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I Forge Iron

Looking for a name for my shop


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So im wanting to name my "forge/ shop" I do not have a business yet nor do i call my little garage my buisness. I just want to get a name for it. So when I start selling what I craft and make there be a name behind the wears besides people saying.

I want it to be linked to either Ares(The god of war) or Ragnarok(The fate of all gods) or would a named based shop be easier where I use my name

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Business-wise, choose a name that can be sold to the next owner, and is short enough to be written many times on meany documents.   The name should also convey what the business does without explanation.

I am not familiar with the business laws in Australia, Iceland, UK, or where ever it is you live.  Help us out by clicking on your name and adding your location to your profile. 

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"Forge" is a perfect word to ensure that you'll be hard to find online.  Marketing people have used it for anything from lemonade to umbrellas.  Those that don't know about blacksmithing will potentially assume it's a reference to the crime of forgery.  I may never understand why blacksmiths have such affection for this term, but it's at least my hope that you'll understand that business marketing is a separate consideration altogether.  A business name that get's you buried in page 200 of search engine results is a liability.  If you doubt what I'm saying, just search for "Forge" on a search engine and count how many blacksmiths appear on the front page. In contrast, nobody names themselves XYZ Bellows, or XYZ Slack Tub.  

To that end, please consider the absolute fortune that was spent by marketers to teach the world that "GAP" means clothing company.  A garage based business probably doesn't have that kind of money.  It's my belief that anything involving politics, or religion/mythology should have no part in a business that's not explicitly political or religious/mythological.  There are two reasons for this.  #1, it's been done by a mind numbing number of people already, and #2, your name shouldn't work against the success of the business.  People love nature and geography.  Lots of city names are surprisingly awesome when translated from their original language.  

If you want to stand out, maybe name the business for what you actually make without intentionally awkward misspellings, or faux-foreign words.  I kid you not, I followed a vehicle in traffic that was labeled "Ironwerx".  The entire vehicle was covered in a wrap with that word all over it.  "Follow us on social media" was plastered everywhere.  In the smallest font, in one corner of the tailgate, it finally admitted that it's somehow related to a weightlifting gym.

 

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Folks,

A family name makes for a very weak trade mark.  And there's a good chance that some other folks,  (entity), will have the same surname. And in the worst case a registered trade mark.

Mr. Sells, is right slack tub may be mistaken for a bar or restaurant. The majority of folks are not black smiths so they most probably not recognize 'slack tub' for what it really is.

I can just envision the business name,  "Joe's slack tub bar and grill".

My suggestion is that you try another name, or better yet coin a new name. That would offer you thee greatest protection.

SLAG.

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2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I'm sure John can give you Aries name in ancient Greek

"Aries" is a sign of the zodiac -- namely, the Ram. "Ares" is the Greek god of war, the equivalent of the Roman god Mars.

How about "Ragged Rock Ironwork"?

 

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Thor Armed Blacksmith.

I still call my shop, "The Frostworks" my card also carries a sub title/motto, "Stuff done with metal." and a further description below along with phone#s, email and mailing address. I picked a free graphic of a smith working in front of a masonry forge.

A dear old friend insisted my "motto" made me sound like some dumb hick and came up with all sorts of pretentious "better" alternatives. We used to get together at his place to play bacgammon, indulge in a little herb smoke and listen to music. There were usually at least 4-5 people there with a fair turnover. It was just a good place to hang out and socialize. Anyway, I spent the evening showing folks the card. The only guy who didn't ask what kind of stuff I did with what kinds of metal, smiled and said, "Good one."

Sometimes my friends spell or pronounce it, "Frost Works?"  

I've found a little humor and something to raise curiosity in your business or pursuits makes you memorable. Memorable means business. 

No, nobody looking for a blacksmith would search for The Frostworks but as already said, forge and blacksmith are so over used as to be meaningless for folks looking for a hot steel hammer basher. My most recent cards have "lost stuff done with metal" and the subtitle is, "Custom Forged Iron and Light Fabrication." I haven't had ambitions to own a small business since getting married, I don't have as much free time. I still do the occasional project for folks though and it's nice to have a personal card.

Frosty The Lucky. 

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As Rockstar has pointed out, "forge" usually means to most folk "fake" or "counterfeit."  There is no need to use the name of the building you are in like "forge" or "smithy" or "works"  Just naming the material such as ABC Iron or QRS Bronze or HYJ Copper will tell people the work you do.

I also agree with the idea of not using religious, mythological, or political terms on the theory that they will repel as many people as they may attract.  There is a smith on YT who has done good videos but I am put off by his channel/business name," Christ Centered Ironworks," IIRC.  As a Christian I find using a religious symbol or name for business purposes inappropriate and semi-offensive.  The same is true for non-Christian persuasions.  Somebody will be offended.

Along those same lines I have found that pagan symbols sell much faster than Christian ones.  Odd.

If you want to keep the Norse or Greek connection use runes or Greek letters in your touchmark. Be careful of the Germanic (Elder futharc) S rune, though, because of a possible Nazi connection.  Two of them make up the symbol for the Nazi Schutstaffel or SS.

All that said, I use the name Westmarch Forge because when I started doing this my late wife and I had just read a very good book on the history of the English/Scottish Borders (The Steel Bonnets by George Macdonald Fraser).  The Borders were divided into 3 areas, the West, Middle, and East Marches.  The West March was the toughest part of a very turbulent area.  We liked the name and I have been using it for 40 years or so.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

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Let me add another observation.

Letters are not a very good choice for a business or product name. They are  not  very distinctive and their ambit of protection is very thin.

For example ABC  Co. versus  a competitor's ABB Co., 

SLAG.

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6 hours ago, Shaun1565 said:

I live in the US

We won't remember that once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show your general location because so many answers require knowing it.

We named our business Iron Dragon Forge & Clay Works because we like dragons and my wife is a potter. Iron & Clay pretty much describes the business.

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The name of your town blacksmithing. As an example I would use Dry Ridge Blacksmithing or possibly Dry Ridge Blacksmith Shop or Dry Ridge Blacksmith Co. It's transferable and there's no confusing What you do there. 

Pnut

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I thought about naming my little shop. Not that I ever plan on having a business, just thought that it would be fun to have a sign hanging on it.  Thinking about Black Dog Company (just like that in English, not my native language obviously), but that is because I have four black dogs (by chance we found four black strays on four different occasions) and they keep me company.

Is there anything distinctive about you or the place where you live?

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Well .I live in the Rio Grande river valley at around 4669 feet above sea level.  From my front door I can see the Magdalena Ridge Observatory at 10K feet above sea level. Our general area is a desert with low growth of sagebrush, creosote bush and mesquite trees.  Most nights I can clearly see the milky way from my yard.

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Shaun1565, 

One of my earlier suggestions was to translate local city names from their original language.

For example Milwaukee, is Algonquin for "The good land". Another angle is to identify the name of a prominent geographical feature.  I've worked for Crow Creek Construction, and Stone Mountain Machine for example.  Both were named for the birthplace of their founder.

With all that being said, I would advise against naming your business after battlefields, politicians, religious figures, celebrities, massacres, cemeteries, religious sites, or military bases to avoid offending potential customers.

I would also recommend you at least consider putting what you actually do or make in the name.  I'm old enough to remember when every fast food place put "Restaurant" on their sign.  Now, it's rare to find anything so well defined.  Out where I live, the "branding" on churches is so minimalist and meaningless that they are easily confused with the lumber yards, warehouses, and pharmacies they "converted" into churches.  Most of my local hospitals do not actually have the word "Hospital" on their monument sign.  Most call themselves "Medical Centers" which is a term that is used by office parks for everyone from eye to foot doctors. 

At some level, marketing is about making your business stand out from everything else.  Extreme minimalism is the most popular naming aesthetic, which means that any business with an understandable, informative name will stand out.

As you're considering options, I would recommend that you conduct some keyword searches to determine how popular a term is.  An unpopular, but immediately understandable term in your name may put you on the first page of search engine results without paying for advertising.

 

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Well .I live in the Rio Grande river valley

Big river blacksmithing  

Desert star iron work

 

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I've been using "Recycled Ranch" as I forge with a lot of farm and ranch scrap---like my barbwire basket icicles. (BTW no "clear water" in these parts!; I've wanted to get permission to take a forge up to 10K and check how a naturally aspirated burner works.  Worked fine at 7000'...)

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