Bladesmith Resources + Tools for beginner ?

Hey guys,

I recently join the forum and was amazed by the level of craftsman who hangs around on the site. I always wanted to make my own knife so, after graduating this semester, I plan to set up a small shop in my backyard. I have never attend a bladesmith course before so I hope you guys can answer some of my noobist questions :

1. Where I live (Thailand), there isn't much bladesmith/blacksmith tool you can buy right off the bat. So, I'm planning to buy some of the harder to find tools and ship it back home. This is the list of the thing I plan to use at my shop. Is there anything else that is light enough to fit in my luggage that you guys would recommend ?

To buy here in the States:

• Hammer ( Theres so many shape and form. please recommend me one)
• Tongs (It seems to vary between 1" to 2". Not sure which one to buy)
• Temperature gauge (K-type thermocouple for measuring oven's temperature (not sure if this will be useful)

To build or buy back home:

• forging oven (I'm planning to build a basi propane oven based off youtube videos)
• Anvil (80-100 pounds ?)

Already have:

• belt grinder ( I saw an a multitool attachment which some forum member uses. Are they necessary ?)
• power drill
• bench vise

2. And the second question is about beginner resources. When you just started, is there any resources (books, videos, etc) you go to ? Recently, I've been watching Walter Sorrels video on youtube.

Thanks!

Jack

Hi Dynasty

You might find this video to be helpful with choosing your bladesmithing tongs:

[video=youtube;kzTAiZ8fGUo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzTAiZ8fGUo[/video]

He's got some other videos in there on how to make a forge too.
Hopefully someone else here can help with that, I use a charcoal forge and have no experience with gas.

A good anvil can be expensive, and generally speaking the bigger the better. A solid base is also super important because these things are essentially supposed to be an immovable object. Mine is Turkish made, about 110 pounds and cost me $800 (AUD) brand new, then I spent another $400 on a custom made stand for it. A good anvil is an amazing tool to have.

[video=youtube;6IbQCO6Bf_4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IbQCO6Bf_4[/video]


Hammers are easy to buy. You can find half decent ones everywhere these days. Black/bladesmithing mostly use cross pein/peen hammers. The angled edge on the back gets used to draw out steel.



Good luck!

I've found a thermocouple to be invaluable when starting off. It's hard to judge temperature without it as a beginner. I went as big as I could afford on the anvil and got 120lbs, plus a stand for it that is about 40lbs. Hammers, I have 3 already and I use all of them. There's a 3.3lb cross pein, a 2.5lb straight pein, and a 2.5lb forward weight. If I had to pick just one I'd probably go with the straight pein.

There's a badass knifemaker in Thailand; goes by Che Americano on Facebook. Check him out.

Oh wow, thank you all for the recommendation to the Che Americano. Looks like he is offering some knife making lesson as well. I'll be sure to contact him! Also, just for an update, I found a couple anvil that is between 50-100kg with a reasonable price. Also, I'm ordering a 2.2 pound German style hammer just to start off.