MIDutchman Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Hail fellows, been lurking for some time now but decided to create an account and jump in. I have been blacksmithing for just about a year now. Currently I am a hybrid between an artist blacksmith and industrial blacksmith and looking to stay as traditional as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Howdy; please don't take this as a personal attack; but as one of the fellows interested in the history of the craft I have to ask: Which tradition? You have over 2000 years to choose from. Will you be using bloomery wrought iron and charcoal for fuel with two single action bellows and work while kneeling? I don't see how any industrial smithing would accept that these days. How many people will be working for you; pretty much NO tradition has only the smith working alone in their shop---save for modern times. Very traditional having a score of people working in your shop with multiple powerhammers, very industrial!---(first good documentation I have seen on powerhammers in Western Europe dates to the 900's; yes before 1000 A.D., personal communication at the Medieval Technology Conference at Penn State) If you can narrow down what tradition you want to follow I can suggest books dealing with it; shoot I even have a couple dealing with the 19th century which is pretty modern times for smithing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I once made the mistake that I was in attendance (as a blacksmith) at a civil war reenactment. Well, wouldn't you know..............."Which Civil War"???? I be like......."For REAL" ???? But yes. I do reenact smithing in a village. Which I do semi-full-time. SO that would be part time I guess........? I do use two bellows and kneel on the floor and use only bloomery iron and wear hand- weaved cotton underwear, muslin shirt and a stone for the hammer. Tooooo funny Thomas. You are always thinking outside the box. I'd have never thought of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Once I was in England having a nice beer at a pub and I got to talking with a couple of locals and they were all excited about finding a set of gilt spurs from the civil war; well coming from NW Arkansas with Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove battlefields nearby and many people having civil war stuff up in the attic I was not that impressed *until* I realized I WAS IN ENGLAND and so *their* Civil War was a couple centuries earlier than "my" civil war. I've tried to remember that as we are from all over here and I've visited a number of countries who also had civil wars, Spain for instance in 1936... Coupled with the fact that there are folks who do reenact other places and other times---I know some War of the Roses folks in the USA for instance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the Iforge gang live within visiting distance. Of course the spousal unit might decide that's the perfect excuse to move whether you want to or not. No guarantees. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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