Looking for a name for my shop

[lazyassforge]

My forge is nothing but a hobby shop. I have(had) a job and was very opposed to making my shop into another job. I named it “ Lazy Ass Forge Shop” specifically so it would not be taken to seriously. We were raising mule colts at the time. A lot of people got good laughs out of our name. Bill Davis

[ThomasPowers]

I tell folks I run my smithy at a dead loss; that way I don't have to turn a profit, I can freely give away stuff, I can cheerfully turn down unpleasant commissions or students!

Any money I make can go back into the smithy; otherwise it runs off my (currently) US$25 a week allowance.

[George N. M.]

Although translating local names from their original language can come up with something inappropriate or dumb or ridiculous.  For example, Colorado means "reddish."  So, Reddish Iron would invoke something rusty.  Chicago means "where the skunk cabbage grows."  Wyoming means "at the big river flats." And, Tetons means a reference to female anatomy.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[M.J.Lampert]

so i was thinking of going with "true north iron works" or would that not be a good choice

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

TNIW True North Iron Works might make a good touch mark. OOPS... just googled that and it returned That Night In Williamsburg. Oh well.

[George N. M.]

Not bad, I kind of like it.  You could use a compass rose as a touch mark.  Or a declination symbol with true north indicated by a star at the end of a vertical line and magnetic north shown as a line with an arrowhead on it originating from the base of the vertical line.

By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

PS For proper feng shui don't forget to orient your anvil so the horn is pointing due north. ;-)

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I like George N.M.s idea for a touchmark.

[George N. M.]

BTW, current magnetic declination in British Columbia is about 17-18 degrees east.  So, if you made a declination diagram the line with the arrowhead on it would be 17-18 degrees to the right of the vertical line with a star.  The star is because that is the direction of true north/the north star and the other line has an arrow head because that is the way a compass needle will point.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Davor]

13 hours ago, George N. M. said:

You could use a compass rose as a touch mark.  Or a declination symbol with true north indicated by a star at the end of a vertical line and magnetic north shown as a line with an arrowhead on it originating from the base of the vertical line.

 

Let’s run with that idea. Hold Fast Forge: A bit of a play on words different meanings, stay true, stay on the path, but you do need a holdfast in the forge as well.

[M.J.Lampert]

2 hours ago, Davor said:

Let’s run with that idea.

sorry I'm taking that touch-mark

now to find someone to engrave it

[George N. M.]

M.J.:  You may be able to make it yourself.  There are several methods out there but what I did was take a piece of high carbon steel (round stock, may have originally been a coil spring), cut the end square and ground it flat, drew my touch mark on with a fine point felt tip marker, and then started filing away everything outside the lines.  Mine has some internal low area, similar to the triangle within an A, which I had to strike in hot with a small punch before the felt tip.  It worked out very well.  Since it is used on hot metal I didn't harden or temper it.  Remember, you are trying to make the lines as fine as a chisel edge but not so thin they disappear and become shorter than the rest of the design.  That is touchy work.

Everything you do will be a reverse pattern when struck.  That is fine with symmetrical letters or patterns like A or M but for things that are asymmetric you can say some choice words when you realize that you just reversed your desired pattern and have to learn to live with it or start all over.

Flatten 2 of the sides of the punch so that you can easily orient it correctly when using it and getting the touchmark in the desired orientation.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

[rockstar.esq]

MJ, George, There are lots of cool tool names in blacksmithing.

Monkey tool

Butcher

Ducks nest

Bending forks

Header

Hot rasp / Hot cut

Bick

Pritchel

Punch

There are also a lot of terms used in blacksmithing that have marketing appeal

Slip fit

White heat

Hot set

Planishing or  Planished

Fire welded

Bloomery

Crucible

Striker

Put them together for a funny slogan; "Here at Bick, Pritchel, and Punch, we deliver slip fits at white heats".