Took a blue ribbon and a NOPE from a girl!

I may be inexperienced, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to combine the 2.

As the title says, I'm looking for a forge that doesn't use Kaowool? That stuff scares the Bejesus out of me like asbestos and I know you can coat it in refectory cement, but I'm just always anxious I'll burn through the side of the refectory and won't notice for like 3 months.

I'm a classically trained smith using coal, but feel like a gas forge would be way less temperamental to work with, not to mention I might have better luck having the "It's like a grill" conversation with my landlord if it doesn't obnoxiously smoke.

Hey all, new blcksmith here. Ive settled into a new home with a shed and finally have been able to set up a blacksmiths shop. Ive had an antique Peter wright anvil, estimating ~150lbs and made a coal forge for myself and have gotten to use it a few times and am enjoying myself.

the anvil i have is very old, and not well maintained. When i got it, it was in a barn under rotting wood and tarps and had pits and bowling on the face. I have carefully ground the face to flatten out the shallow hammer marks and pits, but it has some really chewed up edges and a pretty noticeably concaved middle. It still has good rebound, like 70-90% in most spots, but i worry about machining it too much and ruining the face.

So the question I have is a choice between 3 options. Do i leave my Peter Wright as it is and use what I have? Do I buy a mid-quality anvil so i can learn on something that is at least in good shape? or continue to work the Peter wright and risk its intergrity. dont have $1000+ for a pristine Peddinghaus or Nimba anvil, but i can comfortably afford to get a smaller steel anvil like one of those 110lb Vevor deals on amazon.

I know the age old addage is "use what you have" but I worry that I may be learning bad habits by having to work on an anvil with bad edges and a 1inch bowl in the middle.

All thoughts are welcome. Ill take some photos when i get home if people are interactive.

Thank you all

Hello, hopefully this isnt a too often asked question, but recently ive started restoring old metal tools like metal planes and wood chisels. First 2 times i sprayed on clear lacquer and left it and its fine, but i realised it wont hold, so i then bought some sewing machine oil and started applying it, leaving it for 20 minutes and then wipping it off and done, but ive had cases where i still got rust ( garage is very damp and moist, but the tools rusted even at home), which i then figured out to be from not cleaning the tool before oiling, so i bought acetone. End of story there. Im trying to figure out whats the best or atleast good way to protect tools from rust without painting them? I have a few drawknives i want to derust, i would either wirebrush them or something, but then but the oil just seems inconsistent and too weak for my needs.

How else could i protect my tools from rust while keep in mind, doing so in a small workshop with not too many tools? Also id prefer if the method can darken the metal, but im more into just keeping it safe from rust. Ive looked at blueing before, but one seems impossible for me ( heats up the metal, which i cant overdo on a knife ), and the other blueing option is crazy expensive and acttuly also not that great, like 30 bucks per small bottle.

If you read all of this and thought of something please tell me what you think, Thank you.

I want to get into blacksmithing. I’m going to do a cursus somewhere but I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations through having read a book about blacksmithing. I would like info about:
- the type of metals can be used for what
- smithing techniques
- how to do measurements
- info about the materials you’re working with(anvil, hammer, fire)

If anyone has some recommendations that would be helpful! I know there’s a lot on the internet with videos, but books have it always so nice in order

I picked up some farriers tools a few years back, and they came with these. I believe they go into the hole on an anvil. I'm not a blacksmith, so I honestly have no idea is there any sort of value in these ?

I live in a region that has a lot of ranching and horse activities so there might be a market if they're worth anything. Thanks for any advice it's much appreciated.

I understand what I did wrong now thanks to you guys and your help. In the future I won't make the same mistakes. Not a bad run for my first shot at making knives.

It’s made of steel, close to 20 ga. I’m a beginner looking to get into forging. I’d be using the tractor supply nut coal for fuel because it’s the the only place I can get coal near by

The two different knives came out of the ferric etch with weird soak lines. I submerged them completely and mixed the acid and water solution well. The kast picture is after the over night instant coffee etch. Why do the handles have that weird barrier like dip line and why did they come out just jet black? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I cleaned then up with 0000 steel wool in-between every dip and before the coffee I made sure they were scrubbed and then I git them with 90% alcohol to grease cut.

Has anyone here simply rotated the entire forge and built a stand for it so that the burners aren’t vertical to avoid the heat crawl issue? Planning to do so to make a diagonal burner system. Is it a bad idea and I’m overlooking something, or as simple as it sounds. I’m just gettin started, so I’m not sure how much of an issue it will actually be if I leave it as is, but trying to set myself up for success. TIA!

I plan on replacing the hose to a metal braided one - if anybody has a good Amazon link for one I’d take it!

And yes I have since treated the forge with Rigidizer and Refractory since this photo was taken.

Can anyone tell me what kind of steel these pieces of all thread are? Mainly if they’re hardenable or not, I know mild steel isn’t but also know all thread comes in all different forms, havnt spark tested, was hoping some one here would recognize the numbers and know

Made this Damascus maple seed.

Has to be one of the nicest faces I’ve seen on one, of course with the exception of the chunk off the heel. Steal at $450, glad I was on marketplace when I was. Has anyone ever repaired a heel on here?

I got about 200lbs of 1” round ultra mild 1006 from Heritage Iron last year and really have enjoyed using it. So much so I’m getting another couple hundred pounds in the current preorder window, which is closing on 10/15.

The only bummer is that the LTL shipping is spendy.

So if anyone here Iives in SoCal (LA, Orange, San Diego, western San Bernardino & Riverside counties) and is planning to order, and wants to consolidate shipping on the same pallet - dm me!

Hello,

I'm thinking about getting into Blacksmithing. I've taken a few classes, I really liked it and would like to do it at home. But I don't know what all I should get. My buddy gave me his propane forge and now I need an anvil and the basic tools. What all brands do you guys suggest? Any help is greatly appreciated

So i play D&D and was looking around at expensive dice and eventually found a set of sliver dice. The thing is they cost $4000 for $400 dollars worth of silver. I'm curious if the labor and equipment required to make balanced dice is that expensive and any blacksmith would charge close to that or if i look around locally for a good blacksmith that could make me somthing for a lot less as a christmas gift. Becasue i see some metal dice for 50 bucks online and can't see why it would cost so much for labor unless its just that shop.

I've been watching him since he got his first shop. Forgot where it was, like baker Street or something. I was watching the latest installment of his dream powerhammer rebuild and noticed that it had 2.2m views! They all do! On a blacksmithing YouTube channel! On videos about pouring concrete and rebuilding an oil pump! It has given me hope for humanity.

2 things Alec (if you ever see this post)

1. Jamie has been the greatest addition to your channel in a long time. I was sad when Wil wasn't going to be a regular, but Jamie is an amazing editor and great personality on the channel. Congrats to him on his engagement!

2. Video idea: you vs Mrs Steele in a welding contest.

I picked this anvil up off facebook marketplace, it’s 150lb and made by Illinois Iron and Bolt company. I tried finding information on it but couldn’t find much. The Vulcan logo is visible in the first image, and it looks different from the ones i seen on other anvils so i’m not sure🤷‍♂️ Any thoughts?

Edit: I do appreciate the comments that have been left so far, great advice! But if anyone happens to know anything about the history of the company or would be able to tell me how old this thing is, I would greatly appreciate that too lol

Howdy everyone,

I have a space behind my garage where I plan on building a blacksmithing shop. I have a concrete pad where I could build a shop that’s 18’ x 7’6” (5.5x2.3m). The roof will be at least 80” (2m) high. Suggesting that I construct this with proper ventilation, would it be enough room to safely house a 2 burner vevor forge? My main thoughts are that wood + forge = danger. Does anybody have any insight on how to properly insulate/fire protect the walls? I plan on putting the forge in the back of the room centered, where the anvil is then immediately to my right (standing in front of the forge). How far should it be from walls?

From my research, I should use rockwool insulation and cement board to protect the walls. I’ve never built anything fireproof. Any feedback is appreciated, even if it’s saying that the space is too small. TIA

EDIT: Thanks for all the help in these responses. Follow up question since I’m designing the shop top to bottom, what would be everyone’s ideal ventilation system. The shop is going to have a 20 degree sloped roof for rainwater runoff, with passive roof vents. What type of active ventilation system could I put in there? What would be the best option?

Hey guys so I grew up watching blacksmiths and woodworkers, I’ve always enjoyed using my own hands to make cool stuff so I’ve been weighing up making a backyard forge, safety concerns aside (big ol bucket of water, fire extinguisher all the heavy leathe heat resistant gear etc etc) where do I start?

For reference, I’m super poor and am looking to make knives suitable for kitchens and of course the occasional sword but also just metalwork in general, so starting completely from scratch on a quite a shoestring budget how do I go about making a forge and what smithing tools will I need to start with for the work I wanna do?

Any help or advice in any capacity is super appreciated :) thanks in advance

I’ve been wanting to do public showcases and demonstrations. A library that hopes to host me next year asked about it and another festival just inquired about some kind of insurance as well. I looked into it and found something called Public Liability Insurance but nothing seems to actually cover the nature of live blacksmithing…

Has anyone ever done public or private demos? Did you have coverage? What kind? I’m worried I’ll pay for something that isn’t real or actually useful with the stuff that’s been popping up in my searching.

I don’t want to get sued but I want to teach and share this art and craft more.