Hello, I made this video of how I make a generic leaf key chain. Please let me know what you think.

Blacksmith Forging a Leaf Key Chain - Video

Well done video and a nice piece of iron work as well. Skillfull forging technique on your part also.

Great stuff for the beginners and intermedates in the group.

Woodeye

As a beginner leaves look a bit tuff as do other things ,but you make it look simple well done video and very nice leaf key chain !

Excellent! A forged leaf keyring was the very first thing I made when I started smithing classes a year ago. I was thinking the other day I couldn't quite remember everything involved, now I don't have to embarrass myself by asking to be shown again - cheers :)

Nicely done video.

Good lighting, well framed and well edited. A little polish on the narrative is about the only improvement you could make. I'd call it good as is.

Well done.

Frosty

Yeah, I wasn't totally impressed with the narration, but I've been trying to finish this thing for a month and figured it was good enough.

Thanks..

Yeah, I wasn't totally impressed with the narration, but I've been trying to finish this thing for a month and figured it was good enough.

Thanks..

The narration was actually pretty good, it was the only place I could see room improvement. As it stands it lends authenticity to a smith telling the tale. I certainly wouldn't redo it.

Narration is harder than it looks (nice mix of metaphor eh?) I've tried and I'm generally a good speaker. It isn't as hard as leaving a concise phone message but it's tough none the less.

You did good. Did you have someone on camera or was it a static mount? It can be really tough working around a static camera and still get good angles and framing. On the other hand it can be even tougher to have a camera wo/man keep out of your way and get good angles and framing.

Going to do more?

Frosty

Frosty,

Yeah, I plan on doing some more. But it might be a while. Anyone have any suggestions for projects?

I mounted the camera to a tripod and worked it myself.

Good vidio and nice work.

Love it! Thanks that type of info is invaluable to all in the hobby. We need more of it.

Great job.
I thought it was really well done and it clearly shows the skills i want to learn.

I would love to see videos on ...

tempering
forge welding
pattern welding
blade forging
making axes
tool making
making different styles of tongs (bolt tongs, wolf-jaw, square bit, etc)

... and those are just off the top of my head.

Any other ideas?

I have a new project....lots of those to make. Lol. Amazing video. Easily able to follow. Can't wait to try it.

Its excellent. You can see everything clearly - often a problem with smithing videos. The sequence is smooth - no jarring transitions. The narration is relevant and clear. A lot of smiths just ramble at demos.

Since you asked for criticism two small points. I would have pointed out that you flatten the "bud" on the diamond and strictly, this is a key fob not a key ring.

For your next video, how about showing how to make that chisel from a piece of car spring right through to quenching and tempering.

Excellent - thank you

Aeneas, I think I will make a video on forging, quenching and tempering a cold work chisel. This should hit a couple of different techniques all in one. I've found that a lot of smiths have read how to quench and temper a tool, but many still are not sure how to do it until they see it for themselves.

MadDog, I tried to make this video as clear and precise as possible. I'm glad everyone can enjoy it without any problems understanding it. Flattening on the diamond is something I should have said, but like a lot of things that come natural to you it got overlooked. I had thought about calling this a key fob, but I have seen a lot of people that still do not know this term, so I figured key chain is close enough.


Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Any chance of getting instructional videos like this one hosted on IFI so they don't just get lost among the rubbish on YouTube, etc??

IForgeIron > Gallery > Video is the section to use.

What a great video tutorial!

Thanks a lot, these kind of tutorials are great for every beginner. I now have some aspirations making these with a bottle opener end...

Aeneas,

Bill Epps has a tape/DVD on forging tongs which is very good. He does several styles by several methods and the camera work is excellent. Making tongs is not the sort of project you can do in a short video. There are a couple out on YouTube but they skip a lot of the details. This is one you have to spend some money for but its worth it.

Nice job! You seem to have a good handle on blacksmithing. The video quality is right up there. I'll be looking forward to seeing more of them. I'm new to this forum and after reading many of the threads decided I would enjoy getting in on some of the conversations and I hope to contribute some also. I appreciate good work and will be logging in regularly. Thanks and thanks to all! Primitive John.

"Evil reigns when good men fail to act!"

Cool video! What camera did you use?

I got a Flip Video camera for my birthday.

Edited September 8, 200817 yr by KevinD

awesome vid...brings back leaf-making memories i dont do alot of it anymore...but that's pretty much the exact technique i was taught to use...

have you made leaves by forging in the vein by folding the leaf in half and then folding it back flat? along the central vein line? i personally prefer that style...bit more shapely IMO :)

Leaves are great starter pieces, you get several of the core basics in that one simple project and it's a piece that can be done in one lesson. Leaving the student with a reward to take home and inspire them.
On the matter of video demonstrations:

I cannot emphasise how important a well structured and thought out series of video's in the fundamentals of Blacksmithing would be. I cannot.
Some people can learn from books and trial and error, but most learn visually and as such a visual reference library covering those fundamentals would have tremendous value.

I jest not when I say that I've met fully grown adults who didn't know how to use a screwdriver let alone the difference between a phillips and a slot head. We as Blacksmiths probably more than any other art or trade are the 'Jacks' of all the others. We know an incredible range of hand tooling skills and we could cover them all. How to drill properly, how to saw properly, how to measure correctly, the list goes on, but it's an important list and here's why:

Just sit back for a minute and think hard about ALL the different things YOU know how to do. It becomes a suprisingly long list doesn't it? And all of that in order to be a decent Blacksmith.

Now think about a 'library' full of all that. A library that never closes and with all the writers only an email away.

Yeah I think videos are deffinately cool. I've been in a couple and I've become friendly with some folks who make a proffession of the 'telly'. I learned a lot with the director who covered Davids Wimbledon Project. This leaf demo was a good video, the pictures were shot at the right kind of distance so you could still see how it was done, but for instance full profile shots cut into it to show the swing of the hammer over its full travel would be helpful. The voiceover is key, that gives you as the 'teacher' a chance to explain the whats and why's, safety, etc etc. In the trade the stock is filmed and then edited to show whats wanted, then it's timed (as much for the slot its to fill as anything else) and from that the length of the voice over is determined. You then write several drafts until you can fill the time with as much usefull info as possible. You figure out how many words a minute you speak to the length of film/what you want to say. For a first effort this is a pretty good attempt and you've every right to be proud of it. It'll help someone pick up a hammer.

Personally I believe you'll never ever beat getting off your backside and talking to someone face to face but this site with a resource like that would be a pretty good second place though, no?

Edited September 8, 200817 yr by Ian

great editing

Excellent, I have tried to do some filming of my forging, but have a lot of trouble with the lighting. One I am still outside and can not control the amount of light real well. I am thinking inside would be better for filming the fire and such but any hints that you have would be greatly appreciated.

James

Nice job on the video! Too bad my connection is so slow. I started the download and got my daughter off the bus and such before coming back and viewing the whole thing.

Good One!

Bill