Richard V

First of all congratulations. Second, we are praying for you and yours on this end. Richard

My anvil is a piece of old boiler plate that had been buried in a old iron yard as a stepping stone to a shack for 40 years or so. I picked it up for almost nothing. Weighs around the 85 to 90 lb mark. works like a charm. I will also try to find a pic of my old railroad rail anvil my great grandfather made before I was born. Richard

Yep, but if I get the "option" to feed a blacksmith to get an item I want vs getting cursed out by "blacksmiths"...... yep ready and willing to fork over the payment... Richard

I have to side with macbruce. I have seen salesmen that could sell refrigerators to eskimos, and I have seen salesmen who couldn't sell $100 bills for a penny a piece. ThomasPowers you are right IMHO. Just because you are good at something doesn't mean you can teach it. Just because you aren't a salesman, and can't teach, however, is no reason to be a jerk to a customer, or even a looky-loo. Just because you have answered that stupid highlander sword BS damascus question 1.2millon times doesn't mean the asker has heard a real answer even once. In point of fact education is the only way to defeat the sword-like-object tin/chrome junk dealers of the world, and even that will only go so far. My 2 cents. GoodOlBoy

I have also used a drill to correct a similar problem...... Impatience has ruined more good stock and good projects for me than anything else.... In iron, wood, or leather I have done this far too often. Richard

ROFLMAO That made my day stewartthesmith!

george it is possible, but I would think the blacksmith(s) who treated customers they way the first two did would be alot skinnier than they were..... ThomasPowers - I don't think so. Texas Ren Fest is kinda brown shirt about who sells and who doesn't in their park during a festival. IE they want their piece of the pie and in days of old they were even known to decide what your prices were going to be so they could get a BIGGER slice of the BIGGER pie. You are right though. Being a smith, and being a salesmen, or teacher are not even remotly related. BUT if I was a smith in that condition (IE I didn't want to be bothered) then I would think I would want to hire a saleman (or have a apprentice do it) to stand out front and stump for me. And if I got a unusual request then send the iron monkey's and gopher's (apprentices) to find out what they want, and if it is simple make it under a watchful eye. If it isn't simple I would verify it and do it myself if it was reasonable. If it wasn't a reasonable request (acid etched titanium blade silver inlaid ivory handled vampire hunting swords for instance) then I would suggest another smith to them who could "better" fill their needs(preferably one I didn't like :D ) Richard

This is actually more a comment on the sad state of affairs it is trying to find ANY real craftsmen (and craftswomen) these days. Which is one of the reasons I follow so many of you guys on I Forge Iron and enjoy seeing your work SO MUCH! Also yes, I do blacksmith, the proviso being that I have had ZERO time to do almost ANYTHING in a very long time, and I am sitting at the point where I basically need to build a new forge, and I still need to build a charcoal kiln, etc. IE other than ground forging, annealing, or very simple stuff (Yes I know fire steels are simple stuff too!) I am not even set up since our last house move to work, and again have had no time (and that's my excuse and I am sticking to it ) To the point.... My wife and I were at Texas Renaissance Festival outside Plantersville Texas with family for our yearly get together and my yearly day I am very glad my wife cannot read my mind... Well the wife has to stop by the facilities and I go up to the building with her "just in case" (Yes I am protective). While standing outside waiting around I notice one of the blacksmiths with their water wheeled powered setup and all the ins and outs. So when she is done we do a stop by. Blacksmith #1 - AKA the water wheel blacksmith - I was looking at his work that he was selling goth jerk #417 and was very cynical that the $850 "black scorpion" sword was the ultimate power in the universe, or that it would cut machine gun barrels, was a one of a kind, etc. Once he was done I approached and asked what should have been a simple question. "Do you ever make fire steels?" Response was "what's a fire steel?" I proceeded to explain while he tried to sell me a second $850 "black scorpion that had emerged from a black hole in the counter. After about 15 minutes back and forth his answer was "I don't think we can make those, but there is one other blacksmith and he is two rows over." Blacksmith #2 - AKA the two rows over guy - No customers so I approach his simpler but still fancy setup. I again ask "Do you ever make fire steels?" I get a couple of blinks and a "uhm...." After the last guy I explain "You know, the kind you use with flint, chert, etc for sparks to start a fire." His response "I know what they are! Do you think I am an idiot? Look what I have on the table is what I have for sale buddy so either buy something or #$%$!& Off!" I thank him for his time and move on with the knowledge that I am out of luck because I have been told that there was "one other blacksmith". Blacksmith #3 - AKA the guy nobody knows anything about, AKA THE Blacksmith - We are walking along on the far side of the festival enjoying the shows, music, food etc. When in the middle of the road we come across a VERY simple booth. A tarp. With a table, a lady sitting on a board over a bucket of hardwood charcoal while working the last touches on a breathtaking bowie knife with emery cloth. Simple, yet beautiful and danged well made, knives line the table and a large bearded guy in a leather apron standing beside a simple steel table forge with blower, a anvil (cast in the early 1800s) and some odds and ends. I ask the same question (of the lady, the guy is busily looking at something on a small table of scrap) "Do you ever make fire steels?" The bearded guy (henceforth refereed to as THE Blacksmith, or Shane) looks up and says "No but let me see if I have a piece of scrap high carbon." He digs around pulls up a small triangle of steel and tosses it onto the forge. I proceed to ask (very pleased I might add) "How much am I going to owe you?" He looks up as he is cranking his bellows and replies "A cheese burger and a monster energy drink." I am starting to consider how far it is to town (yes I really would have drive there and back) when the lady points out "They are selling both over in the "German" area." I say "I will be right back!" and take off to get a stipulated meat cheese and bread burger. I will point out at this point I forgot my manners and failed to ask the lady what she would like, but I did NOT fail to go ahead and pick up a bottle of water for her. I get back to find a few dozen people now standing around watching him smith as he wiggled his large behind at the ladies, chatted up the crowed, spun his hammer like a rock and roll drummer, and was basically the most gregarious person at the whole danged festival (and that takes a bit!) In roughly no time (THE Blacksmith kept pausing to demonstrate knives, etc which I had NO problem with because he was doing ME a favor not the other way around) he handed me a fire steel, shook my hand, and thanked me while I thanked him. I will NEVER forget his quote he kept saying to folks in a VERY jolly tone. "It's only a dying art if you don't buy something!" By the way if you meet Shane (THE Blacksmith) in the flesh ask him to do his big guy behind wiggle for you. The ladies dig it! This is a pic of the fire steel (He left the scale on as he didn't want to use his only files on a non-knife object which again I had NO problem with) Shane Stainton of Red Dog Forge thank you! It ment alot to me! Richard V

David J Killick's Phd thesis Technology in its social setting: bloomery iron smelting at Kasungu, Malawi, 1860-1940 (circa 1990 Yale) *REVIEW* Let me boil it down for you...... #1 - They didn't have sex for two months while the process was ongoing #2 - We forgot to ask that question #3 - We forgot to record the answer to that question #4 - They didn't have sex for two months while the process was ongoing #5 - We didn't get a chance to talk to any actual iron smiths, just the guys who worked with them, and some guys who knew some guys, who had heard about the iron smiths..... #6 - We burned up eight years of grant funding in five years..... Party in Africa! #7 - Seriously..... No sex for TWO MONTHS! Yeah so as actual useful information goes..... #1 - This guy can reference other peoples work like nobody I have seen before. IE For more info see John Doe - This is how they did it.pdf from Anyplace, Anycollege, anycountry, circa Thisdate... (Got a nice list of gotos from it) #2 - ........ I don't usually like to be critical of anybodies work who has done ANY kind of research/actual work, but since this guy has the research chops of a deaf blind monkey in a video game store..... yeah.... Richard

Guys thanks so much for the links, and the info. Phil thanks for the new pics of furnaces I hadn't seen yet, trying-it I hadn't seen that link yet, but I am reading through it now, thanks. And Frank Turley thanks SO MUCH for that info I am watching the preview of the film now, and am already trying to find a way to obtain a copy. Anybody else keep them comming, I just can't get enough watching the old ways. Richard V

Thanks much everybody, that at least gives me some more jumping off points for research. I have also requested, through my local university library, a copy of David J Killick's Phd thesis Technology in its social setting: bloomery iron smelting at Kasungu, Malawi, 1860-1940 (circa 1990 Yale) as I have found several sources pointing to his work as a reference. Dave Budd I will look up Dr Juleff's work as well, and I would like to say a special thanks to you. We have emailed back and forth a couple of times and you have always been helpful and insightful. If I had the funding I would love to jump the pound and take every course you offered. That is not to take away from anybody else on the site. Everybody at iforgeiron has always been helpful, and down to earth....... iron oxide mostly, but down to earth none the less :D Richard

In my readings of older books (most online) on iron bloomerys and blacksmithing I keep running across references to natural draft bloomerys. It is almost always the exact same two statements made "These pipes, called tuyeres, allow air to enter the furnace, either by natural draft or by forced with a bellows." OR "The original bloomery process was carried out in pits lined with refractory clay or on stone hearths; these furnaces used a natural draft supplied through a tuyere in the lower part of the hearth." I have yet to see a illustrated or explanatory description of how you would go about creating a natural draft bloomery. I find quite a bit on bellows or other forced air type furnaces, just not on a natural draft bloomery. Can anybody help clarify how you would go about creating such a bloomery? Just curious and can't let it go.... Richard V