Beginner Anvil and Forge

B

Bt87

Joined
Aug 3, 2022
Messages
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Hello all, I'm Brett from St Augustine, FL. I forged my first knife at a class a couple weeks ago and I’m hooked. I enjoy working with my hands and learning new skills. I’ve read a lot about first anvils/forges and I’m really impressed with the Atlas anvils and forges. I can’t afford to buy everything at once but I’m leaning towards eventually the Atlas anvil and mini forge. Anything else I should be looking at. I don’t want to cheap out and then end up buying stuff twice so I’ll be patient. Does anyone know if Atlas runs combo pricing or specials? Thanks in advance
 
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Give Charles at Atlas a call or email. He is a great guy, and his tools are the best for the price.
An Atlas forge and an Atlas anvil will do you for a long time.
A Graham forge and Graham anvil may last you as long as you make knives.
 
Also check out and join the Florida artist blacksmith Association (FABA) and attend as many of their events
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Give Charles at Atlas a call or email. He is a great guy, and his tools are the best for the price.
An Atlas forge and an Atlas anvil will do you for a long time.
A Graham forge and Graham anvil may last you as long as you make knives.
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Thank you so much for the suggestion and sage advice. I’ll do some more research on the Grahams.
 
weo said:
Also check out and join the Florida artist blacksmith Association (FABA) and attend as many of their events
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Thank you for the suggestion; I had searched for a local group but had not come across this one. Much appreciated
 
I have an Atlas forge and the small anvil. They are great and will probably do anything a beginner would want. Not necessarily ideal for swords/making lots of damascus etc... Ya gotta get started to get better, and even when you are slicker down the road, you will still use these!

Bill
 
I have a Graham anvil and really like it. I also was trying to save cash, so I built a two-brick forge (search 1 & 2-brick forges for instructions) and paired it with an Atlas burner for a pretty inexpensive but highly effective small knife-making forge. Good luck, read up, and don't be afraid to make some or most of your own stuff, but know when to rely on materials & construction that is superior to your own for the dollar spent.
 
billf said:
I have an Atlas forge and the small anvil. They are great and will probably do anything a beginner would want. Not necessarily ideal for swords/making lots of damascus etc... Ya gotta get started to get better, and even when you are slicker down the road, you will still use these!

Bill
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Thank you for the feedback. Does the width of the forge ever limit you on bigger knives or can you pretty much churn out anything you want? Like a larger chefs knife?
 
Bühlmann said:
I have a Graham anvil and really like it. I also was trying to save cash, so I built a two-brick forge (search 1 & 2-brick forges for instructions) and paired it with an Atlas burner for a pretty inexpensive but highly effective small knife-making forge. Good luck, read up, and don't be afraid to make some or most of your own stuff, but know when to rely on materials & construction that is superior to your own for the dollar spent.
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I appreciate the reply; the Graham does look pretty sweet but doesn’t seem to be in stock. Probably out of my price range too. I’ll look up the diy forge and see if it’s something I might consider. Thanks again
 
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If the Graham is out of reach, look at his original knifemaking anvil w/o the horn. That will do just fine if you are focused on making blades and you won't miss the horn. Plus you can add a conical hardy tool if you find you need to down the road. All of the Atlas anvils have the mass centered over the striking surface, so you can get by with less weight because the mass is centered, making your strikes more efficient. It's well thought out.

Go to YouTube and search "How To Make A Mini Forge For Knife Making" by OUTDOORS55. I'd just link you to it, but that's against the rules here.....
There are many other good instructional videos out there, that's just the one I liked.

His is simple and inexpensive. I gave up on the MAP gas and got the Atlas burner, but it was like $60 or so for the excellent 30K burner, hose, and regulator. Well worth it for me vs. screwing around with MIG tips and hoping to get good performance with tuning. Lots of guys do it, and I'm sure I could too but my time is worth more than the cost of that burner. 2 bricks plus the burner, hose, & regulator (I added a steel frame and some IR refractory lining...also from Atlas) and you are into it for well under $100. I used the MAP gas bottle as the template for my hole, which is 3". That may be why MAP gas never worked out for me getting to forging temps. I have an inexpensive thermocouple hooked to a cheap multimeter that says I reach in excess of 2300F with that Atlas burner. Not sure how accurate that is, but whether it is or not it is definitely hot enough to forge carbon steel with. It's also very economical on the propane.


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Bühlmann said:
If the Graham is out of reach, look at his original knifemaking anvil w/o the horn. That will do just fine if you are focused on making blades and you won't miss the horn. Plus you can add a conical hardy tool if you find you need to down the road. All of the Atlas anvils have the mass centered over the striking surface, so you can get by with less weight because the mass is centered, making your strikes more efficient. It's well thought out.

Go to YouTube and search "How To Make A Mini Forge For Knife Making" by OUTDOORS55. I'd just link you to it, but that's against the rules here.....
There are many other good instructional videos out there, that's just the one I liked.

His is simple and inexpensive. I gave up on the MAP gas and got the Atlas burner, but it was like $60 or so for the excellent 30K burner, hose, and regulator. Well worth it for me vs. screwing around with MIG tips and hoping to get good performance with tuning. Lots of guys do it, and I'm sure I could too but my time is worth more than the cost of that burner. 2 bricks plus the burner, hose, & regulator (I added a steel frame and some IR refractory lining...also from Atlas) and you are into it for well under $100. I used the MAP gas bottle as the template for my hole, which is 3". That may be why MAP gas never worked out for me getting to forging temps. I have an inexpensive thermocouple hooked to a cheap multimeter that says I reach in excess of 2300F with that Atlas burner. Not sure how accurate that is, but whether it is or not it is definitely hot enough to forge carbon steel with. It's also very economical on the propane.


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Looks awesome! Thank you for the link and sample pics. Very appealing to see if I can DIY one for myself and save some cash.

The regular Atlas knife makers anvil is calling my name. I like the simplicity of it.

I appreciate your thoughts and your setup is a great reference for me.
 
You won't regret an Atlas anvil, they were designed for making knives instead of horseshoes, with the input of members on here over the years. It's based off a post anvil similar to what Rick Marchand uses, with a hardy hole added to it. The Graham anvil is great, but I can't keep them in stock and won't have more until probably November. You could look at the Alec instead. It's basically an Atlas with a horn added to it and a 3-swage added to the base. I've got plenty of them in stock.
As to forges, get an Atlas. It uses 1/3 the propane of the Graham, meaning it costs less to operate and won't heat up the shop as badly as the Graham. There's very little that you will forge as a knifemaker that can't be done in an Atlas. If you find the need in the future, get a 2nd bigger forge for the occasional use. The savings of a smaller main forge will pay for it in propane savings. The Atlas also gets seriously hot compared to bigger forges.

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Atlas Knife Company said:
You won't regret an Atlas anvil, they were designed for making knives instead of horseshoes, with the input of members on here over the years. It's based off a post anvil similar to what Rick Marchand uses, with a hardy hole added to it. The Graham anvil is great, but I can't keep them in stock and won't have more until probably November. You could look at the Alec instead. It's basically an Atlas with a horn added to it and a 3-swage added to the base. I've got plenty of them in stock.
As to forges, get an Atlas. It uses 1/3 the propane of the Graham, meaning it costs less to operate and won't heat up the shop as badly as the Graham. There's very little that you will forge as a knifemaker that can't be done in an Atlas. If you find the need in the future, get a 2nd bigger forge for the occasional use. The savings of a smaller main forge will pay for it in propane savings. The Atlas also gets seriously hot compared to bigger forges.
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Awesome info here sir! I sent you an email this afternoon and you’ve pretty much nailed all my questions. Thank you for that. It sounds like the Atlas forge is the right one for me so I am sold there. Less heat in the shop is a big selling point for me.

Now I’ve got to figure out the anvil…I’m not sure if the extra features are worth it for me on the Alec but I like the idea of versatility. On the other hand, the simplicity of the Atlas and cost savings are appealing too.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and explain your products to me. I’ll be an Atlas customer one day here soon.
 
I’m down by Orlando!
I‘ve heard a lot of great things about the Atlas forge, I personally needed something bigger so I bought some nice burners and made everything else (saved a lot of money doing it)
As for an anvil, I‘d keep a look out on ebay, I got my 317 pound south German pattern anvil which is in excellent condition off of eBay for practically scrap price!
 
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