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[kisame12794]

There are special tools you can buy/make that would allow you to curve metal. If you've got a vice, you can clamp a piece of round bar in it and use that. I'd recommend hammering one end flat to make it easier to clamp.

[Anvilfolk]

You don't need a curve to make scrolls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjXOhQDtAI

There's a ton of really good books freely available in PDF that you can download that will teach you the basics. They will also open up a world of possibilities as you learn more techniques than just hammering down on the steel until it looks like a blade!

The first book on that list is ace. I'd highly recommend it. In fact, most of the books on that list are great.

[GiglameshDespair]

Ah, cheers. I notice on the video you linked the guy still uses the holes and horn of the anvil to shape the curve.

Thanks for the resources, I'll definitely have to take a look.

[Anvilfolk]

Yeah, this is a fish-tail scroll. To do a regular scroll, you don't really let the tip of the scroll angle outward so much. You just hammer it down every time it starts widening, and that keeps it the same thickness as the rest of the material. This way you don't have to use the hardy hole as a way to straighten the scroll, you can just lay it flat on the anvil!

Also, his usage of the horn is pretty minimal. You can just use two pairs of tongs or pliers to straighten things. He makes it look easy, you'll make lots of mistakes, but the more you do it the better you become!



Also, I'm actually really sorry if I'm coming off as super cynical and holier-than-thou. I am aware that might be how I sound I just don't get the fascination and adoration of weapons, or anything that can be used for harm... I see the piles upon piles upon piles of railroad spike knives, and people who never really graduate from it. It's reducing the art to its lowest common denominator, and it frustrates me to no end when some blacksmithing pieces can blow your mind.












And here are some made more recently:

- A gate
- A card holder
- This guy's work... get to the horses, trust me



And instead of all this, all people can think of doing is:



You hammer it for 5 minutes, then spent 3 hours at the grinder......

Sigh, again, I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated

[kisame12794]

Three hours? Wish I had a grinder. I've gone for weeks with a file. Hell, I finished forging a sword a few months ago, and I STILL haven't finished filing. Granted, I've not been filing it all that often during those months, but I've still logged around 20+ hours spent filing away at it.

[GiglameshDespair]

Well, I want to make a knife because I have practical use for that when I go hunting.

The problem is with these big designs is that I have limited money and confidence. I don't feel capable of trying some big metal thing that if it messes up will clog up a bunch of room and waste a bunch of steel. I want to be able to use my creations as well. I don't live on my own. Where am I going to use a forged metal bench? Where am I going to put it? A chandelier? It's not like they'd be good enough to sell.

No, i get where you're coming from. But just starting out, i'd like to try something that is simple-ish, and possibly useful. I get where ypu're coming from, but I don't want to try something too ambitious, fail, and lose motivation.

[Anvilfolk]

I totally get that - and blacksmithing can be insanely frustrating at first. The important thing is to keep noticing what you do wrong and finding ways to fix that.

Knives are great starter pieces. People think they are cool, and you get a ton of nice feedback from them. Make sure you learn a bit about steels and things.

If you like tools, just look up blacksmithing tools. Quite a few of them have edges, and you can work on those, using a larger range of techniques, and you still get something that's super useful. Tongs are a great example. Or a chisel, to cut stuff! Once you have a chisel, you can probably do a pineapple twist, which is cool:




You can also do some pretty simple wall hooks, or bookstops. Stuff like that! You might even be able to sell them for a profit.






All I'm saying is: start with whatever motivates you, but don't get stuck in doing just blades. There's an entire world of aesthetics that you can explore, and that most people don't even scratch the surface of, let alone explore.

I had a teacher at the blacksmithing college I attended who was into reenactment, and decided to do a sword. He spent a couple of sessions in the forge, and then spent weeks grinding away at it, almost full-time... The ratio of forging to grinding (and the kind of forging) that you do ends up not being very... blacksmithy! Heck, I never bothered to properly grind and polish the damascus knife we did back in college, though I put in some 4-8 hours of elbow grease!

[Arx]

For those that think making armour could be fun: http://www.armourarchive.org/

And some eye candy from those forums: This guy is insanely good.

This is a glorified PTW, though. I've wanted to get into this for years, but never actually have.

[Anvilfolk]

Yeah, unless it's a technical college it's doubtful they'd ever bother to get some blacksmithing or metalworking classes, the latter being more usual. You can find blacksmithing classes, but they are taught by individual blacksmiths and are very expensive. If you're in the UK, there's a few colleges that still offer UK-college level/US-high-school-level degrees in blacksmithing. That's what I was lucky enough to be able to do.

That said, there's an enormous amount of information out there that you can use to get yourself started. The main problem is usually space. If you live in an apartment or something, you can pretty much forget it.

[ICBM pilot]

Can I have some advice for building a charcoal forge?

[GiglameshDespair]

http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php?bodyName=/21centbs/forges/brkdrum1.htm
http://www.instructables.com/id/Basic-Brake-drum-Forge-for-under-40/

Make one of these, and it's relatively cheap.

Careful if you use any galvanised steel, though, as it'll give off poisonous fumes until the galvanisation burns off. You'll want to use steel, as you won't be able to melt that, but you should be able to melt aluminium.

Use coal instead of charcoal. It's more dense, or so I am told.

Man, wish i had the time to finish my forge, but with my job and all it's just sitting in the garage half done.

[ICBM pilot]

http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php?bodyName=/21centbs/forges/brkdrum1.htm
http://www.instructables.com/id/Basic-Brake-drum-Forge-for-under-40/

Make one of these, and it's relatively cheap.

I already have a brake drum forge but it's too small for me to finish some of my bigger projects and I'm thinking of building a forge that would allow me to heat any part of the metal instead of just the first six inches.

Use coal instead of charcoal. It's more dense, or so I am told.

I can't find any places to buy it around here and I found some charcoal that works well.

[Anvilfolk]

Yeah, my problem was that finding hardwood charcoal was hard where I was forging. If you can find good quality charcoal it's pretty good. I think you're supposed to use a slightly deeper forge, and break up the charcoal into slightly smaller pieces than he huge lumps you usually use.

I still prefer regular coal, as it's more efficient in both preparation and burning.

[TD1]

PTW.

Always been interested in Blacksmithing, but it's not exactly economically viable, nor do I have the requisite skill.

Still, nice to watch what others make.

[kisame12794]

I know several blacksmiths who make a living off of their work. It's true that there aren't many jobs out there, so if you want to make money blacksmithing, you need to start up your own business.