/r/Blacksmith
A subreddit dedicated to the ancient art of blacksmithing. Show off your latest creations or get advice on a problem. This subreddit is temporarily private as part of a joint protest to Reddit's recent API changes, which breaks third-party apps and moderation tools, effectively forcing users to use the official Reddit app.
In the mean time, please join the community on Discord at https://discord.gg/dms
A subreddit devoted to all things blacksmith. Feel free to show off your latest creations or get advice on a problem, or anything else related to blacksmithing!
January: /u/ArtistCeleste
February: /u/Karn3
March: /u/docroberts
April: /u/forge_lizard
May/June: /u/The_Brass_Dog
Please remember that any information/tips/tricks you get from this subreddit are not the end-all-be-all of blacksmithing. This is a multi-thousand year old trade and much of the information garnered from those times were lost during the industrial revolution. Do your own research to double check if you agree with the opinions stated here before following them.
This Sub now has a Discord Channel. Join it here.
Beginner? Read our FAQ and FAQ Discussion, And be sure to check out below.
WARNING!!! Read this before attempting any kind of forging.
Rules and guidelines for posting:
Please be considerate to others when posting/commenting. Blatant troll posts/comments will be removed.
Posts of YouTube videos, gifs, or images must include the beginnings of a discussion or a write up in the comments with a minimum of three sentences. Posts without a submission comment from the OP will be removed within 24 hours.
Obviously this sub is for blacksmithing related topics, so keep posts related to blacksmithing.
Blatant advertising and for sale posts are not allowed.
When reporting content, you MUST state WHY you reported it.
Any NSFW posts will be reviewed by the mods and may be removed based on our judgement of the value of the content.
Further resources:
ABANA Forging Fundamentals - a suggested program of study to learn hand forging
Have an englishweight anvil? Try this nifty little tool from anvilfire to find out how much it weighs in lbs.
Dictionary from anvilfire for those hard to google terms.
ABANAs list of schools in North America
Appalachian Blacksmiths Association list of schools in the US
Books:
Metallurgy for bladesmiths and others who heat treat and forge steel
Engineering Handbook (Lots of info about Metallurgy)
Projects
Our friends:
/r/Blacksmith
I’m pretty new to blacksmithing and thinking about getting into it, but man how much do y’all spend on gas for like a knife. What should I be suspecting to spend on?
I know it's not a Rubik's cube twist, but I have a friend that wanted a Rubik's cube handle. Thought I would have fun with the play on terms, even if I was going to be the only one to get it.
Hello, I am looking for recommendations for a chisel set for detail work. Nothing that will break the bank. But decent . My hardware store chisels ain’t cutting it. Thanks in advance!
I made the mud bricks in the center for another project before I though about how to source enough dirt. The red bricks where added after I got a little to crispy from flames coming out the side.
I know from my time doing fine metal work and jewelery making that as you work cold metal it becomes spring hardened. However with black smithing we work hot steel, wich makes it workable, but also keeps it from becoming too stressed.
I don't know if this is correct but the way I worked it out in my head is that with cold working metal, you get metal with large grains, but after working it, you remove many of the flaws in the atomic structure. Whereas when quenching you get small grains. Is this accurate?
If so, how would you get your steel spring hard?
I just replaced the rear struts on the 98 Toyota Avalon, and want to offer them up to a blacksmith who may be able to use the springs in a future creation DM me if interested otherwise they’ll go to recycle
Just wanted to share this deal with anyone looking to dip their toes like me.
From what I hear this anvil is a steal even at full price, so for $50 shipped it sounds like an absolutely insane deal. Just ordered mine.
EDIT - looks like the sale ended early ☹️ hopefully many people were able to take advantage of the sale while it lasted
Call a random steel supplier by me and they dont sell steel but other metals and recommended a scrap yard by me. I was able to drop off some tin scrap for a whopping $1 but they had off cuts for $1 a pound and I got 5 foot of square bar to make tongs with. They didnt know what kind of steel any of it was but I had them do a spark test and they were all sparky lol. The square bar is cold rolled so I gotta see how that needs to be done. What should I try to make with what you see here?
This is the forge I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN9Z2B4B
I tried this regulator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P5KPZ1T
But the 3/8th female end is too large, the vevor needs a 1/4th inch. I haven't been able to find one with this size anywhere.
Does it exist?
My friend who's looking to get into blacksmithing found this anvil at an antique store. It's 85lbs and is $425. Is this a good deal or should they look somewhere else?
What is a 25 lb little giant worth?
Im 15 and want to start forging. I have some tools but im missing a pair of tongs. I have found a video for making some. In the video he said to use any metal i want. I decided on a piece of rebar but is rebar good for this kind of tool?
Link to video: https://youtu.be/1woOKxCwp4o?si=bFemiHORY-Rq57Py
I have a question for any fellas who make hammers, what's the best tong for making hammers I've seen pick up tongs but people say they don't have a good grip for shaping the head of the hammer, I'm doing it by hand so I need something that holds the piece tight Cheers
I'm looking into getting a small bandsaw in order to save me time on cutting my material to proper size. The biggest thing I'll be cutting on them is potently railroad spikes and I'll most commonly be cutting rebar and 3/8 square stock.
Currently I'm torn between these two saws
WEN 9-Inch Band Saw, 2.8-Amp Benchtop
or
CENTRAL MACHINERY 1/3 HP, 9 in. Benchtop Band Saw
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in Advance!
Hi i am relativly new to this hobby and i wanted to start making simple knifes, but i dont know which scraps i could use to do that.