Foxfire 5 - ironmaking, blacksmithing, flintrock rifles...

[petersenj20]

This isn't really a blacksmithing book but I have found it quite interesting. It's a series of 12 or so books based on an English class project here in North Georgia. The class started a magazine and organization still existing here

The books were supposed to document the dying stories of self sufficient Appalachian folk.

Anyway, I have had a hard time getting anything on blacksmithing at my local library until I figured out how to get books from other libraries in the state. Then one day I happened on this whole series in the back of my library. I checked number 5 out and was instantly hooked. I have read every word so far 243 pages into it.

It is all about the north Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina mountain community. A lot of names and places I recognized, like the Cooper Furnace with a picture in it just like I took of my kids a couple years ago. They interviewed 5 blacksmiths at the time each of which made a project, a fireplace poker, a cowbell, froe, forge shovel, and a pair of horseshoes.

The best part is when they interviewed a man from Cleveland, Tennessee (My home town) Arthur McCraken. I called my father-in-law of 60'ish who lived his whole life there. HE KNEW THE GUY AND WHERE HE LIVED! These were written 40 years ago.

This history being so close to me was shocking and exciting especially after looking for a good book all this time. The section on rifle forging and rifling is beyond comprehension. I can hardly believe people did such advanced things with such "basic" technology.

[markb]

Discovery of rediscovery, cool, and you're right in the middle of it.

[Mylore]

Great find, I was checking out the web site and a few of those books have things that interest me and my father in law. I am curious thought if the books have a lot of pictures? My father in law left school in grade nine to work on the family farm so reading is a bit of a problem for him at times, but show the guy a picture and he will build it faster and better than you after your done reading about it.

[Don A]

Foxfire 5 is probably #2 on my list of the most influential books I have read.

I got my first copy in high school. Between all the blacksmith stuff and the Wallace Gusler and Hershall House flintlock stuff, I was hooked for life. Oh, and Hacker Martin; I would have liked to have known him. Talk about a craftsman.

My greatest regret was that it took me so long to get started to pursue the paths of the guys in that book.

Understand that the Foxfire books are much more informational than instrucional. You got to remember that these interview were done in the early 70's, so there is still a lot of lore and old wives tales mixed in with the facts.

I think that this book serves to fill the gap in blacksmithing history between the Colonial period and modern times, 19th / early 20th century, particularly in the Appalachian region. Some of the old guys in the interviews would have been born before 1900.

I highly recommend it.

Don

[hammerkid]

Sounds like a great book may have to find a copy

[ThomasPowers]

Contrast it with "Practical Blacksmithing" by Richardson which is a collection of articles from a blacksmithing journel from around 1889-1891 IIRC and you can see the *BIG* difference between remote "hill folk" and how smithing was done in more "citified" areas.

My great grandfather was the smith in a hill town in AR, don't think he ever read any journels on the craft but was a respected member of the community. His shop would have seemed very backward compared to most ones in less rural and poor areas.

It's a bit sad to think that I have more/better equipment for my hobby smithing than he did to support the local population through his smithing.

Thomas

[petersenj20]

Originally Posted by Mylore

I am curious thought if the books have a lot of pictures? My father in law left school in grade nine to work on the family farm so reading is a bit of a problem for him at time.

It is 30+- years old so I would say there are a lot of pictures. By today's standards maybe not. It has all black and white pics which I have always thought were great with all their detail.

Like Don said it is less instructional, but it is a great archive. A lot of these type of stories I have heard from my FIL, but since I'm not a recorder I have a hard time making since out of some of it. The last time we went to his hunting shack there were 6-55 gallon drums of corn in the bedroom, and he tried to tell me it was for the chickens and wild turkeys. I am enthralled by this kind of stuff.

[keykeeper]

I bought this book several months ago myself. The instructions are pretty good, and the pictures are very informative. IIRC the pictures seem to flow well with the text, when referenced. I would recommend this book not only for the instructional aspects, but for the artisans interviewed as well. The dialects, methods, and reasoning for each are all captured very well by the authors of this book. Definitely an "gotta have this in my library" type book, in my opinion.

-aaron c.

Also, I would recommend the whole library of Foxfire books. As a kid, I read the first three my mother had and was enthralled with the "old time" aspects of the information they presented.

[Makoz]

I bought a boxed set of vols 1,2 & 3 here in Aust. for $2 at a garage sale. Great reading, and although various foods and timber mentioned are US specific, the traditional skills and crafts were (or are?) just as relevant to country folk here. Gotta respect the ethos of the Foxfire people to gather that information before its gone.


Cheers,

[evfreek]

One of the most lasting impressions that I picked up from Foxfire 5 was that the old timers who described their smithing projects always favored arc welding. They said that it could be forge welded, but the instructions were always to zap it and get it done. Good practical advice, I guess. It wasn't as much an instruction manual as it was a series of interviews and living history. Still, the book has plenty of practical tips for learning.