[TheForge] !

[Andrew Vida]

Mark Williams wrote:
> I'm sorry to hear of Bill's passing. He lived about an hour from me. My 
> wife really liked him and wondered why there were all those negative 
> stories about him.

	I think people like drama, and are in fact addicted to it.  Negative 
stories seem to be inherently more dramatic than nice ones, which is 
probably why we never see anything nice on the news and the Jerry 
Springer show is so popular, world's worst TV show notwithstanding. 
People bitched and whined about his prices but few seemed to consider 
that perhaps he saw the abiding value of those tools and perhaps was 
interested in keeping them out of the hands of dilltante assholes and 
antique collectors.  Paying $1600 for a 200# anvil in great shape isn't 
a lot of money in the grand scheme of things if that anvil is going to 
be a major proportion of one's means of making a living.  Good tools are 
worth paying for.

Think about what "our" world (i.e. the world of blacksmithing) would be 
like if all the anvils disappeared.  We'd be in a bit of a corner.  OK, 
sure, we have modern cast alloy anvils and I suppose they are great and 
all, but for me nothing beats a good wrought anvil and I'd not be so 
happy to see them no longer available.  One day, in a few hundred years, 
there may be no more decent wrought anvils.  What a shame that will be. 
  Try making a 50# wrought iron anvil with a welded steel face.  I'm 
serious.  Just try it and then consider the value of the abilities that 
no longer exist in this world that are required to make the same anvil 
in a 250 or 400 pound size, much less those 700 pounders.

 > Bill did like to drive a bargain. However, he could
> be very generous. The Furnace Town Blacksmith Shop has an addition 
> heated and equipt by Bill.

And I see nothing negative there at all.

Hi to MB.

	-Andy


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