I haven't been able to fire up my forge for more than a week and a half now due the the weather. (Mainly due to my forge is an outdoor brake drum forge) the weather has either been very windy or raining/snowing. And even though it is 11F out the wind slowed down a bit and I fired the forge up. I was able to be out there for 3 hours. My mustache and beard would freeze up every time I moved away from my fire. My project didn't turn out exactly like I wanted it to, but close enough I am pleased. Nonetheless I feel great right now. Just wanted to share. 

Agreed. My wife calls my forge time my therapy time. I'm in a notably better mode afterwards. I snuck out for about an hour this morning. It was 10F here, but like you it had been too long so I went out anyways!

It was the coldest here than it has been in a while. When I woke up it was 9F, but when I lit the forge it was 23F. I agree. If I haven't forged in a couple of weeks I notice that i get restless and a little cranky. Start wanting to do something with my hands, and so I try to find other projects to work on. That's sometimes interesting. I forged to day, and everything went wrong. Literally. I couldn't even make a good leaf, and I've made a lot of 'em. But, when I came inside, I was smiling and happy, even though I had accomplished next to nothing.

                                                                                                                                  Littleblacksmith

I consider it most relaxing to hammer on some hot iron , I can  justify all my spending on tools for my obsession by saying,it's my therapy . I seldom make anything I'm pleased with,but have fun making it.

i can totally concur. sometimes i have "one of those days", where everything goes wrong and it feels like the whole word is out to make me miserable, and their succeeding. i've found the best thing for me to do is either beat a piece of steel into nothing with any particular shape, or go take a walk in the woods. i bet that's how modern art got started. some painter was having a bad day and went out to his studio to get his emotions out on something, and walla! 

My wife says that forging fixes "constipation of the soul" for me.

never heard that term before.

I think she coined it; just like I came up with "anvil envy" a couple of decades ago...

38 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I think she coined it; just like I came up with "anvil envy" a couple of decades ago...

Which is a sub chapter of the giant tome called "tool envy".

I'm not sure if tool envy is therapeutic but getting new tools sure is!

 

 

uh hu.

While working as a police officer (before retiring) and had a stressful day, heating iron red hot and hitting it hard definitely helped me relax. Absolutely the best therapy for me and kept me out of the tavern.