I Give Us (SM) an "F" as in "Fail"... told you some will not like it

Thanks @TXKajun ... some spare pipe / tubing and wheels... basic welding skills ... a little bit of design... and you too could own one

Have a great Friday and Halloween!
Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

You got it @bagpiper ... was recently watching a video featuring one of the last blacksmiths in a small town in Japan... he told of how his father who was a Master Smith... one day told him he was done and stopped blacksmithing and turned everything over to his son...

His son lamented that at the time his father had not shared everything about the tool making that he wanted to still learn... upon reflection... that forced the son to use all the knowledge and wisdom that his father had taught him to teach himself through trial and error how to do the critical processes that his father had not taught him...

In the end... his son now believes because of that... his tools are better than the tools his father made...

Upon reflection the son thinks his father intentionally stopped suddenly, because the father believed the son had learned what he needed to learn and that it was time for him to think through things with all the knowledge and wisdom he had and try to improve on that past knowledge and wisdom to improve the blacksmithing legacy of the that family beyond what it was at that point...

Had the father continued... the son would only have duplicated the past... like the old saying... "If you always do what you always did ... you will always get what you always got"...

I believe at some point you need to let go of your reliance on the "experts" out there... believe in yourself... and begin your own journey... hence my opinion... "the more you know... the less you need"

That is not to say that you don't keep up with new knowledge, wisdom and breakthroughs by others... but sole reliance on duplicating what others are doing... may not be the best applicable solution or process for you and yours...

And with technology... we have become specialists... more service oriented... lost the skills and the know how to do it ourselves...

I remember when I got my induction forge... the Master Smith who represented the company that made them, used them every day in his commercial operation and knew them intimately helped me a great deal making the decision to acquire it and set it up....
Then one day I asked him if it would heat a 2" round bar to forging temperatures... his answer was "no" that it did not have the kilowatts to do that... Well... I experimented and on my 3rd try with a custom coil I made... I got it to melt a 2 1/4" round bar of W2 steel.... needless to say he was thankful that I did that... and it helped a couple other folks open their minds to the possibilities...

Gain your knowledge and never stop learning... reliance on others, the internet etc... is ok... most folks like you say don't have a clue or the interest on how things are produced or the skills involved or even the raw materials.... just don't forget... the journey and ultimate preparedness is when you step out and begin the journey on your own with less than you thought you needed yesterday ...

Sorry for rambling... but you get it... if the lights went out today... a lot of folks would be in a world of hurt... no clue of the past or the old ways... no self reliance... no wide angle foresight... sadly... no passion and worse... no compassion...

Make good decisions... ask complete questions... think about it... ask more... experiment... don't be afraid of failure... push the limits... be comfortable with less things... and more experience and skills...

Have a great weekend and Halloween!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

LOL @Aeason ... I thought I was the only guy who liked Lindsay publications... picked up quite a few books from them on everything from small engine repair, to electronics and construction.... even a few on metal casting and forging

Old technology is important ... everything new has it's roots in it ... imho... understanding that... really helps to see and understand the present and what's coming in the future... both good and sad....

I think you are on the right path... remember the "SHTF Curve"... there will be a steep drop... lots of chaos... it will slow near the bottom... and then a lull at the bottom for a while... then it will slowly start to get better... and a steep recovery... IMHO... I think folks would be wise to think about that and prepare for all the phases... the worst is the "Slow Burn" we are in right now...

Thanks for the post and the comment... it's a good one

Have a great Friday and Halloween!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

LOL @Ganado Mwahahahhahahhahahhhaaaa....... wait to you see what I have growing in the refrigerator now... I'm almost afraid to look Thanks for the kind words...

Have a wonderful weekend and Halloween!

Take Care and God Bless,

Craig

 

Sorry, @AxesAreBetter, noticed I didn't answer your question. Right now, I have a jian and a dan dao. Both are spring steel. The jian is forged. I do not think the dan dao is. They are both practice weapons with only a false edge. But both could readily lop off a limb, if it were the zombie apocalypse. And both would readily sharpen to razor sharpness. As I said before, I like spring steel.

 

Just in time for Halloween... LIVE! From @Bear's Little Shop of Horrors...

 

@Bear
"induction forge"
<envy>
I don't think I could afford such a contraption, but they are awesome.
I'm struggling to learn black smithing, as my 'retirement' project, as well as SHTF prep to teach youngsters.
Right now I'm building a charcoal forge out of an old wheel and cinder blocks, some clay off the property and old metal laying around.
I'm hoping these will help me to build the tools that will help build the Solar-H2.O2 powered forge...
Whatever I end up with has to be off grid because the primary purpose is to build alternative energy systems.
I have invented a system I call HOEMy gas.... at present, I can only see it used in small 'carbureted' engine generators.
`The Future IS off grid...