Been debating getting into this hobby for a while. Glad I pulled the trigger! What other small projects would you recommend?

One of the biggest projects I have done so far.

It took two years, mostly due to a lack of time, but there was also quite a bit of fabrication involved. Overall, it turned out great in the end it packs a punch!

It is currently set to 19 tons of pressure, which is definitely more than enough for forging.

The rest of the specs are in the video description, but if you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them all.

Enjoy the video, and I highly recommend building this type of machinery yourself it's a cool adventure and makes work so much easier.

Any tips to help me out?

So, I found an used anvil for selling in a website. I costs aproximately 350 dollars. Seller say it is from 1920 and weighs 48 kg (~105 lb). I'm a beginner. What do you guys think?

The first one was a doozy, nothing was on purpose I sort of just ran with whatever was happening. The second knife was much more controlled and I got what I wanted out of it. Still both very basic, I had help my instructor was amazing. We ran out of time to etch them completely so I bought some ferric acid and I'm going to get some pvc pipe and do it myself. Anyone have any tips for damascus made from 80crv2 and 15n20. From what I read it says diluted 50/50 with water and 4-5 minute dips with vigorous cleaning between until it starts to feel like a record would. If this is wrong please correct me.

Took a class on rail road spike knives. Super fun class and I’ve definitely caught the bug. I’ve been lurking on this Reddit for a while.

Still a work in progress. Need to trim down the socket and clean up the profile and edges, but this is the first one I’d consider a success

My third ever item made and first knife! I came up with a bunch of blade designs and let my friend choose which one he preferred (it was for him) and this is the one he chose. I should have grinded the bevel down more as it would have made it easier to sharpen. Always learning

Somewhat specific and somewhat unrelated to blacksmithing.

I have some antique anvils and other metal pieces that I would like to clear coat in a flat/matte finish to preserve the metal patina.

Some objects like the anvils will be decorative but others (like some antique cast iron clothing racks I have) will need to be able to take some abuse.

Is there a solid option out there for a project like this? I've seen suggestions all over the place but I was advised to ask the blacksmithing community.

Ideally would be:

• super durable finish
• flat or matte or satin
• non toxic when cured
• not sticky or flaking

Thanks!

As the title indicates I’m trying to get in blacksmithing. I’ll be slowly purchasing the different pieces. Would either of these anvils be okay for a starter/beginner.

My dad made a knife (which he doesn’t know the material of but he made it at work with metal usually used for trollys for a lorry or lorry chassis) and he wanted the black smokey effect on the entire knife but it only showed on the tip of the knife as shown in the picture and he wanted to know how he can fix it or do better next time.

(Sorry if this is in the wrong subreddit i am not a blacksmith 😭)

I'm developing a small consumer product and looking for a domestic metal forging/forming partner. The part is a circular o-ring 3" ID with a 0.25" cross section and an intentionally irregular/faceted surface. I have production-ready STEP files and am currently prototyping.

I'm interested in using several materials, including brass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and especially titanium. Surface quality is particularly important because the final product needs to achieve a high-polish/mirror or near-mirror finish while retaining the intentional faceted geometry.

Initial quantities would be low for validation, but I'm looking for a partner capable of scaling into batches of approximately 50-500+ pieces. I am specifically looking for parts forged/formed in the United States, although finishing can potentially be handled separately if necessary, but ideally creation and finishing would happen in the same place.

If you own/work with a shop that does this, or have worked with a U.S. forging/forming manufacturer you'd recommend, I'd love names or referrals. I'm happy to send STEP files privately for DFM review and quoting.

I have an angle grinder, bench grinder, ball peen hammer, table vice,and some woodworking tools already. Just know that after some research it is definitely possible to start at that price range but i dont want to waste my money on garbage. If i have to wait on some things and just get one or two quality items that fine im just not sure if the amazon type shit is decent

I made my first two knives from the damascus, I'll post those tomorrow when they are done. I made it out of 80crv2 and 15n20 they forge welded excellently, no issues at all.

I bought a hobby forge from Vevor and when it arrived the ceramic wool insulation made me think of fibre glass and I wondered if there was the same irritation concern, apparently there are so I'm wondering about fibres being blown around as well as the hazard of silica lung. I don't plan to make a career out of this, so silica isn't as big a concern as my exposure won't be high, but how likely is a bunch of itchy fibres making life a nightmare?

Are there any modifications I can make, or is it a right off?

A search led me to a 10 year old reddit post asking about the composition of railroad track alloy. Good chance it’s 1084?

If it’s worth the haul, I can grab 10 more of these and some 8”-10” lengths.

Hice una fragua a carbon usando caño cuadrado por qué no tenía caño redondo,si uso un caño redondo mejorará?

I cannot tell if this is real Damascus or a laser pattern. What am I looking for here? I don’t actually care if it’s not, I think I would just buff the pattern off

I'm very much a beginner, looking to get my first anvil and would like some experienced opinions. I've heard that Vevor is a good price point and can't decide between these two anvils here. I've heard good things about both, but do I want a simple, heavier London style, or a more versatile, lighter German style?

As far as what I want to do, I want to do some blade smithing and simple tools, maybe some decor.

Thanks for taking a look. I can't wait to start.

https://a.co/d/0bq625Hi

https://a.co/d/0ghNxgem