Junksmith Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My first actual selling show was this past weekend. I had a blast demoing but tear down was a killer (after 8+ hours of forging at home I just shut off the fire and go inside). It ran Saturday & Sunday. I only made a couple of hundred bucks but I'm OK with that in this economy. What really made the show worthwhile (besides the experience) is shown in the last photo. In the middle of the 2nd day, a gentleman came up to me and asked if I was interested in a vise and gave me his address. Well, I went over there last night and picked up a 6" monster in near-perfect condition for FREE! He also threw in a broken rivet forge pan with a salvageable tuyere! He wouldn't take any money, but I did give him a piece of my work out of gratitude. I think my 4" vise will now be my "portable" travel unit. Sweeeeeet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobae Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Well done! What a fortuitous event! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Now you need someone to give you an anvil too. Nice score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 nice one junksmith - you must have good karma stores there!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 a couple of hundred bucks and a post vice ain't nothing to sneeze at any year. Good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 A 6" vise like that goes for $150-175 in my area...that makes your weekend making $350-375!! Good for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rio Bravo Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Congrats on your first show. Well done! The best freebie I ever got was a hammer; turned out to be my favourite. I'm curious...what type of items sold best for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Good fair Joe, that vise is a beauty. I like your anvil, it says more about what it means to be a blacksmith than a textbook smithy. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Way to go! Profit and tools - doesn't get any better than that. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 looks like you had a good time there and nice score there on the vice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Good fair Joe, that vise is a beauty. I like your anvil, it says more about what it means to be a blacksmith than a textbook smithy. Frosty Thanks Frosty! One fine day I'll find (and possibly afford) a more traditional one, but I don't think I'll give that one up even then. That rounded bit on the top makes drawing & tapering a snap and easy to control - particularly with a Hofi (czech knockoff) style hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Congrats on your first show. Well done! The best freebie I ever got was a hammer; turned out to be my favourite. I'm curious...what type of items sold best for you? Mostly small & medium-sized hooks - particularly the find that mounted on a wall (as opposed to say, "S" hooks or beam hooks). Keychains were another big one. Particularly ones with a rolled rose or a fish. We have lots of fishing enthusiasts here. One of my demo items was a souvenir horseshoe made with a 4.5 in length of 1/4 in square bar. They only took about 6 minutes to make. I gave a few away to kids, but a surprising number of people offered to buy them. I just charged $3 apiece. No pictures of those yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rio Bravo Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Thanks for the additional info Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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