Career in Blacksmithing?

[Gundog48]

I'm 16 years old and currently go to quite a posh school where almost everyone is expected to move on to university. Quite frankly, the path they are trying to lead me down scares me, my greatest fear is to be stuck in an office doing work that I hate and getting no recognition as an individual. I have always enjoyed making things, in my spare time I like to tinker with and build computers and I also renovate old Series Land Rovers- things like welding up holes, rebuilding the engine, wiring some work lights up and fixing whatever needs fixing. Essentially, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making and fixing things of all types and I enjoy hands-on work.

During the Easter break I decided to build a 55 forge. Blacksmithing is something I have wanted to try out for a while but I never realised that building a forge could be so simple. I built it like a tank, the bottom has a 4mm heat shield which is covered by a thick layer of fire cement (only a mixture of ash and clay, but should to a decent job). I've only been working it for barely a week with a rudimentary anvil, but I have found it incredibly enjoyable after making some basic tools and the like. I plan to move on to knifemaking, and when I am ready, try swordsmithing.

Essay over. I would be very interested in becoming a blacksmith full time in the future. Obviously I'll be trying it for a good few years before I decide whether I have enough skill to take it on as a career, but I'd like to ask a few questions that I hoped you may be able to answer:

• Would it be a good choice of career, is there much demand? Is it on the rise or decline?
• Obviously it depends on a lot of different factors, but how much could a blacksmith expect to earn?
• Where is the best place to start? Do I just start selling pieces I produce and advertise for bespoke products, or would I be better off joining an established blacksmith?
  

Thanks for taking your time to read this. I realise that a lot of established blacksmiths out there put a different value on knowledge than us younger people do, so I realise you may find someone bursting in and essentially shouting "I wanna be a blacksmith! What do I do?" can be frustrating when that is information that a lot of people took a lot of time and effort to gather. But I would appreciate it if you would try to answer my questions the best you can, I'm mainly just testing the water, but I'd love to take this further if you reckon it is a good move!

Thanks,
Jake

[GNJC]

Join the Blacksmiths’ Guild and, maybe, BABA. Find a smith near you, explain your situation and offer your services – free of charge – for the Summer holidays. If he says no, try another one. Be sure he is a blacksmith, not a fabricator. Fabricators are great and we need them, but they’re not blacksmiths despite what some of them claim, and you won’t learn what you need to from them.

Regarding career… ha! Do what will make you happy! I’ve been in the army, farming and - latterly - law; I’m not a professional smith and have no presumption to pretend I am (only received my first commissions last week!), I just make things that I can’t buy elsewhere, and I make them authentically.

Money etc.? How long is a piece of string. Money is important, very much so; but so is happiness. You’re a lucky fellow to find blacksmithing so young.

Regardless of what you decide to do, do get some A Levels, you can always go to a university as a mature student if you feel like it later. (I went at a geriatric 26 years of age & benefited from it far more than the vast majority of 18 year olds who turned up fresh from school.)

Where are you in the UK? Post your location and someone on here may make you an offer of help if they are nearby.

[TomN]

I too am looking into a career as a smith. Sadly i'm a good deal older than you and have a lot more responsabilities!

From what I understand from talking to a few people that have done, or tried to do it full time, is that it is difficult to make money from. Work is not always consistent and it will be hard to earn a lot of money doing it.
You can have all the skills, but if you don't have any business sense, or aren't good at dealing with customers, then you will find it even harder to make money.

Don't let this discourage you though! I would suggest you have a look at http://www.blacksmithsguild.com/index.html and maybe think about doing an intro course there. This will give you some basic skills and might help you decide if you want to pursue it further.
You could also look into Hereford college who do blacksmithing courses as well.

I agree with Giles that you should let us know where you are in the UK, as it will help people point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

[AndersMJ]

This is just my humble opinion as I'm not very experienced in life yet, as some might argue :) (i'm 23). However, I think a lot of us young people are in doubts when it comes to career choices. In my case I simply didn't know what I liked to do and was afraid of choosing the wrong trade. Today after high school x2 and having a few full time jobs, one as a surveyor and one as a construction worker digging down district heating, it's much more clear to me (farrier). Some of my friends knew what they wanted right after high school and therefore went straight to university. I can't help but think though, that they lack some real life working experience that can only be gained through having a job. A job or two will also help you decide whether you prefer to work alone or in a team. I like working alone.

One thing I've found is that a lot of people will have presumptions as to your career choice, i.e. if you went to high school you must go to uni or whatever and there's no way in hell that you can have a physical/practical job. This is BS and I've had to ignore these kind of people in the past. High school will make you more mature as a person and also expand your network, at least that's what it has done for me. Career wise it's useless for me right now, but life wise it's probably a good thing to have in your baggage.

Just my 2 cents. :)

[macbruce]

I'm afraid it's too late Gunny, It's already chosen YOU....lol..... I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket though, cripes you're only 16 and apparently aren't lacking in the brains dept. so stay in school and learn other related subjects important to the success of a career. There's plenty of time to dabble in the shop along the way.

[HWHII]

Follow your heart. Life is short.

Some people get caught up in doing what other people want them to do and not allow them to wander on there own. Our parents would have loved us all to be doctors or lawers, but then who would fix our cars, build our houses and of course build beautiful art out of metal. Go ahead walk down the path you choose and if you find you don't like it pick another.

You will be all the wiser for the one you have already walked down. ;)

[beth]

jake - your post has put a smile on my face - go for it - i think there is plenty of demand - if you start young even alongside school if you must (yawn) you have time to get REALLY good!!! you dont need to go on official courses necasariily, there are plenty of learning opportunities out there for someone like you - there are lots of areas of bsmithing you could go into depending on what takes your interest, i believe restoration is a good one, and there are many different types of work you could aspire to going for. i am an artist and quite frankly its the only thing i ever wanted to do, school did not suit me and my wishes one bit, i desperately wanted to specialise.. so, if you can i would advise you do :) practical skills are always good, in any economical situation, and uni will set you back thousands and thousands... DEFINATELY follow your heart boyo! just my oppinion , i say the same to my children.

[dablacksmith]

well.... its not the easy path that is for sure .....i would suggest looking at it like becoming a artist because that is what we are .... also almost all blacksmiths are buisness owners ... i suggest learning as much about running a small buisness as you can .... also drafting will be useful (computer or by hand ). the jobs you do are partly determined by your skill and equipment ... the hard part is getting enuf skills to make a living while keeping things going...having a nest egg to start would help ... also you might get a regular job for a bit on top of the blacksmithin ... welding and metal fabrication skills are a definite plus...some dont define between blacksmithing a fab work...bolth would like a large shop... the thing to remember is the bigger the shop the bigger the overhead but also the bigger jobs that you can do....also if you get real big or numerious jobs you may end up with enployees...at some point as the shop gets bigger and you end up a manager...met a few that have gone that route ...so keep in mind what your goals are for your buisness .Are you wanting to make gates and railings or smaller stuff.... are you making one of a kind art or limited production hardware ... lots to learn ... its dooable and your limitation is you! to get a feel i would make a few items and take um to a small art show (or flea market) set up a booth and try your hand at selling... its a easy and fairly cheap way to test the water..as far as how much you can make it is like any small buisness and that always depend on the owner!
.good luck!

[ThomasPowers]

If the doing is what you are interested in then running your own shop may not be the way to go. As proprietor you will have to be involved in sales, inventory, all the bureaucratic paper work, etc. You may find that you spend more time *not* doing stuff than if you did it as a hobby.

I would suggest finding a firm doing what you are interested in and learning the business---making bids, inventory control, selling work, expect to spend some time doing so and then branch out on your own.

I suggest to knifemakers that they do get a degree and use a good paying job to provide the capital needed for equipment for their later business---having a proper shop can more than double your income from doing it with only a hammer and anvil.

[Gundog48]

Thanks, I am really pleased with the response I've been getting! I live in Maidstone, Kent. I did think about offering to help out at a blacksmiths over the summer, but to be honest I don't think I'm quite ready for that and I'd be very worried about being more of a hindrance than a help. My plan is to wait until next summer, develop some skills of my own and perhaps enrol on a course or two in the mean time, so that I'll have something to offer as an apprentice. I've got two more years of school after I've finished my GCSEs, so by the time I leave school I may be ready to earn some money out of it! I know there is a beautiful old forge in Yalding near me, a big, traditional coal one that I'd love to use, I normally go down there for a Christmas fayre they have in Yalding where they do demos and the like- I'll probably ask about it when I go there this Winter.

I think the overall plan would be for me to hone my skills over the next few years while I do my A-Levels, then I'd be ready to sell small 'gifts' at fayres and the like. My main source of material would be my Dad who can get lots of quality steel as he works at bus depots around the South East as a servicing manager. I'd be tempted to sell at some of the posh fayres where people go for the eco-friendly, organic, retro stuff which people seem to love round here. I've seen people sell simple things such as wooden candle holders made from recycled wood, horseshoes and fire pokers which have been handmade from scrap metal for an absolute fortune. At the moment, my final goalpost is to make a sword, which would be a very time consuming process, but again, people love unique things like that- you can see how much people spend on the dodgey milled blades that weigh a ton. I think making small gifts and knives would be pretty popular, and would allow me to do what I enjoy while making a good amount of money. It's hard to say exactly what I would do considering I don't have enough experience at what I am good at, but I imagine things like gates and railings would make a good deal of money and be enjoyable, if I could get the work.

But that is all in the future, as many of you have said, it's not all about the money. At the end of the day, we spend money on distractions to make ourselves happier in our free time, but if you love your work, then there is no need to surround yourself with objects to make yourself happier as you will be a happier person to start with! I'd much rather make a decent living out of doing something I enjoy than earning £60K a year while hating 10 hours of each day and spending the remaining ones being miserable! I'm the first of my family to go to a good school, or to carry on into further education, but I don't fit in as an academic person. Although I'd say I do quite well at school (if I do say so myself!), I don't feel much achievement from getting a good grade, but physically producing something does. I agree with what you said about people looking down on manual labourers, when a lot of what they do requires a lot of skill and earns them a similar amount of money to 'white collar' jobs. For example, my Uncle is a bricklayer, everyone seems to think that is a bad career choice, but he makes an absolute fortune because he is so good at what he does, and can therefore command higher prices. I think I'll manage when it comes to running a business, I used to run a small website employing two people where we would write reviews of computer components and get in touch with manufacturers to have them ship samples to us to review. In the end an owner of a major reviewing site with far better contacts emailed me and asked if we would like to merge, so now the three of us work for them and make a good bit of money from it!

Anyway, I'm sure I am preaching to the choir here! I'll spend the next year learning the art and improving my work, then I'll be ready to get some proper experience as an apprentice blacksmith. After that, who knows? I guess it's a case of testing the water with stalls and demos at fayres or advertising myself for creating bespoke goods such as gates. I've got enough money already to set up a respectable shop when the time comes to upgrade, and you never know, after many years I may be able to run courses and introduce others like myself to blacksmithing!

[TomN]

Bit far away from me, otherwise i'd have offered to show you a few bits (with a parent tagging along of course).

I think the closest smith to you may be Owen (basher on here). He is a good bladesmith and might be willing to teach you a few things, if you go along and help him out for free. Of course its up to him on this!

Here is a link to his website! > http://owenbush.co.uk/

[ThomasPowers]

Go talk with your Uncle about what you can do that he can use/sell for you! Top mason ought to be able to get you some ornamental work for sure!

[John B]

Hi Jake,

Get your basic skills mastered first, I would suggest a course with Owen Bush would be useful if you wish to become a blademaker eventually as you would then start to know what path to take.

There are plenty of good blacksmiths in your area, go along to the South of England Show, and the Edenbridge and Oxted Show where you can see some of the top blacksmiths work and working in competition.

Beth mentions restoration work, this will be increasingly difficult to get into in a few years as the current situation with regards to "Heritage" ironwork starts to take a grip. It is not a vast market, and has many potential problems if you go down that path. That's probably where your 'posh school' connections could come in handy.

We hold various courses and events at Westpoint, www.blacksmithsguild.com which may be of interest,

The main quality to be a blacksmith is determination, business and marketing skills and blacksmith skills, probably in that order.

Good luck on your journey and if we can help feel free to ask

[basher]

Blacksmithing and much more so bladesmithing are Niche careers.
This has its advantages and also disadvantages.....
The fundamentals of earning a living are pretty much the same as with any other hands on endeavour . You need to build and then market a skill set. Either to clients or for working for someone else.
If you have the idea of becoming a sword smith then you are entering another level of Niche specifics.... you need to really know the subject from an almost academic point of view .
I would look on the following web sites as well as here:-
www.britishblades.com
www.bladesmithsforum.com
http://www.myArmoury.com

the British Artist Blacksmithing Association is probably the biggest group of blacksmiths in the Uk . they have great forge ins.

there are full time blacksmithing classes at plumpton and hereford colleges .

get any books you can on the subject.

I would not knock learning fabrication at all it is a valuable tool (as is smithing.) If you do find blades as a future you will certainly spend an awfull lot of time grinding (another oft underrated and incredibly subtle tool)

I teach classes and normally have a yearly forge in (not this year)

As far as earning money is concerned? how long is a piece of string? I know many blacksmiths who struggle and a few that do quite well. It is hard work but very satisfying. I have not been bored in a long time and sell to America , Canada , Russia and all over europe..... there is good potential in this business to earn a decent wage.

Basic skills of welding to a decent standard (see your local tech college) and using a grinder (seek adult supervision) will open peoples forges up to you . As will forging , however forging is a very personal thing from smith to smith . Tea making and being pleasent and polite are also quite useful skills to make you welcome at someones forge.

I wish I had found smithing as young as you. I had an inkling but no idea of how or where to go with it and wasted time and money going down the university road (in the wrong direction).
If you would like to see the forge here some time by all means feel welcome (by arrangement)
All the best Owen

[Old N Rusty]

Beware the darkside of blacksmithing, weapons and especially the long, sharp, pointy thingys are CURSED!! It seems you might be turned to the arty side , so I offer warning. But, if it is already too late, you will profit greatly from Lessons from Mr. Bush, we have met, and I was very impressed with his shop. And his work. I have a good friend there in Kent, Godfrey South WWW Darenth Valley Forge U.K. Godfrey is soon to emmigrate to Canada, and will be flogging a lot of blacksmith gear. Good Luck!