Luke March Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Do blacksmiths have a stronger tendency to have beards? When I first started blacksmithing, my youngest brother (9 or 10 at the time) asked if I was going to be a "real" blacksmith, "with a beard and everything?" ! A comment in another thread reminded me of this. So, I'm wondering, does a beard go with the craft? What do you think? If it does, why do you think that is? Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 No "mustache only" category? I feel discriminated. Clean shaven (at least every other day... or so) except for the upper lip. Facial hair, like clothes, will vary greatly according to culture and historic period. I think the image of the necessarily bearded blacksmith comes from post-American Civil War through early Twentieth Century recollections, particularly in the rural areas. In the Civil War you even saw a lot of military officers with facial hair. And don't discount the power of Hollywood stereotypes. I regularly portray a blacksmith attached to a British garrison in the Colonial period, and I can about guarantee that all of them, from the privates through the officers, would have been clean shaven. Little pony-tails... yes. Beards, no (Nor mustaches for that matter, but I just can't make myself part with mine... been with me since I was 17.) My $.02 Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I have a soul patch and side burns does that count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 No beard here but my teenage daughter refers to blacksmiths as a bunch of old guys with beards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I would imagine lots of people had beards beck in the old days, due to the potential danger of shaving. one slip of the razor and you get a nasty cut, and it was sure to get infected. In the old days it was just safer to grow a beard. not to mention easier than shaving. to shave you had to well shave, to grow a beard all you had to do was live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Well *none* of the female blacksmiths I know or have seen in pictures going back through medieval times have had beards. BTAIM, yes I have a full beard and when it's in full flourish my wife will braid it for me for events and I will hang silver anvil earrings from the braids. It's a bit shy for Quad-State and I may only be able to fork it. And yes I have had a forge trim it for me on numerous occasions... I've been lucky in that my "day job" has never had a problem with facial hair. (It's one of the reasons I accepted my current job; when I interviewed 50% of the men I saw were sporting beards!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I wore a full beard and moustache for about 20 years but it caught fire a few times - on the last occasion I suffered a minor burn. It also tended to catch debris and would not allow face masks to fit well. I shaved it about 10 years ago and would not go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I still believe my beard acts like a radiator when Im sweating and helps keep me cool. Though it does have that horrible side effect of soaking up the smells of the day, it can take quite a scrubbing to get the smell of burnt hoof off my face~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I usualy have a biker goatee... its about 7" long at the moment..... Usually when it starts tickling my chest I shave it all off and start over.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 "Mustache only" I have a beard during the winter months does keep the face warmer. Shaved the upper lip once and kick myself for it......looked like a little kid. My boys want me to shave it off...don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I have a goatee also and am working on a half beard now for winter. I too keep it long most of the time. I trim it to the bottom of my welding hood. I have had it long enough that I tuck in my shirt when working to keep it out of the way. At this point it becomes a pain in the XXX when riding the scooter and it is time for a trim. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I'm of the full bearded variety. When I started teaching and demonstrating people looked a little disappointed that I wasn't a big narly old chap with a bushy beard; I couldn't do anything about my size or age so I grew a beard! There are other reasons too. It keeps me warm in the winter and (I think) cooler in the summer, though I keep it trimmed to half inch or so when warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshelley Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Full beard, trimmed short. I thought about shaving it off before my first date with my wife (been married 24 years now). Turns out it was a good decision not to shave, she liked it then and now ;-) Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoopermac Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Clean shaved here....job requirement...as soon as I retire..4 1/2 yrs....full beard coming back...had one for many years til employer changed the rules and I had to shave....oh well...glad to have a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I haven't shaved or worn a tie since the day I left school and I doubt I could remember how to do either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I shaved seasonally, winter insulation and summer coolth, then I married Deb and she LIKES the beard! I'm thinkin I look better with more of my mug covered but what the hey, she puts up with plenty from me. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Hopfinger Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 When I was in the military I got in the habit of being clean-shaven but I grew a goatee for our town's 125th anniversary celebration in 2009 then shaved it off again. Last winter I regrew it but shaved it off for the summer...not sure if I will grow it back or not. The wife isn't big on me having one but doesn't mind the look when I do have it....just says it tickles too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlreif Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I am clean shaven. It used to be mostley because I didnt have enough facial hair. It seems when you get older and balder the hair moves down! LOL But i did try a beard for the first time last winter. I didnt like it much. Pubic hair belongs in other places on the body. Not on the face. HAHA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzom Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Full beard here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 My wife and kids have told me I must have a beard and my wife trims it to what she wants---hey she's the one that has to look at it! Since I don't shave I don't spend much time looking in the mirror... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRobb Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I have had facial hair of differing lengths & types throughout the years. It's sort of an "on again, off again" thing. Right now I'm growing it back. Full beard this time. I've never thought of it being a "blacksmith thing". ( It does seem to get more grey as the years pass though! LOL ) Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 My wife got upset that I shaved once while we were dating. She also disproves of it being too long, so it gets trimmed to very short (1/4 inch), and grows out to about an inch before getting trimmed back. I don't like brushing or combing my goatee and mustache anyways. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick C Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I tend to alternate, between 4-5 weeks clean shaven then let it grow for 4-5 weeks till it gets to that itchy stage, also a pain when pulling my motorbike helmet on and off. My wife quite likes the beard though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefarm39 Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I'm clean-shaven, mostly because I need to have a good seal area for a full face respirator for work AND it is a state (or maybe MIOSHA) law that firefighters must not have facial hair that interferes with the seal of a SCBA mask. Safety first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 A goatee here, ranging from one to two fists long, I have had it for 5 or six years now and haven't shaved it yet. If I ever do I will be tempted to glue it to the top of my head. . . should look fine right? Has anyone else noticed that when a goatee is trimmed short, say under 1" everyone calls it a goatee, but if it is long everyone calls it a beard? I just find that to be rather amusing. When it was rather long I would on occasion split it into two and wrap one end around each ear, holding it in place to look like a rather curious full beard! It's fun to have fun. Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.