I have sat back and read the posts so far, but will put in my 2 cents worth:
Build a forge you can use. It may cost a few bucks more, but will pay for itself in saved sanity and better knives. A 6-8" tubular body by 12-14" long forge is a simple and very usable forge. A simple venturi burner is all you will need to start with. The whole build should cost less than $100....maybe half that with some scrounging.
Use a simple steel. 1084 is about as simple as it gets. 1095 requires more work ( sorry Tai) and isn't the best choice to START on. 1084 is simple to get, simple to shape, simple to HT, simple to finish. The real plus is it makes an excellent knife. It is the only steel I would say that anyone could HT with only a torch and magnet.
Start simple and work you way up. A small drop point hunter is a good first project. Save the honkin' Bowie for knife number ten.
Only get/build what you need as you need it. Too many folks get good equipment before they have good skills. Making a knife with files and sandpaper , and sending it to another smith for HT is a smarter way to learn than buying/building $5000 worth of tools and messing up a lot of steel.
bladsmith, thankyou for your input, all information on this site is extremely helpful to a new knife maker like myself, my first approach has always stuck, start simple and work up, here is my view on things
I feel that before i learn to walk in the mist of you knife builders i need to learn to crawl, and i feel this in the way i am starting off, if i want to build quality knives i need to start from the basics, appreciate that hard work, and know that its a hobby i will enjoy, so i will build my first knives with basic tools, files, saws, rasp and dremel, the only things ive had to buy so far are files and saws, this is my crawling stage, then when i have appreciated the hard work and i enjoy this,then i will look into buying electric sanders, drill press, anvil, i have seen in too many hobbies people forking out tons of cash and realising its just not for them, and when so many experts offer me advice i would be an idiot to ignore it, ive grabbed some 1084 steel, its all i read for beginners and how could so many of you fine craftsman be so wrong, ive also started with a simple design, a 4 1/2" drop point blade, nothing crazy about it, a simple wooden handle, its basic, the bowie, haha i agree that will be knife no.10 but i hope it will be made out of my own forged damascus too
As for the forger itself, im doing a diy thing, weather i spend $50 or $100 on it, i just want it to do the job i need it too, and be able to take a blade big enough where i am not having to rebuild the entire thing 6-7 weeks down the track because it cant fit the new blade i want to build, so there has to be some practicality in it there too.
Trust me when i say that i have done nothing but taken in all advice, i have asked some stupid stuff, but its the only way i learn is to ask questions.
So thankyou for your response, i am and have taken on everything yourself and everyone else has said.
cheers mate
On the other hand, there's almost always a pearl of wisdom in even his craziest comments.
