primtechsmith Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 I got reading some of the responses to another thread on abused anvils and it got me thinking about something. There are a bunch of myths surrounding blacksmithing. From beating up anvils as the dreaded North plowed through the South during the Civil War to the great tongue in cheek story on here about making a sword. The one I have heard almost every time I have demonstrated is from an "old timer" coming up and pointing to the anvil (about 100# or so) and saying, "I once saw a man pick one up just that size one handed by the horn." I just laugh and tell him I wish I could do that... What other myths or tall tales are out there in the cyber world about blacksmithing? Peyton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Guess you should do some historical reading on the Civil War. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primtechsmith Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Come on Jr....It was only a joke!!! :-) Peyton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henerythe8th Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 It's kind of weird, but many times the information regarding the destruction of a piece of equipment is more in depth than the info on how to use it... ... on pieces of equipment that could potentially be used by the enemy. When I was in the Air Force, I had to learn how to disable an industrial sewing machine to be qualified to use it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan DuBoff Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Ok, myth or fact... Smiths use more coke than anyone else in the world?:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Naw, steel mills use most of the coke, smiths are just the one who breath in way too much of the stuff. Always be careful of your "History" it's likely to be full of urban legends too! I have an "Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages" edited by a renowned medieval historian that still mentions that victorian canard that armour was so heavy that a knight could not get up if he fell over in it---war armour generally weighed *less* than a modern soldier would carry on a battle field and was very well distributed.. Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I hate that myth so much Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Stegmeier Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I haven't heard this so much, but by hearsay you hear it all the time at demo's. Many a farmer had a forge and an anvil (possibly of dubious quality;-) that they used possibly to shoe their own horses, or for straightening things that got bent on the farm, or bending things that were straight, to suit their needs. Modern people look at problems with a totally different attitude than practical old fashioned farmers, who looked at every problem as: "This needs doing, so how can I!!! get it done???" For the practical and the determined nothing is impossible! I was at a blacksmithing class, and we got to talking about selfsufficient old farmer types. One guy related how when he was young and worked for a farmer haying, that an engine died while they were baling, the boys figured they were done for the day... But the farmer had them wait, while he tore the engine down, relaped the valves and put it back together... IN the field... they finished at 10 that night having put up 1200 bales. Like I said nothing is impossible, if you don't realize you can't do that, and you are determined to do it... And whenever someone tells you their grandfather was a blacksmith, ask if you can get his tool??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Fox Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Rural America had to be self sufficent. Blacksmithing was just fixing things to get back in operation, or building something to work with. People knew how to work a team of mules, horses, or oxen. They knew how to make repairs with just bailing wire and a pair of pliers. Guns were for putting food on the table. It was the way of life at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Often times the local Blacksmith in small rural towns, had to be not only the Town Blacksmith, repairing, sharpening and making things for his clients, but he was also, the Town Wainwright, Wheelwright, Woodworker, Horse shoer and even the Undertaker at times. When Steam engines and Gasoline engines came about he was often the town Mechanic, because who knew more about mechanical things than the town Blacksmith. Often he was the most respected man in town as all life in a small town revolved around the local Blacksmith shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Always be careful of your "History" it's likely to be full of urban legends too! I have an "Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages" edited by a renowned medieval historian that still mentions that victorian canard that armour was so heavy that a knight could not get up if he fell over in it---war armour generally weighed *less* than a modern soldier would carry on a battle field and was very well distributed.. Thomas My senior seminar paper was on the Wars of the Roses, and in several of the books I read, the historians made similar mistakes about armour, and these were not all old books! That's one of the reasons I want to specialize in the history of arms and armour, to help dispell some of these myths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 My Grandfather Really was a Blacksmith. check the attached link to see some of his work.Conrad Segmiller Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheftjcook Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Woody that is some beautiful work! TIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 No offense to the oldsters, but it seems people that are older, usually had a "do it/make it/find a way to do it/make it" attitude, which was awesome. Compared to some people today, that will just go out and buy something. Not everyone today(including me and alot of people I know) will just go out and buy something, but it seems(and thankfully kind of) alot of people will. Not ewveryone wants to be a smith(though I don't know why?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Seemingly everyone who comes by a demonstration has a relative or relative of someone who was a blacksmith. I like the stories about "having" to crank the bellows for the blacksmith. Dig a little, you'll find that when they were little boys around the blacksmith, they were fighting for the chance to work the bellows. And how folks always burnt down the house to get the nails out. One myth I hear a lot, that I hope we're all making a myth, is that it's a dying craft. About lifting the anvil with one hand, or however, I was surprised to find on an old-school fitness forum that there are guys who do that. They have a number of sort of "standard" lifts they talk about, like by the horn or pinch grip across the face. Now I don't figure anyone is doing that to what we'd consider sizeable anvils. Don't really know what they can do. But I seem to recall one guy mentioning that he wished Harbor Freight carried something bigger than the 55-lb, because he wanted to try something heavier. Yeah, lifters don't care much about the ring or the rebound, just the weight... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Steve if you check out some of the laws from old colonial era towns you might find that there are still laws in some towns prohibiting the burning of buildings to salvage the nails. Williamsburg, Va is one of them. With the fire depts (bucket brigades) they had in the old days and everthing made of wood, there might be more than a few buildings to salvage nails from when one was burnt intentionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Woody, nice work on your grandfather's part. My grandfather wasn't a blacksmith, but his brother was ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Shepard Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 In our shop we have a newspaper article about someone who carried a 140 lb. anvil out of a hardware store with one hand. He had his thumb through the hardy hole. This was in the 40s or 50s and the anvil was valued at $15! I get a lot of people through the village I work at and almost everyone from the UK can remember a blacksmith in their village. We hear some wild stories for sure. We also have a policy of making the distinction of farrier and blacksmith in our shop.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkbear Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 The difference between the "old timer" and today's "new timers" has beena change of culture. Back in the early 20th century there were just not the stores and distribution networks around as well as disposable income to go and buy what they needed. In the thirties there was the depression and massive lack of money for much except survival. In the forties there was the build up to war, war and then the recovery from war. The fifties and sixties saw great leaps in income, productivity and access to many things. However, lingering memories of hard times can create a certain type of mentality - lets do with what we have/well let's see if we can make thing thing we need, etc., etc. Nowadays it is almost impossible to get something fixed as industry production, availability and cost has created a throw away culture. This is not an indictment of today's culture it is just how things have turned out. Try to get a 10 year old sewing machine fixed today. First you have to actually find someone who can actually fix them and then find out about parts availability. Last year I wanted to get a computer hardware problem fixed and was told the I could buy a brand new one for less than the company would chatge me to fix it. Just the way it is. Brian Ottawa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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