Crazy what you hear

[ThomasPowers]

Don't forget "Folded a million times!"  When someone tells me that a blade has an outrageous number of layers I ask if the smith died of radiation poisoning; then point out that the layers would be smaller than the iron atom radius and so the smith must have been splitting the atoms...

 

 

this one gets 2 thumbs up from the peanut gallery

[Ric Furrer]

Frosty...have I ever told you that I like you? Well...I do.

 

I have heard the real fire statement a lot.....first in Washington DC when I did a gig at the Smithsonian for two weeks. I thought it odd at first, but became increasingly more bitter as time went on....till it hit me like it has many of you. Other than forest fires on the news and the occasional smoker with a cigarette...where does modern "city man" come into contact with fire? Not very often and it is usually bad.

I was put at ease as time went on by the other craftsmen coming over in the morning to have me repair the kit they brought to demonstrate with....pliers for the Morano Glass guy and chisels for the Pakistani stone carvers etc. The other glass guy from Damascus, Syria had a look at my swords and nodded with a smile...good enough for me (He is most likely dead by now)

 

Most often folk assume you are making horseshoes...that is what blacksmiths do after all right? Even if it looks like a leaf.

As Thomas says..do not embarrass the adults in front of the children...it is a loosing situation.

 

One thing I have not yet matured past is my cringe when I hear "my grandfather was a blacksmith". Really? If that were true then half the working class were smiths. What they mean is Papa had a hammer, but at least they remember him eh?

 

Ric

 

 

 

I love these questions, I think they're my favorite part of doing demos. The very best questions are from the kids while some of the most bone headed are from  their folks.

 

Like the kid who asks he's Dad, is that a real fire? Actually a pretty natural question as we'd coke up the coal early and just burn the breeze so there was very little smoke or flame. Anyway, Dad says, "No, there's a light bulb under the pile with a fan to blow the plastic strips up like flames." I'm thinking,  What flames? then the boy says, "but look, the steel is glowing yellow hot!" I was thinking, this kid's got it down! Dad says, "Oh no, that's a flashlight, it's not hot."

 

Well, I just reach past the anvil and touch the bar to the anvil's block to a burst of smoke a whoosh and ball of flame. "You have it right buddy, that's a real fire, this is real steel and it's really HOT." I think the lady standing behind Dad was maybe his wife for the BIG smile she gave me and the poke she gave Dad. Dad asked if it was okay if the boy stayed and asked questions. You betcha!

 

Dad was a decent sort, just didn't know smithing but the boy expected him to know everything. Kids are like that. We got that a lot, that was just the best one.

 

Mostly I use a propane forge at demos now so I don't hear the real fire questions anymore, the jet engine roar and dragon's breath is answer enough.

 

Part of my normal demo patter is dispelling the mythos of blacksmithing, knowledge and practice, no magic. I tell jokes, stories, describe what I'm doing, why, what the tool/hammer/etc. does, the usual. Usually after a little bit I'm fielding magic jokes and we're all laughing, then here comes this gal in a "mother earth" type gown with a small flock of sycophants taking note of everything she says. She breezes up in front of me gazes significantly at what's going on, picks up a leaf finial coat hook off the table on and asks, "Is this old or did someone make it?"

 

I say, "It's still warm from the fire." Folk in the audience behind her are looking shocked and biting their lips.

 

She says as she exits stage right, "Magic, it's just MAGIC!" The audience and I just stand there watching as she breeze off making more profound observations and her sycophant following diligently writing every word down for posterity. She's maybe just out of earshot when someone in the audience starts laughing and shortly we're all gasping for breath. For the rest of the day I have a pretty full audience and folk keep saying, "it's magic, just MAGIC!"

 

I don't know how many times it happened before I noticed this but on another day at the fair a teacher stops with a batch of elementary kids on a field trip. She asks if I can describe what I'm doing and maybe explain it to the kids. You betcha I can, love kids, best questions in the world. I say hi and tell them my name, teach corrects me with Mr. Frost and that's okay but I wink at the class when she's not looking. I'm IN, and we're off and rolling. I start by asking who knows what THIS is laying my hand on the anvil. One youngster is jumping up and down up front with his hand up so I call on  him. "Its a coyote killer!" He shouts excitedly.

 

Okay, I'm dead in the water for a few seconds, hadn't heard that one before but had to agree, even though it isn't an Acme anvil. Since then I've heard from a number of guys who've heard the same thing from youngsters at demos. One of these days I gotta get me a WilE Coyote stuffed toy to lay under my anvil.

 

My favorite type of questions at demos are the, Can you fix this? Oh baby! I love those almost as much as the kid's questions. I've always seen myself more as the town blacksmith type guy, a generalist who'll take a shot at whatever comes in. "Specialization is for insects." R. A. Heinlein.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[GNJC]

This thread is amusing and depressing at the same time.

 

I don't blame any child who asks me any question and always answer them as best I can; but I don't have a lot of times for the adults who only need to use common sense to answer 99% of their questions.

 

Sadly the overplayed 'health and safety' mentality is endemic here in the UK too. I think that H & S is fine in principal, but when local education authorities ban classes because 'hot metal is dangerous' it makes me question their whole being. Earlier this year I paid £120 for a batch of tools (some blacksmith's and some tinsmith's) that were mostly unused, their cost new would be about £1600, this was from a school in Wolverhampton and the reason the local authority was closing the school's metalwork department... 'hot metal is dangerous.' Wrong, people mis-handling hot metal is dangerous!

 

As for shows, several times I have just had an old person come and stand near the forge; I found this a bit odd at first, but they have all explained that they were enjoying the smell of the coke burning and that it brought back many memories. Some were the children of smiths, some just remembered the smithy of their childhood.

 

The best question I have been asked - and which I think showed some good thinking - came from a little boy, maybe seven or eight years old, at Oxfordshire County Show this summer: 'how do you make your first hammer?'. I'm a lawyer by profession and not bad at thinking on my feet, but I'll admit that this made me smile for a few seconds before I could think of an answer. I told him I had borrowed one to make mine... he seemed satisfied.

[Frank Turley]

Glen Gardner would pull this one when demonstrating years ago. He would be asked whether the metal was hot. He would respond, "Give me a quarter and I'll lick it!" When the quarter was proffered, he would accept, lick the quarter, and pocket it.

[ThomasPowers]

I offered to let an observer taste the end of a red hot bar but he said he already knew what it would taste like; intrigued I asked him "what?"----"Pain and Regret" was his reply.

 

(This was  a small group of friends standing around the forge while I was teaching a new guy...)

[ianinsa]

" When the quarter was proffered, he would accept, lick the quarter, and pocket it.

 

I'm sure it's better than liking the pavement but then I'm not so sure?

[Geoff Keyes]

Actually we have a guy in the local area with the same sort of routine when he demos.  It XXXXXX me off every time I see him.  He treats his audience like XXXX, laughs at people and makes fun of everyone.  Makes me want to punch him in the neck.  And he's at best a XXXXXXX smith.  If you can't treat people with some respect, even when they are ignorant, get out of the biz.

 

Geoff

 

 

watch the language.

[Geoff Keyes]

I apparently overshared my feelings, sorry about that.  I'll try to more circumspect in the future.

 

Geoff

[Frosty]

I apparently overshared my feelings, sorry about that.  I'll try to more circumspect in the future.

 

Geoff

 

Wash your fingers with soap and go sit in the corner for an hour!

 

You see these kinds of folk no matter what's being demoed or done. They tend to be a self curing problem though as soon as a good demonstrator sets up they find themselves laughing at the nothing at their setup.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ken leedy]

What do you guys do about people who try to dominate your time at your demo? They talk about anything and everything but blacksmithing.

[GRiley904]

Ken, I don't do demos yet, but a quick answer to your question is put a couple drops of water on your anvil and strike the hot steel into it. The steam explosion sounds like a gunshot and removes scale. That would certainly get the attention of any persistent jaw flappers.

[ThomasPowers]

Find someone else watching and solicit questions from them---particularly if there are kids there.

 

Howdy; I know that this rope looks like it's there to protect me from y'all; but did you have a question about what I'm doing or blacksmithing?

 

Or start explaining what you are doing to someone and ignore the bore.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings All,

 

That's an easy fix.  Simply turn your anvil around and work with your back to the person bugging you.  If ask why simply tell them that you are doing a secret procedure for professional  blacksmiths eyes only.  Tell them you must concentrate and ask for quiet time ..  They rubberneck for a while and soon leave.   Ahh the mystery of it all...  Good luck

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

[Jakesshop]

I like that last one from Jim, I will use that "secret procedure" sometime at a demo when faced by that situation.

[John B]

I have been known to use the 'Do you believe in fairies/pixies/leprechauns/trolls' story.

 

Select the shy one in the crowd, usally a junior, and address them directly, and ask the question,

 

don't expect a response, just continue,

 

"I didn't, but Im not so sure now, I met someone who said they were, and I didn't believe them, and ever since, there seems to be someone who comes along, just to aggravate me.

 

I think I'm starting to believe them now."

 

Then carry on doing what you were doing.

 

Works for me.

[Geoff Keyes]

Ah, The Person From Porlock.

 

Geoff

[ThomasPowers]

well hopefully none of us are on opium...

[eggwelder]

not smithing related      during my basic cook training at CFB Borden, Ontario.  during butcher classes we were breaking down whole pigs. had one student ask which part of the pig was the ham. he knew it was pork, but could not understand curing of meat and that you had to make ham, it did not occur naturally. he didn`t understand it to the point that he left cooking behind and i think joined the Military police.

[bikecopXXX]

The level of ignorance in the general public is scary. Many people only know whats on tv and thats it. I've seen kids watch a blacksmith demo for 5 seconds and jet off. They had no frame of reference to take in what they were seeing. It wasn't a video game or on TV, so it didn't register.

[SoCal Dave]

I've posted this before, but I think it's appropriate for the time.  The facts may stair you in the eye, or the greatest demonstration of blacksmithing skills may be in front of you, but if you are not in the right frame of mind, you will miss everything.  

 

 

 

[Steve Sells]

Ya cant fix stupid, but trying to numb it with a 2x4 can be so satisfying