Blacksmith Laws

[EWCTool]

In my opinion, in the purest forms, there are a few blacksmithing skills that if mastered anything can be accomplished. The skills to be mastered would be,

1. Hammer control
2. Heat control
3. Know where will the metal move/know how to move the metal where you want it.
4. know when to finish
5. patience
6. know the meta

Anymore?

[Dan P.]

I am most skeptical about blacksmithing having a "purest form".
With that said, the list of skills needed to be able to accomplish anything would be infinitely long, don't you think?
Tying your shoelaces might be the beginning of an ascent of Mt. Everest, but it might also be the beginning of a trip to the store to buy a XXXXXX magazine because a virus crashed your computer.
You know?

[macbruce]

Lots can be accomplished even you don't know jack. If you have the basic tools, go play and learn! That's valid

[pkrankow]

I think Mac has it better. The points on your list are more "guidelines" than anything else. "Stop when you are finished" is probably the most important.

Phil

[macbruce]

"Stop when you are finished" is probably the most important. Phil

It took me a long time to learn this one, overworking a piece is a subtle thing to recognize sometimes and I still do it from time to time. Just not as bad...... :D

[beth]

i too think that the subject is a bit vast for a list, and it is also my oppinion that you need various mental physical emotional spiritual tools to do it well :) but thats just me ;) you maybe also need a spare lifetime if you are a mother... :ph34r:

[ThomasPowers]

Alloys and heat treats thereof.

and a corollary to "Stop when you are finished" is "Stop *before* you make the non-correctable mistake" Very hard for new smiths to learn that when they are tired out they should stop for a while even if they are not done with the piece. (And for us old farts too!)

[macbruce]

Knowing when it's a good time to walk away from the work and chill for awhile is priceless...IFI can help with this........ or not!..... :ph34r:

[Frosty]

I'm thinking out friend EWC is actually asking what are the basic rules, if there are any. Yeah, fire control, tool control, know when to stop and my favorite, don't grab the hot end.

Sorry for being glib, no offense intended. What are you calling the craft's "purest form?" Fire, Iron, Hammer, Anvil? This is one of those not so rare cases where the most basic is NOT the simplest. The simpler the shop, the more skill a smith needs to attain results.

Any who, good to hear from you, continue with the questions we'll do our best to answer them even if we have to make things up.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Randy]

Seems like there are steadfast rules.... and there are exceptions to all of them.

[forgemaster]

I often have guys ask in our shop, Phil so what are we gonna do here? I normally say to them, as they lean closer determined not to miss a word of wisdom, "well were gonna get that piece of steel outta the furnace and get it over here under the hammer, then we're gonna hit it, and hit it and hit it, and then when its the right size we're gonna stop. Now thats the most important part of the whole job, stopping, cause if you dont stop you'll make it the wrong size" Its about then that they realise that they have fallen for Phils wierd sense of humour again.

Then and only then will I give them the serious rundown on what we are going to do.

[Francis Trez Cole]

there are 8 elements you have to master
1. tapering
2. upsetting
3. spreading
4. twisting
5. bending
6. punching
7. welding
8. cutting

once you can do these 8 you are only limited by your imagination.

[Larry H]

Here is my take on it....The first five are the basic, I'm not sure what the meta is , but...after you know the first five, you have to know what it looks like before you can make it. That may sound simple, but try to draw an object from memory...every angle, every shadow. When you have an image, in detail, in your mind, thats where the "art of the smith " resides. One more thing....sometimes one more brush stroke will ruin the painting,......and your brush is a hammer

[Pault17]

Frosty, nice answer. Francis, thanks for the simple basics (I know, not so simple, but just so). EWC, thanks for starting this quest for knowlege

[Pat Roy]

"don't grab the hot end"

That's a good one Frosty. I need to print that in large font and post it above the forge and read it every day.

[nuge]

Lots can be accomplished even you don't know jack. If you have the basic tools, go play and learn! That's valid

Really great things can come from people who have learned to be creative and have yet to learn process. Process can be a trap. Play is good.

[beth]

nuge - nicely put - i agree with you. and sometimes the creative bit can be just as difficult to teach someone (or learn) than the processes we are talking about.

[macbruce]

Creativity is the bone you can't insert into someone's head, lots of smiths aren't particularly creative and that' ok, plenty of good work gets produced within the box.....not a fault....I'm just an old boy, If I didn't play in the ''sandbox'' it would just wouldn't be fun, gotta have fun with my toys......

[beth]

you certainly cant teach it instantly i agree mac, but sometimes you can encourage it and help grow confidence to Try to Use whats there! and then like everything, it gets easier and easier and more natural and fluent ... i like you, have to play too :) its essential :)

[brianbrazealblacksmith]

Everyone has made good points, but I'll add my 2 cents and stay simple.
Heat, hold, and hit is all forging is about. Yes, do not go too far too fast, and stop when you are there. Know where you are going before you start, but you can also learn by "banging away". Just observe what the effects of every choice is so you do learn.
With reason, knowledge, and understanding you can see how precise and simple forging is. To move metal you need a forgeable heat. Staightening and planishing can be done at the lower temps. Holding your metal under or over your dies or surfaces should be precise and exact. Hitting the metal with the best choice of dies or surfaces will enable you to stay at forging temperature longer and hold lighter and better. Making good choices and understanding what you can accomplish with each heat, hold, and hit will enable you to learn to choose the appropriate material for the job at hand. Then all you have to do is heat your material up, hold it under the dies, and hit it, and it will practically make itself.
The creative or artistic aspects are always present in each individual to express at will, but the choices to forge those expressions are elementary and limited to the techniques availiable to choose from when talking about "forging in it's purest form" as was asked in this thread.

[ramsies11]

i think there are many many many good points put earlier on here. the rules listed by ewc arnt, in my opnion, rules, theyre more like guidlines(anyone whos ever seen pirates of the carribean will get this inuwindow) but there are some rules in smithing that should be followed.

1. as stated above, dont touch the hot end
2. hammer control, the heavier the hammer, the harder to control, someone beggining smithing (doesnt matter how long theyve used a hammer and what size it is) should use a relativly light hammer, 3lbs or less, this rule about starting with a smaller hammer doesnt just help with hammer control but also builds muscles in the arm used to let you start moving up on sizes.
3. glasses, ear plugs, and good welders gloves are a must for any smithy.
4. dont smith when under the influence, i think its self explanitory. although you are allowed to get "hammered" in any smithy ;)
5. last and most importantly HAVE FUN! :D

[SReynolds]

My biggest personal obstacle is folks telling me that use of a hack-saw, electric welding and drilling holes with a steel bit is not blacksmithing, rather metal fabrication/metal working. I used to get upest and worried that I was a fraud, during the first two years or so. Now I talk and act like a politician and smile, act like I care and wish them the best.

[brianbrazealblacksmith]

My biggest personal obstacle is folks telling me that use of a hack-saw, electric welding and drilling holes with a steel bit is not blacksmithing, rather metal fabrication/metal working. I used to get upest and worried that I was a fraud, during the first two years or so. Now I talk and act like a politician and smile, act like I care and wish them the best.

Yes, I think most people that forge in public have encountered that, like when they think you are "cheating". Forging or blacksmithing is a technique, and those other things are different techniques, and when you are composing something with your hands, it is all "fabrication/ metal working".

[beth]

i agree - finding an easier way round a problem youve encountered is not always cheating, it can just be using your brain to find a way round a problem youve encountered! its all a choice anyway :) my dad showed me some cut glass work he had done today and he said to get the tight angles he wanted on some of the shapes he had had to cheat by hiding a wider angle under the lead, giving only the Impression of the tighter cut. i was very surprised he saw that as cheating! we should give each other and ourselves a bit more rope sometimes! :)

[GNJC]

SReynolds, that isn't cheating unless you try to hide it and pretend it was done differently. I think it all depends upon who you are making something for and what you are saying it is: On anything modern / utilitarian it may be the sensible option to choose such techniques; to use them on reproducions of antiques and claim they are were made authentically would be fraudulent.