stuarthesmith

he is whistling, not blowing...............prolly "happy trails to you"

even ROY ROGERS knows how to hold the hammer!!!!!!!!!!!!

another interesting picture, right?

interesting photo, don't you think?

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here is a VERY INTERESTING video of Mark Aspery........................6:59 into the video, check out his hand position! He varies his grip, using both positions!

now this is an interesting picture since we are posting pics! Geesh, he is almost as handsome as ME!

A "pointless" discussion that is 175 posts long and counting.......................very interesting analysis! Let me assert what IS written in stone. When you are employed by someone who you are apprenticing under, and they are by acclaimation considered a master, it is their way or the highway. This is what folks don't seem to understand about the guild system of yore, of which I was a beneficiary. Dare to contradict the master, you had better have proven your genius to him, or be prepared to "hit the bricks", speaking of chisels and stones.

This is true, John. The point of this is HAMMERMARKS. Easy to eliminate, in my opinion, based upon the way I was trained, if the thumb is atop. It is obvious that some folks can exercise hammer control with the thumb around the handle. The point is that thumbs atop make it easier..................to accomplish that control....

Notice, sir, what side the horn is on!

when upsetting the end of a bar, my thumb, regardless of how I am holding the hammer, is between the hammer and the anvil(my LEFT THUMB)

My friend, that is a whole different bowl of cereal. Deliberate texturing should never be confused with stray hammermarks. I do see the need for deliberate texturing, especially if it fits in with the style of piece you are creating. I can even see the need, in special cases of using the pein end of a ball pein to create marks in flat forgings for effect.

a perfectionist in forging, I am also a perfectionist in spelling. The court's time.

Not hung at all, I did say in this thread that there are times one wraps your thumb around the handle, but for the MOST part, I use thumb atop.........so don't get "hung" up on this...............

I bought this anvil in the 1980's from Jim Porteus, the blacksmith at the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown. It weighs around 450 pounds on the hoof. When I bought it, someone had previously cut a gouge in the heel with a cutting torch. All these years later, is there a way to fix this Fisher Eagle?

in october, they are selling a raola anvil in ohio at an auction. It sure looks like a hay budden to me. does anyone know about these anvils? http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/photopanel.cgi?listingid=1549716&category=0&zip=19111&kwd=anvil

check out this video..............the prosecution rests! http://www.iforgeiro...le/#entry296995 The power of example is truly amazing!

wow I make barrelmaking tools, but have never seen one of these!

We park in the same garage, Larry H!

I saw a series of videos once of a modern collection of blacksmiths, including Pete Renzetti et al, at the Yellin Metal Works, fabricating a gate that had been stolen from the premises in West Philadelphia. When I used to visit the Museum, I remember that outside gate that the modern crew recreated. It is a darn shame what happened to that place. Today, low income housing sits on the old property where the Yellin Works used to be. I feel that I have had a gifted existance, having had the opportunity to recollect the good ol days. I also fondly remember seeing Al Walter, a German Master Blacksmith, who was the in-house maestro at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, which is just outside Philadelphia. Largely unknown, his forge work, proudly displayed at that same cathedral, is comparable to any and all great blacksmiths who have graced the western hemisphere. As a boy, I used to watch him forge bolts for strap hinges with cow heads, horse heads, and all manner of iron beasts on those bolt heads. You should visit that place sometime. His work was stunning, and there for the viewing, free of charge. His gates are some of the greatest forgings ever done anywhere! He was also a master Monel forger.

There are times when I do not put my thumb atop the hammer handle........when swinging an 8 pound sledge, roughing out stuff, I wrap my thumb around the handle, but when FINISHING, or on lighter forgings, the thumb stays up top on my handles to remove hammer impressions or to gain fine control.......so on this subject, excuse the pun, there is no rule of ........thumb, lol I have never met Claire Yellin, but I fondly remember Harvey Yellin, her dad. Harvey used to let me have the run of the place in West Philadelphia, allowing me to tour his museum whenever I had time.......he was a wonderful guy!

well, to each his/her own..........Fyodor Czub, who trained me, thought differently........and he was the culmination of a thousand years of blacksmithing heritage, all Old World.............and a product of the Guild System.

The anvil that is my avatar has been used by me fo shop r 36 years. It came out of a railroad shop where it was lovingly used for decades. Nobody has ever missed with hammer or sledge or torch. Other than the deliberately dressed "tapering" edge, this 700 pounder is pristine. Many a used anvil has been messed up by botchers, shoemakers, a.d overzealous welders with wAyward torches. NOT MY ANVILS!!!!

Please let me explain this to you. With the horn on the left, blacksmiths deliberately file the first two inches of the edge opposite the blacksmith round for tapering hot steel. This is called "dressing the edges". Please look at my avatar pic of my clean 700 pound hay budd. It is similarly dressed.

I got a call from my auctioneer friend, telling me he has another anvil for me. I bought this last night. It is an extremely clean, 150 beauty, which looks to be a Trenton. I have never owned a Trenton before, but at first I thought it was a Hay Budden. What convinced me that this is a Trenton is the narrow face, the flattened feet, and the football-shaped hollow underneath the anvil. It rings like a bell, and has very sharp edges, with zero signs of abuse. The serial number is present, but I was too tired and lazy to read it, but the first alpha-numeric in the serial number appears to be a "w". I generally buy anvils to sell them to newbies, but this one I am KEEPING. Oh, and I only paid 115 dollars for it!