If there is no Box to restrict your thinking, How is it possible for there to be a Box to contain your thinking? ~ swedefiddle

 Every day is an opportunity to learn new things from people who know more than you do - KRPDM

You have now made something that did not previously exist until you put your hand and mind to the hot metal. Therefore, you ARE a blacksmith. Now, you can spend the rest of your life becoming a better blacksmith. George N.M.

A visitor to my shop and he noticed my Vulcan had the horn pointed to the right, when he turned around he saw the Hay Budden that the horn was pointed to the left. He asked why the Hay Budden horn was facing left. Simple I told him it's a left handed anvil. Irondragon

Don't just stand there, do something!

There is a saying in Spain that says:

"In the blacksmith's house, a wooden knife"  ~ Francisco Alfonso (Canary Islands Spain)

The cobbler's children need shoes eh?

Frosty The Lucky.

"Artificial Intelligence can't replace you if you're not intelligent." ~ JHCC

"If you make a mistake, For goodness sake, be consistent!"

Why are we doing it that way? So we can say we did it that way....Thom student of Thomas

On 6/24/2023 at 9:06 PM, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

"In the blacksmith's house, a wooden knife"

Just like the mechanics car is the last to get fixed. 

i say the dark side of the chocolate is still chocolate   Der_Hannes

On 7/7/2023 at 10:08 PM, Daswulf said:

Just like the mechanics car is the last to get fixed. 

  And yet you never see a barber that needs a cut, a thin butcher or a dentist with rotten teeth.

HAH, that is how you pick your barber. Choose the one with the worst haircut, that way you KNOW you aren't picking the worst one in the shop.

Frosty The Lucky.

On 6/24/2023 at 2:53 PM, anvil said:

Don't just stand there, do something!

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"  Mark Twain.

I was going through some old notes I wrote down probably 25 or 30 years ago and came across a couple good quotes I had forgotten:

"If you are working hard on something you don't care about it is called stress.  If you are working hard on something you love it is called passion."

"I have the hands of a surgeon, the steadiness of a sniper, and the skills of an artist.  What is your superpower?"

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

"If you are working hard on something you don't care about it is called stress.  If you are working hard on something you love it is called passion."

  One makes time drag, the other makes it fly.

If you love what you do you'll never have to work.

Frosty The Lucky.

I have to disagree with that, Frosty. Even working on something you love can be a frustrating bore. To quote Adam Savage, it's only when you have the dedication to put in the time grinding out the everyday work that makes up 98% of any job that you get to experience the joy of the creativity that makes up the remaining 2%, and if you're really lucky, the joy of the 2% carries you through the frustration of the 98%. One might quibble about the specific breakdown of percentages, but I think the basic idea is sound.

I think it depends also on the contrast between what you HAVE to do to put food on the table and a roof over your head and what you WANT to do that gives you enjoyment.  Many folk are trapped in a situation where what they do day to day is an unpleasant slog to which they do not look forward to when they get up in the morning.  In that case whatever they do for enjoyment is all that much sweeter because of the contrast.  I always pretty much enjoyed being a geologist or an attorney, although there were less than optimum days, and I always enjoyed going out to the shop but the contrast wasn't as strong as if I had been trapped in a job I did not enjoy.

And you are correct that there are boring parts to what we enjoy.  For example, I don't make that many knives because I do not enjoy all the bench work involved.  I'd rather be hitting hot metal.

Over the years I have become a pretty good cook, not because I enjoy cooking itself that much, but I really like eating good food.

Although there was time between the bottom falling out of geology and my going back to law school where I made my living with my hammer (I didn't make much more than unemployment but it felt better than being on the dole) I have always tried to keep my blacksmithing a fun past time that may generate some supplemental income rather than being a JOB that I HAD to do.  That said, I have taken on a few blacksmithing projects that turned into a slog where I was glad when they were done because I didn't have to do them any more.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

 

  If you find yourself stuck in drudgery, the only way out is to find a challenge in it, and then use that to your advantage.

  I was going to edit:  "if you can't walk away".  But the edit is still broken evidently.

Like all old saws, it isn't a universal truth it's an old saying. I've never had a job that was all bad or all good. Like Scott says if you find something to like such as a challenge you can make almost any work satisfying, even good.

I've never had a job that didn't have it's good and bad points, some were just worse than others. One in particular just wore out the good in it and a truly outstandingly bad boss pushed me to change jobs which worked out for the good on many levels. I didn't like the new position as well, almost never traveled, met new people, etc. but lived about 10 minutes away, slept in my own bed every night and spending time at home I got to get to know the internet where I met Deb my better half. 

Good job bad job they all have something to offer besides a paycheck. 

And so I leave you with my first post of the morning ramble.

Frosty The Lucky.

Main thing is to hit the hot metal and not the anvil.  ~ Daswulf

life is short; so eat dessert first. ~ Mikey98118

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus