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Blacksmithing For Beginners the Easy Way

Blacksmithing is an ancient art that goes back thousands of years. In modern times, with new technology it was almost lost but in the past decade or so it has made a remarkable revival. With a few simple materials (yes a forge too) you can enjoy this amazing hobby of smiting objects right in your own back yard. It really doesn't take a lot.

An Overview

What you do and what you need

Blacksmithing is the art and science of heating iron and steel to the point where it is soft enough to form into new shapes. That's pretty much blacksmithing in a nutshell.

How it is done and what you need:

1. The iron or steel is heated in a forge to a temperature that makes it glow cherry red, at this point it is malleable and you can shape it into new shapes. You need a forge for this.
2. While it is at this temperature you use various tools like an anvil and a hammer to change its shape.

SO, The tools and things we need?

1. We need a forge that will develop temperatures of up to about 1500 Fahrenheit and more.
2. We need some kind of fuel for that forge, usually coal
3. We need an anvil, a hammer and tongs to hold our metal while we are hammering

Making a backyard Forge

Just a few simple materials

This is a quick overview of a simple backyard forge. It is more than adequate for a beginner to do lots of blacksmithing on. This is a forge that I have made and use.
The basic concept is that you have a fan that blows air into a horizontal pipe which goes to a vertical pipe. This vertical pipe goes into the container where the coal is kept (labeled forge)t. In the case of this forge the container is the cowl of a lawn mower. They are connected by an old automobile brake drum (labeled fire pot). What i mean is that the brake drum is bolted to the bottom of the cowl and the vertical pipe is welded into that.

Pretty much as simple as that. You need an old brake drum, and a bit of piping along with a hairdryer. You have yourself a forge.

About the Coal

This can be a bit tricky

Depending on where you live it might be difficult to get coal for a forge. But a little bit of searching might turn up a supplier. You will be surprised. But you do have a very nice alternative. Most big home improvement stores carry something called Hardwood Lump Charcoal. It comes in bags just like barbecue briquets. This lump charcoal is perfect for forging. It gets to a hot enough temperature. I purchase these bags for around 7 dollars each. This lump charcoal is used by people who grill meats and want a certain flavor.

About the Anvil

You really don't need one to get started

We all very much identify a blacksmith with an anvil. Thats what they do right? wrong! The anvil is simply the best way to manipulate and hammer the steel and iron. But you dont' need it. To get started you could use a large log or even a one foot piece of railroad track. Improvise something to get yourself started. it has to be strong, solid and of course fire proof.

A Few tools and other things

Now that you have the forge, coal, and some kind of an anvil all you need is a few other things and you are ready to get started.

Supplies like steel: This is something that you can scrounge up in your daily travels and a trip to the local junkyard will prove fruitful. Springs and leaf springs from cars are very inexpensive and make for great blacksmithing.

A couple of hammers and some tongs - Blacksmithing hammers come in a wide variety of types depending on their intended use. But you can pick up a simple three pounded with a hickory handle and you are ready to start. And you will need some long handedl tongs to grab the hot steel and hold it while you hammer.

Safety: You are working with extreme temperatures so safety is of the utmost importance be sure to research safety and adhere to any guidelines such as wearing safety glasses, and protective clothing.

Just a Tad more in-depth

There is a lot of fun stuff to learn

Now of course blacksmithing can be an in depth pursuit and there can be a lot to learn. Let me just give you a bit of a teaser. Say you want to make a knife. Well, you would choose a steel that is appropriate so it will stay strong yet be flexible while holding an edge. You would shape this on the anvil then harden it to a specific temperature. Once it is cooled you heat it up again to a lower tempterature to temper it.

See, there is a lot of fun blacksmithing stuff you can learn. But the big thing I want to express in this lens is that you can get started pretty easily. You just learn things along the way.

Some ClosingThoughts of encouragement

You can do it!

I have talked to so many people who wish they could do some blacksmithing. But they almost always balk because of various reasons like they don't have a forge, or the metal, or the anvil. Or whatever. But the point I want to stress, which I have done in this lens, is that it really isn't that hard. You can get started in no time with just a few basic tools.
I recommend you continue researching the subject and maybe pick up a book or two. I have some recommended books right here on this lens. These are books that I own.

Great Stuff on Amazon

My recommended blacksmithing books to get you started.

Blacksmithing Videos

How to do blacksmithing basics

Videos on blacksmithing for beginners including how to make a backyard forge and some simple hammer techniques on the anvil.

Blacksmithing Links

Blacksmithing for beginners including projects, making a forge, selecting and finding steel and projects you can make including a knife.

Blacksmithing: All about the art of blacksmithing with tutorials, videos and more. How to make swords, armor and all sorts of medieval stuff on a home made forge.
Blacksmithing Videos: A Series of Videos on how to blacksmith for beginners.

Interested in Medieval things?

Check out my medieval blog

I write about a wide variety of medieval subjects including castles, blacksmithing, mead making, medieval weapons and more.

Follow me on Twitter

I am always posting lots of great tips, tutorials and information to my twitter account.

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by epicfantasy

I am a writer of epic fantasy. I have self published one novel, have completed my second novel and am working on my third. I maintain several websites... more »

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