and learning how to use them. Eventually I would love to make kitchen knives. I love bladesmithing but there are only so many bowies a man needs (MOAARR I here someone cry..) so kitchen knives seems like a great way to keep practising the art whilst making useful things for friends/family (and perhaps eventually sell?). I have no delusions of grandeur in becoming some kind of profitable smith but I have a lot of dead time as a teacher during the summer months and it would also be great to use that time to make things that might sell in the future, if only to cover some expenses of the hobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Hello and welcome What sort of tools are you looking to buy? I tend to buy on Ebay if I'm after anything specific,but farm auctions and carboots are often good sources too. A lot of small tools (swages, jigs, top tools, punches, etc) are more easily made yourself rather than trying to find them to buy. The tools that you need are going to be based on what you are making, so to begin with you won't need many tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 On review of my thinking, really just the anvil at the moment. Pretty sure I'll be buying a solid fuel forge from Iron Dwarf as he is quite near to me and offers demos prior to sale which is nice. Anvils don't often come up in my area, London is the closest and I don't forsee me being able to heft one into the back of my tiny car so will probably need to hire a van . I can't imagine that I will be buying an enormous PW or something off the bat but I would like to start with something that it more traditionally shaped that has a hardy hole. I am looking at basic railroad etc but I whenever I start a hobby I always just upgrade quickly on whatever my main tools are so it seems like it would be a wasted journey if I didn't go for the midground. I checked your website out Dave.. you have a baller of a workshop! The rest of the tools I would probably like to have a stab at making myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Hi, Nick, and welcome to IFI! If you haven’t yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Set up an alert on gumtree rather than ebay. The prices tend to be much more sensible. Be sure to checkout out this thread for an additional method of finding anvil: They will be hidden away in farm sheds, garages, engineering workshops tucked under a bench etc. You don't need a huge anvil. Aim for 50kg - 80kg as a good starting point. No van needed for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Thanks and I have read the mentioned post I have been looking through gumtree. Wasn't aware of an alert feature so will look into that, thanks! 50-80kg seems about the size that I would like and could indeed get in my car. It doesn't help that a lot of folk post anvils and just say 'very heavy', I understand that not everyone can pop them on some scales but I don't want to drive cross country and it turns out to be 20kg or perhaps worse, 150kg and I can't lift it into my boot without taking my bumper off Thanks again for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 If you come across something your considering, fire up a few pics from the listing and I'm sure folk here can have a fairly good guesstimate as to the weight based on sizing up things in the background compared to the anvil. If you do the search, set the distance from your postcode to something half decent, there should be a button under the search bar saying 'set search alert'. That will ping you an email each day with new listings. You'll likely have better luck just getting the word out. After talking to a couple of people, I was put in touch with a guy who had a collection just shy of 300 anvils. Any listings I came across were either over priced or snapped up quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Conincidentally one just popped up close to me. I've posted it in the anvil section for review. Looks pretty beat up but of a manageable size. No idea if it would be any good but hopefully someone in the anvil section will have some idea. No doubt as its the first local one I've seen for a while it will probably go for an overpriced amount! A 300 anvil collection... man that's a lorra lorra heavy metal! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Blacksmiths-Anvil/183201236288?hash=item2aa7a50540:g:8LUAAOSwq-1a5ZWG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 It was a sight to behold for sure. Tripping over them all across the sheds, couple of shipping containers, and a few huge steel cages with them stacked up. Quite funny trying to find one to buy 'oh yes, I think I saw a good one the other day in the corner that might suit you'. It was a 67kg Brooks, half buried in misc car parts on the floor in a huge workshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 God bless hoarders!! I could only wish for such luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Ask around, find local blacksmithing groups, and you could be surprised what gets kicked loose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Owen Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Hunting them down is my top priority right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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