first timer needing help

thanks. anyone here know what grade of rebar they use when doing slab work on houses and buildings? if its the right grade i can always snag some of the pieces that they would be throwing out. also my mom lives near a recycling place that takes any metal so im sure i can find some good metal there. any clues on what i should look for while im there? im just looking for stuff to fiddle around with while learning. not gonna make anything of it just gonna learn the strokes. im more hands on than anything so im gonna be reading and messing with the metal as i go before i make anything.
 
Rebar is really useful for handles on the billets you are forging. Then you cut it off and throw it away. It is not useful for knives.
 
after reading the last comment about mower blades I drove out to a friends who is a fellow member of "cal art blacksmith ass." with my mower blade knives. As I said may be I don't like my knives as hard as other people do but they do have to be hard enough to hold some kind of edge. My friend has a RC hardness tester. three knives tested all are differentially hardened results as follows. 40/45 40/48 44/50 funny the softer one is the one I use the most. Now I'm not a professional blade smith BUT I have been making knives for forty years. Even if I only made one knife a year thats a bit of experience.twenty years military service has shaped what I think a knife should do. I'm not trying to promote a mower blade as being the end all to the knife making world however, military service did not leave me with an abundance of extra cash and I thought I could share with this young man what I learned. Those lessons are as follows.
1. free metal is everywhere
2. learn to read a spark test with experience it can give a fair indication of carbon content.
3. you don't need fancy tools so create you need imagination and experimentation.
4. If you like it you did it right.
5. read everything you can.
6. don't be afraid to fail, the ones that don't work sometimes teach you more than the ones that do.
 
thanks. that helps me out. also i was able to ahold of some truck leaf springs from an offroading place. since they do the lift kits they tend to take off the old springs and replace them. therefore i asked them if i could have one of them and they gave me a whole spring cause thats all that they had.so one way to get some springs for free is to goto auto shops and offroading shops. i just realized that today. also i was able to get ahold of a grinder. still need to get a bench vise. also i got some buffing wheels and some compound. im gonna have someone help me identify what compound i should use on the knives. right now im just getting the supplies i need so that i can have them ready when i start to fiddle with the metal and get to know the process. i still need to find a forge or make one for myself. if i make one it will be either a coal forge or a propane forge. what other tools would i need for bladesmithing?
 
I like leaf springs better than mower blades, lot more consistent.
I cant stress enough read all you can. I think the first book you should reed is "the $50.00 knife shop" you will see how litter it really takes to make knives. Every tool you add just makes things easier.
 
i just want to have the tools that i need ready so i can experiment with them. all im missing right now is a forge and a belt sander and a bench vise. if anyone knows where i can get a bench vise for cheap please let me know. if you are near san antonio texas and have an extra or know where i can get one for cheap that would be great.
 
For general shop tools locally, look in the newspaper classifieds for "Yard Sales" and "Estate Sales/Auctions" that list tools. Sometimes you can find high quality for cheap.
 
You can get started with a file, a 2x4 and a c-clamp. You will read about how in the $50 Knifeshop. For Heat Treating you will need at least an oxy acetylene torch. Most of the questions you have asked will be answered in the book.. Not that we mind responding. You will just be able to understand a little better.

We are all still learning. I study almost every night doing reasearch to better my craft. part of it is the forums. Keep your mind open and learn all you can. Then realize that you will never stop.

Chuck
 
ok right now i have the following tools: hammers, anvil, wet/dry grinder, bench grinder, files, drill press, angle grinder. i also have a piese of unknown steel bar stock and a leaf spring. all i need and a bench vise and a forge or to find someone with a forge i can borrow at times.
 
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