stuarthesmith

cannot beat the price! http://georgia.freeshopperads.com/antiques/blacksmith-duck-nest-with-blower.html

my wife and I have matching bookcases, and if you look in the first picture, my bookcase is full of blacksmithing books, SHE HAD BETTER NOT BORROW any of my books!

she didn't buy either your story or your anvil, lol!

i couldn't hold my water, so she has seen it and loves it

Her birthday is sept. 23. She wants to make jewelry, so I bought this railroad track anvil for her at the flea market. For the lady who has everything.

I guess that without a thumb, you do the best you can, with what you have..............I once read about a one-armed pianist, who wrote compositions for other pianists who lost arms due to accidents and handicaps. take a good look at the german blacksmith in this video........and watch his thumb position on the hammer handle...............he too must have been trained by a European in a guild system!http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/24866-history-of-bellows-in-forges/page__pid__251499#entry251499

yes it has, john, lol

If you think THIS is interesting, dare I start talking about why the horn should be on the left hand side for right handed blacksmiths? lol!

Your analogy is perfect. The old guild system, of which I am a beneficiary, was in fact an example of a "benign dictatorship". Every system has its positive and negative attributes. Sacrificing freedom for competency isn't all bad, my friend.

the master who taught me, when irked at me, used to deliberately leave hammer marks on the asparagus knives we forged, knowing full well that stuart had to grind these tools to final shape, especially the cutting edges. These blades were twice as tough to grind, trying to get the hammer marks out and produce a smooth finish. This especially gave me an appreciation for hammer mark free forgings! Thank you, Mr. Czub!

At some point, it will be "thumbs down" for this thread, lol

does your pic have hammermarks? hehehehehe

this is about education, not elevation or suppression. look in the mirror if you take this personally.

smithy1,in post number 82 on this thread, eloquently summarizes my opinion on this matter. Don't hate the eagle who flies high, instead, develop your wings!

exactly correct, jeff!

since we are being poetic. push the file and the master will smile. pull that file is guaranteed to rile

while learning from my master, any hammermarks left by myself would get me the dreaded appelation "shoemaker"

and the SCIENCE, my new friend. Yes, Isaac Newton is my friend!

That is a wonderful story, mr. curmudgeon, bravissimo!

Ted, I think this is also a matter of culture. The master who taught me was a GUILDSMAN. His technique was passed down, from generation to generation, for over five centuries. Being the beneficiary of that tradition, I have become part of that culture. I don't know if this is just or fair, but under that tradition, there were NO left-handed blacksmiths. Reason: No master would turn his anvil around to the other side to teach an apprentice, who's opinion meant NOTHING to the mentality of the accomplished practitioners of this craft under the guild system. On top of that, left handers, under that system, were considered "doing the devil's work"! I know that sounds superstitious, but when you are the boss, your word rules! The only "democracy" found under that system was through one's workmanship, through respect from fellow-craftsmen. Let's not forget that under that system, ten and eleven year old boys were given over by their fathers as "free labor" to a master blacksmith for five years or so in order to learn this craft, which was considered a fair trade-off. Mr. Czub told me, through an interpreter, that if he disobeyed his father, while doing blacksmith work, he would have gone without supper, or far worse. When I apprenticed under him, I knew darn well that his power emminated from his knowledge of craft, and that his "whip hand" was to deny me the knowledge that I craved, had I disobeyed him or stimulated his wrath at me. It never came to that, because I liked this work so much, I would NEVER contradict or disobey him. Americans are the most inventive people in the world, because of this cultural difference. I am not knocking the freedoms possessed by OUR culture. All I am saying is that I am a product, through working for Mr. Czub, of a different system or culture.

I can never resist the opportunity for some humor/humour.................Stuart files alphabetically, using a bastard file first, then a rasp later!

This debate about thumbs up, thumbs down reminds me of a joke I heard once. A native american walks into a trading post, complaining that he can only cut down ten big trees a day with his tomohawk, which he also complains is exhausting. The trading post owner whips out a chain saw, and says "with this device, you can cut down hundreds of trees in a day, with almost no exhaustion". Two days later, the native american returns to the trading post, with his hands all bloodied and bruised, angry as can be, demanding his money back. He tells the trading post owner "I tried this chainsaw for two days, and worked my butt off, and could only cut down three trees in two days". "I want my money back"! The trading post guy then takes the chain saw, pulls on the starter cord, and the chainsaw starts right up. The angry native jumps back and says "heavens to betsy, WHAT'S THAT"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About filing..........................I got a "KNUCKLE RAP" with a four pound ball pein from Mr. Czub if I ever had the audacity to use a file TOWARDS MYSELF. True blacksmiths file with a motion AWAY from the filer.

To Mr. Turley et al: The less grinding and filing you do, the better! If one can forge an item to near-complete in finish, minimizing hammermarks and the need to grind or file, the better! This is the Eastern-European mentality on forging, forge as smoothly as possible. A forging with a ton of hammermarks was considered "shoemaker's fare" by the master who taught me, with scorn dripping from his mouth! Keep in mind that shoemakers used to inhale shoe glue all day, diminishing their mentality. For some unknown reason, every russian I ever worked for uniformly called poor work the work of a "shoemaker, NOT A BLACKSMITH"

Stuart has very small hands. Therefore, in order to grasp the handle without strain, stuart has to pare down store-bought handles with a drawknife.