I want to forge swords, armors and in general nifty metal sculptures. where do I start?

I've had a huge problem with apathy lately and need a change. When I was younger (I'm currently 21) I always wanted to forge metal and create Swords, Daggers and nifty/articulate sculptures. Mostly the weaponry though =P...Thinking about this has got me very, very excited but all my research on Google has told me nothing of what I want to know. Do you know which specific arts it sounds like I am interested in? I would like to start some cles in the Chicago, IL area (always willing to move out of state) and possibly find a mentor to teach me hands on out of the cl room.