Last Blacksmith in Hanoi

[SGropp]

Here's a link to a pretty good story and video form the New York Times


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/world/asia/25blacksmith.html?_r=1&hp

[archiphile]

sad :(

[kevan]

sad

....or progress <_<

[edge9001]

sad

It is alway a terrible terrible thing when an area loses all its talented artisens(spelling) and smiths.

[Dragons lair]

....or progress

Ah Yes progress. We have progressed to a point where the average guy can't change his own oil(jiffy lube) can't fix a toilet(roto rooter) I know a few than can't change a tire(their wives can) I don't want a craftsman I just want it done fast and cheap. Yeh smithing is a novelty now just as whatever job ya work at is. Think it ain't gonna happen to ya check out Kings. I can't compete with thier forgings or CNC plasma work can you? I have to deal with someone selling 12X12 gazebos for $200 I atleast found a saleried job in a eng co. Saw a guy selling S hooks(trying) $15 for a 1/4X6. I do not feel sorry for him I admire him. He is what he is even being the last. Hopefully some one will fill the need. As a welder/fabricator/blacksmith. I have/had a lot of clients needing the old stuff repaired. Now I we are dinosours. It's all about new and or fancy(for cheap) I'll stop rambling now and go to bed.
Ken. )

[NRunals]

I don't think I'd call the extinction of a craft progression. I feel that people need things made by the workmanship of risk in their daily life. For me it's a connection between myself and the person that created the piece that I feel, it brings me to think of human relationships rather than all the stuff I own. It seems that without that daily reminder peoples lives just aren't as rich.

[rawtiron]

This is true for me also.

[tlreif]

I agree the extintion of any craft is not good. I love my gadgets but I must say they are the big problem. But by the same token they will be the undoing of things. And us craftsmen will be called upon once again.

[Bryce Masuk]

Has anyone heard of james burkes "connections" from 1978?

book and tv series and then they also made 2 other series at later dates

He goes into full details about all of this kind of stuff and he starts from when people first stopped being nomads and began to become specialized, invention of the plow and many other things.

now we are super specialized! all we have to do is load the part into the machine and let it do the work lol

this is the true downfall of society very few people will know how to survive when things dont function.

but the reality is that we know its going to happen! the people of my generation, in canada at least recognize this everyone that I know in my age group wants to escape working a 9-5 and work off the land together in small community's

its crazy it must be some kind of natural trigger because you wont find anyone with half a brain that is in my age group that doesnt recognize it, without food and water in a city 10% of the people may survive like when the persian's destroyed the roman's aquaducts they couldnt produce food or have clean water and eventually city's went from 100 000 people to 10 000.
now they dont even produce food in any city a community garden usually wouldnt even feed the people maintaining it let alone anyone else.

no power or gas in your home for a week and its minus -20 outside are you going to survive? can you fix it in a week?

honestly though back to the topic, people have great respect for people with real skills these days because so few people actually do,

I use my powerhammer in a regular suburban neighbour hood, no one complains about the noise because they know I am working.
sometimes people would complain in the past because I would be working at 10:30 (not with the hammer) after I finished work
but I stopped that I usually stop before 7 o clock now, I guarantee if I was making noise with something non productive people would complain.

in the past it was pretty hard to start to learn much about blacksmithing, but now since it has been coming back alive I honestly can only see it growing because of the information on the web and better quality books for the basic's like mark asperys book's. I had the orginal edge of the anvil and sure it TALKS about what mark asprey EXPLAINS but it doesnt give you enough info to really figure it out and use it.

I am sure that if we had more hobby smiths more people would be interested in buying blacksmithing work because you increase the exposure of the craft yet people who do it as a hobby usually arent able to produce the same things or at least on the same scale as a professional smith and if they were that good they would probley want to be a professional.

[Mick C]

Thought provoking.

Mick

[maddog]

"...Mr. Hung said his wife told him she never would have married him if she had known he would become a blacksmith. "

It is sad. Bit if there is a market for blacksmith work, the craft will survive.

[edge9001]

it is very sad that people would choose not to marry someone just because of their chosen profession. I mean personality, income, looks, family worth these are reasons to choose a spouse, their chosen profession has little to do with these facts. whats a little soot and smokeyness amongst husband and wife.

[Jreed]

Many Asian cultures put less status and value on jobs that involve manual labor. The paler your skin the higher on the social ladder you are because your profession doesn't require you to sweat in the sun or do strenuous labor.

[Dragons lair]

I agree the extintion of any craft is not good. I love my gadgets but I must say they are the big problem. But by the same token they will be the undoing of things. And us craftsmen will be called upon once again.

Just a thought here. When a man comes in with a part costs $ 1000 to replace(if ya can find one) and complains about
a $100 charge to fix it.My answer is GO FIND one. NOT doing that anymore. Pay what its worth or do without.
Ken.

[John McPherson]

Way off topic here, but perceived value is what something, or someone is worth to *you*, based on how much time, sweat, effort, thought, love and money that *you* are willing to put into it, and how owning it makes you feel. All of that can and does change over time.

Market value is what the viewing public is willing to pay for an item or skill. Only a certain sector of the public is interested in your product, and has the money to buy it. Fewer still are willing to pay what is is really worth to produce. You either seek out that sector, or it seeks you out, if you are lucky/talented/famous. If you do not find that sector, or undercharge for your skills, you set the course for your own shipwreck.

You pay an MD big bucks because you can not remove your own appendix. But 'those people' (the ones that don't belong to our County Club, dahling) weld, tinker on cars, and build bookcases in their garage, so it can't be that hard, right? (Pay them less? Of course! They should be grateful for any scraps we throw them. Let them eat cake.)

Status is usually tied to the market value of your profession. However, artists, scholars, heroes and holymen have always had status above their pay grade.

All cultures have status issues. Once upon a time in America, a tan and calloused hands meant a field worker, whiter skin meant having the money to avoid work. Now a dark even tan and white even teeth mean the leisure class, because only they have the time and money to maintain them.

If you go into a million dollar house in a t-shirt and jeans and say that you are a blacksmith, or a welder, or a fabricator you will probably be expected to drink from the hose, use the back door and the plastic privy.

If you are an 'artist' with a portfolio, then you have status. You might even be asked if you want a beer, or some single malt. Just remember not to use the good hand towels in the bathroom, dry your greasy mitts on your bandanna.

Sorry for the rant, just waxing philosophical on a rainy morning.