[TheForge] Jesse James and Uri Hofi

[Ries Niemi]

I know I am coming late to this, but I have to speak up a bit in Jesse James defense.
Of all the guys on reality TV shows about metal, he is the only one who actually is a craftsman.
Yes, he is also a showy self promoter, but a lot of famous artists and craftsmen over the years have been that.
I have watched all those shows, and seen guys weld with no mask, use a milling machine to drill without a vise, and every manner of misuse of tools possible.

James, on the other hand, is a good welder, a pretty darn good metalshaper, and, yes, is becoming a decent blacksmith. Despite the tattoos, piercings, and celebrity girlfriends, he really cares about metal, and really cares about learning. I once watched a show where he made a  gas tank out of aluminum, and, having had a bit of metalshaping experience my self, just enough to be dangerous, it was obvious he knew what he was doing, and was quite good with the english wheel, and with hand shaping, and had skill that only comes from lots of practice.

A friend of mine up here, Larry, who is a big tool buyer and seller, as well as being a very good blacksmith himself, has been helping Jesse James buy blacksmithing tools, and when James buys tools, he goes all in- he has things like Haas VF3 CNC mills sitting around in his shop. Larry found Jesse a big Nazel, I think a 4B, and Jesse, starting cold a couple of years ago, is quite good with it now. He doesnt hire guys to do the work while he bullsh*ts- he WORKS, himself, with metal.

Now you are free to dislike the man, or his TV character, or the stuff he makes, but I really think he is serious when it comes to learning about metal, and while he will never be a Peter Ross, or a Yellin, he IS becoming a blacksmith.

And, having seen Uri Hofi demo a couple of times, I have to say that, skill aside, Hofi is in James category as a self invented, idiosyncratic, somewhat cranky self promoter- the two are more similar than different in many ways.

Ries



On Dec 12, 2011, at 5:13 AM, Saint Phlip wrote:

> I read your posting this morning, and thought it sounded interesting,
> so I started googling around, to see what I could see. I found this:
> 
> http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2011/01/27/exclusive-new-jesse-james-tv-show-on-history-channel-jesse-james-blacksmith/
> 
> I then started googling around to see who the Jesse James person was,
> and found this:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James_(customizer)
> 
> Gad, what a jerk. He appears to me to be the Bobby Flay of mechanical
> reality TV- very good at promoting himself, but not much good at
> anything else.
> 
> I may watch, because I'd be interested in what Uri Hofi has to show
> and say, but I suspect I might not be able to watch the whole thing
> because of the braying jackass.
> 
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 5:33 AM, Jerry Frost <akfrosty at mtaonline.net> wrote:
>> The commercials were enough I've never watched an episode, too much cooked
>> drama, tantrums, etc. etc.
>> 
>> On a similar note, this morning I caught something on NatGeo called. "Jesse
>> James Blacksmith." The first hour or so was Jesse taking lessons from Uri
>> Hofi at the kibutz. Makes me think I may have missed something interesting
>> having missed every episode of West Coast Choppers. <sigh>
>> 
>> Jer
> 
> -- 
> Saint Phlip
> 
> So, you think your data is safe?
> http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/23/schneier.google.hacking/index.html?hpt=T2
> 
> 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.
> 
> .I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary
> notices I have read with pleasure. -Clarence Darrow
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Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
www.riesniemi.com