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I Forge Iron

"Of Shoes,and Ships,and Sealing Wax ..."


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Beth, I used 16mm round for the center. I used a power hammer tenon tool (http://www.iforgeiro...679-tenon-tool/) to take the stem to 6mm. Then I domed and decorated it on a bolster plate.

Jake, I also really like the shape of that piece (and most of the others John posted). I usually like more contemporary forge work, but that piece caught my eye. Nice organic scrolls and that flower makes it different from more regular scrolls.

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"...Jake, I also really like the shape of that piece (and most of the others John posted). I usually like more contemporary forge work, but that piece caught my eye. Nice organic scrolls and that flower makes it different from more regular scrolls...."

Jura,that's exactly what i mean,there's SOMETHING there,some quintessence,let's say.

I'd love to see some examples ironwork that you find inspiring,Jura,if it's not too tactless to ask.Also,Beth,John,Jeremy,et al,could it be an interesting idea to post a shot or two of something that we think of as a Hot forgework?
You've done so,Jeremy,some while ago,with the reference to those Ukranian sites,but it wasn't specific at all,and dissipated in a flurry of internet links.What i mean is a photo of a specific forging,and a specific opinion.

Sorry,i'm writing between a bunch of things that are happening around here in the same time,plus my connection is so slow,that i may be missing out on the flow of conversation(but hopefully not the spirit of it :))

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I was ready to put this project on hold, but decided to give it a last try today. I'm glad I did as it turned out fairly good. The flower is just a quick mockup to see how it would look like finished.


Hi Jura, I'm so glad you have seen this through and got your satisfaction reward at the end of it.

Excellent job of using what you saw, and putting your own interpretation of it, not an easy thing to do, and I am happy to see your piece rather than an exact copy, I like that.
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I'd love to see some examples ironwork that you find inspiring,Jura,if it's not too tactless to ask.Also,Beth,John,Jeremy,et al,could it be an interesting idea to post a shot or two of something that we think of as a Hot forgework?


Another couple of pieces from the scrap pile here, are these what you are talkng about Jake? I am not sure of what you think of as hot forged work, I do have some pictures of Tijous work at Hampton Court somewhere if any one is interested.

post-816-0-99099100-1317061187_thumb.jpg post-816-0-88516700-1317061214_thumb.jpg post-816-0-49051700-1317061227_thumb.jpg
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wonderful idea jake :) these are things someone on here put up i think (maybe not i just dont know ) (maybe you jake!!) here is one anyway

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this is just TOO MUCH i love it - partly becasue the wooden part is so lushious, but the ironwork is so ott stretching overly far and taking over MUCH space, i love the scale but also the different direction of the pieces attatched to the main section, i know its simple and prob not clever but to me it is heartbreakingly beautiful. it has the x factor for moi :) i know its not QUITE what you meant jake, but i have these pn my desktop At Hand ;) here is the other and it too takes my breath away with its manic coverage... check it out - you may have seen it before..

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i suppose its not even so much the work alone, but the attitude towards Decoration that i love so much, the artist is not overly concerned with precision measuring und Zo :) the work is organic and engaging and full of life, the shapes are impulsive/instinctive, and its blimmin great. it May all juts be cut and nailed on , but it is still worthy of a mention.

i will find some actual forged elements to add to this new sideline thread - its a fab idea, i know what you were after jake, and as i said - i know i did not give it, but i WILL just wanted to join in with some enthusiasm :) and PS - you never miss the spirit of any of it - on the Contrary :)

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John,thanks yet again for more examples of forgework from your glorious scrap-pile!

I owe you an apology for a misleading use of the term "Hot",i actually meant it as a colloquialism(?),as an alternative for the more commonly used "Cool" B)

But,since it has worked so well,i'll continue to mix-up my similes in the future!

Sorry about that,we've more important things to discuss here than misapplied jargon.

I too vote to refer to you as an Oracle,for the depth and breadth of your knowledge and love for the traditional English ironwork.
I mean it quite literally when i say that it's a priviledge to be able to communicate with you so directly here,to read your clear,concise views and thoughts.
(And,look,this discussion with you here has already even bore the tactile,ferrous fruit,in at least this one instance of Jura's element above).

But i've simply meant the work that one really likes,perhaps to the point of wishing to've done it oneself. :ph34r: :P

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ps the hot/cool thing, its like saying Sick when you really mean Fantastic.... its mental gymnastics...


Can't get my head round that Beth, too little contact with the younger generation I think, or maybe the thought of gymnastics puts me off mental or otherwise

My apprentice and I used to be classed as Ornamental Blacksmiths, he was orny and I was mental or so 'twas said.
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Those photos of Norwegian stuff are great,Beth.Here are some more by the same photographer,Claes Wahlberg,of Sweden,who goes under a handle of Fe.Blacksmith on that Russian blacksmithing site,Ostmetal.Sorry if i've misspelled your name,Claes,it's such an international soup here :P ).

http://forum.ostmetal.info/showthread.php?p=3141460#post3141460

It's some of Claes's photos of the Hefaiston,the forging festival in Chech Republic.There are more following the link to his Picasa site,also links to photos of previous years' festivals.

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Jake - great pictures - I have some pictures of the same styles of work and most likely some of the same forgers. One I really like is the 10th picture down on post # 3 of that link - a forged figure, very clean hammerwork, simple looking but, it had to be very methodically exicuted. I like the upset edges, this gives those figures, a very bold crisp look.

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yes jk - i like that one too - most of those on that post are great - i think your number ten is doing tai chi?? :) her hands are wonderful as are the hands of the diving lady above which is surely by the same artist. your right its the crispness of these that gives them the edge quite literally :) expressive but very clever and considered too

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Well,i tried to steal and to upload here the work that i like the best,but it didn't work-the day is not propitious for posting photos on here :)

But i think that what appeals to me most there are the grills!I really like it when the work looks "hidebound traditional" at a first glance(gives it a certain class),but there within,for a discerning viewer,the elements bend and are shaped to some very original forms.In some,there may even be a degree of humour,of mockery of the canonic.

I like many elements from many of the forgings exhibited,but overall,what i wish i'd have made myself,are those few grills(i also really like the one where some very broad elements are passed through slitted/formed openings,neat control of slitting and drifting!).

If you look at Claes's Picasa collection of photos,there's an attribution of each one to an artist mentioned by name.

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jake i could not find the picassa link... but i COULD NOT AGREE MORE about the grills - they are, too, what i wish were my work from that selection, and like you rightly say - are so classy :) a nod to the trad, with more to reveal at closer inspection
;0

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well - these are wonderful - LOVE these littel things...

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and the horse is right up my street - like a plasticine cartoon... cant imagine ow you'd forge it...

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these sloths are fantastic also - so SPOOKY!!

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and this piece - very beautiful, unusually fluid in my oppinion...

post-4935-0-13224100-1317327030_thumb.jp

thanks for the link jake - particularly like the little mask exhibits.... :o

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As usual,when for whatever reason i'm not able to forge myself,i try to post some photos that may,in some rounabout way,be inspirational and of help to others.
This particular one is not necessarily as direcly related to forging(i've tried to also post some photos of moose antlers,for their interesting mass-division that is handy to see when doing organic work,but the site is not cooperating today,oh,well).
Still,just for giggles.
There's this great,dying cottonwood tree next to my house,that serves as an observation post for all the predatory birds around.It theoretically belongs to a bunch of local ravens,but anything at all can be seen perched on it at times.4-5 local owl species are my favorite,there were two big male Great Horned jobs on it the other day,but it was dark,so no photos of them.
Anyway,this is an immature Bold eagle.They get their iconic white head/tail coloration only on their 8th year,as they become sexually mature.
They're migratory here,following the waterfowl migration,and this one is about to take off south(every night the air is full of migrating geese and cranes,now,they love flying in the dark,in the moonlight especially(no moon now)).
The ravens are not too happy to share the post,but are not doing much about it above squabbling somewhat.(They're hefty birds,and can,and do,sometimes,kill intruding birds even much bigger than themselves.They've killed a Boreal owl here last winter).

post-3679-0-88928400-1317405092_thumb.jp

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He has indeed,m'dear,but earlier in the summer.Now,getting ready for the big move South,he's in the best of his plumage.The ruffled,untidy sort of a look is from it being early in the morning,(not unlike some of us,he just didn't get enough coffee in 'im yet).

Correction:In the post above i meant a Snowy owl,of course.Boreal owl is tiny,smaller than my hand.(And makes a call that's an Exact match for the back-up signal on construction machinery(but that's not why it's my favorite owl :)))

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jake,

I share your fondness for the look and feel of the forged Iron. I find myself wandering big cities at times taking pictures of classic and contemporary iron work. New York City park gates and SanFrancisco doorways are both equally intriguing to me. The old mint in SF has some very impressive work. I once spoke with the son in law of the last Blacksmith that had a shop in SF. He married the daughter of German and the smith taugh the son-inlaw the basics. Likley to ensure his daughter was taken care of. Fast Fwd to 2010, the shop is still there, something of a historical building. I think the yard has been sold off to a taxi outfit and the remainder of the property is a power substation. But the shop survives in all its glory, a testimony to the men of the day. They may still turn out manhole cover hooks for city on occasion.

I have noticed a distincitve difference between the German and the English styles. The German appears more forged with the distinctive hammer markings yet the English appears almost seamless as if the iron grew to form rather than being forged. If you look at the grill work in both areas the styling is apparent. Both styles are exceptional and complement the masters that made them but I am still in awe of the English. I try to copy the copy the style but my efforts prodcue more of a German varient than English.

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