Possible to bladesmith alone?

[AenglonOtt]

I know this may seem like a silly question to some, but I am new to this as I am in the process of setting up my own shop for bladesmithing. I would like to start out with smaller material such as knives (3-4" blades probably) or small daggers and eventually work my way up into larger projects. However, my question is this; do you absolutely need an assistant once you start working on larger blades such as a sword? (Not really what I am intending to do now, but just thought I would like to try it out one day if I could work up the courage). Is it possible to do it alone, and I am speaking of your typical steel and not Damascus. I have heard that a power hammer is extremely useful and a good aid when working alone, but I do not have the $$ to acquire one of those.

 

[NJBillK]

There is a whole T.V. show based around this "solo smith" idea, and it is very likely that you have seen it. Forged in Fire.

While it may be a bit flamboyant and not show all of the steps, it does give a basic overview of what making a knife or sword entails. Many of these smiths work alone on their projects.

What makes you think that you cannot?

 

[AenglonOtt]

Thanks for the reply, and I have seen bits and pieces of the show but I do not think I have ever had the chance to sit down and actually watch an entire episode. I will check some out whenever I get the chance. And I have heard some people before say it was "extremely" difficult to make swords alone and some even say it was impossible (but the folks that told me that werent the most knowledgeable to be honest from some other research I did), and in my situation I just figured I would ask as I have no helpers or assistants available just to be 100% positive.

 

[Charlie Mike]

I've done it. I'm not about hammering hot steel but I can walk 15' from my living room couch and be in a machine shop.

 

[flatblackcapo]

You will get better feed back if you post / have your thread moved to the Shop Talk section.
https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/shop-talk-bladesmith-questions-and-answers.741/

I think most makers work alone unless demand for their knives / swords reaches a point it makes sense to hire a helper or two.

 

[eisman]

Ideally you want to attend a "hammer-in" or two and then you'll have a better chance to answer this yourself.

 

[anthonycastorena2014]

There is a whole T.V. show based around this "solo smith" idea, and it is very likely that you have seen it. Forged in Fire.

While it may be a bit flamboyant and not show all of the steps, it does give a basic overview of what making a knife or sword entails. Many of these smiths work alone on their projects.

What makes you think that you cannot?

I was about to say the same thing. Forged in fire is pretty awesome and the guys make some pretty impressive stuff.

 

[b00n]

And I have heard some people before say it was "extremely" difficult to make swords alone and some even say it was impossible (but the folks that told me that werent the most knowledgeable to be honest from some other research I did), and in my situation I just figured I would ask as I have no helpers or assistants available just to be 100% positive.

That sounds like something somebody would say if all they've got as reference are TV shows and movies about Medieval times where almost always a Blacksmith had some teenage assistant scuttling about. I can see no logical reason not to do it alone. I'm sure you'll get to sword size in due time, but it's a good idea to start with smaller pieces, then work you way up.

 

[Grayzer86]

I would venture to say the majority of smiths work alone. Even though it can be helpful to have a holder or striker sometimes, the vast majority of my forging is done alone. I have a friend that makes mostly Viking style swords and large knives, and makes them very well. I’m not talking rushed out half assed pieces, but swords made from elaborate multibar Damascus construction. He made quite a few of these by hand, by himself, before he ever had a power hammer or other fancy tools.

 

[i4Marc]

You should watch some of this guy's videos:

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I taught myself pretty much everything I do. Back in the 1950-60 there was no You-Tube, videos, chat rooms, etc. There were probably less than 10 books available on smithing, and none of them were about knives. I never met another smith until I had been doing it for 30 years. It was meeting another knifemaker that got me into doing this for the public ... and here I am.

 

[DAMNENG]

I agree that most bladesmiths work alone, most of the time. Every bladesmith I know talks about how they learned a trick or technique while working with another person. This may have been in their shop, the other persons shop or a hammer in. I have seldom spent time working with another person making knives that I didn't learn something. Even working with a person who never made a knife before can be quite enlightening. You find that they approach a task differently from what you would. Sometimes you ask yourself "why didn't I think of that" and sometimes the question is "why the hell did they do that?" Either way there is usually some useful information exchanged.

I know several knifemakers who after spending great amounts of time alone in the shop, ended up living alone! LOL

Jim A.
PS Now that you are part of the group therapy we refer to as the forum, how about filling out your profile.

 

[AenglonOtt]

You should watch some of this guy's videos:

Yeah I have watched alot of his videos, and also Freerk Wieringa on youtube, that guy makes some amazing quality pieces.

 

[jdm61]

The biggest obstacle to doing really big blades is typically not that you don't have an assistant, but that you don't have an oven big enough to heat treat such pieces. Power hammers and presses certainly help, but they are not a requirement.

 

[JTknives]

You don’t need an assistant for much of anything related to bladesmithing. Hell you don’t even need power tools if it comes down to it. I forged this out for a customer the other day and used zero power tools. Nothing powered by electricity touched this blade, except the forge which has an electric blower. I refined it enough with the hammer that if you wanted you could just sharpen it on a stone and be done. Skills are more important then tools so don’t let a lack of them hold you back from making somthing.

 

[DevinT]

I was working by myself one day and an attractive woman walked up and asked if I work alone, I said sometimes. She then pulled out a custom fragrance and showed it to me.

Then I realized she asked “do you wear cologne?”, not work alone.

True story

Hoss

 

[Geoff Flato]

I very rarely have someone working with me. An assistant is nice, but with a shop as cramped as mine a second person is in the way as much as a help.

 

[Jonathans]

Its much better to work alone. That way you have no witnesses to the recovery process.

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

Is there any other way? I really have never entertained the idea of having an assistant. I like to have full control over everything that leaves my shop and I think most bladesmiths are the same way. Companies that operate more like an assembly line are usually the ones that have more workers.