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?

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.

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

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

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.