New here

[smjclj]

Hey all, I'm new here. Never done any smithing of any kind but want to learn bladesmithing. Not really sure why. I've done some woodworking but have always been fascinated by blades. It's just something I would like to do before I die. Would like to make some knives for my sons and my brothers and just so I could say "Yeah, I did that". I build buildings for a living but really want to do something more intimate like a knife. I look for knives at shops every where I go. Don't buy very many but just Ooh and Aah over them. Weird, I know.

I move around alot with the work that I do. I am building hospitals right now. I currently am working on the 10th hospital that I have built. They are much more involved then other buildings and I just like that kind of work. I'm not real good with my hands but have built a few nice pieces of furniture and would like to expand my abilities to make things. Knives are a basic tool for every type of work that can be imagined and I would like to make some for gifts. I don't see myself as becoming a knifemaker for a business. I'm just not fast enough for that kind of activity. I just like to take it slow and do it right. It generally takes me 6 months or so to build a piece of furniture that an accomplished woodworker can do in a weekend or two.

I want to outfit my backyard shop with an anvil and forge but do not know where to start to do that. Any help? Thanks, and hello again.

Chris

[Howie]

Welcome to the forums! There are links to sections called Getting Started and Lessons in Metalwork on the Frontpage. You can also find links to Blueprints at the top of the same page. All of them have a lot of VERY useful information. I'm still going over them myself almost daily.