[TheForge] Tool sale near Milwaukee

[ries niemi]

I think like many things in the USA, this changes a lot regionally.
here in the northwest, I know at least 2 or 3 dozen full time blacksmiths, who have all spent tens of thousands on equipment. Most, of course, try to spend as little as possible, and cruise craigslist and garage sales.
on the west coast, a Nazel is ten grand, pretty much minimum, unless its a basket case. 
there is still the occasional hundred dollar anvil, but Jim sells as many new Nimbas as he can make- he could sell more, but he is only human, in terms of hand finishing each one. Takes time.
I know that, for me, when I bought a brand new nimba, at much lower cost than they go for today, its price was far less than I spent on many other machines and tools.
If you are a pro, paying for good tools is a no brainer, and they earn their keep rapidly.
But we have hundreds (literally- the membership of the NWBA is something like 600- and most are amateurs) of average guys who buy brand new anvils, tongs, hammers, power hammers, fly presses, and hydraulic presses all the time. About the only thing there seems to be enough of that you can always find a used one, even though they arent cheap anymore, is post vises.
Well, and 25lb little giants- but they aint cheap, either, if they are in good shape.

I think in many parts of the country, we still have growing numbers of hobby smiths, and pro smiths as well.
I know, in California, there has been an explosion- fueled, in part, by the general interest in metal due to burning man- there are gigantic shops in Reno, the Bay area, and even LA, Seattle, and Portland, that exist pretty much year round to build things for burning man. Schools, like the crucible, certainly trace some of their heritage to Burners.
And as a result, there are more blacksmiths, sculptors, welders, and fab jobs that have spun off.
One Burning man sculptor recently completed a half million dollar plus public artwork in Seattle, due to his burning man exposure, and fabbed in burning man inspired shops in the east bay.
An entire infrastructure, that includes a couple hundred part time smiths, has sprung up from burning man alone. Add in Robot wars, the Maker movement, and the Etsy style craft revival, and you have a large interest in blacksmithing.
On top of that, knifemaking never goes out of style- now, more than ever.

all of that contributes to a scarcity and price increases for used equipment.

ries


> On Dec 13, 2016, at 12:20 PM, CGRAF <adveniam at att.net> wrote:
> 
>  Ries, you are correct on all counts.
> 
> The case is that the price is still some weeks of groceries.
> 
> I sometimes wonder if the resurgence of smithing we saw years ago was it for a while. At least as far as amateur/hobbyists go.
> 
> I am a classic weekend warrior myself, strictly mental health time for me.
> 
> When I started, pretty nice stuff set me back some, but I still had cash to feed the family.
> 
> At the prices today ....
> 
> Well, if one fancies oneself a commercial smith, then it is that type of investment, and reasonable. I know I will spend real money on something for my sheet metal shop. I sometimes even convince myself that some new toy for the smithy has applications for the tin shop. <G>
> 
> I am just happy most of my smithy was bought and paid for years ago.
> 
> Mike Graf
> 
> 
> 
> On 12/13/2016 8:57 AM, ries niemi wrote:
>> I dont. I think they are selling to people who have incomes.
>> current pricing on anvils, at 3 bucks a pound, is pretty common.
>> sure, there are always those of us who bought stuff dirt cheap, 20 or 30 or 40 years ago, who scoff at current prices.
>> but that doesnt mean they arent current prices.
>> A new anvil is more like 7 bucks a pound.
>> 3 bucks a pound for quality isnt out of line. nobody makes laminated cast/plate anvils anymore, or forged/plate anvils, but if they did, it would cost MORE than the 7 bucks a pound Nimba gets for a cast alloy steel anvil.
>> 
>> I remember when used cars were $100, and houses were twenty grand.
>> Doesnt mean only collectors buy $30,000 cars now- thats the average price for a new car in america.
>> New tongs are forty to fifty a pair, minimum. I have paid more than that for brand new ones made by some of the friends of mine who make high quality modern tongs.
>> A new, well made hammer is easily above a hundred bucks from the dozen or so blacksmiths I know who make good hammers.
>> Beginners today, who didnt have our access to lots of really cheap stuff 30 years ago, willingly pay these prices where I live.
>> 
>> Ries
>> 
>> 
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