[TheForge] Pure Iron

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

>             My question is this, if this material was so great and the
time
> saved forging made up for the extra cost, why did we let the people
selling
> it go belly up??
>
>
>
> John C.

I think you're looking at a combo of economy and unfamiliarity with the
metal. For many of us hobbyists, or those of us who like me spend a lot of
time teaching beginners, it's a lot easier and more economical to use mild
steel. Why waste an expensive material on someone who can't adequately
understand how to mangle the cheap stuff? After all, the techniques are
pretty much the same.

And, I think it probably wasn't advertised enough, and given enough time for
people to decide that this was the material for them. I ran over to the shop
(it's only a couple hours away from here) and bought a few sticks to
experiment with and use for specific projects, but I haven't really had time
to use it much- for most of what I do, mild steel is just fine.

We, as smiths, are a pretty conservative bunch. Most of us aren't
professionals to whom time is money- we're people who like to wander out
into the shop and take joy in making something we can be proud of- the time
involved isn't particularly a factor, other than finishing up what we're
doing before supper.

I think, if someone had the money to go ahead and buy a pretty good stash of
the stuff, say $100,000 or so, and the financial security to be able to not
worry about how soon it sold, it would slowly develop as a more and more
desirable material. But most of us are working stiffs, for whom making and
selling (for example) a $100 knife is a big addition to our tool shop money-
we just don't have the resources to let a couple hundred grand go hang for a
while.

Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....