Subject: Re: blacksmithing & YAK

From: [email-masked] (Bradley Sanders)
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 17:05:44 -0500

>Several [snips]

>>Any comments?
>>D. M. (Mike) Dickie 
>>FLATLANDER FORGE
>>Box 85
>>Pennant, SK
>>Canada S0N 1X0
>>[email-masked]

>a couple of years ago I saw a demonstration given by George Dixon about 
>the tooling used in Samuel Yellins shop.  I think we can all agree that 
>Yellin was "a blacksmith" of the finest order. 
 You MUST use 
>the tools at your disposal and make no apologies for modern convenience.  
>There are pieces of work being done today that COULD NO have been done a 
>century ago.  That's called progress.  I for one am proud to own and use 
>modern equipment in the forging and fabrication part of my business.  
>Without them, I doubt I would be able to remain in business in todays 
>economy.
>
>My  cents worth
>-----------------------------------------------------
>Name: Franklyn D. Garland        A Hobby Is Hard work
>E-mail: [email-masked]          You wouldn't Do For
>Date: 03/15/96                     A Living.

Bradley Sanders...
     I am beginning to see a distinction in opinion driven by a distinction 
in commerce here. Most of the purists who advocate pure forging and no 
modern equipment are blacksmiths who restrict their trade to the forge, and 
I get the impression that most of them originate their own product. They are 
the lucky ones. I don't see how they can make a living, though, unless 
they're very, very good. 

     I am a metalsmith; and I run a foundry, brass fabrication shop, cabinet 
shop, and steel fabrication shop. We build for architects: lighting, 
furniture, railings commercial and residential. My base interest is in the 
fundamental processes, as well, but blacksmithing is only one of them. There 
is casting, carving of wood and other materials, repousse and chasing of the 
metals... many fundamentals. The deeper I get into my study, the more I see 
the interrelatedness of all the base crafts. 

     All ther crafts relate in the design mind... where we conceive of 
something we need or desire, and then go to the elements and interact until 
our idea is manifested in the material. I agree that pushing the iron around 
like clay and transmuting with fire (attaching iron molecules together by 
forge welding) is one of the great feelings of life, but there are others! 

     I intend to feel of as many of the elements as possible in my life, and 
I may never be a blacksmith specialist, but I am or can be a master 
craftsperson. Shaping the clay and then firing it has no less tactile 
satisfaction than blacksmithing. 

     One thing that I have noticed for certain, though, is that the mediums 
with which one works influence his or her attitude, approach, persona. It 
makes you believe in archetypes! Glass people... nonferrous people.... iron 
people... woodcarvers... each carries the essence of herhis material all 
over themselves. I think the persona transfer has much to do with the 
struggle peculiar to each medium. Pushing iron really requires a musclehead 
(no offense). Turning a ceramic vessel requires somebody whose eyes have 
already crossed and steadied back at equilibrium. 

     I think that we should all get together (the makers) and redefine the 
world we live in. The first step is to master and own our own tools. The 
next step is to communicate, and to combine our mediums. The best of us 
throughout history are the ones who have made all this up (look around you). 
I'm afraid that it's our responsibility to re-make it in a sustainable way, 
and show our neighbors how.

     In my opinion, the denizens of this group are in the curl, and cutting 
through the material at the right speed.

                                        Bradley Sanders
                                        [email-masked]

---

From: Tom Vincent <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 09:45:09 -0600 (CST)

Actually, our shop has a firm policy that we will teach any artisan to 
make his or her own tools, if they will teach us something of their 
craft. Its a great way to learn new stuff, make new friends and each 
time, it changes how I regard blacksmithing. Tom