Blacksmith Course: Essential Skills

Concise 26-page primer covering history of the craft, shop safety, forge anatomy, fuels, metals, basic tools, and your first project. A clean starting point if you have never lit a forge.

Orange County Blacksmiths Guild

Comprehensive 158-page study guide covering forging fundamentals, projects, tooling, and safety. Image-based scan but the content is thorough and battle-tested in real shop classrooms.

Bob Fredell & Pete Stanaitis

Peace Corps training manual on basic forge techniques, written for instructors who teach blacksmithing in development settings. Practical, illustrated, and free of jargon.

The Farallones Institute Rural Center and CHP International

FAO training manual that walks you through forging blacksmith tools, mechanic and carpenter tools, and farm hardware for small-scale rural workshops. Each project builds on the previous one.

J.B. Stokes