Your Smithy's Name

[Chad J.]

I've been considering the name of my shop for a while and have settled on Heavy Hand Forge.  My siblings and kids always made jokes about the size of my meat mittens.  On more then one occasion my kids would hold hotdogs behind my fingers and yell "I can't see the hotdog"!  Always got sausage fingers,  and I am banned from trying to move small pieces on game boards.   It always looked like a tornado came through on Monopoly.

 I got to wondering about some of the names other members have for their shops and wondered what the inspiration was.  

[Frazer]

Mine is B.F. Forge. While BF are my initials, it is actually Blood and Fire Forge. The secondary name I don't really push since I kind of like the hidden meaning and it feels kind of excessive to me. However, it came to me after missing my punch with my 4# hammer, smashing my knuckles full force for the umpteenth time (that day). We've all been there .

Anyway, while continuing to work and leaking all over the shop, I had the sudden urge to drip some blood over the coals. Thus, B.F. Forge was born.

[ThomasPowers]

"Recycled Ranch"  I live in ranching country and use a lot of Ranch/Farm scrap in my smithing. (And the pretentious artsy folks are all into "recycled" sources...) Latest was using old rusty barbwire to make Christmas ornaments: barbwire basket icicles.

[arkie]

Thomas, I like the name.  Serves a purpose and of course, trendy these days.  Does it have the name "Forge" after the "Recycled Ranch" to let people know it's a smithy?

[ThomasPowers]

My cards go:

Recycled Ranch

Thomas Powers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Blacksmith

Then the contact info.

[arkie]

All in one....Answers that question!

[HarvestGapForge]

I am Harvest Gap Forge. I wanted a "place" name.  I was 14 when I named it and didn't want to name it after an actual place because who knows where I will end up living. I'll be able to move my business anywhere just about - maybe not the plains or the beach - but that's ok. I like the mountains.

Harvest Gap. It is a great place that can be anywhere because it exists in my mind.

 

[Kexel Werkstatt]

I am Kexel Werkstatt, which means Kexel Workshop in German.

I do Woodwork (and now Blacksmithing again), and combinations of both (handled tools, axes, etc.)

 

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Iron Dragon Forge & Clay Works. Because we like Dragons and Pottery.

[BillyBones]

Punkin' patch forge. When i first started i was working outside at the time and usually only on weekends. I went out one day and my pumpkins had grown all around my space and had completely covered my anvil and forge. At the time i was not really interested in a shop or a name for that matter and just kind of said it jokingly, well it stuck. 

 

[Frosty]

That's a great story for a great shop name Billy. Funny how things work out sometimes isn't it? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Nobody Special]

Yardbird Forge.  My ex used to keep and sell ungodly numbers of chickens, and occasionally one would get out and do unspeakable things to my anvil.  I keep a few now, partly to keep the current wife happy, partly for the eggs, and partly because watching bald eagles bounce off of box wire trying to eat my birds is funny.  It doesn't hurt them, but it annoys the heck out of 'em.  One actually bent the wire last week trying an assault from above.

[Rojo Pedro]

We named our forge when it was no more than a lively washtub, hair dryer and piece of rr track.

We had recently attended a renaissance festival and my 8 yo named our forge "Olde Tyme Blacksmythe Shoppe" 

If I ever do a touchmark I want to do a stylized sundial using the letters O & T

[Dillion Brian Grant]

My forge has finally been dubbed the Purple Pirate Forge 

Originally it was just a little joke I had to myself.

Then when my aunt passed away last year, I was granted access to the big building behind her house for my hobby I officially named my forge Purple Pirate Forge in honor of her love for not only ECU but specifically the colors purple and gold 

 

Now for some odd reason I cant seem to pass up anything with the purpl and gold pattern

 

[Frosty]

You have my sincere condolences for the loss of your Aunt. May she rest in peaceful comfort, her family and friends find solace.

A worthy name Dillion and flashy shop colors. Almost as awesome as my shop colors, hunter green and gold  but pretty darned good colors anyway, I like them.

Catchy and memorable name. Except for "Forge" it's so over used it has no real public identity with the blacksmith's craft anymore. Unfortunately Purple Pirate Blacksmith shop, or Purple Pirate Smithy just don't roll off the tongue as well. 

There's quite a discussion about blacksmith shop names with some good analysis by a pro on the subject.

Good to see you posting again. What else have you been up to?

Where are the pictures of your shop? If we don't see pics it didn't happen you know.  Don't make me say COLOR pics, we want to see the Purple!

Frosty The Lucky.

[Dillion Brian Grant]

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

You have my sincere condolences for the loss of your Aunt. May she rest in peaceful comfort, her family and friends find solace.

First and foremost ur condolences mean alot honestly.

And I appreciate it I love a little bit of flash in whats ussually seen as a more rustic craft

Truthfully frosty I agree when I first started this craft/passion/addiction, I like probably most people thought forge just sounded pretty darn cool but as ive grown and learned this craft I agree its such an overused term 

And yeah sadly had to take a break when this year started cause i was always away from home due to work but now ive started a new job that's Monday through Thursday unless theres rain which definatly is going to help me more effectively persue my newest endeavor.... Me and my dad were talking the other night and when I handed him a knife I had forged specifically for him(honestly nothing really fancy) he finally convinced me to take what I can only really call a transfer from passionate hobby to semi business. Honestly would love to actually be able to call blacksmithing my full time job but right now im happily starting out with hopes to cover some costs if nothing else.

Any and all advice would be so appreciated 

 

Once I finish this most recent floor layout redesign and get a break on my orders I have I'll definatly take some. Sadly theres not as much purple and gold and I want just my water quench tank and my oil quench tank but it will be before its all said and done(my propane tank is definatly going to get a makeover:))

 

Sorry for run on sentences may be running myself a little to wide open between full time job and this addictive passion

[SinDoc]

The misses asked me the other day if I was going to make a little name for myself if I started selling things which made me try and think of one.

My first thought was Forge of Sin. I don't think that sounds the greatest though. Maybe Sinful Metal Works or Sinful Metals. A little background is gaming is one of my other hobbies and my gamer tag has simply been "Sin" for over a decade at this point, so it's a moniker I am simply used to. People are not super religious around here, so I don't think it would cause issues 

I am not personally concerned with a name at this point as I am just a fledgling.

[JHCC]

We look forward to your collaboration with Christ Centered Ironworks.

[SinDoc]

I was just watching some of their videos last night. Watched one where the lady (whos name has currently escaped me) made a sort of Celtic wrist band. I have Celtic tattoos, so I was all over that video lol. I don't watch them super frequently, but them, Black Bear Forge and recently Alec Steele have been the main ones I watch as of late.

[ThomasPowers]

!Sin Duda SinDoc!  Sin is a good Spanish word; also a good English one is  TocSin if you do any blades...

[SinDoc]

I have been wanting to try a blade again. Have gotten better at hammer control and not sending those pesky shocks up my arm. Still don't have a grinder though, so knives are a tad out of my reach still.

[Frosty]

Relax Dillion, nobody here is expecting you to follow a schedule or account for your time. Just because I'd like to see pics doesn't mean I expect you to run out and take some. That MAY change of course, I could get irritated and want you to jump like a frog on a hot plate. Probably not but you just NEVER know.  

Just because you sell some product doesn't mean you have what it takes to maintain a business. It's a start but it's a long road. however, if you can sell enough product to put your shop in the black you're golden. Keep all your receipts in case Uncle Sugar wants a look see at them.  You might want to take some book keeping classes so you can keep business straight. 

Make your blades when you have time. Everybody with a paycheck job understands about having to work in what you really want to do around the J O B. Have you heard the sad truth about, time, money and the real world? "If you have the time, you don't have the money. If you have the money, you don't have the time."

Don't get hung up on trying to get everything just right, it'll just bum you out more when you have to change it. Floor plans rarely work how we expect and things are always changing so my advice is keep it flexible. Sure there are pros who have been at it so long nothing in their shop changes. If you get to that level then mounting things permanently makes sense say burying a log vertically for an anvil stand. 

A roof with no leaks is primo, a smooth flat floor is a beautiful thing, paved with something is for later. I like my concrete floor but that's me. Not you. Yes? Find the smithy corner, wall, where ever, clear it flatten and smooth it and run a plate compacter on it till it's hard as you can get it. This will make it easy to move things around until you find what works for you. A bench can be free standing and still be against a wall and free moving so you can find THE place for a built in. Shelves same same, you'll want to screw them to a wall or something so they don't fall over. That might not be an issue for you, I fairly frequent have earth quakes to think of. 

Lights, you want GOOD lighting. LED strip lights put out a LOT of light for not much money and they last a long time. Better in cold country, they light right up when it's COLD. Electrical, you never have enough outlets, make sure you have a couple few circuits, lights on their own so popping a breaker doesn't leave you fumbling around the shop in the dark. 

What run on sentences? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

I've noticed a lot of people have the name for their business before they ever light a forge. It's something I'll never understand. 

Pnut

[Glenn]

You have got to start somewhere. 

Capturing a good name, or a name meaningful to them, is important to them.  You can fill in the details of the business later.

 

You want a name to have a hook so it can be easily remembered, and be short enough so they can fill in the Pay To line on a check quickly.

[Scott NC]

  Speaking of hook, mine is named Fishbone Forge.  I suppose having a name before you get going kind of bumps a dream a little closer to a reality.