So, my question is are any of you guys fans of, or fascinated by blacksmithing? Do some of you practice the trade?

I'll start with me, I'm am currently in Junior High, High School in six months , and I am an aspiring smith. I have always been fascinated by history and mythology, especially the Greeks. I want to recreate the weapons used in the stories of the heroes, demi-gods, and gods. I have gained a lot of inspiration through a pair of craftsman I have recently discovered. http://maddwarfworkshop.com/craftsmen.html They run the http://maddwarfworkshop.com/index.htm, they are young but have the talent and experience of one practicing for decades, they recreate the weapons of lore and fantasy, not like the new mainstream, completely outrageous fantasy weapons that are taking over society today, but interesting, beautiful, semi-realistic fantasy weapons, alot of them of their own design.
http://maddwarfworkshop.com/customswords.html
http://maddwarfworkshop.com/knives.html

What do you guys think of this group?What is you favorite piece of theirs or any group? And do you have any favorite groups or brands? They don't have to historic or fantasy.

Also, here are my favorite works by the Mad Dwarf Workshop.
http://maddwarfworkshop.com/knives/sieghaerd.html
http://maddwarfworkshop.com/knives/angrod.html
http://maddwarfworkshop.com/swords/vidgand.html

What are your favorite of their works?

I'm glad to see somebody younger than me interested in smithing. I became an apprentice of a blacksmith about a year and a half ago, and have never regretted it. If you stick with it, you will amaze yourself with the work you can do.
I gotta say http://maddwarfworkshop.com/knives/sieghaerd.html is my favorite.

I have a great admiration for those who keep old traditions in smithing, and crafting in general, alive. In these days, when just about everything you buy is fake or imitation and all together impersonal, it's nice to see something real and genuine.

And as for the smiths you mention in your post OP, I don't quite like the fantasy feel and aesthetic they're going for. Otherwise, they're quite cool (I watched some of the videos demonstration how the pieces were made).

I can't say that I've considered becoming a smith, but I've looked around on different sites for swords, like E-bay for instance. Some of the fantasy items I've seen there is not something I'd like to see again. But the site you linked? That I can appreciate! It's always good to see someone with a genuine interest and with good designs. http://maddwarfworkshop.com/swords/grundag.html caught my eye as soon as I opened the link.

Love the celtic continous line carvings in many of their hilts.

Nice.

I like Hildeofor and Angrod. Brug Hild and Haer Tjener are my favorite of the swords.

My two favorite swords would be the two my mom got during her military service. One's a west point cadet's sword and the other is a model 1902 Officer's sword.

Personally I wouldn't mind trying my hand at smithing, but it's just way to expensive to get the materials on my own. Love to try to make ornate jewelery or cool swords, but trying to sell my works in this current economy would be harsh.

Have you smithed any knives or any other weapons? And how much would a beginners forge setup be?

Nice to talk to an actual smith.

I have only made a couple dagger blanks, but I have never finished one. The setup I have was really cheap, I believe $350. If money is tight, it's relatively to make the equipment, the anvil would be the more costly part, usually running 200-1500 bucks new. Check out our local junk yards, or even talk to Andy and David and ask if they could sell you one cheap.
http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/forums/92/Metal-Working
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?act=idx
http://purgatoryironworks.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
http://www.kultofathena.com/ I haven't made anything worth selling to them, but you might try. (notice the red print)
One of those forums has a area for making your own forge and such, can't remember which one right now, because it's late and i'm going to bed. Best of luck to ya!

I wonder how many smiths nowadays don't use hydraulic for something? like just hand tools.

I've always thought about taking up smithing, but problem is, I still rent the place I live in with my girlfriend, but as soon as we're buying our own place, I'm gonna see if I can't build myself a forge in the back yard

Renaissance (Fair) smiths don't use machinery, but it makes the process much longer. But, why not use the technology if its there? Especially if this isn't just a hobby.


Is it important what material the anvil is? Or can I just get a cheap iron one as opposed to steel. I really want to make a pattern welded bowie, I think the natural looking curves are just beautiful on a knife. Also, what are some good materials to recycle into billets? I saw alot of people using old steel files.

I wold think if you found a 100-150 block of iron, it would work. As long as it has a flat side with no dents (if there are, it will reflect in the work). For a stand if you find a big log, or even cutting a 55 barrel down to the right height, and packing sand in it would work.
Files work good, wear a glove on the hand your holding it with, because it will tear your hand up. If you find any scrap metal large enough, practice making the blanks, that way when you use the good steel, you don't mess up on account of never doing it.
Books are your best friend. Go to your public library, and see if they have any smithing books. If not, make a request for the books, and they can get them from a different library.

My grandma was a Smith. Overrated. She said.

If you have an interest in making armor, http://www.arador.com/main/index.html, is full of good guides. Most of the things require a different set of tools, and almost everything is worked when cold.

Do you uses any hydraulic machines? If so, how much did those cost?

The only problem I have is I live in a neighborhood. and my garage is too used up to setup anything, . What did you use as your actually forge? And what did you use as your oxygen source?

Oddly, and from the "practice on junk" menitality of the above post, in the forum that I sent you, some were using old leaf springs from cars for billets. Also, sending you another link. Pay attention to "Harsey".

I've seen alot of people using leaf springs, I guess they have good flexibility and are common.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlUqZhUUXj0 is actually made out of a leaf spring.
Read that Leaf Springs are made of 5160 High Carbon steel. Is that good?

Electric sheep. At last.. hmy:

erm..check the link?

I do not, as i'm only in high school and they cost about http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/Templates/cart_templates/cart-detail.php?theLocation=/Resources/Products/Machinery/Industrial_Forging_Hammers thousand. The blacksmith i'm learning from has one, very useful for forge welding or making things that require mass amounts of pounding (like a sword).

Do you have a back yard with any room at all? You can store it outside if you put a tarp over it.
My forge is http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fast-autos.net/diecast-cars-models/diecast-car-image-large/champion-blacksmith-forge-and-blower_110611916267.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fast-autos.net/diecast-cars-models/CHAMPION-BLACKSMITH-FORGE-AND-BLOWER_110611916267.html&usg=__2YNsw8exPRqCqFdTCnrVeCVKD4g=&h=300&w=400&sz=41&hl=en&start=26&zoom=1&tbnid=MCiOcz8MgVkBDM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=157&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblacksmith%2Bforge%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1020%26bih%3D559%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C889&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=429&vpy=243&dur=508&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=146&ty=107&ei=Z0onTcnhPI36sAOmoPD-Bg&oei=WUonTbe6L4aisQPctvGDBw&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:26&biw=1020&bih=559 I don't like it much and would rather buy or make a much larger one. I use a hand crank to push air in.

What the fuu--? I honestly have no idea how that became the link, anywho, I fixed it.


I have a good sized back yard and a bit of woods, I'm not so worried about not having enough room but the noise and how my neighbors would react, oh well, I guess its not illegal or anything, they'll have to live with it Would a shop vac work for air?

I would hesitate to use a shop vac, because you can't control how much air is going in. You might leave a piece in for to long, and it might burn up. I would talk to andy and david about a good air supply.
The biggest problem with a forge is the smoke it puts off, when it starts up, and for reducing sound, try getting a leather strap, attaching weights to both ends, and place it on the horn of your anvil.

Edit: Do you have an air compressor?

Yep.

there is an attachment that just shoots the air out, and controls how much air is released. That might work for your air supply. :shrug: