Hi all, I am looking to upgrade my gas forge, I've been using a two burner, two door devil forge for 3 years now, which I am looking to upgrade for something more robust. Preferably something with double doors and plenty of space to the side, it is a pain that I cannot put anything of width in there as of now (variable burner-in-use count is a plus too). I do make damascus and forge weld too, the borax fumes with the high heats absolutely trashes the lining on the devilforge and needs repair all the time. Is this an issue aswell, if the lining in front of the blanket is solid bricks? I am eyeing the Swan Competitor gas forge. Got any recommendations for me please? Or should I just suck it up, take the time and build my own? Thanks in advance!

So a few lessons learnt. Been wanting to give this a go for a few years now.

Going to keep practicing and learning. Already got a few things to work on. Honestly really enjoyed myself.

Im new to forging and i was wondering about this line,crack that formed after hammering the curve for the tip instead of cutting it and i was wondering if there was a way to stop this and fix this

I've been thinking about getting a gas forge for some time now. But which one is more cost efficient? I know it takes a lot longer to heat things up with charcoal and they won't get as hot, but gas forges seem to burn through a LOT of fuel. But if we don't account for convinience, which one is better? Also: If you have a measurement or estimate I would also like to hear the price of charcoal and gas in your country (gas is relatively expensive where I live, because of the Ukraine-Russia war, so your prices may be different from mine). Thanks for any help!

Possible Solutions for Inflation, Pollution, and World Hunger: Hex Containers

Hex Containers, or HC’s, are a simple yet durable and versatile storage solution designed for both long- and short-term storage of a wide range of materials.

Varieties of Hex Containers

Currently, there are three types of HC’s:

1. Metal Containers: Made from recycled aluminum and other metals sourced from food cans and other metal products already in global circulation.
2. Glass Containers: Constructed from recycled glass, with a rubber seal and a glass or plastic lid sourced from water bottles and other reusable glass and plastic materials already in circulation.
3. Plastic Containers: Available with or without a rubber seal, both container and lid are crafted from recycled bottles and other reusable plastics already in circulation.

Value Proposition of Hex Containers

Each HC provides three layers of value:

1. Tool Value: Containers are practical tools, offering recession-proof utility as people will always need ways to organize resources.
2. Material Value: The recyclable nature of metal, plastic, and glass gives HC’s inherent worth, adding global value.
3. Content Value: The value of a HC increases based on the quantity, quality, and durability/longevity of its contents.

Design of Hex Containers

Each HC consists of two main parts: the container and the lid. While the container can vary in shape and size, from pill bottle to shipping container.  The mouth is always circular and threaded to ensure a secure seal. The lid is also circular and threaded, with a hexagonal hole—or “Hex Key”—in its center. This Hex Key is operated with an Allen wrench, proportional to the container's size, allowing for easy opening and closing.

The design emphasizes simplicity and reliability. However, potential downsides include wear on the seals and threads over time, which may weaken the seal, as well as the lack of a built-in locking mechanism. The latter limitation could be addressed by artisan communities, who may develop and sell modifications to enhance security.

Commercial and Community Applications

In commercial settings—especially food and medicine storage—the sterility and quality assurance of HC’s are critical and require thorough oversight. A barcoding system could ensure traceability, logging each container’s contents, sale date, and sterilization details in a central database. Containers with compromised logs could be repurposed or recycled.

Ideally, HC’s would enter the market gradually, beginning with distribution to small businesses and farmers’ markets. If successful, they could be expanded for use by larger-scale farmers and grocers for storing and shipping products like corn, beans, and tomato paste. 

Customers can choose to repurpose HC’s for their own use, return them to a vendor or sterilization facility for monetary compensation, donate them, or recycle them.

Potential for Local Economies and Innovation

With widespread adoption, HC’s could support new micro-economies within communities:

• Local Chefs could use HC’s as barter items, storing unique recipes.
• Artists could create distinctive labels, helping HC’s stand out.
• Tech Developers could create apps for tracking HC barcodes, enhancing content traceability and sterilization status.
• Community Leaders could set up autoclaving and labeling stations, strengthening local economies.

Communities could even use HC’s as currency, offering youth meaningful work and fostering entrepreneurial skills. This would provide hands-on experience with business basics and encourage creativity.

Charitable Use and Global Impact

Hex Containers could be powerful tools for charitable causes, especially in poverty-stricken areas. Through fundraising, HC’s filled with essential items like food, water, clothing, screws, nuts, bolts and seeds could be sourced from local suppliers and distributed to those in need, both domestically and internationally. In these regions, HC’s would promote organization, entrepreneurship, and recycling, with materials available for use in infrastructure or further economic growth.

I do not have a patent for these ideas.Thank you for reading.

Possible Solutions for Inflation, Pollution, and World Hunger: Hex Containers

Hex Containers, or HC’s, are a simple yet durable and versatile storage solution designed for both long- and short-term storage of a wide range of materials.

Varieties of Hex Containers

Currently, there are three types of HC’s:

1. Metal Containers: Made from recycled aluminum and other metals sourced from food cans and other metal products already in global circulation.
2. Glass Containers: Constructed from recycled glass, with a rubber seal and a glass or plastic lid sourced from water bottles and other reusable glass and plastic materials already in circulation.
3. Plastic Containers: Available with or without a rubber seal, both container and lid are crafted from recycled bottles and other reusable plastics already in circulation.

Value Proposition of Hex Containers

Each HC provides three layers of value:

1. Tool Value: Containers are practical tools, offering recession-proof utility as people will always need ways to organize resources.
2. Material Value: The recyclable nature of metal, plastic, and glass gives HC’s inherent worth, adding global value.
3. Content Value: The value of a HC increases based on the quantity, quality, and durability/longevity of its contents.

Design of Hex Containers

Each HC consists of two main parts: the container and the lid. While the container can vary in shape and size, from pill bottle to shipping container.  The mouth is always circular and threaded to ensure a secure seal. The lid is also circular and threaded, with a hexagonal hole—or “Hex Key”—in its center. This Hex Key is operated with an Allen wrench, proportional to the container's size, allowing for easy opening and closing.

The design emphasizes simplicity and reliability. However, potential downsides include wear on the seals and threads over time, which may weaken the seal, as well as the lack of a built-in locking mechanism. The latter limitation could be addressed by artisan communities, who may develop and sell modifications to enhance security.

Commercial and Community Applications

In commercial settings—especially food and medicine storage—the sterility and quality assurance of HC’s are critical and require thorough oversight. A barcoding system could ensure traceability, logging each container’s contents, sale date, and sterilization details in a central database. Containers with compromised logs could be repurposed or recycled.

Ideally, HC’s would enter the market gradually, beginning with distribution to small businesses and farmers’ markets. If successful, they could be expanded for use by larger-scale farmers and grocers for storing and shipping products like corn, beans, and tomato paste. 

Customers can choose to repurpose HC’s for their own use, return them to a vendor or sterilization facility for monetary compensation, donate them, or recycle them.

Potential for Local Economies and Innovation

With widespread adoption, HC’s could support new micro-economies within communities:

• Local Chefs could use HC’s as barter items, storing unique recipes.
• Artists could create distinctive labels, helping HC’s stand out.
• Tech Developers could create apps for tracking HC barcodes, enhancing content traceability and sterilization status.
• Community Leaders could set up autoclaving and labeling stations, strengthening local economies.

Communities could even use HC’s as currency, offering youth meaningful work and fostering entrepreneurial skills. This would provide hands-on experience with business basics and encourage creativity.

Charitable Use and Global Impact

Hex Containers could be powerful tools for charitable causes, especially in poverty-stricken areas. Through fundraising, HC’s filled with essential items like food, water, clothing, fasteners and seeds could be sourced from local suppliers and distributed to those in need, both domestically and internationally. In these regions, HC’s would promote organization, entrepreneurship, and recycling, with materials available for use in infrastructure or further economic growth.

I do not have patents for these ideas. Thank you for reading.

Hello,

I have an anvil with 27x40cm base.

The anvil is roughly 27 cm tall and the wooden base would be roughly 51, bringing the total height to 78 cm.

I'm planning to build a base out of wooden beams standing upright, glued and held together by a metal strip with screws, something like this: https://i.imgur.com/fHxRYfb.png

I plan to have the anvil slightly off center, closed to the edge on the "working" side, meaning closer to me, and further from the opposite edge, to have place where I can put some things.

I don't want to bolt it down, because it will be mobile. I was wondering if there is some rule to what the footprint of the base should be in order to have good stability without being "top heavy" as I would not want the whole thing to fall over when I smack into it or something.

Thanks!

My husband is obsessed with watching Forged In Fire, and has said he would love to do this. I would love to get him a blacksmith “starter kit” so to speak, so he can do some smaller projects to kick off his hobby. Im absolutely clueless as to what he truly needs to have to do this. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Newish to the craft and finally able to start setting up my own workspace now that I have a house. The end goal is to forge large swords and armour, but I'm not sure what kind or size of furnace and equipment I would need. I also dont know if there are pre made ones I should look at or try to build my own, any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated!!

Anyone know of a good shop in Tokyo to buy blacksmithing hammers? I was looking for a dog head specifically and figured it'd be cool to get one while there.

Hopefully this is allowed, as I’m not selling. Looking to give this away as my space doesn’t run a coke forge. Must come to pick up in south Atlanta. Approx 25 lbs

Soon I'm going to start my journey into blacksmithing and I was wondering what in your opinion is the most universal type of tongs?

After some research I just say I like the wolf jaw

Yes, with all the decoration.

From a peice of Rebar, a File and a Railroad Spike, first 3 things I've made

Started a class to get into Blacksmithing a few weeks ago. Here are the projects I’ve made so far

Advice and resources are always welcome :)

Trying to stay in 150 to 200 usd range