Reddit reviews Plain and Ornamental Forging

typical beginner projects that i've seen include tongs, bottle openers, round-square-round practice, nails, hammers.

depending on how deep into the art you want to get, if you want to mainly focus on knives, then i'd stick with them; start with basic utility blades, work your way up to fighting knives, and eventually kitchen knives. if you want to dive head first into the art as a whole, then work on decorative stuff; art pieces, s-hooks, wall-mount hangers, whatever. one of the best resources for beginning and experienced smiths alike is Plain and Ornamental Forging (https://www.amazon.com/Plain-Ornamental-Forging-Ernst-Schwarzkopf/dp/1879335956)