I received my forge a couple days ago and I spent the morning putting it together. I was going to build one but I really want to get started so I did some research and found this Whitlox Homesteader forge, it's perfect for me, I love it! Family owned and Made in the USA.

It's a wood burning forge, not coal, so the fuel is more readily available and after much research, being the lover of anything historical, I found that wood was used for eons for forging, coal is a more recent invention, there are pros and cons of both, but I found an attraction to forging with wood.

 

I got the mini forge, their full size forge is over twice the length, for now I believe my needs will be met with the smaller version, they have blower options to add and a stand, but I did not get those items, I'll build my own stand and I already have a blower.

 

The image below is the forge basically together, the Kaowool is laid on the sides of the forge as a heat barrier. 

 

 

 

 

The fire bricks 

 

There is a pipe that goes through the bottom of the forge to supply the forced air to heat things up, and produce charcoal which is ultimately what we want for the high heat. Whitlox claims you can actually forge weld with this forge using wood as fuel, and I've seen it done so I was sold on that.

 

 

I went ahead and purchased the stack as well, not only can I have more control where the smoke and sparks go, but by having the hood over the forge it'll actually cause a draft from the bottom up, which increase the heat.

 

I'm going to have a lot of fun jumping into this craft. I have much to learn and I'll share what I learn as I go  

So at this point I have my anvil, I have a hand cranked blower, a set of tongs, a couple good hammers. I think I have enough to get started, and I'll make the tools as I need them. Most blacksmiths make their own tools as they go, there's not much that is needed that we can't make on our own.

 

My ultimate goal is to be able to make my own forged strap hinges, locks, and all kinds of other types of hinges and even nails, I'll use it all in my own woodworking endeavors, furniture builds etc, and I can say, ya, I made the WHOLE THING!  I'll also make the occasional fireplace tool set, and what ever else mama wants, friends and family, and perhaps if I good get enough I can display my wares in open markets during retirement to supplement our income. 

Thanks for following me along this exciting journey!

 

Here's a video of the forge in action by the folks at Whilox Forge. I like supporting family businesses like this whenever I can.

 

Here is a neat video with the Whitlox daughter Corey forging a fire poker.

 

Here is my small anvil and stand I built last year.

Here's my blower. 

And my helper! Her name is "Lady", our 2.5 year old GSD. Love that gal.

 

I picked up this old Canedey Otto blower up from an old blacksmith nearby, he restored it and decided he was kind of done with the craft as he feels he's getting a little old for it, so he put it up on the market and I picked it up for 275 bucks, I got a pretty good deal, he was very nice, and happy to see it go to someone who is going to use it, specially a beginner.

 

Pretty cool but I thought Californians weren't allowed to light fires.

9 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

Pretty cool but I thought Californians weren't allowed to light fires.

As long as you don't inhale!

28 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

Pretty cool but I thought Californians weren't allowed to light fires.

 

It raining today Dan! This one day, out of the entire year, we got rain, and we can light fires!

That’s awesome John, good luck with your new craft!

2 minutes ago, Zack said:

That’s awesome John, good luck with your new craft!

Thanks Zack! I'll keep y'all up to date on my progress, look for some weird shaped things made of metal for my first attempts. 

yer gonna shoot your eye out kid......

 

 

Oughta' keep you warm come July and August.  First project: make some hot dog and marshmallow roasting forks.

The Ag Museum where Woodturners meet has a large forge and the Forge Council meets there every month.

 Been watching "Forged in Fire". 

6 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said:

 Been watching "Forged in Fire". 

haven't seen that in years Larry, how do you like it? I remember watching it with my son when he was younger, kind of lost interest in it when it all went to knife making, how many times can ya watch people make long pointy things?

3 hours ago, John Morris said:

haven't seen that in years Larry, how do you like it? I remember watching it with my son when he was younger, kind of lost interest in it when it all went to knife making, how many times can ya watch people make long pointy things?

 

Like it better than most of that Unreality TV out there. Our OTA TV is only 20 years behind here "Two Weeks From Anywhere". 

Forged in fire is alright. What gets me is how little time they have to work. How do they expect to have anything decent with only a few hours to do it. I hand forged a hunting knife about 20 years ago, took me a month.

hammer time!!!!

 

bang, bang, maxwells silver hammer.....

 

if i had a hammer.....i'd hammer in the morning....

2 minutes ago, DAB said:

hammer time!!!!

 

bang, bang, maxwells silver hammer.....

 

if i had a hammer.....i'd hammer in the morning....

 

Never seen a forge like that @John Morris . Very interesting. Thx for the writeup!

On 4/25/2026 at 6:24 PM, MrRick said:

Very interesting. Thx for the writeup!

Thanks Rick! I have used it only once since I purchased it and I need to get it out again and experiment. There is so much to do still before we move, this week I start once again digging in and getting the home ready to sell, and head out east. There is still quite a road ahead of us before we are settled in and I have a shop to work in and pursue the gazillion interests I have.🙂