All - 

I wanted to seek expert advice. I have been blacksmithing for 15 years now, and would consider myself fairly able to do most things decently well. Yet, I look at the historical masters as well as those blacksmiths today who are making what I would consider phenomenal work. 

I feel as though any exposure I have had to social media has stymied my progress, as I am only now in my mind (though I no longer have social media) comparing myself against that. 

How do I improve both my abilities and my aesthetics in blacksmithing? 

And, perhaps more ambitious, but how do I do "new things" in blacksmithing, be it a new authentic art style, new techniques not thought of yet, or something of the like? Maybe I am barking up a wrong tree, but I figured I would be bold and be corrected rather than just wonder in my head. 

As you point out, technical ability and aesthetic expertise go hand-in-hand. Technical ability is the combination of the right material, the right tooling, the right technique, and the right level of skill to accomplish a particular project. It's the HOW you create something. Aesthetic expertise is the developed sense of design, proportion, visual weight, sense of motion, historical style, artistic innovation, and so on. It's the WHAT that you're trying to create.

(There's a third element, but I'll come to that in a minute.)

To increase your capabilities as a artist-blacksmith, therefore, you need to advance your technical ability and your aesthetic expertise. Both of these can be developed through OBSERVATION and PRACTICE.

Technical observation is a combination of looking at examples of other smiths' work with thinking about how it was constructed, what techniques were used, and so on. It is also observing other smiths at work (either in person or on video) and studying instructional materials like books, magazines, and websites. All of these things reinforce each other, and sometimes a live demo can make you understand a concept you've read a dozen time -- or indeed reading an old instructional text can help you understand what a demonstrator was talking about that you couldn't quite catch. Technical practice, then, is trying out these techniques, constructing new tooling, thinking about how a method or tooling used for one purpose can help solve a technical problem you're facing somewhere else, thinking about how techniques can be modified to produce different results, and so on.

Aesthetic observation is a combination of emotion and mathematics. Paying attention to your emotional reaction to something is really important: Does this piece make your heart soar? Does it bring you down? Does it evoke something that you can't put your finger on? Does it make you feel unsettled? Does it make you sad, wistful, lighthearted, anxious, relaxed, confident? Then, think about why it evokes this response, and here's where mathematics comes in: look very closely at the combination of shapes and proportions. Think about how regular something is or if things seem out of balance. If the piece is representational, what does it represent and how? How does the design create a sense of movement, of stability, of upreach, of descent, and so on. Aesthetic practice, then, is to develop your own ability first to understand the emotional impact you want to create and then to execute that impact. This should involve a lot of sketching, a lot of mental practice, and -- perhaps most importantly -- a lot of self-understanding. As I've heard said elsewhere, the most important thing you can do as an artist is to convey to another human being your own point of view, even if that cannot be conveyed in words either to another or even to yourself. (A painter I know once said "If I could talk about what I feel, I wouldn't be an artist.")

This brings us to the third thing, which is particularly important in blacksmithing. For better or for worse, there are a lot of people in the blacksmithing world who feel that it's their job to act as gatekeepers to what's acceptable and what's not, both in terms of technique and in terms of aesthetics. These are the people who think that arc welding is unacceptable or that doing anything different than the way Samuel Yellin or Cyril Colnik would have is the height of heresy or some other artificial measure of what's a "real blacksmith" or what's "real blacksmithing". IGNORE THESE PEOPLE. To the extent that they challenge you to improve your technical ability and aesthetic expertise, great. To the extent that they're trying to bring you down to their level or keep you from rising above it, don't let yourself get bogged down by their hangups.

Instead, remember that your smithing is always a work in progress. You will go through periods of great creativity, as well as some nasty dry spells. The important thing is to keep at it. The good thing about the complexity of this process is that if you're hitting the wall on technique, you can switch your emphasis to aesthetics, and vise versa. Improvement in any of these areas will create improvement in all of them.

1 hour ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

but how do I do "new things" in blacksmithing, be it a new authentic art style, new techniques not thought of yet, or something of the like?

I'm not sure this is possible after thousands of years of blacksmithing....but what do I know?  But to answer your question, one does new things by doing something you have never done before.   

There's a line in a John Prine song that gives homage to the "1000s of poets who failed because they tried"...

My practical suggestion is to: a) join and participate in your regional blacksmithing organization and b) pick up and look at as many copies of Metall Design International as you can.  

If you find yourself getting frustrated at how far you are from where you want to be, focus on where you are now and what is the next step to move you forward to where you want to go. If you get frustrated with the day-to-day, think about where you want to go.

Good Morning,

To start, you must start at the beginning. When you are comfortable with starting, absorb a little bit more and proceed with another thought.....................Continue!! Forever!!  There has been Levels of Education/Experience. The Department of Labour, in Canada, no longer recognizes the trade, Blacksmith. You cannot start an Apprenticeship. California Blacksmith Association is trying to bring certain 'Levels of Accomplishment' to the Trade. It is not perfect, but it is a Great Start. Recognized by Whom? Recognized by 'US' (whomever that is).

This is a 'Journey', as in Journeyman. It is NOT a Destination/Final Outcome.  Every day we are alive, we try to Learn 'Something'. Learning is part of the Journey. Yes, the 'Circle of Life'. To learn something new, watch a child try to figure something out. Watch an adult child try to figure something out. Watch the slowest person process the problem, they don't want to waste any motion, without results. Results are similar, not the same.

When you are making something, "Stop!! When a Child can recognize it". We are NOT Mother Nature!!

When someone says "You are thinking Outside the Box", Who built the Box??

Just another Day. As Mr. Baake says, "You are a Long Time Dead. Enjoy this Day".

Neil

"Ars longa, vita brevis"  A loose translation:  "So short the life, so long to learn the craft."  Originally from Hippocrates.

I read this and have been thinking trying to come up with something to say. I gave up on saying profound things a long time ago. On purpose that is, I sometimes slip up and say something really meaningful but it's not a habit.

What I've come up with is true from my perspective, short and not necessarily sweet.

When you realize you've learned everything and run out of "new" things to make you REALLY need to ask yourself how you could be so wrong. Try making the same old thing 3 different ways and come out a matching set.

The steel is NEVER the same the second time you hit it and with modern production specs you can't even rely on it being the same steel as last time.

When I had dreams of making decorative iron work a trade I was always looking for that gold strike. Some reasonably quickly produced item that was a steady seller to pay overhead and maybe make me enough I could afford to keep on. I had a few things that sold well enough at demos, shows and such but not a real money maker. People liked my leaf coat hooks and key fobs, fire tools were always popular, fire place maybe a set and or an order an event but campfire tools sold reasonably well. My camp fire pokers, skewers and toasting forks screwed onto the end of a stick a little larger than my thumb so you didn't have to carry a full length steel fire tool backpacking.

It wasn't much but it was steady and usually paid for materials. I'd get orders for door latches, hinges, drawer pulls occasional candle holders, lawn torch holders and such but not enough to take it pro.

If I hadn't had a marketable set of skills already I would've sold my tools as a non paying hobby. Happily I've been able to get and keep work that paid well enough to keep my tools and after 30 years retire with full benefits. Even better than that for the kidding and snickers I got for blacksmithing it only took a few times being able to take a piece of steel off the drill or something found and make a splint part to get the drill back to a loading place and to a shop without expensive recovery machinery to turn the jokes into a crew boast.

The trick was I did NOT set out too seriously to make smithing pay. I learned and practiced and it came eventually. But more as a good side job when the opportunity presented itself.

To be perfectly honest you gotta keep on keeping on till IT comes to you.

It will, have faith Brother.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

On 12/8/2025 at 10:19 AM, JHCC said:

To increase your capabilities as a artist-blacksmith, therefore, you need to advance your technical ability and your aesthetic expertise. Both of these can be developed through OBSERVATION and PRACTICE.

This is, I think, a fundamental truth and something that is the most important summary of the craft I have ever seen. I appreciate you taking the time to post a lengthy and valuable reply. 

Regarding "looking" so as to see, you are absolutely right. One of my main complaints of social media and the modern marketing age is that we are being daily trained to not "see", just to glance at or to view. My wife, an artist, has trained me in general to see - looking "past" a painting to see shape, color, proportion. You are right, that training aesthetic expertise is just as important as practice. 

One thing I am combatting at the moment in my personal, professional and artistic worlds is that dryness. I said to my wife the other day, "I think I might be burnt out." - Finishing a Masters in August, starting to teach at a university two weeks later, and beginning my doctorate two months after that: I think I may be burnt out!! So, to combat that, I am trying to intentionally set out to do something new or at least to do something specific. 

I was reading an old book on Woodcraft by Earnest Thompson Seton, a founder of Scouting USA, and I found a great piece of advice. Essentially, when you go for a campout or a hike, do so with an intention. He lists many possible ones: to determine if a certain mammal species lives in certain woods, to take a census of the trees, to explore a new area.... I think I am discovering the need to do this in all aspects of my life, to live intentionally. I often go into my shop without an intention. Realizing I have an hour or two, I say "What should I make?' - So I have decided to make S Hooks of all different types and designs. 

On 12/8/2025 at 10:26 AM, billyO said:

I'm not sure this is possible after thousands of years of blacksmithing....but what do I know?  But to answer your question, one does new things by doing something you have never done before.   

BillyO: I hope it is possible. I do not know if it is. I hope our craft has not been fully exhausted. For myself, there are many techniques I have not used or mastered. Perhaps that is enough to scratch the itch for me. But I think of Brian Brazeal or Uri Hofi - maybe what they did was not "new", but it seemed "fresh", if that makes sense. Not just another thing that everyone makes. Perhaps its pie in the sky what I am looking to do: I want to make "fresh" work. 

Who knows, if I stay the course, try new things, maybe I will make something that satisfies me. 

15 hours ago, swedefiddle said:

To start, you must start at the beginning. When you are comfortable with starting, absorb a little bit more and proceed with another thought.....................Continue!! Forever!!

This, perhaps, is the title of Chapter 2 of the book called "how to live life". Thank you for the common and needed sense. 

 

I have decided to make "s" hooks of different designs. I drew a bunch in my notebook; today I made one - a basket twist. There is much wrong with it, so I will make another one better, until I am satisfied. 

This has been loosely inspired by the 100 hooks book I saw once: but I am going to challenge myself to make as many 'unique' S hooks as I can. 

 

54 minutes ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

100 hooks book I saw once

I think you're referring to "Hooked" by Matt Jenkins of Cloverdale Forge, which documents his "one hook per day for a year" project. Excellent book; an interesting meditation in word and form on creativity and perseverance.

On 12/8/2025 at 8:07 AM, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

how do I do "new things"

I'll preface this with saying I'm on a very short break so I didn't take the time to read the above responses. Apologies if I'm repeating something anyone else said already.

My favorite way to try new things is to look at anything NOT blacksmithing. Woodwork, clay, glass, fiber. In my case, I'm usually searching for sculptural images so "woodwork sculpture images" for instance. Or unique variations of commonplace items, "unique twisted jewelry" or something like that would come up with all sorts of wearable jewelry made in all variety of mediums. Find one you like. Dissect the heck out of it. Try to figure out how you would do that with metal. Then try to figure out what techniques you need to learn to get there. 

I'm on the opposite spectrum from you. I'm new enough (4yrs) that I don't have the practice but I'm constantly pushing to do things I've never seen done before. I keep saying I'm going to take a few years to just PRACTICE. Pick a few of the techniques and get efficient and better at them. Then I see something shiny and new and that idea goes right out the window! I'm learning all sorts of things, but not sticking with any one technique long enough to really get good at it...

On 12/8/2025 at 8:07 AM, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

How do I improve both my abilities and my aesthetics in blacksmithing? 

I would suggest attempting to emulate those smiths whose work you aspire to. Pick a project and keep making that thing until you're satisfied. Then pick another project. You'll be learning/practicing various techniques and simultaneously getting the "eye" for the aesthetic you like.

Good Morning,

My thought is not necessarily to forcibly extend your knowledge by forcing yourself to Learn. How about Learning how to Make Common things, Uncommonly Well!!  The step to make new things, won't be a Giant step.

Take Little Steps. I can't remember the name of the TV show who had an older Japanese(?) Mentor with a younger fellow who was trying to take Big Steps.

Enjoy the Journey, Neil

 

From what seems to be the answer is practice. How much time are you getting in the shop? People like Samuel Yellin were putting in upwards of 80 hours a week in the shop if not more i would bet. While me, i have been at it steady for almost 15 years now, i am lucky to get 15 or so on a weekend. How many years you have been doing this, or anything else, means very little, it is how much time you spend in all those years doing it. 

Now the aesthetic part, becasue aesthetics vary from person to person, the best i can say is pay attention to what is not there, the negative space. Create the negative space just as you create the positive space. For example look at the 2 pigtails on your hook. What is the difference? It is the open space you immediately see missing from the bottom one, not the pig tail itself. That which is not there is just as important as that which is there. 

 And to finish, new things? Well like has been said highly doubtful. In the 1000's of years people been beating metal "there is nothing new under the sun". However just like Roman concrete, that does not mean you cannot re-discover something. My advice there is try and apply skills on one project to another. For example, when i make a fire poker now the "turkey foot" comes off at a 90° angle so it looks like a sideways "T" shape rather than a "V" shape. I did that after making serving forks where the tines were upset down to make "T" before making the fork. I figured if i can do 2 sides why not just one? And if you can do one side then you can do one on each side and make 3 tined forks. 

4 hours ago, BillyBones said:

People like Samuel Yellin were putting in upwards of 80 hours a week in the shop if not more i would bet.

Although it should be noted that Yellin worked himself into an early grave, dying from a heart attack at 56. 

Well said Billy! Finial scrolls are finicky and as good a reason to use scrolling tongs or pliers as there is. Even just grinding the teeth off and rounding one jaw of a pair of needle nose pliers makes a huge difference.

When people think of Samuel Yellin as a "traditional" blacksmith I heartily agree. He embodied the true spirit of a traditional professional blacksmith. Samuel Yellin Metalworks has been in continuous operation for a century and has been online since the internet went public.

As a properly "traditional" blacksmith Yellin was the first shop to buy arc welders when Miller finally developed one reliable enough to sell units. I don't know if they were GMAW or carbon arc but the first few dozen welders had labels spelled "Miller Ark welder." The Miller brothers were from a family of blacksmiths going back generations.

Yellin put arc welders in his shop to speed the process up and eliminate the wasted time and materials represented by forge welding, especially failed forge welds. Mr. Yellin was on top of every modern labor saving device and tool as it became available so long as it didn't lower the standards or quality of his products. 

Like I say a definitive example of a traditional blacksmith.

And 55-56 wasn't really an early grave in 1940. Medicine and the fact that things like safety glasses, and respirators were pretty unknown except in extreme conditions like wrapping a damp rag around your mouth and nose fighting fires. 

Frosty The Lucky.

11 hours ago, swedefiddle said:

Take Little Steps. I can't remember the name of the TV show who had an older Japanese(?) Mentor with a younger fellow who was trying to take Big Steps.

I believe that would be the Karate Kid.

I can't really add anything to the excellent advice already rendered, except to add what my Master Blacksmith mentor Isaac Doss said to me when I asked him, how I could get as good as you. His reply was.

Just like a musician can get to Carnegie Hall...practice, practice, practice.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~ USCG 1964-1970

On 12/8/2025 at 6:07 AM, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

How do I improve both my abilities and my aesthetics in blacksmithing?  how do I do "new things" in blacksmithing

As I think about these questions, I have another thought.  New things are different for everyone.  If you haven't already, look around your house/shop and see what things you can make better (or at least different) from what you have bought in the past.  Customize your life with hand forged objects.  For example, forge a chair or stool; forge legs for a coffee table; make a pot rack for your kitchen, forge some brackets to hold your handrail up the stairs, forge a shoe tree, forge soap dishes, towel racks, silverware, flatware, etc.  Forge frames for pictures and mirrors.  Forge some candlesticks. wall sconces or lamps/lanterns, etc.  Forge house numbers and signage.

And to improve your skills, don't take any short cuts and make multiples of each.  It's easy to forge one example of something and make it look good, it's a lot harder to make the second one look like the first one.  

Another thought I had is maybe not go to the forge with expectations and a list of product to make. How about going out say once a month and do something random. Perhaps grab bag the stock from a box of random size, length shape pieces from the drops. Grab bag projects from a hat with random general ideas, maybe even grab bag the forge you use. Oh heck do it with all the tools, sire tongs need to fit and using a 2 oz. tin knocker's hammer on 2" medium carbon hex would be silly so fit the tools to the stock and project category.

It isn't for anybody, you aren't selling it you're just Doing. Don't try for anything, play it like the martial arts. When contending with an opponent you don't plan strikes blocks, movements or you lose before you start. Just do and the steps, blocks and strikes just happen. Find your zone and go.

Sounds simplistic but it an essential skill, you couldn't walk without being in the zone, it's just another way of saying reflex or muscle memory but a different compartment.

Anvil zen.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, that is kind of what John Switzer did a few years back when he did the hook of the week videos. Just used random small pieces of "scrap" and made hooks out it. 

3 hours ago, billyO said:

Forge some candlesticks

Just dont make to many. My wife has forbidden me from making any more candle holders for the house. 

I love making candle holders though. They really get my creative juices flowing. 

This has been a bit of a firehouse of gold, no? Perhaps everyone who has responded might not think so, but I sure do. This has me in a spot where I recognize I need an "attitude adjustment". My wife and I inherited her grandparents house, and while nice, it is at its 30 year mark with an additional 7-9 years of low to no maintence due to their age before they passed. Much of my day-to-day is viewed in terms of chores and tasks, and I have heaped extra responsibilities on top of that. This is reminding me to "play". (It explains also why I love my garden so much: no matter what I do I can't make them grow faster than they already are...)

BillyO - that's a great list of things, and I appreciate especially the phrase "Customize your life with hand forged objects.". When I was new to blacksmithing, I saw a hacksaw handle posted on the "how to get started in blacksmithing" page over on AnvilFire. I stared and stared for hours, wondering how the heck someone could make that thing. It blew my mind that a hacksaw - the thing you 'need to buy' in the box store, could be made. It inspired me. Somewhere in the "skills acquisition" and "make stuff for the craft show" stage I lost that initial wonder. I lost something of the magic, and that's where I find myself now. You all are reminding me to play more; I appreciate that. 

On 12/9/2025 at 5:02 PM, Shainarue said:

My favorite way to try new things is to look at anything NOT blacksmithing

I think this is very profound advice. I do ceramics on the side and am surrounded by the woods. This should not be hard to figure out some ways to get inspired up here. 

The hooks by John Switzer is more what I was thinking, although that book I think merged with the memory of the blackbearforge youtube video. Thanks for connecting those dots. 

On 12/10/2025 at 3:39 AM, BillyBones said:

For example look at the 2 pigtails on your hook. What is the difference? It is the open space you immediately see missing from the bottom one, not the pig tail itself. That which is not there is just as important as that which is there

You are correct. The 25 degrees with wind sped up my finishing of that side, which had a bad weld... This is, I think, where I need to focus - slowing down, being okay with not finishing a piece in a given moment. Thank you all for the wonderful advice. This is reminding me of why I did this whole thing in the first place; to find a creative outlet and because, fundamentally, I freaking love hitting hot metal..... 

1 hour ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

It inspired me. Somewhere in the "skills acquisition" and "make stuff for the craft show" stage I lost that initial wonder. I lost something of the magic,

This statement is exactly why a person should never turn a hobby into a job. Jobs are not something to do for enjoyment, they are done to make money. Two entirely different motives. Profit margin, quota, time management, overhead and a Must do perspective doesn't instill joy. That isn't to say you can't enjoy a job, feel deep satisfaction, etc. but those are NOT the purpose of doing a job. 

My suggestion to just grab a random piece of steel and make whatever it says it wants to be was about recreation, NOT a learning exercise! The hundred hooks is more of a school assignment with the pressure of completion, inspection and goals of any school assignment. It's more pressure that is getting you down right now. 

Forget about trying to "learn" that's a job with responsibilities, it's not a joy and wonder generator.

Just give yourself permission to play in the fire, have a hard day? Go to the anvil and take any frustrations, anger, etc. out on a piece of HOT steel. No goals other than venting what's bothering you. Period. 

I used to take my anger to the anvil and I discovered quickly I can't heat and beat without making "SOMETHING." What came to mind just sort of occurred to me, often checking at the steel in  the forge, sometimes just before I struck the first blow but I let it just happen. 

Stop trying to learn, just do things, your subconscious and reflexes WILL learn faster without help. Angle iron tent stakes are an excellent intermediate project, every tent needs at least 6 and they're a set so they have to match. Not exact copies just match. They make good gifts and folks camping with you will want a set, especially when you take a shovel and just pry them out of the ground. Bend the tip on one? Just heat it in the camp fire and straighten it. No anvil? Use the exposed end of one of the stakes you aren't actually forging, you're just straightening or unbending so you don't need a hard face or mass.

Make sense?

You gotta stop looking for a profit in everything you forge! You will kill your desire for the craft! That's actually worse than trying to make everything a learning project, the consequences are more dire. The subconscious consequences of failure to succeed twice in one activity is not additive the feeling isn't 2x as bad, it is multiplicative it is 2 squared as negative. 

If you just make some things, toss them out on the table for funsies and some sell, you'll feel the joy and any that don't sell don't matter, they were just there so there is NO failure. 

Just hammering hot steel WILL teach you things where it counts. I want this to be wider, curve, etc. and you make it so. Your subconscious reacts to goals and remembers how. Better still it WILL corelate between similar experiences and guide your hands to the one that gets closest to what you want this time. 

You can NOT help but learn and it will happen much faster if you don't try forcing it. Your subconscious is MUCH better at learning eye hand skills than your conscious mind. Your conscious is better at directing and grading than it ever will be at controlling the process.

Make sense?

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Good morning all.  One last thought I have that I don't see mentioned on how to improve forging ability:  we've all been told to not let perfect be the enemy of good, but at some point in our journey, we shouldn't let good be the enemy of perfect either.   

When doing multiples, try to make each one exactly like the others (in as few heats as possible) so that you can swap the pieces around without noticing any difference (ie, when making 2" tapers, make each one exactly 2", not 2"+/-.). 
When I find myself stagnating regarding creative inspiration, I find myself forging the same types of things, but instead of doing them the easy way, I try to do them a harder way.  We've all heard some variation of the saying: ask 2 blacksmiths how to do something and you'll get 5 different answers, try doing that something in one of the other ways than your normal.  
Have fun and keep striving for perfection.  We'll all get there eventually.

Knowing what "good enough" is, is a learned judgement call and personal choice. A compromise of several factors, maker's skill, patrons desires and his purse. 

IIRC making long rifles consistent enough parts could be interchanged is one of the things that won the American Revolution. Rifle parts could be interchanged and everybody used the same dia. and weight balls, same powder charge, patches, sights, flints, etc. IIRC even powder measures were standardized for Army rifles. Volunteer and irregulars weren't as consistently armed and tended to operate at large, often as scouts and skirmishers. The Kentucky long rifle was one of the models but mass produced as a carbine for infantry, the original was too long and unwieldy for mass battery and line combat.

IIRC mass producing firearms was the real beginning of mass production, not Mr. Ford's factories.

Frosty The Lucky.

I’ve taken all of what has been said to heart, and have tried to implement it. In my forging, I’ve been focusing on quality, on expanding my experience with certain techniques, such as forge, welding, coloring, and more, and have taken it to heart, especially the advice that I should ornament my life with forged objects.

 

One of the things that has helped me the most, is not feeling like I’m under a deadline. Often I get to the forge and I feel as if I do not have enough time to do what I need to do. That’s what’s making me rush, thinking that I need to complete a project in one afternoon, and that is really hindering my progress.

today I upgraded my coal rake and made it beautiful as well as functional.

Pretty snazzy for a coal rake. It feels good to make something for you doesn't it?

Playing with fire and hitting things is guy kind of fun. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

To be entirely truthful, my student asked what my favorite type of handle was, looking at the sad coal rake. I did this to show off a bit for him. He’s already upstaging me after only 3 months…

 

So, I’m going to start making myself go “wow”.