No idea what kind of nails they're making, but those sure are some masterful fellows!  

I really need to practice making nails more often......

 

 

That's a great video, VaughnT -- thanks!

I could be very wrong, but I think they're making hobnails to go on the soles of boots for increased traction. Take a look at the photos of some WWII German officer's alpine boots on this page.

10 hours ago, JHCC said:

That's a great video, VaughnT -- thanks!

I could be very wrong, but I think they're making hobnails to go on the soles of boots for increased traction. Take a look at the photos of some WWII German officer's alpine boots on this page.

Great photos, JHCC.  Those boots look like you definitely don't want to get kicked by the guy wearing them!!

 

The video states that ordinary nails can be made with a machine but "zwecke" nails (a short nail with a wide head) have to be made by hand.

A nail maker needs 30 to 60  hammer strikes for each nail and strikes 5 million times a year. 

[Those nails give more traction to the shoes in snow or ice but make it very hard to keep the shoes water tight and also drain the heat out of the shoe fast and lead to frostbite.]

Check how the nailmaker holds the hammer and remember next time you hear someone talking about "choking the hammer" as a negative. 

Light hammer with short handle, working about sternum height. Interesting cutoff too, with lugs on either side of the blade to keep it from being hit with the hammer face. 

1 hour ago, JHCC said:

Interesting cutoff too, with lugs on either side...

That's actually the type of cut-off I learned on.  The idea was that the lugs, as you note, keep you from dinging the cutting area but also serves to keep your metal from flying around because you accidentally cut too far.  They work great because you can set the depth to whatever you like and know you'll always have just the right amount of meat left to twist the bar free.

Making wooden barrels. Many tools for leverage shown.

 

 

Lovely video.

He says he can no longer find round head rivets and that the reeds he needs to seal the top and bottom are protected.

A Swedish smith and his striker forging a scythe in 1922:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNO2T-U2mEE

Getting back to the nailmaking, the round-headed tack on the right at 0:18 is an upholstery tack. The raised rim around the edge of the underside keeps the fabric from shifting.

8 hours ago, VaughnT said:

That's actually the type of cut-off I learned on.  The idea was that the lugs, as you note, keep you from dinging the cutting area but also serves to keep your metal from flying around because you accidentally cut too far.  They work great because you can set the depth to whatever you like and know you'll always have just the right amount of meat left to twist the bar free.

There's a cut-off of that type in the Colonial Williamsburg nailmaking station, which is actually very similar to what's used in this video.

Which leads me to this orphan:

Blacksmith Making Nails at Colonial Williamsburg

How to make a scythe

 

A great interview with our own @Joel OF:

 

Great. Brings to mind Joey can der Steegs explanation for quitting professionally. Kind of the other view ( in a way).  Thanks JHCC. 

Indeed. Joey emphasizes "forging", because he wants to focus exclusively on traditional technique. Joel OF says he prefers "metal artist" to "blacksmith" because it frees him from the preconceptions that go along with the latter term. Both of them are clear about what they want to do and how they describe it, even though their different priorities lead them to make different choices, both professionally and technically. A great demonstration of the breadth of our craft, and how excellence can be found and artistry expressed in a number of different ways.

Perfectly stated. Yet we all have the forging tie in here, there are many different ideals/ takes on that. I have ( in my life) learned so much from all walks of life ( including differing ideals)  I can respect differing opinions to gain knowledge to help me learn what interests I have. And I appreciate all who have worked hard to be wherever they are and shared their knowledge or story. 

Glad you enjoyed it for what it is.

It was great Joel. Good job explaining. 

Neat topic. I made a post about this sort of thing several years back here~

 

I think I've watched this video 30+ times.

For the sake of non Brits, "arf" means "half", it's not a type of welding!

 

I thought maybe this video is of interest, it's in swedish, but english subtitles are available. I figured this is the kinda video most english people wouldn't find on their own. Also uses an anvil very similar to mine I see.

 

A very detailed lesson.  Thank you for the video.

I found it really instructive as well. I never knew that the flux would hurt the finish and so should be removed once forge welding was done. Whole video was like that, a bunch of small things I've never thought of but were useful pieces of information.