Do you think Blacksmithing has a chance? | EVERYTHING ELSE OFF TOPIC | Forum

I tend to agree with you, I'm a Jack of all trades and a master of none. I have learned a lot from most people in the blacksmith community, both hobbyist and professional. If there is one group within that community that I have learned the least from would be the "true path" group. I'm not sure if it is that they don't want to share, or they just don't like what I'm doing. I've worked with people that I feel are master smiths, both have taught or are still teaching at Herefordshire Collage and I have found them wonderful people, more than glad to work with you and show you tricks, even help with my designs, I never felt once that my work wasn't valid, and found them encouraging.

Now maybe if I want to be part of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths I will need to complete my training and pass their standards. I would expect that.

It would be nice to see a school that teach the skills with some type of curriculum similar to what is in Europe, but at this stage in life I doubt that I would enroll. My work is what it is, I do try to put my best out there, and it is what feeds me. My shop is very basic my primary tools are a gas forge and anvil, but I rarely call myself a blacksmith, and decided to say I'm a Metalsmith as it was a word I couldn't find in the dictionary.

The blacksmithing community is very diverse and welcoming it would be nice if it stays that way. Yes there will be sub groups within the community and that is its strong point, it gives everyone a home.

Larry, the church analogy is a pretty good one. Yours might be inclusive but there are lots who would expell the heratics. Maybe your exclusionary blacksmith is in a different sect.

I'm involved with a small group of guys who email each other pretty regularly about smithing and fabricating and metalworking of all types and get together whenever we can. Internally we call ourselves the metal whores- not very churchly but pretty much descriptive of our attitude. People pay us to make things and solve problems not tell them about the purity of our motives. I love blacksmithing techniques and I'm working hard at improving my skills and knowledge but I also know that not every task is a blacksmithing 1900 or 1750 or 1600 task. I combine techniques freely and I think most modern blacksmiths do the same. By the same token I firmly believe that adapting modern methods does not mean we should lower our standards of appearence or workmanship. There are times when only a so called traditional technique is appropriate and we need to learn and appreciate those techniques. I'm a fairly decent mig tig and stick welder and I've built and programmed my own semi automatic welding equipment when the need arose but there are lots of reasons why a forge weld is the only appropriate way to join some elements. That's one reason why I think blacksmithing does have a future if we continously add to our abilities but don't forget and abandon the past. Steve G

If we look at the word blacksmith, when broken down means a person that works with black metal and smith- a person who smites black metal. What is his definition? Does he make a living at it? If you can only do what he does and only with papers then we should all put down our hammers and let it die for sure. Then he will be right.

Yep I been to Hereford and Carbondale both myself. Big cattle feed lot in Hereford TX. and it smells bad. coal fired power plant out of Carbondale IL. I worked at once. Never saw no blacksmithing in either of them!