Anyone ever take a blacksmithing class?

Hey Guys,

I'm kicking around the idea of taking a blacksmithing class to learn how to make knives and or axes. I have zero experience, what would be a good way for me learn at least something basic before I walk through the door?

Thanks,

Billy

 

[paulvallandigham]

Get a copy of Blade Magazine. It is the mouthpiece of the Knifemaker's guild. There are lots of ads there for school on knife making. A good one is located in Arkansas. A general Blacksmithing school is going to teach you many things about working iron, and some steels, but much will have nothing to do with making knives, and axes. I think your money will be better spent going to knife making school.

 

It's a one week blacksmithing class that teaches you how to make a knife and an axe.

Will check out that magazine thanks! :thumbsup:

B

 

[DBox]

I started learning blacksmithing about 35 years ago from a friends Dad that was a great blacksmith from the old school. He taught me a lot and I've learned a lot on my own. My forge has been stored for about 10 years and I set it back up a few months ago. Any classes you can take or any blacksmith you can hang with will be a help to you. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[ameling]

Knife and axe forging are ADVANCED SPECIALTY type projects for a blacksmith - NOT for a beginner. But waaaaay too many people try skipping past learning all the basic skills and OTJ training of blacksmithing to jump straight to that "master level" area. A small few survive that leap, most don't. Many times while doing a blacksmithing demo at some event, I've talked a young person through making a simple project like an S hook - only to have them then pick up a heavey iron bar, hold it up, and ask if he can make a knife/sword out of it now! That ever so slight "taste" of blacksmithing suddenly makes them a "master blacksmith". It's a hard trap for people to avoid!

So my first advice would be to cancel that ADVANCED level class until you have some more education and experience. Without some more experience, you will quickly become lost and get behind in the class. That will frustrate you, as well as the instructor, and most of the cost/time for your class will be lost. But a few will get through it and progress on to better work.

So start with a very very basic beginner blacksmithing class. It may look like a waste, but it ain't. But those simple-looking skills are the foundation for everything that follows, and will also be used in most anything you do blacksmithing.

OK, some "tips" for attending the class.

Start practicing hammering. Get a 2 2/1 to 3 1/2 pound hammer, and get "used to" hammering with it. Spend at least a half hour each day hammering with it! An hour or more would be better. You need to get in some "specialized exercise" with your hand and arm. In the class, you will be hammering several hours a day for each day! If you don't have some prior conditioning, days 2 and 3 will be killers! And also get your other hand used to holding those tongs for the same amount of time. Pay special attention to squeezing that grip to hold the tongs closed tight!

Bring your own tools if you can. At the very least, bring your own hammer.

Read whatever books you can get. And watch some videos of blacksmithing - especially those basic forging techniques. Hershel House has a series of Beginning Blacksmithing videos through American Pioneer Video - same company that has the Mark Baker videos. I have #1 and #2, and they are a pretty good introduction. But he also forges up a knife and an axe in them.

Do everything you can to KEEP UP with the class. Even if it means lots of extra hours in the evening/night. They can't hold the class up for anyone. They have their set schedule of what needs to be taught and experienced. And don't expect too much one-on-one instruction. You will get some, but everyone else in the class will also need that same attention.

Bring along some duct tape. When you start to feel a BLISTER forming, stop and take care of it immediately. Cover/wrap that area with duct tape. That blister is forming because the top level of your skin is starting to shift and separate from the layers below. Covering up that area with duct tape stabilizes and strengthens that top layer of skin - and it helps stop or slow down the formation of a blister. Yeah, it looks dorky and acts like a "wax job" on the hair on your hand, but it works! When you start feeling a hot, tingly area, take care of it before it goes too far. And after you have blisters, cover them up well with duct tape also. This protects that "damaged" area, and slows down any further damage. And you WILL GET BLISTERS! Unless you have toughened up hands from hard physical work.

Bring something to use as a sweat band. There's nothing like having sweat run into your eyes at a crucial time when working hot iron.

DON'T WEAR ANY SYNTHETIC CLOTHING!!!!! Nylon and polyester MELT when you get a spark or hot piece of scale on them. That melting "plastic" will then STICK to your skin! A leather bib-type apron helps - but don't depend on it. Ditto safety glasses, but they will or should have them there for the class. Wear some sort of head covering - like a scarf or welder's skull cap. You just can't dig a hot spark or piece of scale out of your hair fast enough no matter how hard you try. And steel-toe boots are almost mandatory - but often one of those personal choices. Try very hard to avoid "tenny runners" or "running shoes". Stepping on a hot piece of iron MELTS plastic. And by the time you feel it getting hot inside the shoe, it's too late to get that shoe off before your foot burns. (just like warming your feet and drying your mocs by the campfire).

Good luck with your class. It would be better to start with a beginner class, but we often have to work with what is available. And do get some conditioning/experience in before the class. Everything you do before will help you get the most out of the class when you get there.

Just my humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - yee ol' grumpy German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

p.s. When practicing with your hammer, also practice hitting the EXACT spot you want to hit. It's not like hammering a nail in. With a nail, you have the whole hammer head to hit that little head on the nail and it will move the nail. But in blacksmithing, you need to hit the exact spot that needs to be hammered at that particular time. Hitting a little the the left or right will work when hammering in a nail, but can quickly mess up a blacksmithing project. So practice hitting the exact spot you want each time.

 

Excellent advice just what I was looking for. Think I will wait till I can get some hammer time in. :thumbsup:

 

[FPDoc]

I've been blacksmithing for well over 40yrs. "S" hooks to pattern welding. Mike is absolutely right and gave a wonderful "short course" of advice! Find an old 1930-1940's High School Textbook full of "assignments". They were assignments for good reason. If you learn the basics so that you can forge and bend and weld chain and make eyes and S's almost without effort you will have the respect of any blacksmith you may talk or work with and you will be able to actually see and learn from watching them work. I think it's a bit like the difference between a shooter and a rifleman. I almost envy you just starting with so many wonderful things to discover about fire and iron. It's a wonderful journey. Enjoy your trip.

 

[nameless]

There are many good books on the subject; Moran/Barney's book, Jim Hrisoulas', lots of great information. Get em and read, read, read! Build 10 or 20 in your mind first and your hands, when finally dirty, will almost have 'already been there', almost. I read everything that I could find, everything! I was reading old manuscripts from the Berlin museum, online, of course.. All through my smithing career, I always had to read everything that I could find because, what if someone had some method whereby I might improve my work? And that is, after all, what that is about. Every knife, sword, axe is built technecally and creatively upon the previous. So much to learn, enjoy the ride. And the burns. Funny thing about the burns, I was real tempted to break out the tattoo equipment and tattoo a small 'legend' on the burns describing what I learned with/from each!

Wanna get started sooner? Get an acetylene or propane or even a Bernzomatic torch, some pliers, vice-grips, a small smooth faced hammer or two (like little sledge-hammers, not carpentry type), something to bang on (go to local machine shop and ask to buy a small block of steel (or some shape with a flat spot and perhaps some rounded) 15 or 20 pounds will do, and get some med to big nails/spikes at the hardware store. Find a place to put your anvil where it wont bounce and move (secure it). Hold nails in visegrips, heat to cherry red (and different colors) and whak away at the nail. Play, experiment, see what happens if... or if... Pound it when its cold. See the difference between that and cherry hot. Try it hotter, toward the orange and yellow range. Make a clothes hook. Play, play, play! Be creative. Hot metal is like clay in many ways, and moves like clay, you just use a hammer instead of your fingers. You have to master it before you can use your fingers and just squeeeeze that blade into shape!
*__-
Get simple books for some good habits. 'Forgery' is exercise for body and mind and spirit.

And with the nail and Bernzomatic set up, you have very little invested, can sample the techniques and stand to lose very little and can have some fun.
Peace

 

[chipper]

Taking classes on any subject is a cool way to start. Or better yet, find a friend who smiths. I wish I had. I needed someone to show me how to swing a hammer the right way. I injured my muscles in my elbow and spent may nights without sleeping from the pain. I've caught my hair on fire, burned up glasses and welded without protective dark eye wear. I've of course burned all the hair off both arms and hands but that's pretty much a given when your smithing. This is dangerous business, the fire can reach 2000 degrees.
So, on that same subject, any one willing is welcome to come to my shop for free and learn the basics. I'm certainly no expert but I can show you how to work without hurting yourself. If you find yourself in Loveland Colorado, stop by.
Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Loveland Colorado

 

[Elnathan]

How long is this class? The one I took lasted a whole semester, two evenings a week, and by the end of it I had made a couple of knives and a very small ax. However, I had a couple months of experience at that point, and had gotten to the point that I could forge forks, spoons, a pair of tongs, etc.

In short, a week-long class is too short to learn all the skills necessary to forge a knife, however, three or four months is not. Admittedly, I did most of my profiling with a grinder, not with a hammer, and the ax was made by slitting a bar of steel, not wrapping it around a mandrel in the traditional fashion.

BTW, having two hammers is nice. I found that a 2.5 pounder was light enough that it didn't tire out my wimpish arms and aided accuracy, while having a 3.5 pounder or so was useful for when working heavier stock.