Ever since sophomore year, I’ve watched forging videos on Youtube and Forged In Fire on Netflix.  I have learned much about forging because of the videos I watch and how they describe the process.  I like forging because it’s cool to see how a sword is made.  A finished weapon starts as a piece of scrap metal; An Idea is made, then that idea is brought to life by working for hours or even days to create the finished product.  In some of the Youtube videos I watch, they take rusty metal parts and make them into something shiny and new like a Katana: a single-edge curved blade with a guard commonly used by samurai in Japanese culture, Kunai: a multi-purpose gardening tool triangular and a Japanese weapon, Trident: a 3 pronged spear, used for spear-fishing in swamp and sea, also known as  Posiden’s weapon, spears:  are pointy sticks mainly used for hunting and as a weapon, scythe:  an agricultural tool used for cutting grass and shrub, and other weapons.  

This hobby could turn into a full-time job where you get paid if you decided to sell the weapons you made on eBay and Amazon.  There are many tools and equipment required for forging including gloves, goggles, an anvil, a hammer, a vice, tongs, etc.  To start forging, the equipment costs around $300-$500.  Buying used equipment will help save a lot of money. These tools are essential because they help with shaping the blade you would like to create and making it sharp.  There are many rules about forging including safety, and following parameters.  Some safety measures would be wearing fire-resistant clothing, safety goggles, and a face shield to protect your face from sparks.

You can start forging by learning to work with metals in college or taking a class with a professional blacksmith.  In order to become a forger, you must have a bachelor’s degree.  Fine arts, Business, and precision metalworking are required to get a bachelor’s degree in forging.  On average,  a blacksmith gets paid around $31k-$49k per year.  After that, you can gather your materials and do a workshop to set up your forging materials at home and start forging on your own.  Forging does have some downsides including a hot environment, capital cost, oxidation of metal, selling to the wrong people, and many procedures required.  

After gaining some experience with forging, I plan to get on the Netflix show Forged in Fire and show the world my work.  My dad and I both like Forged in Fire because they tell us which time period, which part of the country a weapon is from, and what its purpose is.  

A YouTube content creator called Random Hands makes many different weapons out of rusty metal and shows the process of how he makes them.  This inspires me because it shows me that you can turn something old into something new and improved.