[TheForge] The True Path in the 24th century.

[Phlip]

Peter Fels and Phoebe Palmer wrote:

> At 10:27 AM 3/2/02, you wrote:
>
> APPLAUSE!
>

Yeah, me too ;-) I've forwarded it along to some of my SCA friends- I think they'll
get a good laugh out of it ;-)

One of the concepts I've been having trouble dealing with on this List, is just
what you guys are meaning by traditional smithing. I mean, I know what I mean by
it, and I know what I'm trying to accomplish, as do the others, like myself, who
are into reenacting- basicly, to make ironwork in the same way that someone in our
preferred time periods would have done, only using such modern shortcuts as don't
affect the quality of the work. This is a goal for our own enjoyment, and study of
the periods we reenact.

But, with some of the rest of you, I'm not sure what you're striving for. If all
you want to do is join two bits of iron or steel together, I can't see that it
matters whether you use a forge or an arc welder or a rivet to do it, as long as it
looks nice when you're finished.

And yes, taking a bit of stock and making it into, say, a leaf, or upsetting, or
drawing, are basic techniques, and they've been around for a while. But, I'll tell
you what, when someone successfully does it for the first time, it's just as
brand-new as if they invented it themselves.

Phlip