(Part 2) Top products from r/Bladesmith

I too was in your position just a few years back. Here is a list of my recommendations for the entry-level versions of the items you listed above as well as some other things I like to have handy.

• Hammer, $15; This hammer is cheap, it has a peen (for drawing out metal) and is... well... a hammer.
  
• Anvil, $60; This anvil is definitely a beginner anvil but it is what I used for two years until I upgraded. You can pick it up in most all Harbor Freight stores as I assume there is one in every state.
  
• Tongs, $15; This set of pliers will help with quite a few things the main being to hold the metal once heated. I know that these are not what one thinks about when they think "blacksmithing tongs" but I have used similar ones for the entire time I have forged due to their versatility.
  
• Apron, $25; I personally have not used this exact apron before but it is cheap and though not beautiful, it is functional and trust me, spending $25 now on this may very well save you 100 times that in hospital bills.
  
• Gloves, $20; These are the gloves I use at my forge and I can say that there is little to no loss of dexterity and they provide ample heat resistance.
  
• Forge; This is the one piece that deters people the most as it is the most expensive piece. The type of forge you get depends on your budget and your ability/aptitude for DIY work. Here are my recommendations for three different budget levels.
  

• High-End Budget; 2 Burner Blacksmith Forge $489.95
  
• Mid-Level Budget; 1 Burner Blacksmith Forge $350
  
• Entry-Level Budget; This Video will take you through the process of making a Coffee Can Forge. They are suitable for the entry level smith and can, if done right, be made for less than $150.
  
  Now for my personal suggestions;
  
  

• Grinder, $55; This Handy-Dandy little grinder is what I use for most all of my knife smithing. It is pretty cheap and a great entry-level piece of equipment.
  
• Metal, $5-$20; When you are starting off, I highly advise to start with the tool steel available at Home Depot and/or Harbor Freight because they are very cheap and you can stand to mess up without wasting expensive metal.
  
• This Book is what I began learning with and it comes packed with a number of starter projects to help you get started on learning basic skills as well as acting as a reference later on down the line.
  
  I hope this list helps and I wish you well on your journey in beginning Bladesmithing!
  
  
• O

You've thankfully got a lot of resources available online to help get you started. A good beginners tutorial can be found here on how to make your own custom knife from scratch with minimal equipment.

I tend to use Jantz Supply for a lot of my supplies including steel and kydex.

I'd highly recommend joining up for free on Blade Forums and browsing around the shop-talk forums. Tons of useful information by people that are just beginning and people who've been doing it for decades.

There's really tons of material online to help you figure out which steel to use. If you're just starting, I'd recommend sticking with something simple like 1095 high carbon, maybe 440C stainless. Here is a surprisingly good article written about it from an unexpected place. If you get the chance, pick up this book: The Master Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas. It's practically the knife-maker's bible.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions!

Okay going to make this short and concise. These are all my opinions to make blades.

• Steel from here (start with 1084 or 1095 and you can either start with .156 or .187 for thickness (.187 is on the THICK side), or you can also get .125 thick for thinner projects. And 1.5 inches wide is the smallest i would go, or you can get 2 inches wide to be safe)
  
  
• Lots of different files, this one will help to start with though
  
  
  
• This belt sander does amazing to start out with
  
  
  Going to need lots of belts for it, here are some. Would suggest getting the 50 grit (please remember he will need multiple amounts of these so get a few of them). I would also suggest grabbing the 120 grit to take some deep scratches out. However the 320 isn't necessary as you can do all that by hand with regular sand paper.
  
  
• 1x30 50grit
  
  
• 1x30 120grit
  
  
• 1x30 320grit
  
  
  Hopefully in the yard or somewhere he can have a workbench set up because having a benchvise is such a luxury.
  
  
• This vice would do the trick
  
  
  
• The magical angle grinder, you can pick this up locally or order online
  
  
• It will need some of these
  
  
  Hand sanding paper (The fun stuff)
  
  
• 320grit
  
  
• 600grit
  
  
• 1000grit
  
  
  Also a sharpening stone will be very helpful however i don't have much knowledge as the best way to go with these. After doing some research, This stone seems like it would do the trick for the most part
  
  I forgot about these, 2 should be okay if he doesnt already have some
  
  
  Assuming you do not buy the 320 grit belts, and buy (5) 50 grit, and (5) 120 grit belts.
  
  The total comes to right around 308.36
  
  I failed you by breaking the budget, but your man is worth the 8 extra dollars :b Make him give you a foot rub and take you out for a nice dinner or something to repay the debt haha. GL and let me know if you have any other questions.
  
  Would like to note that all of this is for making the process easier. You can do all of this with 1 bench vise, 1 hand file, a hack saw and some steel. It would just take a long time and be extra tough! But absolutely doable without all of these gadgets

I have used Rutlands Fireplace Mortar to very good results. The key being that you cure the mortar to the blade before heat treat. You want it to stick to the blade during the crucial quench to develop the hamon. It needs to stay put on the blade, keeping that part you want to quench slowly as hot as possible for as long as possible. I would put it on thick, and generously. Leave the part of the blade that you want to harden, completely uncovered. You want that to quench as quickly as possible, especially with 1095. It's finicky about that and requires a very fast quench. The better that you accomplish those two things, the better your hamon will look. I found the best place for me in my location to get the stuff is Amazon. Here is a link to it for reference. Good luck and post your results!

(link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H5T0KO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 )

I'm dealing with the same issue. I've had the opportunity to use the Grizzy sander but not extensively, seems good for dressing tools but I don't know about large amounts of stock removal. Belt grinders are just so expensive!

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G1015-Knife-Sander-Buffer/dp/B0000DD0AL/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_1_0

This one is the next step up I would say, a true belt grinder for not a bad price, just still a bit out of my budget and there are apparently a few problems with it. I wish I had a first hand account of whether it was worth it because it seems perfect.

I have a good old fashioned Lansky diamond stone set. Works like a charm, and I dare say it will be around long after I'm gone. I don't make so many knives that I would ever need a faster sharpening system though, I can see how you'd need to upgrade pretty quick if you were trying to do anything quickly or in bulk.
 
Amazon

I like this one for woodworking. I'd believe there is some good crossover: http://www.amazon.com/Woodworkers-Guide-Pricing-Your-Work/dp/1558703721

I don't have one for founding a small business off the top of my head. Go to your local library and your town probably has an office for businesses. I know that where I grew up offers classes, have meetings, and help people get started by informing them of local resources.

As /u/Ermott stated, if you've got a few years of free time, there is no shortage at all of information to be found online.

If you specifically want a book for reference, here's the list. (I own and have read, and re-read every book here.)

Stock removal knife macking -
Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop, revised
How to Mack Knives, by Barney and Loveless

When you're ready to move up a few notches in complexity -
The Tactical Folding Knife, by Terzuola

If forging is more your thing -
The Complete Bladesmith, by Hrisoulas

An overview (and extremely interesting) look at how different modern mackers go about macking knives -
Blade's Guide to Macking Knives

And finally, the condensed Q&A for everything the aspiring knife macker could ever want to know -
The Wonder of Knife Macking, by Goddard
The second edition of this books has mixed reviews centering on poor editing, I've read and recommend the first edition, though slightly dated, for it's solid insight into so many areas of knife macking.

I hope this helps you, don't forget to come back and post photos of the knives you mack!

We have quite a library of books about damascus, but this one is the best for me:
https://www.amazon.com/Damascus-Steel-Practice-Gunther-Lobach/dp/0764342940

Ok so alot of creating a blade from this point is sanding and polishing, and alot of doing it well comes down to technique. Technique mostly revolves around holding the blade at the right angle to the belt and doing so consistently. By far the best book I know of for sword makers (which I am) is this one here (not written by me but the definitive guide as far as I am concerned): https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Sword-Modern-World-2nd/dp/1481891472/ref=la_B00A6X16X6_1_9/131-5853081-3985969?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493741383&sr=1-9

Pick up a copy of The New Edge of the Anvil. Or go to either Project Gutenberg or the Open Library, search for blacksmithing books, download, and go to town. :)

If I wanted to make a propane forge could I use this propane head ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008ZA0C/ref=pd_aw_sbs_2?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1 ) and just attach it to the side of the forge or do I need something like a trigger start torch ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008ZA09/ref=pd_aw_sbs_3?pi=SY115&simLd=1 )?

I know this is a dumb question but I'm on a budget for my starter setup

Or is this closer to what you're thinking?:

https://www.amazon.com/Kwokker-Tungsten-Triangle-Professional-Concrete/dp/B07QZRLD4L/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=tungsten+masonry+drill+bit&qid=1562896098&refinements=p_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A5485872011&rnid=3071213011&s=gateway&sr=8-3

According to Ian Ferguson

Aluminum. . . "due to it's low melting point and ability to form low temperature phases, it is limited in its application with other metals."

https://www.amazon.com/Mokume-Gane-Ian-Ferguson/dp/0873499018

I don't know a whole lot yet about knife making, but I do know that if you are grinding metal you need to be wearing respiratory protection. Metal dust is no bueno for your lungs. In the limited reading that I've done, a standard 3M respirator mask with the P100 filters should be sufficient. [The price is right too] https://www.amazon.com/3M-Facepiece-Respirator-6291-Particulate/dp/B000FTEDMM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1468293781&sr=8-5&keywords=3m+respirator

I know OSHA regulations don't allow for a beard when using an N95 mask and only allows for limited facial hair, IE goatee or mustache, so take that for what its worth, YMMV.

Don't use scrap steel. Go here http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/ and buy some 3/32" 1075 (2) inches wide. Cut out your pattern using some cheap, thin (1/8" thick) A36 steel plate that you can get at a scrap yard. Draw your pattern on paper, cut it out (roughly) and glue it to the A36 with that white glue we used in the first grade. Drill the rivet holes BEFORE you cut out the pattern. Cause once you cut out the pattern it is difficult to clamp in a vice. Once you have the pattern the way you want it clamp the pattern to the 1075 down on your bench and etch around it and mark the holes with this https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-88-Tungsten-Carbide/dp/B00004T7S0/ref=pd_yo_rr_bia_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6KE1W903PPP22FSCHQC6 Drill the holes BEFORE you cut it out. Buy some temp ssticks at a welding store. Get 1450 degree and 1500 degree sticks. That way you will know when its hot enough to quench. Canola oil is ok to quench 1075.