Forging Nails

When I first learned blacksmithing, I took a class through the local Folk School.  I spent two hours with 3 other students and we each left with 3 nails and a hook.  It was worth the $150.  Not for the nails.  But for the empowerment of knowing that I can actually do this.

Historically, before there were machines that make nails out of wire, every nail that was used to put a house together had to be made by hand.  This is really something amazing to consider.  Blacksmiths with no other jobs to do would be banging out nails.  All day.

I once decided I wanted to see how many nails I could make in an hour.  31.  I can make 31 hand-forged nails in an hour.  Just under 2 minutes per nail.  That's actually pretty good.  Search YouTube for hand forged nail and see how many people there are who proudly show how they can bang one out in 3-4 minutes.  I was really moving fast, I figured.  There are rumors I've heard of smiths being able to make a nail a minute.  That seemed like the upper limit to me, though.  I know I was working fast and really in the zone when I did my 31 nails.

Then I found this video:

Just skip forward a bit if you don't want to watch the smith walk out to his shed and light the forge.  Now watch him make a nail.  One heat, no wasted motion, precise work, and he makes these things in under 30 seconds!  I think he really could be knocking out 100 or more in an hour, even taking into account the time he has to spend maintaining his fire and taking a stretch break now and then.  Economy of motion is something truly elegant.

This man sets a bar I might never even approach, let alone beat.

And a forge project

Once we were home from our little icicle-hanging outing, it was time to make some supper.  The youngest suggested kabobs.  That sounded great to all of us.  But we didn't have enough bamboo skewers!  Oh, no!  I'm not driving 20 minutes to the store and 20 back.  That sets supper back by a whole hour (including the time I'm in the store finding the skewers and probably seven other things we didn't really need, but I would pick up anyway, more like an hour and a half).

So I made some.

Remember, the weather is warmer!  I can roll up that garage door and run the small forge!  I didn't have time for any really involved projects, but I made four nice, long kabob skewers.  They have an oval cross section (the food can be turned without it simply rotating on the rod like it will with a round poker), they are long enough to hold plenty of food.

Here are the skewers, including what we couldn't eat:

Nothing profound, but a fun little forge project that made it easier to feed the family this evening.

A Lovely Friday

Temperatures were below zero for the past month.  The day we got back from Tucson, we saw one bank sign that claimed it was 43 degrees below zero.  That's 75 degrees below freezing.  That's as much below the temperature of freezing water as 107 is above it.

That's cold.

But this week, we have seen as warm as 20 above zero!  Hooray!

I turned on the torch and melted some glass yesterday and the day before.  This is what I made:

 They are simple glass icicles.  My wife made the little purple one at the top, but I made the others.

What to do with them?  Glad you asked!

There are a couple of local trails where we walk our dog that have spruce trees with ornaments on them.  Winter is long here and there are folks who will do that little tiny bit to make life more colorful and a bit whimsical.  Here's an example:

Just a tree beside the trail.  Couple of classic glass ornaments on it.  These ornaments can be there for years.  People either don't take them or else someone replaces them.  I'm not sure which, but I will see the ornaments for a long time and even in summer it makes me smile.

Today, while the dog got her much-needed walk, we did our part to add to the random, playful whimsy.