[NTLK] o/t blacksmithing

[Dale A. Raby]

Didn't know there were fans of smiths on the list.  I wonder if there is any signifigance to that?

Anyway, I loosely portray a smith from the period 1865-1910 or so.  The most common question(s) I am asked; do you shoe horses, make knives/guns/swords, and (believe it or not, though I am standing in front of a forge and London pattern anvil wearing a leather apron and holding a cross-peen hammer) "Are you a blacksmith?"  The answers are "no", "yes, but no I won't make one for you", and "What was your first clue?".

Mostly I make various kinds of hooks as the average attention span corresponds to the amount of time a modern child watches television before the commercial... ten to fifteen minutes... the time it takes me to make an S hook.  I also make tools and parts for modern farm implements, and once a part for my battered '91 Ford Escort.

Its an interesting avocation, but I don't think I could handle it full-time to make a living at.  Due to a shoulder injury from the first Persian Gulf War, I really can't handle much work with hammers weighing much over a pound, so I have to keep the work small.

Soon I'll have to decide which commitments to accept for the Summer.  The handicapped kids school will probably have priority, also the Cub Scout camp, and possibly the rennaisance faire in Door County.  The regular farmer's market might be an option... if I can fit it into my regular job selling guns.  You gotta eat if you want to continue any avocation.

OK, sorry if I hijacked this thread.  Anybody has smithing questions, please feel free to contact me off list.

Dale

On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 11:09:48PM +0200, Jon Glass wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 10:57 PM, Lord Groundhog
> <LordGroundhog at gmail.com> wrote:
> > don't know if you realize it, but your exhibitions are also for adults.  I
> > happily drive for miles to watch a blacksmith give a demo of his skills.
> > Incidentally, I've bought stuff from a blacksmith too, but even if I don't
> > buy I love to watch your craft.
> 
> With you all the way on that! In fact, long ago I posted a pic I once
> took of a man plying his craft (in Western PA):
> http://webaperture.com/gallery/photos/61599////mb
> 
> Every August, there's a craft fair here in Krakow, and sometimes
> there's a blacksmith (kowal). That's always my favorite. ;-)
> 
> -- 
>  -Jon Glass
> Krakow, Poland
> <jonglass at usa.net>
> 
> "I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals." --Jack Nicklaus
> 
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