countermeasure Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Hi, guys! I am just starting out and collecting my gear and join a smithing course for beginners soon. I was looking for active communities the whole day, since most german ones are inactive or have shut down their registration for new members. So yeah, my goal is to create tools for survival gear in the end. I got my anvil, a 153kg (337lbs?) S&H from 1909, a set of tongs and a hammer. I am still looking for a 1.5kg and a 2kg hammer. I am still not sure if i should go for a gas or a charcoal forge. I prefer gas because it is much cheaper to come by where i live and from what I've gathered, its easier to handle. I attached a few pictures of what i have gathered so far. What are your opinions on the anvil? Have a nice day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Have you seen the jabod threads? Mount your anvil on a stump so the face is about wrist height, some prefer knuckle height. build a jabod and you'll be forging steel before the weekend gets here. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Welcome aboard. The anvil looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countermeasure Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Just now, pnut said: Have you seen the jabod threads? Mount your anvil on a stump so the face is about wrist height, some prefer knuckle height. build a jabod and you'll be forging steel before the weekend gets here. Pnut Hey, thanks for the advice, I'll look into the jabods. I'm thinking about using an oak trunk as a base and secure it with iron rings. Just now, Daswulf said: Welcome aboard. The anvil looks great. Thanks for having me, it cost 350€. I guess thats a pretty good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 X-Measure, Welcome to I.F.I., We have many German members on this forum. Knowing where you are in Germany would help them should they wish to meet you. (I'm from Canada, now living in the U.S.A., both countries are huge). It is a lot more informative if I post that I am located in St. Louis, Missouri. A quickly built 'Jaybod ' forge and you should be hammering metal before the weekend. Smithing metal is a wonderful experience. Regards, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 A great deal on this side of the atlantic even at double that price! When I was on a 90 day business trip to Germany I saw several Freie Luft Museums that had smithing groups demonstrating at them, (Lauf ADP, Bad Windsheim, etc) I was even asked to demonstrate pattern welding at one as I had flux and a billet with me---just in case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countermeasure Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 13 minutes ago, SLAG said: X-Measure, We have many German members on this forum. Knowing where you are in Germany would help them should they wish to meet you. Oh, I wasn't aware of that. It's "germanly" precise now haha. 7 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: When I was on a 90 day business trip to Germany I saw several Freie Luft Museums that had smithing groups demonstrating at them, (Lauf ADP, Bad Windsheim, etc) I was even asked to demonstrate pattern welding at one as I had flux and a billet with me---just in case! Wow, i live near Wuppertal, where most of the smelting during the industrialisation took place. I'm planning to visit the Freilichtmuseum in Hagen (thats where my anvil was made btw.) soon and see one of those demonstrations for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicon Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 This weekend is the biggest HammerIn in Sperberslohe near Nürnberg. Organized by Peter Brunner who has made "the" german forum Schmiededaseisen. Through this forum I got aquainted to so many blacksmiths all over Germany. Some of them are in IFI too. As for hammers google for Werkzeugfabrik Krenzer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countermeasure Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 What a shame, I just spent a week in Nürnberg. I saw that forum, but it seemed to me as if there wasn't much going on anymore. I shall look into Krenzer. SLAG, pnut - Our soil doesn't contain a lot of clay, are there any alternatives? What about this build? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Plain unscented cat litter is bentonite clay as well as some of the dry sweep type products used for cleaning up oil stains and such. You can also use red clay bricks like Charles R Stevens in I believe the MarkIII or MarkII jabod thread. Jabods are much easier to change until you find the dimensions that work for you then you can build a more permanent forge. Steel forges are much harder to modify than a jabod and in the beginning you don't really know what you need yet. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countermeasure Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 That is some great advice, I'm going to have a closer look at the MarkII/III build and get some inspirations from there. Thanks you all for helping me out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I'm just paying it forward. I got a lot of help when I first started and am still getting help from members here. Keep us posted on your build and don't hesitate to ask any questions if you can't find the answers you need in any previous posts. That's actually the best advice I can give any new member is read the whole section on the topics you're interested in. I learned a great deal reading the solid fuel and gas forges sections. It took a little time but was worth the investment. Most questions are answered somewhere here already. Good luck and have fun Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky_Wolf Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 First of all, how xxxxxxxxx were you able to get such a large anvil on a whim, and anvil that weight here in the U.S. would cost like 5000 antique, and around 2000 new. you may want to build an anvil stand in the future, but your best bet for now will probably be mounting it on a stump. I have never seen your anvil's design, I have always liked the German design peddinghaus type anvils except that they don't have a soft step, but it looks like your anvil's company has taken care of this! like many have said, a JABOD would be your best bet. starting out you could use wood or lump charcoal if you can find any, but later try and find a german blacksmith's/farriers supply, or check out xxxxxxxxxxxx On 7/24/2019 at 2:23 PM, countermeasure said: it cost 350€ u wot m8. You really expect a language translator or even Adults to understand your gibberish? and watch the profanity, I also removed your advertizing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countermeasure Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 That's an enormous price difference, wow. Here thats a rather common price for second hand anvils. Just yesterday I saw a 551 lbs for around the same price. But from what I have gathered the south german design is pricier than the northern counterpart. Is there anything you can tell me regarding S&H anvils? I haven't found much about them here yet. Once i return from my vacation I'll jump at building a JABOD forge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 On 7/24/2019 at 2:10 PM, countermeasure said: What about this build? That's about one of the best fire pots I have used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.