Best book for a beginner

[ThomasPowers]

No John NO!  It will only end in bankruptcy and tears!

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

A very sage person gave me this advice, when I first started out in collecting old firearms. When starting any endeavor the first thousand dollars should be spent on books.

[pnut]

I just checked out a book that my local library recently purchased. I think I'm the first person to have checked it out truthfully. 

 The Everyday Blacksmith (Learn to forge 55 simple projects. By Nicholas Wicks ISBN 978-1-63159-712-1. 160 pages. $24.99 Quarry publications. 

 It's a good place to start. I thought I'd mention it as I'd never heard it referenced before. It's first printing was 2019. 

Pnut

 

[ThomasPowers]

Is it a project driven teaching book rather than a skills driven one?  If so; I may have to look into it as I find that students seem to learn better when they make something they can use.

[pnut]

Yes, when it cools off some I'm going to start working on a few of them.  The author does assume the reader has a basic grasp of the eight basic techniques. The author doesn't explain tapers or punching etc so it's not for a complete beginner. It would be a great book after a class covering the basic techniques.  I am enjoying it. 

Pnut

[LarryGarcia123]

What affordable books can you suggest?

[ThomasPowers]

That depends a bit on which of the 100+ countries that participate in these forums on the World Wide Web you are in.

Here in the USA I like "The Complete Modern Blacksmith", Weygers or "The Backyard Blacksmith", Sims; Weygers' book can be found for under US$20 and Sims' I bought several copies at US$10.

Now if you lived in the USA I would suggest going to your local public library and ask to ILL both books at the main desk so you can look them over and decide which works best for YOU!

[Elias Nelson]

thank you very much for the recommendations, it's very helpful for me!