Are you planning on starting blacksmithing and don’t know where to begin? Are you a more advanced smith looking for ideas, inspiration or wanting to learn new blacksmithing skills? If you are searching for the best blacksmithing books or blacksmithing videos available, you have come to the right place! Looking to learn to blacksmith? Artisan Ideas has the book for you! Already an experienced smith? Want to add some new blacksmithing skills to your skill set? We’ve got you covered! Whether it’s blacksmithing for beginners or pros, we have interesting books and DVDs for you.
Explore our famous Artisan Ideas online bookstore. It features a large selection of books and DVDs. Subjects include anvils, anvil tools, forges, forge welding, chasing, damascus steel, and much more. Artisan Ideas also has many books and DVDs with interesting – and fun – blacksmithing projects, at all levels.
Just starting blacksmithing? Learn to blacksmith with Randy McDaniel’s great blacksmithing for beginners book – A Blacksmithing Primer. Then practice important blacksmithing skills you will learn from Mark Aspery’s books on leafwork and traditional joinery. Francis Whitaker, Max Metzger and other great artist blacksmith masters will also teach you the secrets of their craft through their classic books.
Are you interested in forging animals or perhaps a human hand or head? Or maybe perfecting metal-moving techniques, or mastering chasing and repousse? Artisan Ideas has what you need. Our collection is for blacksmiths of all skill levels. There’s something valuable here for everyone.
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ANTIQUE LOCKS AND KEYS: THEIR HISTORY, USES AND MECHANISMS
$58.95European customers: Artisan Ideas books are now warehoused in the UK for faster delivery and lower postage costs across Europe and the rest of the world. Order directly from our European distributor, The Mare Nostrum Group, at MNG Bookshop. Bookstores and other retailers outside the US can send queries, or order from our distributor, at: enquiries@mare-nostrum.co.uk.
2024 GOLD MEDAL WINNER IN HOBBIES AND CRAFTS – INDEPENDENT BOOK PUBLISHERS 2024 BOOK AWARDS CONTEST!!
Antique Locks and Keys covers the history of locks and keys, how their mechanisms developed over the centuries, and how each major art period affected their shape and decoration. Not only are there over one-thousand stunning high-resolution photos of European locks and keys from Roman times through the Industrial Revolution, all with dates, dimensions, and provenance, but the detailed photos and the author’s notes also allow us to examine and understand the workings of the locks’ internal mechanisms.
Hardcover, 290 pages, over 1,000 high-quality color photos, 12-1/4-in. x 9-1/4-in.
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Anvils in America – Richard Postman | 2025 Hardcover Reprint
$95.00Artisan Ideas is proud to present the new 2025 hardcover reprint of Anvils in America by Richard Postman — the definitive anvil reference for blacksmiths, tool collectors, and historians. This large-format 564-page edition includes over 700 illustrations and remains the most authoritative work on anvil makers, identification, and manufacturing history.
Readers can contibute to keeping Anvils in America up-to-date. Visit the book’s Errata and Addenda page.
European customers: Artisan Ideas books are now warehoused in the UK for faster delivery and lower postage costs across Europe and the rest of the world. Order directly from our European distributor, The Mare Nostrum Group, at MNG Bookshop. Bookstores and other retailers outside the US can send queries, or order from our distributor, at: enquiries@mare-nostrum.co.uk.
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FORGED: MAKING A KNIFE WITH TRADITIONAL BLACKSMITH SKILLS
$29.95European customers: Artisan Ideas books are now warehoused in the UK for faster delivery and lower postage costs across Europe and the rest of the world. Order directly from our European distributor, The Mare Nostrum Group, at MNG Bookshop. Bookstores and other retailers outside the US can send queries, or order from our distributor, at: enquiries@mare-nostrum.co.uk.
Hardcover, 132 pages, full color
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SECRETS OF THE FORGE: BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE PROJECTS FOR BLACKSMITHS
$39.95European customers: Artisan Ideas books are now warehoused in the UK for faster delivery and lower postage costs across Europe and the rest of the world. Order directly from our European distributor, The Mare Nostrum Group, at MNG Bookshop. Bookstores and other retailers outside the US can send queries, or order from our distributor, at: enquiries@mare-nostrum.co.uk.
This large 224-page hardcover book contains 48 different blacksmithing projects.The individual steps of each job are clearly illustrated with high quality close-up color photos.
Hardcover, 225 pages, over 800 high-quality color photos, 9-½-inches x 11-¼-inches.
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2021 INTERNATIONAL METAL DESIGN ANNUAL (METALL DESIGN INTERNATIONAL 2021) BY PETER ELGASS
Original price was: $59.95.$32.97Current price is: $32.97.Hardcover, English/German text, 256 pages, circa 500 color photos
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CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN BLACKSMITHS – FROM IRON THROUGH FIRE (HARDCOVER)
Original price was: $29.95.$19.47Current price is: $19.47.This is a fascinating and wonderful book with English text. It presents in high quality color photos the newest work of some of Italy’s most talented and renowned artist-blacksmiths.
The creativity and virtuosity of these blacksmiths is apparent in this collection of their most recent works. This is an eclectic collection and showcases artists with very different styles.
This book is fascinating not only for the originality of the work presented but for some of the techniques used, which will certainly pique your interest and curiosity.
Hardcover, English/Italian text, 256 pages, all color photos
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PERSIAN LOCKS: 1500 YEARS OF IRANIAN PADLOCKS
$32.50European customers: Artisan Ideas books are now warehoused in the UK for faster delivery and lower postage costs across Europe and the rest of the world. Order directly from our European distributor, The Mare Nostrum Group, at MNG Bookshop. Bookstores and other retailers outside the US can send queries, or order from our distributor, at: enquiries@mare-nostrum.co.uk.
Persian Locks is a beautiful award-winning book detailing the lock-making traditions of Iran. With over 500 photos and illustrations, it will take you on a 1500 years lockmaking journey.
Hardcover, 144 pages, 10-inches x 8.5-inches, over 500 full color photos and drawings.
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HOW TO BUILD THE WET/DRY VAC PRECISION AIR CONTROLLER FOR FORGE AND FOUNDRY BY DON MEADOR – U
Original price was: $12.00.$6.00Current price is: $6.00.NOTE: This Is a Dented, Smudged, or Dinged Book Offered at a Special Price!!
Find Other Such Books in Our Bargain Basement Category
Softcover, 21 pages, 17 illustrations
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METAL CASTING 1 BY STEVE CHASTAIN: A SAND CASTING MANUAL FOR THE SMALL FOUNDRY (OUT OF PRINT BUT WE STILL HAVE STOCK!)
$35.00Paperback, 208 pages, B&W Photos
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2008 INTERNATIONAL METAL DESIGN ANNUAL (METALL DESIGN INTERNATIONAL 2008) BY PETER ELGASS
Original price was: $57.95.$47.50Current price is: $47.50.An in-depth photograpic Survey of the Work of Seven World-Class Smiths
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A BLACKSMITH’S CRAFT: THE LEGACY OF FRANCIS WHITAKER VOLUME 1 A Compendium of Processes, Tools, Patterns
$28.00A Blacksmiths Craft: The Legacy of Francis Whitaker is a detailed guide for blacksmiths of all levels. Covering essential techniques and processes for traditional blacksmithing this volume spans tools, basic processes, joinery, drawing, design, and architectural ironwork like rails and gates.
Hardcover, over 800 photos & drawings, 128 pages
