The 7 Basic skills of a Blacksmith - Blacksmithing Fundamentals
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- Опубліковано 8 сер 2024
- Nearly everything in blacksmithing can be made using a small number of basic or fundamental skills. In todays video I talk about what I feel are the 7 fundamental skills of blacksmith. In future videos we will look at each technique in greater detail.
Video recorded using:
Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera - adorama.rfvk.net/J50gq
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L Lens - adorama.rfvk.net/6bb7yV
Rode Wireless Go microphone - adorama.rfvk.net/YggLRm
Video lighting in the shop Dracast S series - adorama.rfvk.net/e44DyZ
If you enjoy my content here in UA-cam shorts please visit my other 2 channels
Black bear Forge - / blackbearforge
featuring blacksmithing tutorials
OR
John Switzer - / johnswitzer
Featuring more vlog type content outside of the shop
Black Bear Forge is sponsored by:
Combat Abrasives - bit.ly/3r73P8d
Use code "Blackbear10" for a discount on your next order
My new anvil is from Fontanini Anvils
fontaninianvilandtool.com/ - Розваги
Skill #8 - Picking up dropped work with a pair of tongs!
😂
Yes, and _not_ using your bare hand! Damn that blistered! ;P
That's a specialized skill, especially when dealing thin flat bar
Skill #9 Shrapnels and how to repair windows
Then dropping it again. 😑
Just had to let you know. many years before you were born I worked with old time metal smiths that would forge and make almost anything for heavy equipment and farm machinery. I learned tremendous amounts. Then years and life happened and all that wisdom and common sense receded. I want to thank you for bringing that knowledge back. I no longer work in big metal but small fine art. The techniques that you use are what I am now relearning, using and it has opened unbelievable doors. So I just want to say thank you for posting, explaining and and helping me rediscover the joy of metal smithing and taking my art to the next level. In your debt, John
Hey Guys especially you Newbys out there. Listern to Mr Switszer he's a true master Smith and so far brought me a long way along the road to becoming a Hobby Smith. I will never be as good as him But I'm so gratefull for his expert education. Thank You as always John
Another great video. You are so right about the forge welding. The sooner you learn the better. It's still probably my biggest weaknesses in shop.
Looking forward to this series, always great to get back to the basics
This is the series I’ve been hoping for! Once I finally find a good deal on an anvil near me, I’ll be ready to follow along with you all in one playlist! Thanks for this!!
Great way to boil it all down! Also, a really good way for us to evaluate what areas we each need more practice. Thank you.
Nice presenting style -- old school in the best sense, like TV programs I remember as a kid.
Totally agree. Looking forward to each technique in detail.Great idea👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥🔥
Very nice list thanks so much John. Very helpful video and helpful. Can't wait to see more videos. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work John. Forge On. Keep Making. God Bless.
Great series coming up, eagerly waiting!
I’m looking forward to seeing all of them. Thanks!
Looking forward to seeing the future videos John
I think this’ll be a great series
I have only just started my black smithing and thanks to others advice and your videos I have learned to forge weld and fold metal I am currently working on drawing the metal.
Great series ahead!! Looks forward to seeing it. Fred 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋
Nice approach! Looking forward to the series.
Great topic. Look forward to the upcoming video
I'm just about to start on my Blacksmithing journey and really appreciate content like this to add to a practical education. Thank you for sharing.... Cheers from Alberta!!
The forge welding was something I needed to do to complete my anvil thank you
I agree with everything you covered, but you left out the skill of cussing at a piece of steel until it does what you want it to. Word choice can be critical!
Yep, critical skill, along with tongue angle and exact bite pressure to get things right!
That was a pleasant surprise. I just happened to find this channel. I look forward to the basics videos.... Thanks for all that you do. I subbed, of course... Be well...
As always, thank you for sharing
I'm really enjoying your channels and the knowledge you pass along!! Thanks John!!
Very welcome
Thank you very much for the informative video. 👍
Very concise, informative, and engaging video. Thanks alot.
Thanx i can hardly wait for the more detailed videos you are a realy inspirational and educational chanell
Thank you for your time,, I'm a novice but I'm learning and I think you're teaching style is great!##
Another great series coming up. Awesome! Perhaps you can also cover folding/welding , ala Japanese style, and adding carbon to the folded steel. I only have access to scrap steel (mower blades, RR spikes, etc) and wonder if this would improve the quality of the steel. Thank you.
Thank you for this
thank you for all of these tips
I want to commend you in your selection of the 7 basic skills of blacksmithing I’m looking forward to seeing the execution.
Great John!
Perfect list.
Great thanks.
Reminds me that I saw an interesting way of upsetting in Lilico's manual. Where the heated bar is bent slightly and confined between clamps, then hammered flat.
I like skill #8_picking up dropped work with a pair of tongs .
But I think #9 beats them all , Having the ability to teach these Skills .
And as a hobby Blacksmithing has become an obsession so i'm really looking forward to all of your 7 fundamental skill videos John . :)
very informative thanks so much for your content. this is extremely helpful for a budding smith
Very welcome!
Good video 👍 will you post these on Sunday. I so enjoyed your hook of the week. Thanks John for all your info
I'm trying to post the regular videos from the main channel on Sundays. SO I will post these mid weeks, although at the moment I haven't been able to commit to a schedule.
I agree 100% with you!! I've been watching your videos for about 3 years now and always learn so much from them. One thing I would like to see and struggle with is hammer techniques. Half face blows, good fast efficient drawing, use of different hammers, etc. Thats one thing that I haven't found on any channel. Really appreciate ALL your videos and hope I can get to even 50% of your skill. Thanks for ALL you do!! MERRY CHRISTMAS 2021!!
LaMont
Where The Metal Meets The Wood
I'll keep that in mind. Merry Christmas
I purchased my anvil from Steve Fontanini about 6 months ago. I have taken the dive and made a bit of debt but I got an Anyang 242lb hammer. I figured I'll probably only be able to get a power hammer once, so I went BIG. I just learned that it arrived for pick up here in SLC, UT late yesterday so I'll go get it Monday morning. If you'd like I will keep you abreast of the advancement of the installation.
Thanks Again!!
I absolutely agree with you
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#8 Good hammer control.
just got to love the farless nature of s black smith thank you for sharing
Going to do my first course. Getting to an age where i want to find somthing i can do alone and enjoy it. Enduro motocross all my friends dont have bike or got rid of them. So ive been always intrigued about black smithing. Anvils arent cheap but will last me a life time and i can make my own tools to play with steel. Cant wait 👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
Enjoy the journey
It is a good video. You included spreading in with drawing out they are 2 separate skills
I gotta agree.
O Paulo, le todo esse comentario. Se tu voltou aqui depois ou logo antes de comprar as coisas pra realmente coemcar a ser um ferreiro. Cara saiba que eu estou muito orgulhoso de vc. No momento agora eu to sozinho na casa Cedar Park, o joao foi jogar um m25 no mexico a nat ta na casa dos pais dela desde sexta. To meio sem saber oque fazer e vim ver esses videos. Mas enfim, se tu realmente ja ta podendo fazer isso cara vlw por nao ter desistido de mim. Espero que tudo esteja o maximo. O pior eh que provavelmente de vez em quando tu vai lembrar dessa epoca q eu to vivendo e sentir saldade e ou nostalgia. E cara nao ta facil nao. Eu tenho que ir no tribunal la pra tentar revindicar a minha conta de 400 dol a multa tlg. E nao sei eh a unica coisa que me preocupa no momento, fora a questao de fazer grana o suficiente pra pagar a facul neumm. Isso sempre. Mas vai dar certo, Temmmm q dar. Acho que eh isso vei sla, fica bem ai seu pangua.
that's a very nice "south German" pattern anvil!
i looked, and looked, but couldn't find one in the 75 kg weight, and an "affordable" price, buy ended up with the same type of horns, just missing that nice little "sidebar"..
Depending on exactly what you're doing it can become more basics. I've mostly made pieces that require hardening and tempering. It sounds easy, and there are many examples out there on te internet but most of the time they make a fatal flaw during the quenching/hardening process. They move it. If you want it to be a reliable process, you MUST hold it still. By moving, you get hotter oil on one side, and colder on the other (or whatever material you're using, but I highly recommend investing in specialised hardening oil as that's the easiest and most reliable material) which greatly increases the risk of warps, cracks, or even breaking.
Tempering is a must after quenching. If you've done your quench right your work should be extremely vulnerable. Hard as glass, but just as brittle. Tempering is reducing the hardness a bit and get more elasticity in the steel. There are several levels each of which have a function. If you want a kitchen knife for instance, you want minimal elasticity and maximum hardness and thus you'll go for a temperature of around 200°C. A survival knife around 240, impact tools are 280-300 (hammers, and axes e.g.), and spring steel is 400. Above 400 you'll lose all hardness. There are two reliable ways of determining the temperature. My preferred one is looking at the oil. Directly after quenching the oil still sticks to the steel, and starts smoking at 180-200°C. A thick smoke for survival knifes, and you burn it away for impact tools. Spring steel can be tested with a thin strip of wood. If you strike the steel like it's a match it should just catch on fire (repeat it occasionally so you won't overshoot it). There's also a way to do it after you've cleaned your steel (by grinding or filing) which is based on colouring. I've never used that before, so I could not tell you what colour belongs to what tempering level.
Tip: if you've made a kitchen knife, you can set your very ordinary kitchen oven to 200°C and put the blade in for a while (I recommend 15-30 minutes, so you can guarantee an even heat).
Edit: another important thing to know is that making a forge weld without supporting "tools" (flux) is a very unreliable way as you cannot know how many impurities (and thus stress risers, and chance of breaking) are in the weld.
Still working on a decent anvil. My sledgehammer head helps, but boy is it a pain
What about making metal harder or more flexible
Skill #9 - knowing when a work piece is hot, especially when it’s not glowing.
Hi Sir Anthony Smith here What would be a good formula to know how much material to cut off before sthirty on your baking scrolls and making a pointed end to drive into wood.
I am going to be making a shoe holder.
You forgot quenching 😊
Nice! But this is steel, do you work Bronze? Can you give tips on Bronze working?
Still learning still watching and learning.do you endorse this book these are mentioned in this book.... Blacksmith: Apprentice to Master
Or have you even heard or have read it???? 🔥🔨
I have never heard of that particular book
❤❤❤👍👍👍
Sorry about that correction on spelling. Lazy Susan scrolls and your twist with a point at the bottom to drive into wood. To hang your shoes on muck boots. I'm sure you have the ideal now.
I have a question that i would like some feedback on. When a fracture, or cracks occur in a blade thats forged welded. I see people trying to weld to fill the crack. I think that automatically creates a week spot. My question is would the weld fill be more effective if the steal was heated to a temp before you weld ? I know temp control is everything when trying to move materials. Temp is everything when forge welding , so it would only make sense to heat the material b4 trying to weld a repair. Feed back please !
Proper welding procedures already induces the required localized temp to weld, hence it exist. But theres pre heating and post heating procedures done on certain high carbon steel alloys that further assures the best weld environment. The problems I see aside from poor welding jobs leading to failure is the usually softer weld metal used to fill the crack lacking the homogenized properties of a solid blade, the localized tempering/softening on the weld area on an already quenched/hardened piece, and the blotched look after acid/etching treatments. Hope it helps.
I think we've found the real life Ron Swanson
He seems like the kind of man who treats his wife with respect and honor, is patient with his children or students, is not easily offended, is considerate and kind hearted toward his neighbors, and bears wisdom in his heart toward life and his work.
I really would feel unworthy of being around this man in person...
Maybe this feeling is like what is written in scripture where people would feel unworthy of God or Jesus’s love or something...
I hope and pray I can be like this man one day, and grace the world with my character and heart and skill.
Vulcans underwear!😮😅😂
Wouldn't an obvious basic skill be to heat up the material, so you can work on it?
Look at that anvil
Traduction trop approximative
Who is the one person who disliked this video?
True black Smith when your for arms is as big as your thighs
This is a perfect UA-cam video.
Is it beneficial to become ambidextrous, because looking at your arms you can definitely tell a size difference