With my introduction into the world of WMA came a reminder of my past. When I was a lot younger my school went on a trip to Upper Canada Village and I managed to score the "apprenticeship" of the village blacksmith. When I came home I was very excited about the idea of learning more but it quickly became apparent that there was not much available in the ways of instruction for a ten year to learn any form of smithing.

Now though I am more committed to learning. I have a basic understanding of how to forge simple objects like hooks but not much past that.

The question I pose is how do I get started. I have various tools already and was wondering if a propane torch is adequate for working steel. Some restrictions apply for example I probably can't make a full sized forge in my backyard for the reasons of bylaw and parents.

I am a knifesmith (well...sorta :\ ) I have made a 13" seax, which is as close to a sword yet. Yes, a propane torch IS hot enough to use in forging, but the flame must be contained in something that will help build up the heat. This can be something as simple as a coffee can lined with insulating ceramic fiber matting coated with a thin layer of a refractory. I have also made a mini-forge with two soft insulting bricks (cost, minus shipping, approx 15 USD). An anvil can be as simple as a sledge hammer head set in a bucket of concreat. Look up some of the knifemaking forums or even some of the knife making suppliers for information. It would also help to understand exactly what restrictions you are working under.

Doug Lester

We just had a forging demo (we're forging copper spoons) and we used an Oxygen propane torch set in a firebrick with the middle hollowed out as a forge. It heated up the copper pretty quickly; steel would take longer but I wouldn't imagine that it's unworkable. As for hammers and an anvil, you can make a pretty decent (albeit small) out of a piece of railroad track, and hammers aren't too expensive.

double post

My favorite anvil is a 30 cm by 30 cm cube of untreated low grade steel I had cut from a beam.

Pls consider that until the early medieval age anvils were a little more than that, most often they were a trapezoid like little thing that today would be despised by any beginner ...

Actually my cube works well, even if it is not treated.

When straightening a blade I work on the diagonal, which gives a very long surface for working with long seaxes and even blades.


I guess your major concern will be noise and a place to work at ... if yu have aplace for you where you can bang things you are almost done.

I have worked with charcoal, cola and a very good gas furnace, gas is the better option.

The oven I was able to sue was made by recycling an old condo sized boiler's burner.

Cheap since it was recicled, termendously eefctive too.

Oven was really the size of a pizzeria's oven.

Hi, I have just finished my blacksmithing course, very traditional with lots of fire welding, took me a few years, you can't beat learning from someone who has learned from our forefathers in the art. We used coke forges and I prefer charcoal myself, but I agree with what is being said above also, with gas you can see what you are doing so can avoid mistakes from the very beginning, whereas with a forge it takes time to read what is happening and understand the fire and keep it clean, a coke or charcoal forge has the potential to set steel on fire and as you learn you will see things burnt by what I can only describe as plasma, but it is rewarding to work in the traditional way.
So I think it is a question of tradition v's modern and also expediency?
There are some good videos and books out there and lots of different societys.
So go along, what you will learn from the 'old timers' will save you a great deal of time and hard work!

My saying is 'the more you know, the less you need!'

Best fuel in forge is black sintering coal. Coke is not good charcoal best but luxury. A have old smith bellow and side exhaust as medieval forge. For quenching smoll object I use charcoal and for loger blade sinter coal (there is not Si and P).
For welding is good charcoal for aptitude build up faster heat.

Hi Vaclav, I think something is missing in translation, coke is a derivative of coal and not Charcoal and I believe you mean annealing or normalising is best done in charcoal ash? I guess you mean side blower like we mostly use in england as opposed to updraft, but using the old bellows great :D

One thing to understand about coal is that it is not used to forge with. It first must be burned down to coke which is to coal as charcoal is to wood. You can either make your coke ahead of time like the late Bill Moran did or "coke it out" at the side of the fire and rake it in as needed, which is probably more traditional. If green coal is use to heat the steel, the bladesmith runs the risk of it absorbing impurities, such as sulfur, and being ruined.

In England you can buy coke ready made, but really we consider this to be still green and treat it as you say above before bringing it to the 'sweet spot', this also helps get rid of dust and moisture.

My English is not good but in this case I know whot I mean :-) Using coal kinds is individual. I dont like coke (heat threatment coal) and smith litaratre is it not recommend for forge. Black coal (paleozolic era coal) is more better is it good substitute the charcoal (dry distillation wood), this coal have aptitude to sinter (?) this aptitude is wery common and I use wather. Charcoal ash is good for normalization but I use charcoal for heating smoll objects, charcoal have not sulfur.
Charcoal is expesive.
Smith bellow with sideways (down exhaust) like Nuerberger Stiftungsbuch.

I think I understand what you mean and I agree :D just need to convert the rest.