How long would it take to become relatively competent at forging to make pans and Dutch ovens, etc.?
A neighbor of mine invited me to check out his forge. It was pretty cool; he had a big and small one, three different sized automatic hammers (I really don’t know what they’re called, please forgive my ignorance), anvils, grind wheels, etc. A whole set up. He showed me swords and knives he has made and pictures of others. He invited me to learn if I wanted to, said he would show me the ropes with his son who just graduated college and is spending the next year at home and learning forging before grad school.
I really have ZERO desire, like none, to forge knives but when I was at home, a hobby I have is refurbishing cast iron through electrolysis, grinding and polishing smooth, acid etching for grip, and seasoning old pieces. While doing this, I thought, “It would be fun to make my own set of forged pans.”
While I’ve never forged, I tend to pick these things up relatively quickly. If I spent five hours a week, 40 weeks a year learning, what is the time frame for me making realistically decent quality (completely functional and moderately aesthetically pleasing) pans from 8-12” and Dutch ovens from 6-10”? That’s about two hundred hours a year learning. He told me knives is relatively easy to pick up but takes a while to master while making pans, he’s never done, would be difficult because I would have to move a “large amount of billet” whatever that means.
So what am I looking at here, 1-3 years or more like 7-10? I’m trying to decide if I want to invest the time into this. Let’s assume I’ll pick up the craft like a B+ - A- beginner and apprentice when I make it to that level