[TheForge] Asking blacksmiths- was- repeated , repeated, repeated content!!!!

[Saint Phlip]

On 10/9/07, Rob Fertner <rfertner at cox.net> wrote:

 or "Ask 10 blacksmiths and get 11 answers"

Jeeze, Rob, the way I heard it, was "Ask 2 blacksmiths a question, and
get 5 answers)."

I know myself, just yesterday, a lady asked a question- "How do I
remove rust from an anvil", and since the original answer I gave her
wasn't viable (Put hot metal on it and hit it with a hammer) because
it's in a school, I gave her 3 more ;-)

The thing is, with our craft, just one answer will not necessarily
suit all applications, for one reason or another. A good blacksmith
will be aware of all these possibilities, and while he or she may have
a usual, preferred solution that works in most cases, a good
blacksmith is open to using whatever suits the job best.

As far as Paul's plaint, one of the main purposes of ABANA is to TEACH
people more about smithing, and from that perspective, TheForge is a
wonderful tool. Not all of us have time to go take classes, or to
attend every possible hammer- in. Since smithing is an adjunct to my
Medieval interests (although at one point in my carreer, I was
actually making a fair part of my income as a farrier) I can't always
get over to hammerins and demos, even in my local area- they conflict
with my teaching time. Listening to the guys natter on has become a
wonderful resource.

Paul, if you've been spending all this time on this List, and have
neither learned anything, nor taught anybody anything, then why
bother? Or, if there's content you want, and it hasn't appeared, why
don't you ask a question that will bring it out? I know that Ries, for
example, makes metal work a full time business, and he has a pretty
good grasp of the necessities involved. He's even a pretty nice guy
;-) Same goes for John Husvar, although John's physical difficulties
have him doing smithing part time. Lots of good people here, take
advantage of what they have to offer, don't just sit in your corner
and kvetch.

-- 
Saint Phlip

Heat it up
Hit it hard
Repent as necessary.

Priorities:

It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.

Denial of evidence is not refutation of evidence.

Blessed be the self-righteous, for they shall inherit themselves.