New Blade Smith FAQ

**Casey Sutherland** · 03-09-2008, 08:25 PM

I’m looking into becoming a weekend blade smith and simply make things for my own personal use. I’m interested in knowing what kind of things I would need for the smallest projects (small knives and such). There is not a school or class near me so I would have to be completely self-taught (from what I’ve seen that is frowned upon here). So I guess I’m looking for just a basic list of thing I would need to start this task.

Thanks for your help

**Ruud B** · 03-10-2008, 02:52 AM

Charcoal, lighter, blower, tongs, anvil, hammer, bucket of water.

**Remy B** · 03-10-2008, 06:35 AM

And dont forget the polishing stones and steel pieces!

**Jeroen Zuiderwijk** · 03-10-2008, 07:42 AM

And lots and lots of patience and determination

**Thomas Powers** · 03-10-2008, 01:01 PM

http://www.abana-chapter.com/ only lists two groups in Minnesota, I would contact the closest and see if they know of any smiths local to your area as even a brief hands on afternoon will speed up the learning curve a lot!

(Shoot we only have 1 group in NM though we are building up a southern group)

**Thomas Barnett** · 03-13-2008, 11:41 AM

Technically, MN has 3 groups, 1 in the Twin Cities, 1 in Duluth and 1 by Bemidji. The last one is noted for their knife guys. Although the Twin Cities group is no slouch either (I think Mike Blue is out here somewhere . . . )

That said, I think they all have a set or 2 of knife classes throughout the year. Feel free to PM me with what city you are closest to and I can check around.

**Casey Sutherland** · 03-16-2008, 02:37 PM

ok so where would i be able to buy these materials and for the classes what would i need?

**F.Zara** · 03-16-2008, 04:14 PM

Try www.knifekits.com they sell raw material as well as ready made kits at various difficulty levels.

**Glen C.** · 03-16-2008, 04:54 PM

Hi Casey,

You might find the following thread useful. It was begun some years ago but does contain some useful information and links.

Getting Started In Blade Making And Blade Smithing

Cheers

Hotspur; I've gone ahead and made this sticky and changed the title

**Sam Salvati** · 03-16-2008, 07:39 PM

No one said books! I recommend all 3 and soon the 4th book by Jim Hrisoulas, Craft of the Japanese sword by Yoshindo and the Kapp brothers.

**Glen C.** · 03-16-2008, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by Sam Salvati

No one said books! I recommend all 3 and soon the 4th book by Jim Hrisoulas, Craft of the Japanese sword by Yoshindo and the Kapp brothers.

The thread I linked to has a good list of titles, including some of these. There has also been a sticky books thread here for a couple of months anyone is welcome to add titles to. We also have the non-fiction book section that may not be very well travelled but also can be reviewed and added to.

In the Spotlight Threads section of the General forum are some other related threads regarding smiths and resources. As always, I suggest to everyone that it is not a bad idea to set your forum viewing preferences to read the forums from the beginning and not just the default period. Subsections may appear inactive and still contain many worthwhile references. The thread linked in my first post is in the FAQ section of the Beginner's forum. Within that thread are a good many threads some have taken the time to link.

Cheers

Hotspur; we may eventually have a wiki program instelled but not at this point

**Ruud B** · 03-17-2008, 02:31 AM

I could not find the origional tread on SFI, I made a copy on my website.
It hold many online links for bladesmith tutorials.
http://home01.wxs.nl/~bout0050/how_t...for_swords.htm

**John Bigbe** · 03-26-2008, 04:21 PM

hello,

i am new to sword crafting and blacksmithing so i would like some ppl too leave me links for metal how to make everything what i need to do it and how to buy or make the things i need

**Thomas Powers** · 03-27-2008, 10:30 AM

John it would help to know what country you are in as it allows the folks from that area to make more directed suggestions.

If you are big on making things yourself I would recommend "The Complet Modern Blacksmith" by Weygers as a starter book as he has definitely the scrounge and make do style.

Also if you live in the USA your local library can probably ILL almost any smithing book out there.

I am of an opinion that a few pages of website does a poor job of replacing hundreds of pages of books and would suggest you start ILL'l titles and use the web to ask for clarification or explainations---where it excells!

However iforgeiron.com and anvilfire.com both have sections for beginning smiths as well as hundreds of projects that can help train you skills so you can make decent blades.

**Mvandine** · 04-03-2008, 01:51 PM

Cold, hard... Nope, not steel... You guessed it, Cash. Having a steady income and lots of pocket change to spare greatly catylizes the and quality of your projects, if you're broke like me, expect to only make a blade every 4-6 weeks. But hey it gives you a lot of time to study and research.

**Matt. O** · 07-21-2008, 02:07 PM

Hi,
I am new and primarily came here to obtain information about where I can learn blacksmith skills. I am primarily interested in Katana making but all blacksmithing is interesting to me and worth learning. I can't seem to find any information or resources in my area about this kind work. I live in central Vermont USA and would appreciate any info about how or where to get into sword making.

Thanks

Matt

**Richard Furrer** · 07-22-2008, 07:32 AM

Casey,
Were any of the Minn groups of help? I highly suggest you attend one of the gatherings as it will take years off your learning curve.

Ric

**Nick Yuknalis** · 07-27-2008, 04:57 PM

Hi, I always wanted to make a sword, but i truly don't know where to start. Can someone please give me tips on how to get started and where to get supplies and equipment.

**Casey Sutherland** · 08-13-2008, 11:52 PM

Well I’m back after researching and getting help from various places online I have made a couple of blades that I’m proud to show off. Now I’m sure they are nowhere near your standards but I think they are ok.

This was my early forge and the one I used on my first projects. My current one is much better (and bigger).

This is my second attempt at forging a RR spike.

This is a blade I made recently out of 1080 steel.

And finally this is a tanto I’m currently working on.

After the heat treat

800 grit polish

So what do you think?

**Richard Furrer** · 08-14-2008, 05:23 AM

Casey,
They look better than my first few.

I would suggest getting away from briquettes..they say "charcoal", but they are not....what you want it hardwood charcoal..basically partially burned wood...not wood/clay/ash formed in a press like what you have there.
OR
coke

Ric

**Thomas Powers** · 08-14-2008, 02:21 PM

"Cowboy Brand Charcoal", is a real charcoal charcoal and is often sold by Wal-Mart. The chunks should be irregular in shape and you should be able to see the tree rings/wood grain on the ends of them.

Note it's getting to the time of the year when many stores close out their summer stuff and you can sometimes make a deal with the manager to buy all that's left for a very steep discount, (like 1/2 the retail price)!

**Courage Crawford** · 09-20-2008, 02:21 AM

If you have a little to invest there are some good retailers for gas forges available.A reliable and mutable heat source being rather important..in my opinion.NC tool has several units I am sure would more than service ones starter needs and leave plenty of room for alteration later.As for stock,I would stay away from files but recycle tooling,anneal means "make soft" do it to everything before you hit it.chisels,leaf/coil springs,valve stems,make sure their not the icky sodium filled ones

.power hacksaw blades are usually L6 and laminate nicely,etc.Scrounge,as a smith all you need is already around you,just find your niche in it

. Hammer On.