(Part 2) Top products from r/Blacksmith

For any beginner, I highly recommend Traditional Blacksmithing by John Holstrom.

Holstrom wrote this book, originally released as Modern Blacksmithing, which is a compilation of notes he took while he was working, in 1904. This is not a guide to techniques and methods of Blacksmithing; this a book of wisdom. Holstrom begins his book with a discussion of what it takes to be a good smith. According to Holstrom,

>"the smith [in the old days] was a well-liked person in society, respected and even admired for his skill, his gentlemanly behavior, and good language".

He discusses the importance of a well maintained shop, and upholding a good work ethic. Alongside this, you will find a wealth of tips and tricks to use around the anvil and forge. Overall, it's a great little book and definitely worthy of a good read.

I would suggest picking up a book or two in that case. I highly recommend "The Complete Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas and 'The Wonder of Knifemaking" by Wayne Goddard. I have both and they are very good at laying down the steps for making a knife. Also, make sure you learn about knife steel. You won't find it in a local store, but will need to be purchased online (most of the time). Pick a simple steel like 1080/1084 and start using that. Get good at heat treating it, and the move to something else. 5160 is also good to start. Both are forgiving.

I read 3 books, one which was not very good and 2 that were phenomenal.

My favorite was probably The Backyard Blacksmith. It had great information and detail. I couldn't have been happier.

The Home Blacksmith was pretty good and has given me some projects for the future.

The one I did NOT like was The DIY Blacksmithing Book. It was garbage. It was little more than a pamphlet. looking around in google and youtube provided MUCH more useful information than this book. For a few dollars more the other books were MASSIVELY more helpful. The "DIY Blacksmithing Book" was a complete waste of money.

Sorry, no guide as I built it on the fly, but it isn't too hard. I can give you a parts list tho. The tank is 10lbs, and I used 25"x24"x2" kaowool, 6 fire bricks, and some refractory cement. The only thing you'll need other than this stuff, is a couple 2" black pipe nipples for the inlets and the stand is recycled angle iron from bed frames. The burners are called Frosty 'T' and the plans are available just about anywhere, tho one thing I'd recommend is talking to a gas certified plumber when it comes to doing the propane plumbing. According to some of the guys I showed the plans to, many of the online tutorials recommend fittings that aren't rated for propane, so they'll steer you the right way. The regulator I used is this one, which I chose because it's all metal construction makes it more durable than the plastic ones. https://www.amazon.ca/Bayou-Classic-5HPR-40-Adjustable-Regulator/dp/B0033JF0GE/ref=sr_1_34?keywords=propane+regulator&qid=1566264229&s=gateway&sr=8-34

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Any other questions, feel free to give me a holler.

There are four others that I know of. There is the Foxfire Christmas book, Cook book, Simple living, and Stories. I know you can get them on amazon or at the Foxifire fund website. I wish there were other book series that almost act like an encyclopedia of the area. Also who ever designed the 12th book needs to be slapped. Why would you suddenly put the number in the middle of the spine when every other one was at the top.

Jump on amazon and buy a blacksmith beginners book for $15ish it will have a lot of the info you need to get started, as well as good beginner projects. Saves you a lot of time since it's written by a pro, and has been edited to make it easy to understand.

Your best resource is the resident blacksmith. But here are the books I've taught myself with:
* The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims

• The Art of Blacksmithing by Alex Bealer
  
• The Blacksmith's Craft by Charles McRaven
  
• Practical Blacksmithing by M.T. Richardson
  
• Practical Blacksmithing & Metalworking by Percy W. Blandford
  
• A Blacksmithing Primer by Randy McDaniel
  
  I am incredibly jealous of your opportunity, that living history stuff always seems like a blast.

My forge is actually raised up from the table on legs, so I just put a piece of sheet metal underneath to stop any burning on the wood and it works great for me. For the wheels on the anvil, I used workbench caster wheels. They have levers on them to raise and lower the bottom surface of the log, so it can be set in position once you want to forge and roll away when you want to pack up. They work really well if you need your smithy to be be put away once you’re done. Here’s the link for the ones I bought-


https://www.amazon.com/SOLEJAZZ-Workbench-Retractable-Capacity-Construction/dp/B07V6X2LNB

Here's a really good book on the mastermyr find: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0965075516/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=KNSRDVK24FVX&coliid=I33J3KPJMLCFM9

learn G-code, learn how to read blueprints and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, get a good understanding of the cartesian coordinate system and acquire basic machining skills.

If you have a trade school nearby, you can take a course in machine shop, usually they'll have an intro to CNC. This book will teach you everything you need to know about G-code.

I like atlas forges knife maker forge Here

And hells forge 2 burner here

Reminds me of a japanese noodle knife like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TPJ8NK/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001KN54FM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=2W5172T4VTTJB1E655MW

I would add:

• Blacksmithing Basics for the Homestead by Joe DeLaRonde
  
• Volume I:
  Mastering the Fundamentals Of Blacksmithing by Mark Aspery
  
  And I would second
  > I am incredibly jealous of your opportunity, that living history stuff always seems like a blast.

It's French. I would not be surprised if it was strictly an aesthetic thing.

As I discussed in another post, the short dimension between the face and handle centerline on traditional French hammers throws me off, I guess because I have been using hammers with a longer dimension for so long. I do have one which I thought was a French pattern that I have been using for close to two decades, only to discover in the last couple of years that in fact it is not French at all. It is something called a joiners hammer and I have no idea how it is supposed to be used. It sounds like something to do with carpentry or cabinet making. It looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Stubai-Joiners-Hammer-14-Oz/dp/B0056O37X2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1462083228&sr=8-4&keywords=joiners+hammer

It seems like the proportions are very similar to the hammer you made. The description says the pein is used for starting small nails but in truth it seems ill suited for those purposes. It does have a face/centerline dimension that is very similar to the Swedish forging hammers I have been using for a very long time. I use it for very light work and for planishing.

Here is the mobile version of your link

A how-to book: https://www.amazon.com/Spruce-Forge-Manual-Locksmithing-Blacksmiths/dp/0615118224

Here is the mobile version of your link

https://www.amazon.com/Damascus-Steel-Practice-Gunther-L%25C2%2594obach/dp/0764342940

I don't remember where I saw this but it was from a professional knife sharpener that worked for a butcher. They said that while carbon steel started out sharper it dulled faster when cutting read meat. It has something to do with a chemical reaction to the iron in the meat reacting with the blade metal. So the overall outcome was that stainless held an edge better for a longer time than a carbons steel blade even though the carbon steel started out a bit sharper. With that in mind have you tried a ceramic knife?

edit: I think it was a book and I think that book was The Razor's Edge Book Of Sharpening. John Juranitch worked a lot with butchers and his sharpening techniques focus on that application.

I use this
Bayou Classic 5HPR-40 48-Inch LPG Hose, High Pressure Adjustable Regulator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033JF0GE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.MojDbWM0V1W4
All the ones that had hand tightened plastic fittings leaked.

Edit: forgot to reply in comment.


I ordered the hells forge HF2. At first I just wanted something for heat treating knives. But a buddy of mine got me hooked on doing more blacksmithing. He and I will be building a couple (one for him and one for me) larger forges with ribbon burners. But for now this one will do everything I need it to.

Hell's Forge Portable Propane Double Burner Large Capacity Knife and Tool Making Farrier Forge MADE IN THE USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJYMB2D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ST7XCbE0MKBQ6

Lemme know what ya think. It does come with a couple fire bricks for the floor and some satanite (sp?) to coat the inside with as well. User has to apply it as I guess it would crack and break during shipping.