Blacksmithing is a hobby that is growing in popularity all over the world, as people develop a new interest in exploring this ancient art form and learning to work and shape metal with their hands. It’s a fantastic way to develop a deeper understanding of the art and science of metalworking, and to make things that you can enjoy for years to come.
If you have an interest in taking up blacksmithing, but don’t know where to begin, a beginner kit is a great investment in the first set of tools and equipment you need to become a blacksmith. A beginner blacksmith kit gives you everything you need to get started, in a complete, convenient package. Just add a hard flat object to hit stuff on (really any piece of steel will do fine to start) and a way to heat the metal (check out some easy to make forges here) They also make great gifts for aspiring blacksmiths. Here are some of the best beginner blacksmith kits.
Each one offers a different set of items from just basic hammers to including tongs and safety gear. Have a look and choose the ones that fit what you need to get started.
Goplus Tools 5-Piece Blacksmith Starter Kit
- 2 ball pein hammers for reshaping metal surfaces, riveting, and rounding edges of metal pins and fasteners
- 1 rubber mallet for shaping mortar beds, or working with wood, soft metal, or tiles
- 1 sledgehammer for small demolition jobs like breaking concrete and drywall or for driving stakes
- 1 cross pein hammer for shaping and bending unhardened metal, or for shaping brick and stone blocks
The heads are made of forged, polished steel for strength and durability. The handles are made of fibreglass, with solid cores that absorb vibration and shock and reduce fatigue. The handles are covered with non-slip plastic and have rubber grips for a lasting, secure hold.
These hammers have great grip and shock absorption that let you to work comfortably for long periods and are an excellent size and weight for maximum efficiency.
Whitlox Hammer & Tongs Blacksmith Starter Kit
- A Chicago Electric leather apron designed to protect you and your clothes from hot sparks. It has four pockets to keep your tools and supplies close at hand, neck and waist straps for a comfortable fit, and double-stitched seams for durability
- A steel brush with a long, easy-grip handle and durable steel bristles perfect for knocking off scale.
- A Kseibi cross pein hammer made of high-carbon steel with high hardness and a durable wooden handle. This hammer has a size and weight meant to reinforce good form and reduce vibration and fatigue.
- Western Safety clear safety glasses for rugged eye protection.
- Whitlox 16-inch wolf jaw tongs sized to grab and hold many sizes and shapes of stock. These tongs grip securely both end-on and cross-way, and are sturdy and lightweight. The ball ends provide grip and ease of use. These tongs are well-designed and versatile, ideal for beginner blacksmiths who don’t have a different pair of tongs for every purpose.
- Natural beeswax to provide a professional finishing touch to forged pieces. Beeswax closes the pores in metal, protecting it from water that can lead to corrosion and rust, and also provides a natural, attractive, slightly glossy finish.
With the basics of safety gear, the two most important tools, and even finishing brushes and beeswax, this set is a great start for a beginner blacksmith to work their first metal from beginning to end. Despite being a beginner kit, the components are rugged and durable, high-quality and designed to last for years to come.
Blacksmith Tongs Beginner Kit
Including both Wolfjaw tongs, my favorite all round style of tongs, and V-bit tongs. This Starter kit will handle most all of your blacksmith needs until you develop the skill to tackle harder projects. By then you will have the skills to make tongs that fit your needs!
They open at about a 45 degrees and can hold both flat and round stock at 1/4 to 3/8 inch securely. Perfect for new blacksmiths.
Beginner Knifemaking Tongs Set
If you are planning to make knives these specialized tongs are exactly what you need to securely hold your knife making steel billets.
- V-Bit Blade Tongs – Extremely versatile and effective in respect to handling wider flat stock sizes up to 1 1/2 inches , 1/4 inch thickness or less.Designed with deep V Groves in the jaws to insure your flat stock stays deadlocked while delivering heavy hammer blows.
- Blade Tongs – Will handle a variety of stock thickness from 1/8 to 3/8 inches. Allowing easy transitions from forge to anvil. Designed for Knife-smiths these tongs will allow you to grip the knife in various positions when drawing out the blade.
- Flat Tongs – For 1/4 inch Flat Stock. These tongs are made out of thinner material, making the tongs lighter and easier to handle when working with smaller stock sizes. They are great for almost any project and can be shaped into box jaw, wolf jaw, or v-bit tongs to hold various sizes of metal.
- Material: Forged from high quality steel round stock providing the user with a comfortable grip. Finished with non-slip wax to protect from rust and corrosion. All tongs measure approximately 15 1/2 to 16 inches making them easy to maneuver in addition to keeping your hands a safe distance from the forge when removing steel.
Beginner BlackSmith Forges
There are several ways to go with a blacksmith forge, the biggest decision is the type of fuel it will use. Coal, Propane and Charcoal are the big 3 and they all have pros and cons. Propane is easy to source but can get expensive (a 20lb bottle usually last me about 4 hours of forge time). Coal is very dirty and learning to manage the fire is an entire skill in itself and IMO not worth the trouble when starting out. Charcoal is a middle ground between the ease of propane and the high heat of coal. Here are couple of great options for a forge for the beginner blacksmith.
Whitlox Wood Fired Forges
There are 2 sizes of this forge available. I have one and use it regularly even though I have a propane forge as well. There is just something about tending the fire that feels right when blacksmithing. Both of these forges will run on lump charcoal (avoid charcoal briquettes if possible) and even scraps of wood will work just fine. They very easily get hot enough to forge weld and will even melt steel if you aren’t careful.
- Trench-shaped firebed focuses hot charcoal at draft for maximum heat.
- Complete Blacksmith forge with blower, optimized for charcoal or wood fuel
For a propane forge I’d go with a simple all included kit. You can make one yourself but having been down that road it is a lot of hassle to find all of the parts from specialized gas fittings to ceramic blankets and rigidizer. Instead I’d recommend a beginner forge kit like this one that has everything and comes with instructions.
- The Burner Nozzle is made from SS-304 material
- Heating zone is lined with 1 in. thick ceramic fiber blanket which is coated by Rigidizer, It can resist 2600° Fahrenheit (1425° Celsius Approx.) so we can say that it can reach up to welding temperature and it also reduce fuel consumption too, 1 in. thick refractory fire brick will be placed at the floor to provide superior strength, durability and resist high velocity firing, And all this refractory materials are easy to replace
- Powerful burner gives out a neutral flame by leaving a small amount of oxygen for scaling, burner has High quality nozzle made from SS-304 for increase the efficiency of burner with the help of air chock valve (top of the burner) to create adjustable air flow control to get maximum combustion as you need a different quantity of air on different pressure you can adjust the air chock valve to regulate the specific amount of air to mix with the propane during combustion to reach forging temp.
- You can check Pressure in manometer to adjust gas pressure from regulator to control gas consumption
- We give Complementary Ceramic Blanket Piece to insulate burner pipe (gap between burner and forge) which helps maintain heat inside fo
The Anvil
Finally, the anvil. THe big heavy hunk of metal you hit things on. The most important things about an anvil are the
1) Rebound. How much of the energy bounces back up into your blow rather than being absorbed into the anvil. Having bad rebound means you have to work harder to move hot iron and will tire much faster.
2) Mass under the working face. The more mass under your blows that easier it will be to move the hot steel. This is why anvils are super heavy (more mass).
A premium anvil for a working smith can easily run into the several thousands of dollars range and is overkill for a starting blacksmith.
Typically you want a forged anvil not a cast iron anvil since the cast iron ones have typically worse rebound. However a small forged anvil like this one.
- Hardened and Tempered STEEL, it also has a beautiful ring to it!!
- Hardy Hole 5/8 inch x 5/8 inch square 12 tip to tip
- Horn: Widest 3 x 1 3/4 then tapers
- Working Surface: 9 x 3 1/2 widest point Base 9 x 3 1/4
- Heat Treated Surface Mounting ho
At only 20lbs it is pretty light and will bounce like crazy when struck until it is permanently mounted. For a similar price you can get started with a cast iron anvil that is far heavier and will let you get going in the hobby with less hassle.
- CAST IRON ANVIL: Hammer and form any metal work piece with this 100-pound anvil featuring a graded cast iron body in Olympia hammertone grey with polished surface and log shaped horn.
- ERGONOMIC DESIGN: This solid and durable cast iron anvil features secure holes on all four sides of its base, enabling you to mount it firmly to your workspace for safe use. Polished area: 13 x 4.25
At 100lbs this anvil will take your hardest blows and not budge. The fact that it has Free Shipping will save you more than the cost of the anvil just in shipping fees.
Wrapping it up
A beginner blacksmithing tool kit is a fantastic way to start a blacksmithing hobby, taking some of the guesswork out of buying all the tools, supplies, and equipment you need to start enjoying the satisfaction of working with metal.
Over time, as a person builds skill and expertise, or as projects get more complex, it is natural to gain a greater understanding of which tools are best for your work and your needs, and to start purchasing (or even making) more advanced, customized tools. But this understanding often only comes with time and experience, and in the beginning, you have to start somewhere.
These kits will put any beginner blacksmith off on the right foot, with the basic tools and equipment they need to get started with blacksmithing and metallurgy.
See the best selling (and I think the best overall) beginner blacksmith kit on Amazon and read the reviews to see why by Clicking Here.
More Guides By Me:
Want to learn how to forge your first knife? Check out my beginners guide
Looking to improve your skills or learn new projects? See the Best Blacksmithing Books I use.
Completely new to Blacksmithing and want to know what the tools and equipment you need are?
-THE STAY AT HOME DAD