StretchLearn Course

Start Forging Steel Today

Master the fire, the hammer, and the anvil in four practical modules.

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes you from a cold shop floor to a working blacksmith's station. You will learn how coal and propane forges behave differently, how to read steel heat by colour, and how to control the hammer to move metal precisely. By the final module you will execute drawing-out, upsetting, bending, and a basic heat treatment sequence — the four operations that underpin every project a blacksmith makes.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Set up and light a propane or coal forge safely and maintain a correct fire

Read steel temperature by colour from black heat through orange to white and select the right heat for each operation

Execute drawing-out, upsetting, and hot-bending strokes with a cross-peen and rounding hammer

Forge a wall hook or knife blank from mild-steel or 1084 bar stock using a standard anvil and hardy tools

Perform a basic normalise–quench–temper heat treatment cycle and verify hardness

Identify and correct five common forging defects including scale pitting, cold shuts, and over-quench cracking

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: The Forge — Fire, Fuel, and Shop Safety

Understand how coal and propane forges work, how to light and maintain them, and how to build a safe blacksmithing workspace from scratch.

3 lessons

Coal vs Propane: Choosing Your Heat SourceContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Shop Layout and Personal Protective EquipmentContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Lighting, Maintaining, and Shutting Down the ForgeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Reading Steel — Heat, Colour, and Metal Behaviour

Learn to read steel temperature by colour, understand how carbon content affects forgeability, and recognise the heats at which each forging operation succeeds or fails.

3 lessons

The Colour Scale: From Black Heat to WhiteContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Steel Grades for Beginners: Mild Steel and 1084Content · 45 min

LMS Access

Diagnosing Forge Problems: Scale, Grain, and Burning SteelContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Hammer and Anvil — The Four Core Operations

Master drawing-out, upsetting, bending, and punching — the four hammer operations that form the basis of every blacksmithing project.

3 lessons

Grip, Stance, and Hammer SelectionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Drawing Out and UpsettingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Hot Bending, Punching, and Hardy Tool UseContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: First Project and Heat Treatment

Forge a complete wall hook or 1084 knife blank from start to finish, then perform a normalise-quench-temper heat treatment cycle and test the result.

3 lessons

Forging a Wall Hook from Mild SteelContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Forging a Knife Blank from 1084Content · 45 min

LMS Access

Normalise, Quench, and Temper — The Heat Treatment CycleContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

blacksmithingforgingmetalworkinganvilhammer techniqueheat treatmentcoal forgepropane forge