[TheForge] Re: File Making, sniffing up wrought iron

[Jerry Frost]

I was more than a little interested in trying Pure Iron 
but they wouldn't send me a few lbs. to try. I forget 
the exact amount but it was in the 50 lbs. range as I 
recall. Shipping to AK made that a deal killer for a 
trial. I offered to pay whatever it cost for S&H but 
they wouldn't.

Sent me an Art and Metal "T" shirt though.

I think a good part of this has to do with most modern 
blacksmiths being artists rather than iron workers. 
I've only met a few artists of any kind able to manage 
business well.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.


From: "Andrew Vida" <osan at netlabs.net>


>
>
> David E. Smucker wrote:
>> If there was a market it would be made.  We all 
>> (blacksmiths) like working with things like pure 
>> iron and wrought iron -- but we don't want to pay 
>> for it.  Pure Iron is the perfict example.
>
> I fully agree.  Furthermore, the "failure" of Pure 
> Iron in the market was an indication more of the lack 
> of a business clue than any fault of the material. 
> People saw cost as high.  I disagreed and attempted 
> to explain to them the idea of cost effectiveness, 
> but apparently those people were either not bright 
> enough to get it, closed minded to the notion, or I 
> simply was too stupid to explain it properly.  I'll 
> go with the latter.
>
> By and large, I have found most blacksmiths to be 
> highly clue-challenged where issues of basic business 
> management are concerned. I've never hidden my 
> opinion on this.  A material such as Pure Iron, if 
> properly marketed, could be sold at a premium 
> (offsetting the additional material cost, which in 
> the grander scheme of things is almost trivial in any 
> event) and its superior workability would save the 
> smith in terms of labor cost.  Apparently none of 
> this ever sank in and Mike's endeavor went toe-up.  I 
> thought it was a shame, but the market spoke and that 
> was that.  I don't know whether Mike & company 
> engaged in sufficiently effective marketing, so some 
> fault may lie there as well, but I have learned to 
> never underestimate the boorishness of a market.
>
>
> -- 
>
> -Andy V.
>