Why is it that people love candles so much? Afterall, candles are waaaaay less efficient than lightbulbs. Why is it that people pay 20+ dollars for a glass jar full of wax? It’s not for efficiency, that’s for sure. A typical candle provides a tiny fraction of the light that a light bulb would. Candles […]Read More
Whether it’s punching a hole for the eye of an axe, a hammer, or some other handheld tool, the trusty blacksmith punch is a great low tech solution for making holes in a piece of stock. There is no need for expensive machining equipment when you have a punch lying around. Today I will go […]Read More
Definition and Meaning Of The Word Blacksmith The word itself refers to the dark color that certains types of iron oxides exhibit. What Is A Blacksmith? Good question, a blacksmith is a craftsman who shapes wrought iron or steel by heating the material and then shaping the steel through a series of hammer blows. This […]Read More
As a blacksmith, I often find myself needing to clear away scale or rust on a piece of work. There are a lot of options when it comes to removing this scale, for larger projects, I tend to use a good needle scaler gun. These tools are great for quickly removing large flakey chunks of […]Read More
Blacksmithing is a rare hobby in that you can get by without really purchasing anything but your steel stock. You can make your own tools! The techniques are timeless as well, meaning the techniques you learned 10 years ago will work just as well today. But how do you begin forging if you have no […]Read More
People interested in blacksmithing tend to have colorful personalities that are contained within a unique worldview. As such, you will see a tremendous amount of variability in what people wear while smithing. Some people are very practical, and will wear a long sleeve shirt with hearing + eye protection in addition to boots. Other people […]Read More
The hammer is the most fundamental tool in the art of the blacksmith. It’s possible to use impromptu tools made out of scrap metal in place of your anvil, tong, and forge, but you can’t fake a hammer. SOMETHING has to make contact with your red hot stock. It needs to be able to handle […]Read More
Refractory materials are non-metallic (ceramic) materials that can withstand high temperatures. They are often used in a number of industrial applications such as furnaces, kilns, foundries incinerators, and reactors. As such, they are extremely useful to hobbyist blacksmiths and machinists who wish to build their own forge or foundry. So which fire bricks should you […]Read More
A blacksmith anvil is one of the most important and expensive purchases a blacksmith will make. The blacksmithing anvil is central to almost everything that happens in a blacksmith’s workshop. Whether you are crafting a sword, a knife, armor, tools, decorative scroll-work, or tools for your own use, you will need to use an this […]Read More
With so many fuel/forge combinations, it can be hard to decide what setup to use as a beginning blacksmith. In this article I will go over 10 different fuel types, and hopefully I will be able to give you a broad overview of the different fuel types and their trade offs. With this information you […]Read More