[TheForge] forging techniques

[Andy Gladish]

I'm making quite a few knives these days, and I've noticed something very
interesting that doesn't get a lot of notice: Our concept of what makes a
knife look "right" especially "traditional" depends totally on the physics
of what happens when you forge hot metal into a knife shape.
I'd say that the same is true of decorative ironwork- the joinery
techniques have a certain visual logic that most fabrication can't match.
The way a piece swells slightly when you use the monkey tool to prepare a
tenon just looks right, perhaps because it resembles what plants do.
I see many instances of fabricated work attempting to imitate this- heck, I
do it myself all the time! Fake MIG welded rivet heads, etc...and customers
love it because they get a more natural look at not too much more than fab
prices.
Forged joinery and ornamentation have a visual appeal that will never go
away, and the biggest issue is, how do we educate our customers to
appreciate the real thing?
There are plenty of national magazines that promote welding techniques, but
there's only one that I'm aware of that promotes only forging- Keep it that
way!

Andy

-- 
"You can never make the same mistake twice: The second time you do it, it's
a choice."