Subject: Re: Getting Started

From: "Steven O. Smith" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 19:26:02 GMT

Scott A. McGillivray wrote:
> 
> Greetings!
> 
>     I have always had a facination with swords and ancient weaponry and
> armour.  I have recently began to look into blacksmithing as a hobby.  I
> have bought a book called "The Complete Bladesmith."  It is okay, but it
> sure leaves a lot of questions unanswered.  I hope to glean lots of info
> from this group.  For starters, I am looking into equipment pricing.  My
> first question is, how big an anvil should one look at buying for sword
> making and how much should one expect to pay for it?  The book suggested
> between 300 and 500 lbs.  However a local smith said he never used one
> bigger than 150 lbs (then again, he never made swords!)
>    Your input is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Scott A. McGillivray
> 
> Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Now, I haven't made a sword (not even a knife!), but it sure strikes me as an
insanely difficult place to start. I would suggest getting a copy of "The New Edge
of the Anvil" by Jack Andrews and pursue some basic forging projects to build
skills. I think this will give you a sword which will satisfy you much sooner than
trying a sword right off. There are lots of other books out there that are also
good. 

Get a book list from Norman Larson Books:
[email-masked] 
I'm not sure if you being in Canada and Norm being in the US adds any complication
to buying from him, but he has virtually all of the smithing books available.

I think that an anvil weighing 100 pounds is a little on the light side (assuming
you don't need portability). 150 pounds will probably work fine. On the other hand,
there is a lot of truth to "the larger the better". You can always make small bicks
for a large anvil; you can't make a small anvil larger! I don't see any specifics
to sword making that require a large anvil, but I'm no expert. I'm quite happy with
my 250 pounder.

-- 
Steven O. Smith
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin Pinkerton)
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 18:34:22 GMT

>bigger than 150 lbs (then again, he never made swords!)  

The general rule of thumb IMHO is $1 a pound for a good anvil. Problem
is good used anvils are hard to find. The cheaper anvils you will see
advertised are all cast iron anvils and should not even be considered.
There is a fellow who will make you an anvil and he has posted here
recently. Use Dejanews and scan back thru the postings for anvils and
I am sure you find him.

Kevin

Email addresses:
[email-masked] (Most reliable)
[email-masked] (will do in a pinch)

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From: "Steven O. Smith" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 16:48:54 GMT

> [email-masked] (will do in a pinch)

Depends where you shop. I've been told that $1 per pound is a pretty
good number for Iowa farm country. Here in Colorado I haven't seen an
anvil go for less than $2 per pound for several years.

-- 
Steven O. Smith
[email-masked]