words of wisdom

[edge9001]

while watch weapons master i heard a japanese saying about swordsmithing. the english translation "a minute to learn a lifetime to master"

This is, I believem What we are all here for. Am I correct? we have all been bitten by the blacksmithing bug, and have spent our minute to learn the process, and now the lifetime ahead to master it. I only have on though, and it compares blacksmithing to highschool. how many of us will master the subject at hand and how many will drop out of the race. only time will tell. as for now I am in this for the long haul.

[Xsable]

I think that can be said with most things, I used to use an expresion similar to that regarding teaching people how to play the guitar... I can teach you everything you need to know in about a week or two, the rest is just practice!

I find theres a lot more reading to be done for blacksmithing though, for safeties sake alone!

[ThomasPowers]

I don't think I'm in it for the long haul; I've only been smithing as my primary hobby for 30 years now and probably don't have more than another 20 left in me.

[njanvilman]

Even after 34 teaching high school Wood and Metal shop, I am still learning. Everything I show my students adds to their knowledge. I am always trying new projects. I emphasise that even though I know a lot, I really know very little, and life is a lifelong learning quest. Never stop trying a new thing, and never stop thinking.

The more you know, the more you realize you don't know.

[ZIG]

I like the guitar reference. I was thinking that myself. My grandaddy was a Boilermaker for 40 yrs. First job I was on, as a apprentice. He had never touched before. So I could tell him more after a day.
Point being, is that read everything you can. You'll learn something from anything You find. Do This when You can't Be pounding iron. This site is a godsend. The wealth of knowledge and help these guys can provide is priceless. Other than your own experiences.

[Frank Turley]

I've been teaching blacksmithing for 41 years, and I still subscribe to the "concentric circle theory." Drop a pebble into still water, and the concentric circles begin, going outward. If you learn, say, what's in the inner circle, that leaves something to learn in the adjacent one, etc., etc. And each circle gets larger!

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools