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I Forge Iron

Nazel, Fairbanks and Beaudry Hammers


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This is my first post and perhaps last because I’m not comfortable with having been drawn into all this and I’m really not proficient with the computer. But I’ve sort of inadvertently been prompted to respond. All this typing has taken more out of me than anyone could imagine. My name is Bruce Wallace and I only became aware of this site earlier this week when a prospective customer questioned my character and abilities after visiting and reading a few postings. The issue was brought to my attention and I addressed one author of a posting directly with the opportunity of a phone call or e-mail to question who they were and what was their motive. My query and correspondences were not intended for public consumption.

This message is in no way intended to influence anyone on how to conduct their own bussines or creation. The administrators of this site have chosen to give anyone who chooses to be involved equal part of the privilege of using this forum only as they see fit. No one is forcing me or I think anyone else to be here. We have the right to leave or not take part if we choose to not follow policy. I do not think the creation or intention of this site was to air dirty laundry, share or discuss private matters between individuals. I haven’t come to this site to be any part of that. I’d like to make it clear while moving forward I’m putting to rest any matters that have occurred in the past…

I don’t know why some think they need to know or find it necessary or if it really matters to anyone to know who I am? I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and I’m proud of the fact. My wife and son’s lineage can be traced back to William Penn. My interest in blacksmithing started in 1973 at the age of 12. Early in my career I worked for a short time at the Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard. I’m a self-taught “Yankee” master blacksmith working in a 103 year old blacksmith shop in Kempton, PA. Along with keeping my shop busy, I own Nazel, Fairbanks and Beaudry Hammer Companies. The heritage and assemblage of archives we’ve invested in means more to me than any simple possession. I’m not an artist and I didn’t study or apprentice in Europe. I’ve bought, fixed, sold and traded lots of American made hammers, one Aussie hammer an English hammer and a few German hammers all for profit. I never bought or sold a Chinese hammer and I don’t intend to. I built my fair share of motorcycles, hot rods and street rods - some in my back yard with only the tools I had for profit and a few to keep long before it was considered fashionable. I did not invent the self contained air hammer, the internet or anything else worth speaking about. I didn’t accept government bailout money. The truth about the bail out money… none was offered. We’re not posers’ or want to be’s or the self proclaimed “Nazel Specialists.” I'm annoyed when referring to or describing someone else or other hammers to be just like a Nazel, Fairbank or Beaudry. I’m not good at self promoting and I try to let what we've accomplished to speak for itself. We understand we are only caretakers for these brands in history and we are not behind the brilliances that crated them. There are plenty who have passed away that forgot more while they were living than we’ll ever know. It’s now our passion and we’ve made it our vocation to study and understand the mastery and developments that made them great. We’re confident and pride ourselves in being the authorities with the best knowledge available today for the brand we represent. From our studies, we could make new hammers from the drawings we posses but we have not found anyone willing to pay the price. If there are any takers out there - it’s something I’d like to do if we had the funding. We reserve the right to keep what we feel is proprietary to our business and we reserve the right to do business with whom we chose. When it's time to pass on tenure it will be left to the new proprietor to pursue their own goals as they see fit.

Between Nazel, Fairbanks and Beaudry there are thousands of parts and we don’t have everything for every hammer. If we don’t have in stock the part you need for your hammer we can make it from our drawings but it could get expensive. It is hard for us to diagnose and fix problems over the phone when someone calls saying it’s the little square thing above the round thing broken or is missing on my hammer. If we can assist, it’s the best we have to offer but it might not always be the cheapest alternative or what you want to hear. We will not offer opinions on things we know little or nothing about. I’ve met more blacksmiths in person than I have over the internet and I’d much rather have a phone call than an e-mail. We use our computer as a tool and I’m not capable of maintaining my own web site and we do not “bait” customers. If you ask a question you don’t want an honest answer to …don’t ask because I might give the answer you don't want me too. I’m willing to share ideas, common interests and experiences without giving my bank account numbers in an effort to protecting my investments. WE DO NOT or WILL NOT give away drawings or copies of our sales records to ANYONE no exceptions! If you insist that we do so, it is a sure bet to end any conversation or offer of help. It might be different if this was a hobby and only for giggles but this is my lively hood. I’m by no means getting rich at this. Some might be willing to give away drawings that have been floating around before I owned these companies because they have nothing to lose. I’ve given away my fair share of advice for little or nothing in return. I recently helped a customer in Michigan over the phone fix their 1B they’ve been using to make fishing lore with since 1955. In return they sent me more lures then I’ll use in a life time because my youngest son loves fishing. And, if I called them to tell them he was out they’d probably send more.

Who are the hammer police? It irritates me a bit when I read some comments that I know are incorrect about our hammers. I can’t patrol the internet all day adding my two cents worth because it would just drive me insane. If I may, here are some facts. The earliest Nazel Hammer we recored was a belt driven hammer number 15 born in Philadelphia, PA 1909. It was a 165 pound or 2B sold to Henry Diston and Sons File Company in Tacony, Philadelphia, PA and later sold to the Hood Tool Company also of Philadelphia. Our records do not indicate when the hammer changed ownership. I saw hammer 15 broken in a patch of woods near Lancaster, PA. The hammer was broken because water got inside of it and froze after it was removed from Hood Tool and left to sit outside. I’d like to make it clear I had nothing to do with the sale of hammer 15. I only had the opportunity to see it before it was shipped after it was sold on eBay perhaps 9 or 10 years ago. The last Nazel manufactured was hammer number 2010 a 200 pound 2B born 1973 in Pittsburg, PA. Hammer 2010 is currently being used in our shop most every day to make some of the same tools Hood made. Some of the tools we make on our Nazel are sold to some of the same customers Hood sold thier tools to until they went out of business. The more things change the more they stay the same. We realize this really doesn’t amount to a whole lot in the bigger scheme of life. None of this perhaps matters to anyone one other than blacksmiths that for some reason have a compulsion to know. Because, if you tell someone who doesn’t know anything about blacksmithing and some who do that you own Nazel Hammer Company, you might as well be speaking French.

If anyone finds what I posted offensive, rude, insulting, demining, or defamatory towards any individuals than by all means feel free to censor within the contexts of the rule within this forum. Sorry for appearing so long winded, but I find it necessary to only have to do this once.

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No doubt you have a lot to contribute. As a business man my self I try to be as helpfull as i can as long as it does not take away from shop time. Being friendly and helpful to has gotten me many a job. The internet is a powerful tool and can bring a lot of business to your door. Ignore the haters and always be professional. Thers is no shame in charging a fair price. A lot of people have no conception how much industrial equipment actually costs . I look forward to seeing more posts form you in the future.

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Quite a change from the last bit of correspondence we saw from you.

Can`t help but wonder why you weren`t this polite and instructive when dealing with a former customer who used to be a member of this forum.


The person you referred to IS STILL a member of this forum. That has not changed

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I'm not here to air dirty laundry. Perhaps you’re judging from things you’ve seen or heard taken out of context and not meant for public consumption. I don't find it necessary to go into details or explain my actions in a public forum. Enough said and this is typically why I avoid getting involved in such trivial pursuits. Like I said, if you read correctly, I choose who I do business with and the person whom you referenced was not a customer of mine. When I was approached I don’t know how many years ago, my offer to help at that time was refused. If this is the way it’s going to be then we might as well stop now. Give some thoughts ultimately to where the parts came for to fix the hammer in question. I reserve the right to defend myself. I refuse to get drawn into anything further than what this is. I can collect my tools now and go away and avoid this hassle. I won’t keep saying the same thing over and over again.

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I'm not here to air dirty laundry.



Maybe you aren't, maybe you are ? but it does seem like there some thinly veiled digs at some genuine air hammer experts who post a LOT of useful information on this forum. I've always avoided this whole forum malarky like the plague in the past, but joined because of the wealth of information people post here, despite some of the more "misguided" knowledge.

To be honest your first post does come across, to me as, a long advert to yourself. If you've joined this "community" for genuine reasons and not just to repair any damage to your reputation from having (temporarily) had some dirty laundry aired in public, why not start some new threads up dedicated to dispersing some of the knowledge I'm sure you've picked as a "Master Blacksmith" and "Nazel Authority".
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I really do think for the sake of balance and fairness, Larry should be allowed to repost the original posts that were taken down. They do contain Mr Wallace's own words after all.

People who haven't read them won't really be able to make sense of this thread. I have.

It would also appear that some lines have subsequently been removed from Mr Wallace's first post; the ones reflecting his attitude to blogging for instance.

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I also couldn`t help but notice the attempt to "sell" yourself in your intro.Hey,we all try that to some point on introduction to a new group.Yours was a little "over the top"IMO.
What was important to me was what was missing.Not once did I see a mention of getting off on the wrong foot or posting here to make ammends.Never mind an appology for calling the members here something like "Clucking kitchen bitches" would have been nice.
I understand that things are sometimes said in the heat of the moment but an honest man or woman takes responsibility for their words and actions and makes ammends if need be,no matter how painful at the start.THAT shows character,something Larry had a truck load of IMO.

I`m only sorry Larry isn`t here to state his side of the story.I`m sure he would do it with the class and respect that we all came to know him for.

Bruce,you have been given a hard row to hoe,both by your own words maybe taken out of context,and by follow on posts from other dissatisfied customers(besides Larry) that you have failed to mention anything about.
The way I see it you can either man up and address those problems here so we can all see it for ourselves how you really operate or continue to make nebulous statements about dirty laundry,etc and ignore the problems.
Right now you`re coming off as a very poor trade for Larry.

Try addressing the real problems that have been set before you.
Yes, what you thought was a private e-mail became public and your pride took a hit.At least we don`t all have naked pictures of you on our cell phones.
Take the time to look at Larry`s contributions here so you can get an idea of how we see him and maybe you will get a better perspective.
Actions speak far louder than words Bruce.An action like saying that we got off on the wrong foot and that you`d like to invest the time to try to resolve these problems would say a lot about you being a stand up guy who values open discussion and truth over ego.
Open discussion would involve saying to Glen that YOU would like to see Larry back here in an effort to reach a respectful resolution of past problems.
I`m asking for a big investment here Bruce.Are you up for it?

Right now things are very one sided.
IME there`s the one party`s side,the other party`s side and the truth,which usually lies somewhere in between.
We have no chance of getting to the truth and resolution so we can move on to common ground unless both sides can be respectfully presented.
As I said,it`s a tough row to hoe.

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It is best not to condemn a person on hearsay If you have some first hand experience its your right to express it. But its not fair to repeat allegations made by a third party on a public forum. You have no proof other than another persons word. I am not taking anyone's side for me this is a blanket policy. I would hate for my livelihood to be harmed by people who have no direct experience with me. That being said it looks like he does have a "Customer service problem" problem.

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Southshore,

I don`t think I condemned anyone.
What I thought I did was state the facts as they were first presented to us here.I also stated that without open,honest and respectful discussion there can be no hope of us sifting thru the allegations and seeing the real truth.Bruce may be a saint and Larry may have made a serious mistake,I`m open to the possibility.

I then further asked that since this started here then all(there appears to be more than 2) parties be given the chance to RESPECTFULLY resolve this and then we could all see who`s who and what`s what for ourselves.

It is my hope that resolution would mean both parties would go away feeling good about taking a misunderstanding that got out of hand and putting it behind them.There would be no need to condemn anyone for anything if this were to come to pass.

This is not the only forum I frequent.There have been serious blow ups on some of the WWing forums I visit and they were always resolved by and thru open discussion.
Some only required an agreement that there was a misunderstanding that took place before things moved on.Others required that someone take ownership of what was said and make a public apology for their statements.Other disagreements required moderators step in and end a thread and either warn participants or ban one or more of them if this was not a first offense.
I was under the impression that was how forums worked.

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While hearsay might not be any good in court, It IS how we get most of our information. In fact, it's more positive counterpart "word-of-mouth" is highly regarded and sought after. In fact, when you put all your hearsay and word-of-mouth together we call it one's "reputation"!

I don't want anyone to be fooled into thinking I'm in any way impartial. I've had my own experiences with Bruce Wallace over the years and I neither like him or trust him. Larry, on the other hand is a trusted friend of mine.

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While hearsay might not be any good in court, It IS how we get most of our information. In fact, it's more positive counterpart "word-of-mouth" is highly regarded and sought after. In fact, when you put all your hearsay and word-of-mouth together we call it one's "reputation"!




Hey, check out my reputationcool.gif
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Bob: EXACTLY! Part of the problem here is that the original postings are gone. I'd rather be able to discuss something openly. If someone posts something I do't like, I'm not going to call up Glenn, I'll explain my view right here for all to see. If someone has a problem with me or my company, I would welcome the opportunity to address it.

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Wowwey Zowwey. Has any body ever had a reputation of -60 and survived? And I been giving you +'s cause I felt bad. Think we should "shoot the moon'? Remember: people only tease those they like.



Kinda suspect it's related to my responses to a post by Captain Unicorn. Guess I'm being zapped by the same people who bumped the good Captain upto 240 !!@@!!???**???!!

Hey, I've found that whenever I put the word "psychobabble" in a post I get a dose of zapping by the midges

Now what should I do with all my (-)'s
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Kinda suspect it's related to my responses to a post by Captain Unicorn. Guess I'm being zapped by the same people who bumped the good Captain upto 240 !!@@!!???**???!!

Hey, I've found that whenever I put the word "psychobabble" in a post I get a dose of zapping by the midges

Now what should I do with all my (-)'s

I think unicorn was doing something fishy I had a similar experience after disagreeing with him. That guy knows a lot about computers.
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I was just trying to be fair to the guy. I don't have a dog in this fight.



Always the best thing to do.

That said, did you read the original post that this all goes back to. It was only there for a few hours before Glenn pulled it. It was VERY revealing.
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I think unicorn was doing something fishy I had a similar experience after disagreeing with him. That guy knows a lot about computers.



South, yeah I did notice you got a few of the midge bites as well. ThomasPowers has got nearly as many as me (40 at the last count). I don't know the guy from Adam but I can't see anthing to take umbrage with in the posts of his I've read.

It is kinda fishy because they often come in bursts of three. Someone with multiple identities???

If you're curious, I kinda think it goes back to the thread "Members reputation ratings"

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/15098-memebers-reputation-rating/

What did you say to upset the good Captain?

Hey, can I say psychobabble again?
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