Larzz Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 So far this has gone the gament from slight Head Bobbing (aknowledgement to the Head Bobbing Guild) to the Asian method of "thowing their entire body at the steel". This is all starting to sound painfull. I think I will stick to using a Hammer and if I need all that much "extra" force. I will pick up my bigger hammer. Now in order to detect and avoid the dreaded "Head Bob", also to avoid paying Head Bob Guild Fees, I will be installing an adjustable Head Bob Sensor above my anvil. It will be equiped with both positive and negitive feedback features. The direction of the feedback will depend on how I conntect it to the cattle fence leads. To get the best short term corrective actions I will leave the settings on "weed burn". After a short test period, I have determined that I do not suffer from the dreaded Head Bob syndrome, at least anymore. I have found two drawbacks to the above feed back method. One is the multiple horizontal lines etched across my forehead. The other is the lack of hitting force caused by having now become a "Head Jerk"er. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 So Dave,are you saying all the old "master blacksmiths" were bobbers? No.... I'm not saying that. What I am saying is some of the most respected blacksmiths around here, including Peter Ross, noticibly bob their heads a little. I would NOT classify him as silly under any conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhrocker Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 No.... I'm not saying that. What I am saying is some of the most respected blacksmiths around here, including Peter Ross, noticibly bob their heads a little. I would classify him as silly under any conditions. So, now Peter, is silly? I always wondered about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jymm Hoffman Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I think there is a difference in just bobbing and knowing how to use your whole body as a whip like Peter Ross does. I would not call him a bobber. Yes if you use your whole body incorrectly, I am sure it will suffer. Use it correctly, along with the correct grip and angles of the hammer face and you can move metal faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironstein Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I noticed Brian Brazeal bobs a bit when he drives the drift into a hammer head. I think this is just efficiently driving a forceful blow and using his weight to his advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Yes, I admit it. I'm a body bobber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knots Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 There may be more to head bobbing or other body movements associated with hammering than random affectations or just bad technique. I am not a head bobber. However I do use my body, acting with the hammer's rebound off of the anvil, to overcome the hammer's inertia on the upward swing. I started this practice when my families genetic endowment of of arthritic joints began to affect my wrist. My body motion is more like a slight body bow. That is, my head does not nod but moves with my body. Once the hammer is moving up, rebounding from the anvil, all of the power raising the hammer is provided by my body first and then my arm until at the middle of my upward swing my wrist, aided by the hammer's upward inertia, begins to move and finish the upward swing. This seems to reduce the stress on my wrist in the lower part of the up swing. I doubt that I am alone my attempts to find ways to compensate for the results of the aging process . It may well be that there are other better ways to compensate than the one I have found. If so I would dearly love to give them a try. In the mean time I have been following the Hofi thread with interest. The truth of the matter is that no mater what other tooling you have there is just no substitute for the hammer/anvil marriage . I am well into my seventh decade yet feel that it is way to early to give them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 So, now Peter, is silly? I always wondered about that! I meant to say..... I would NOT clasify Peter silly under ANY conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 ROFLMAO! Sorry, just picturing Brian with a "bobble head". :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhrocker Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I meant to say..... I would NOT clasify Peter silly under ANY conditions. Sorry Dave, I just couldn't pass that one up I have some DVD's that show Peter demonstrating, and for sure, he knows his stuff, and no, I agree with you, he isn't silly. Pure dedication to learning and teaching, and passing on down the "early" methods of the craft. I believe I heard he's not at Williamsburg any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Peter Ross has retired from Williamsburg and now resides, forges hardware, and teaches workshops near Pittsboro, in central NC. He hosted the fall meeting of NC-ABANA at his new shop and "new" (old, restored) house. I was so impressed with his shop, his depth of knowledge, and his effortless control over iron that I did not notice if his head bobs. (I would trade a head movement like Stevie Wonder to forge iron like that.) I took 10 pages of notes and 50 pictures. Heck, I was impressed by the literal tons of wrought iron bar stock, and Popeye would envy his forearms. So, he comes up to my chin, and could hide behind me if I turned sideways. He gets the job done, and does not seem to have any long-term damage. In fact, he moves pretty good for a man half his age. He has hooked up with some guy named Roy that nobody has ever heard of, and a bunch of other ne'er-do-wells in an effort to "educate" the gullible public in outdated skills that are totally useless in this digital world. http://www.woodwrightschool.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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