JHCC Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Artist-blacksmith and teacher Celeste Flores has an interesting blog post on Eight Ways to Make A Living as A Blacksmith that's worth a look. While not an exhaustive list, it's certainly a good and realistic summary of some of the basic strategies. For example: Quote 6. Become a Bladesmith This is probably the most common dream for people new to the profession. So many new students take their first class with the hope that one day they can craft gorgeous knives and swords, retire from their desk job, and live in their cabin making blades for the public. The reality is that while there has been a surge of new professional bladesmiths, it is a very saturated market. On Etsy and online, bladesmithing is often best represented as a race to the bottom. Bladesmiths are selling at lower and lower prices, sometimes cutting corners and often compromising their living to be able to live out their dreams. While this problem isn't unique to bladesmithing (I think it’s an issue with Etsy overall), I think it is something a new bladesmith has to be very mindful of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 She's on this forum as Artist Celeste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Thanks for the link John, it was well worth checking out. And Celeste, please delurk we'd LOVE to hear from you, the more expertise the better. Heck I don't recall you at all but my memory stinks. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 She seemed to have missed one that i would have put up much sooner than "content" creator. That is making blanks, or other items like that. I have noticed a lot of smiths investing in plasma tables lately to make blanks with to sell to other smiths. From frying pans to hooks to Christmas ornaments and even tool racks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 That’s an interesting one, although it’s arguably more “fabrication” than “blacksmithing” per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 And therein lays the difference between a past time and a profession. Though if I were turning out blanks for sale I'd use a punch press and die blank them. He's not selling forged items, he's selling blanks so some poor smith doesn't have to spend what 4-5 minutes chiseling and filing per blank? That'd be after s/he got good at cutting so they didn't need to be filed to shape. Punching them out, die blanking, each flower, leaf, whatever, blank would come out of the stamping press every half second or so. From there I'd put them into a tumbler for a few minutes so I didn't have to clean the burr off by hand. The finish flower blank would have a small center punch like divot in the center as an artefact of the stamping process. Right where the stem goes. Could punch a hole in the same step if that sold better. If he were stamping flowers it'd be fraudulent to call them forged but blanks? We don't make our own sheet metal anymore do we? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 Get with the times, Frosty: everything is laser-cut nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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