Kooky

It's easy to be disrespectful behind the safety veil of the internet, I am progressing just fine on my own. Let me know where you live near, maybe we can meet up for a cup of coffee. Bringing anyone else down or judging them over things that don't physically harm you is just a sign of insecurity. [political and religious content deleted] Nothing that comes from people I don't respect can affect me at all. I find these remarks amusing at best, tiresome at worst, like finding the perfect position in bed (the initial onset of help) but having to get back up to take a pee (the digression to personal annoyance and judgment). If you don't like it, stay away. I can't make you, [political content deleted] but I request if you don't have anything useful or kind to say, just mind your beeswax. Plenty of posts here for you to creep. Cheers.

Yea true, I went to the scrap yard near me recently. Lots of car scrap. Not a whole lot of usability for now, at least forge wise or tool wise. Metal wise, still learning what to look for. Bit of a lottery trade off there, lots of time and gas and still need to get lucky.

Anybody else look at these things and immediately think of forge potential? A few chops here, a few chops there, and it'd be good to go. Does the city ever replace these things and toss them out? Maybe I will make an anonymous suggestion to have some of them replaced, t hen email the next day wondering if they have any BBQs available and to message me when they do...

People used to be able to toss newspapers into driveways for money. Simple and straightforward. I hate to say there aren’t that many jobs like that around anymore, hard work has been outsourced. Who did that? Not my generation. Nor are there digital counterparts that are the equivalent of doing something like that. Freelance coding requires tight skill. The American dream has become a facade, everyone hustles for someone else instead of themselves now. When I say I’m not a people person, I was refraining from discussing multi-doctor medical diagnoses. If you would like me to go on, just send me a message And regarding the mysticism, all of life is magic to someone, or it isn’t, like Walter White’s love of chemistry in Breaking Bad, the great mythos of Ancient Greece, the magical rebellion of American moonshine, or Japanese sword makers… I prefer to feel all of life is magic, beyond the inanimate being arbitrarily animated. What came first, science, or the things science is composed of? It’s easy to see whose head is inanimate It’s also very easy to feel superior because of your views and the curmudgeon aesthetic, to bring someone down by trying to dull their edge or darken their spark. I was doing neither by displaying my feelings, your rebuttal is unfortunately hollowed out by that and the rampant negativity by plastering your personally assumed correctness in concrete. The simple difference here is you don’t believe in iron sprites, I do, but I do not try to persuade you they exist. Perhaps all of this mysticism comes from within the human psyche itself. It is no less magical. I love it. What an obnoxious narcissist. this is absolutely the last time I respond to your simpleton keyboard warrior psychoanalysis of an internet stranger. I have lost 100% of the respect I may have ever had for you. cheers. PS all Japanese people are idiotic buffoons for praying at Shinto shrines, amiright? I’m just a 14 year old 28 year old.

Any recommendations? I can't imagine the price new if the Kanca is $650+.

I commented on the books in my other thread instead of here. How are future generations supposed to find these rare vises and what will be the alternative? Someone is going to have to step up and manufacture them again, surely. Most of the post vises are getting hard to find and becoming increasingly worn, they'll be lost to time soon and frankly there aren't many options out there, if anything, but that blue Kanca post vise. Was the nail for instance, driven by the formation of the post vise or did it come before? The post vise seems as necessary as a forge and anvil though.

Alright, thanks for the perspective. I suppose if I can learn some of the science, metallurgy, and techniques as quickly as possible and practice them, I will sooner reach over to the point where it's a lot more creativity-focused. Just mulling things over as my forge is in transit to gain perspective and outlook. Although, most of these YouTubers are not tool makers which is what I will focus on. I know, from the Covington & Sons link I posted, he does not have much respect for "BoobToobers". They get views because they're personalities first and foremost. I'd rather be the reclusive high end smith he mentions that the flamboyant advertising personality type. I can't help but feel a bit of jealousy of course. When I first saw a power hammer in use I was in love... What luck to have one at such an early age.

I can’t help but feel discouraged already when I see 20 year old YouTubers with huge shops and power hammers and high tech gear. As I said I am trying to take this seriously but at 28 I’m a bit late to the game to be serious… at least that’s what it feels like. I might just be able to make something of myself if I work constantly at it, which I have the opportunity to do.

Started reading The Home Blacksmith since not much info about it and the other ones are supposedly good. I will review them all when done. So far this book is good, but there are some things like side notes that are too obscure for me to understand without some sort of photo… It also appears I will be learning metallurgy… Here is the high end woodworker / Japanese tool purveyor’s information blog on blacksmithing, among other things, mostly woodworking and tool care, in case anyone likes Japanese tools. Not sure if it will be useful, though most Japanese master smiths are dying off without anyone to replace them https://covingtonandsons.com/category/blacksmithing/

Thanks… will have to check out the flea market tomorrow.

It simply doesn’t look like most of the post vises I’ve seen but… it looks similar enough. asking $120 Deal or no deal?

Wow, great. I am part Cuban, I enjoy pipe smoking maybe once a week and the occasional cigar. I tried growing 5 different varieties of tobacco about 3 months ago but with the rains, it was a disaster. I just resowed them only a few hours ago. Praying to the tobacco Gods this works! I may not need a tool like this for such a small amount but then again, of course I do!

It seems my local community college has a search and there are numerous books . I don't know how helpful they will be. Some are available online, just opened up "Farm blacksmithing"... I believe I will have plenty to review. Everything is in place. Maybe I will setup a JABOD tomorrow while my forge is in transit.

I haven't been able to convince my family to get solar in Florida. It's ridiculous really. I want to take my axe, harvest some trees to dry and build a solar log cabin. Florida is covered in good pine for log homes but half an acre can run $25,000 down here. Absolutely ridiculous. Two of my smithing books are out for delivery and my forge/tools shipped today! In the meantime I picked up a very solid domain name related to blacksmithing, I'm actually pretty surprised it was available... Now to pay someone on Fiverr to make a logo. Fake it 'till you make it, right?

Understanding Florida is not possible. That's why I'm trying to leave! Btw I love adobe, I've wished I could live in an adobe house for years. I have a bucket of clay I still haven't gotten around to out back. I will have to have some fired soon.

It seems my ILLs consists of 8 libraries, all of which appear in my online searches, and yield no results.

Thanks, I will check it out. Not a single book at my library. I have a couple books on the way, two will be delivered today. No shipping notification on my forge yet! The Home Blacksmith, The Complete Modern Blacksmith, The Backyard Blacksmith and I’m going to buy New Edge of the Anvil later this week.

For one of the smiths that planted this seed, from Crossed Heart Forge, I notice he uses what looks to be a pretty simplistic forge (as far as I can tell). The bellows seem tricky to build, but it's a Japanese style forge that looks to be entirely firebricks, and there's the specialty bellows on the left hand side leading to air tunnels at the bottom. Can this work? It's in the shape of I guess a right triangle, made of firebricks.. So closest to the smith is one brick, behind that a stack of two, so on, and the passageway is pretty narrow. That seems pretty simple and easy to maintain if I'm understanding it correctly.

Should've clarified by luthiery I meant building/making, not repair, I often forget the word covers multiple things. Thanks, I will look it up... Ground forge is definitely my go-to, it's perfect. Adaptable, cheap. I could not live in a car-centric place like that, maybe I will count my blessings in the suburbs that I can live by barely driving (compared to the average) and never have a desire to. I guess my ideal place to live is some sort of ancient town, or a village, self sustaining relative to food and water, everything is well managed in walking distance, except for imports... alongside a source of water used for irrigating said food, like the chinampas in Mexico, some of the best design there is, of course destroyed down to a single sliver left surrounded by developed city . Netherlands infrastructure comes to mind, it's very good, America has some of the worst infrastructure for human-centric living in the world, especially in cities. Rural areas, you're right, you just have to drive unless you homestead. I know doing things so old school is "ridiculous" today but modern society is fragile, it can break in an instant, that's why I prefer things like a JABOD forge and learning abou tit. These techniques stand the test of time and are strong. The same philosophy I take with what I try to do. We are so smart that we can cure all sorts of diseases and live to be 100 yet we've destroyed our very self-sufficiency and dangle what we have on a tiny thread. COVID and war... These are my proofs. I don't do traffic. I would leave the car in the middle of the road and walk back home the first time I sit in San Fran traffic, I can't imagine some Chinese traffic. Gives me the heebie jeebies thinking about that smog. I know it's for livelihood and passion and all but to me, sitting in 3-4 hour traffic everyday for a job is a screw loose.

You don't know how excited I am that all I have to do is find a chunk of steel. It beats my previous endeavor. I really, really wanted to do luthiery as my sort of woodworking specialization since I have been a musician for years, and since there's no luthier for a hundred plus miles I would've had to build my own shop, we're talking about dozens of specialty tools on top of my standard tools, plus I would've had to break down and finally go electric with a Chinese made band saw, drill press, belt sander... Blacksmithing came to me in a strange way... I wanted to craft the tools I need, for something I really can't do (we don't have a garage here so the wood shop has never been able to manifest...) but at the same time, I am a huge fan of the aesthetic, simplicity, and mysticism behind a forge. It's simple on the surface, a couple items, but it takes that something special to do things properly. Blacksmithing is the stuff of legends and masters! I do hope to pursue woodworking again on the side, but blacksmithing is easier for me right now to try and learn, earn a living from, and do properly, because I can do it all outside on a concrete slab we have. I have plenty to go off tomorrow, I saw many of these suggestions basically right after they close.

I am of course not hating on all retired folk! But surely you understand Floridians are a different breed, at least the ones that stick around. I am a beyond avid gardener and growing in pure sand is just miserable and I’m not a fan of raised beds. You read something online related to gardening and it will apply to every place in the US except South Florida. Home of 100% humidity, feels like 100F, flat sand and monster bugs. With that said I’m not sure I’d be able to eat any other food than tropical inspired food, and possibly southern. They're just my favorite. by retired… I think I mean retired from life, not whatever they may have been doing.

I've got a bowl adze that I can't use since I can't find green logs anywhere. I stop at every log I see on the road, none of them are suitable, it's usually palm tree I would l love to make a real chunker of a "chouna" at some point, basically a Japanese hewing tool, similar to an adze. Oh and absolutely a yariganna... sort of like a Japanese planing knife. I love this tool, it provides very nice curly shavings.

Boat building... not really, maybe some structural work, nobody around here builds them. Lots of boat carpentry and such but no builders (another thing I've looked into related to woodworking... traditional boat building)

I don't know how to describe how useless the area I live in is. It's South Florida. Everyone here is retired. It's a small beach town with tourists and older folks that don't do a whole lot and there's not much of an industry or economy outside of catering to that. Any time I need to find something, I pretty much can't find it unless I buy it new. Thus, either I buy an anvil online, namely the Atlas Knifemaker or Graham as of now, ideally I'd save for a Nimba... or muster the patience to wait, refrain from starting to blacksmith, and find a scrap chunk of steel at one of very few places that might have it. I'd be totally satisfied with a cut chunk of steel beam. It's a time is money thing, I don't feel compelled to wait until I get lucky, yet I also can't afford an amazing anvil right away. One thing I do know is, and it was actually your comment from another thread, I'm scrapping buying a coal forge entirely, going full on JABOD! Maybe once I get a JABOD forge I will feel ready to build an earthen oven right next to it so I can have fresh bread ready at the smithy...

I am itching to get going as I've said... As I wait for my forge it's now a trade off of luck/perseverance and waiting before I can start, and buying a standard anvil and spending a bunch of money...