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Becoming a Blacksmith

The work of a blacksmith can be extremely interesting. It involves the heating of metal in a forge in order to create beautiful swords, knives etc. It can be extremely physically demanding at times; however, it gives the blacksmith a lot of creative licenses to make what they deem to be beautiful. Being a blacksmith can seem like a trade that only requires brute strength, but any blacksmith will be able to tell you just how difficult it is to create metal from scratch.

The path to becoming a blacksmith is a pretty long one, however, it is also definitely worth it in the end. After learning the how’s and whys of blacksmithing you will be able to use the tools that they do, for example, the hammer and the anvil. If you are a blacksmiths apprentice or a blacksmith and want to get yourself a brand-new anvil, do check out anvils for sale. They have some extremely good anvils up for sale and you can purchase them at your discretion.

So how does one become a blacksmith? The first step is to read about it and do your research. The path to becoming a blacksmith isn’t an easy one, so you should definitely check the information out there so that you know before getting into it whether you would be a good match for the field or not.  Afterwards, what you can do is take classes about blacksmithing. This is one of the most important steps since you can’t really self-learn the art of blacksmithing. It takes a lot of time to learn, and a patient teacher will have to teach you all about it. You can learn about blacksmithing by attending college or going to a vocational school for it. The important aspect of learning blacksmithing is familiarizing yourself with the equipment that is used in the trade. The equipment includes the welding torch, the hammer, the anvil, tongs etc. You might even want to purchase your own equipment if you have the funds for it.

You can then take even more classes if you like, about advanced metalworking. These advanced classes are likely to teach you about more advanced and dangerous equipment such as the plasma welder and the arc welder. You may be thinking to yourself that welding isn’t exactly what you imagined a blacksmith doing. And you’d be right, but the world is an ever-evolving place and a multi-skilled blacksmith will always be more confident than a rigid one-dimensional blacksmith.

You can then go ahead and buy all your own equipment. You will require a forge, tongs, vice, a clamp, an anvil, a set of hammers, some safety equipment including an apron, heavy-duty gloves, and a mask.

This is truly just the beginning of the journey. And becoming a master blacksmith will involve plenty of your time and effort. The options that you have are endless. You can become an apprentice and join a journeyman program, or you can set out on your own. The choice is truly yours.

Donald Wicks
the authorDonald Wicks