yves

Which ought not to stop you from singing when hitting ... You will enjoy this book. It's a pleasure to get lost in it.

Scappi's Opera is often mentioned here on IFI, and is a particularly precious book for Thomas Powers. So is it for me and it ought to be for all blacksmiths interested in the reproduction or copy of hearth and kitchen implements of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Scappi's book came out in 1590. Scappi's work : an important resource If you eat with any enthousiasm, Scappi is your man. He gives us one thousand recipes and a list of what foods to eat at what time of the year, a food-season section. For those of us who are interested in kitchen implements of the XVII° and XVIII° centuries in Nouvelle-France or elsewhere in the western world, Book I holds a wealth of information. It lists all the utensils and implements that must be present in a kitchen of the Renaissance and those required for camping … though 'camping' might not be the approriate term for the outings of a pope. Scappi was a cook to cardinals and a pope. Elsewhere, I have noted that cooking techniques and the tools to work had been the same for centuries in 1590 when Scappi's book appeared. It must be added that they would remain the same until that moment when cooking went from downhearth to bar grate "due to the use of coal instead of wood (1)" in England (± 1750) and, here, from downhearth to the cook stove quite sometime after la Nouvelle-France, those few acres of snow as Voltaire put it, were exchanged by the king of France for the sweet sugar of the isles (1763). These techniques and tools were those of the cooks of la Nouvelle-France and looking in Scappi's kitchen is looking into our kitchens and in all the kitchens where cooking was done on the hearth, downhearth, Two editions of Scappi's Opera The original edition is accessible online in Italian and freely. On my shelves, I have the english translation by Scully published at the Toronto University Press. The translation in itself is notable and must have been a labor of love. The text is completed by comments and references which are all very usefull. And as might be expected, there is an important bibliography. To all this, Scully adds : an index of persons appearing in Scappi's book; a complete index of all the ingredients used in the recipes; an index of preparations, i.e. recipes; an index of procedures or as Scully put it "concerned with actions relating to foodstuff and transformation and kitchen work" (page 758); another one of kitchen equipment; an index of measures including weights, volumes, sizes, quantities, distances, times and heats; an index of miscellaneous terms such as Garda Lake, meal, fine, banquets ...; and finaly, an index for the terms from the conclave for which Scappi was head cook. Scully's work is precious, the work of a scolar of the highest level for which I have nothing but admiration. However, traduttore, traditore ... Scully is guilty ... somewhat ... well ... a little ... In the recipe noº 39 of book II, page 154, Scully translates "pero si ha da cuocere a lento fuoco" by "It has to cook though over a low fire". And again in recipe no° 55, book III, Scully uses the word "over" when Scappi writes "faccianosi cuocere a lento fuoco". The word "over" might mislead some in a world where the bar-b-q is used in a majority of households. Some readers may think that because the meats were cooked with fire like that is case with the bar-b-q the meats were roasted above the fire like on a bar-b-q, which was not the case. A lento fuoco is the downhearth cooking level of heat that became the "low" in the "high-medium-low" range of cooking heats in our modern kitchens. I could not find an indication by Scappi as to how and where the meat was to be positioned. It seems the question was never asked, that eveyone who cooked downhearth knew what roasting ment. Scappi's engravings however, no° 1 and no° 6, are clear with regards to this technique. The roasting of meat is done in front of the fire and not over the fire. I am not a translator but I would nevertheless offer to translate "arrostire a fuoco lento" by "to roast slowly" or "roast at a low heat" which aptly translates the degree of heat and does not position the meat in space with regards to the fire. So I was nitpicking. Scully's scholarship is impeccable and generously, would I say, gives us access to the cookbook of the Renaissance a sort of encyclopedia of the kitchen implements for downhearth cooking. Yes, it is a window through which we can better see in the kitchens of la Nouvelle-France. — — — — — — — — Notes Roberts, Hugh D.; "Dowhearth to Bar Grate, an illustrated account of the evolution in cooking due to the use of coal instead of wood"; Wiltshire Folk Life Society, Malborough, Wiltshire, England; 1981; 86 pages ; quoted from the title page.

My anvil is on sand, a steel box full of sand. After a very short time of forging, the sand settles and becomes a hard mass. It does not give in at all.

I am very curious about the price you can sell them at. What you describe is a lenghty procedure. How much time? What price? I like these very much. Details like these realy add value (artistic and monetary) to a simple piece of steel.

VaughnT, Drop by anytime. There is room for striker. I do enjoy the shop. It is small, 14 feet in diameter (easy to heat) but I once forged a five foot tree as a separation in a house without any space problems. And there a commision for a ten foot galery railing I will start soon and I do not see any space problems yet. In the summer, I have benches outside and some old folk (like me but with nothing to do) come and sit around and talk and tell me about their brother who was a blacksmith, or ... you get the drift. Something of the old days happens here at times. Thanks for the shop ...

That would be quite easy raising a pipe along the wall through the ceiling and in the open air of the silo. Thanks. It's on the doable list. As for my anvil, it is presently less than a step away from the forge. I turn on my right foot when I take the hot iron from the forge to work it. The pic's perspective does not jive with reality. The anvil is as close to the forge as the stump with the swage block.

I work in a silo. In the summer, it is quite comfortable, a little humid maybe but never too hot except for a couple of days and then I just do it. In the winter, like today (-22 Cº = -7.6 Fº) for instance, after the first cup of coffee, I go and set an ironing iron on the anvil, close the door of the side draft and heat the wood stove. When I get to work, I open the door of the side draft (the accumulated heat from the stove heats the chimney), light the forge and open the door of the smithy to replace the air going out through the 14 inch side draft. It remains very comfortable next to the forge but quite cold next to the door (obviously). Since the only running water I have is me running with a bucket from the house when I go to work, winter makes it more difficult but not enough that I would complain. Reading about the difficulties a lot of you have with winter and summer (I might add) I feel privileged, winter not realy being a problem for me. And being on the older side of human life expectancy, when I think it's too cold, I stay in the house and read all that I have missed on IFI ...

When it is one of those days, I do have them, the strategy (it is the same as that of a lot of us apparently) I have developed and which permitted me to avoid medication was to stop doing what I do not succeed and do something I do succeed. With blacksmithing this turned out to be like this other smith a little earlier : I forge S hooks or something like that I know I will make without a problem. And then, on the realy bad days, I forge something else I'm good at, that I have no risks in forging and do that. And sometimes I'll kill the fire and do some whitesmithing and whatever cold work there has to be done. And at one point, I feel better. And if feeling better does not come around, I rule that I am tired and get out of there. Good luck.

Yes, it is different, it is a different wine rack and a different center piece. It is also obviously very versatile : it can hold bottles of wine, you can arrange flowers on it, and you can leave it a such to decorate a table with a theme beutifully asserted. Hopefully you have been well paid for the forging and the design. What are the dimensions? Any details of the procedure would be welcome. Thanks, Yves

After reading ThomasPowers' post, I searched Diderot for "marteau" and did not find an answer to your question. The only passage relevent to weight was where it's said that the hammers of the blacksmith and that of the striker are the same but that of the striker is heavier. As everyone seems to suggest or say, there was as there is a great variation in the sizes used.

I do like that. Questions : Is it to be hung on a wall or does it stand alone on a piece of furniture? Dimensions please. It would be nice to see it in context, on a wall or on furniture to see the scale. Thanks for posting this. It's a lovely idea and well made.

Another one here with the old electric iron. Heat the smithy with the wood stove, place the iron on the anvil, go eat, come back and the anvil is nice and warm.

I started this thread to offer answers to the often asked question of what is brought to a fair. Here is more stuff : a hook rack with pointy hooks to hang garlic tresses for instance. another hook rack with chubby hooks this time for utensils in the kitchen or keys in the hallway. I sell it mounted on pine. another hook rack for the kitchen. The bar is made in cherry this time. The hook's design is inspired by an 18th century kitchen hookrack of the Hotermans collection. I screwed them on with brass screws S hooks, of course. short skewers to tie a roast or fowl. four hooks to hang garlic tresses in the kitchen. these hat hooks I have shown in a previous thread. Since I was asked to forge some more, I decided to make some for the Xmas show (two shows in fact). I also made a variation. These are mounted on pine. The following are mounted on mohogany . I had to offer a bottle opener. I tried to forge something that I would not entirely owe to Brian Brazeal ;) , . This year, I'm trying a foray in the latch world. I saw impressive latches dating from the 18th century in Normandy. I forged one and immediately made a sale. It might go at the fair. . a "whatever-hook" riveted to a plate and mounted on a piece of cherry and 3 hooks of the same variety mounted on a piece of peruvian black walnut There are still two more weeks before the first fair. I'll try to forge 18th century utensils. I might try my hand at a lazy Suzan and tripods.

Keep going. Now forge a bar to hang the spoon on the wall. With a fork. And a spatula.

If the customer is not happy, let me know. I'll PM my address and you could send it to me. I have this barn, see ...

The use of a laminated handle will not affect the bond between the layers of wood. Just make sure that your glue can be exposed to water if the tool is to be used and left outdoors or to be in contact with water. I am a woodworker and I have used Titebond II and III for years and never had a problem with doors, furniture or windows.

He's a woodworker ... on the side. No central brain to coordinate? What if 2 arms go for the same prey?

Fraid you did ... When you click on pic number 6, it pops up and at the bottom, there is a caption that says it is a paper towel rack. It is not in the main text of the post.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I misread the pic. I did not see that the ends were flat. I was wondering. Thanks for telling. It seemed odd that on a piece like this one which you consider minor you would have used bronze or some other exotic and expensive metal. I and others like me I am sure, would very much like to see your pot racks. Or have you shown them already on IFI? And the idea comes to mind to start a "Show me your pot rack" thread here. It could begin with a selection of yours. Thanks again, Yves

Tim, It might help to go and see Uri Hofi's slitting and drifting blueprint. By drilling the hole for one thing, you loose all that metal.

Hi, I like pot racks and I like yours. Well made. Questions : If your rack is bent, how do you screw it to the wall? How long is the rack? How did you make the disk? Why did you leave the hooks "free"? Is it an esthetic choice? There were, historicaly, tracks for utensils that were simply pieces of iron on which the utensils' ends were hung. I am presently reproducing an 18th century utensil rack and the hooks were riveted. I have also seen forgewelded hooks to this type of rack. Larger racks seem to have "free" hooks so that you could vary the distance between pots of various sizes. On a shorter rack the hooks could be fixed. I am not suggesting that they should be merely that they could be from a practical point of view. Thank you for posting. Kitchen implements are very interesting and have a very rich history.

Frank Turley, 1) Have you discovered a system permitting to separate french and spanish styles when the implements originate from the New-Orleans area? There were those who before 1930 firmly believed that that the iron work in N-O was forged by slaves whose basic training (the first few to come there) had been done in the french islands. There was also the french pirate Lafitte who alledgedly operated a forge in N O. And then in 1937, I quote here Marcus Christian : 2) Do you have an image of or a comparable spanish implement that we could see?

For what it may be worth, here is how I figure the price of an item. I start with an objective : sell, let's say a copy of an 18th century iron hand to lift pot covers on the stove or in the heart (as some people have begun to do) for less than 30$ to keep it in the range of the impulsive buyer. I work out a technique, a procedure for forging the item and then count the heats I have to take at each step. A heat equals 3 minutes. I want 50$ per hour. That means 2,50$ per heat. And then, sometimes, I feel there is room for more money (this is totaly irrational), I add it up. I will have a show for Xmas and I want to offer some of these iron hands. Using my "method", I came up with 8 heats if I forge only one at a time (1 bar in the fire), another 2 minutes for marking and cutting and another 5 minutes for the set up. It came out at 25,81$. These can sell for 27$ or 28$. I'm sure. I'll decide when I get to the show. It will probably be 27$ it sounds on the safer side of 30$. Of course If I forge 10 of these, the set up now takes only 30 seconds ... and ,let's say, 4 irons in the fire, there is still a little more for me. But I figure out the price of forging one item and that is what I ask. If I can wiggle myself in a little more profit, good for me. Of course some will take another heat for adjusting but the client should not be expected to pay for our apprenticeship, our errors or our "it's a bad day today".

The drawing of the upright shows the tenon riveted through the upright. You can also guess as much from the pic of the upright. Next time I have access to this object I will take a more precise pic and add it here. Yves