Three Rivers Forge

Blacksmith

[threeriversforge]

While cleaning up the damage from Hurricane Helene, I decided to invest in a pair of "log tongs" to help move bits of wood around a little easier. I saw a ton of reviews online, but when I went shopping for a good set... I found that all the big name brands were incredibly expensive.

I'm poor as dirt, so the idea of spending near on a hundred dollars for something like this just wasn't in the cards. I acknowledge their quality, sure, but when you don't have the money.... you don't have the money.

Anyhow, this got me to thinking about the state of affairs in the Western Nations. I'm a lifelong student of the history of the Traditional Trades, something I think all blacksmiths should take up, and it's pretty easy to see how things have developed over time to get us here today.

See, these log tongs are simple contraptions that I should be able to make. I'm a blacksmith and this is just some bent iron with holes strategically placed. This is a product I should be able to add to my catalogue of amazing ironwork... but that's been made impossible by a thousand little things piled up over the years.

Folks talk about the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, but never think about the million straws that came before and how all that weight made it impossible for the camel to be healthy and productive. Folks didn't tend the garden.

When I decided I needed some log tongs, I searched every hardware store in town, and nobody carried them. I priced what it would cost to make my own, too.

The conclusion was simple - I should be able to make this product and offer it to the stores in town, to the loggers and landscapers and homeowners, but it was impossible to compete with the prices you find online from "foreign" suppliers. My bare-bones price would easily be double what you can get these chicom tongs for on ebay, and we all know folks aren't going to pay better-than-double just because it's made by me!

How did that happen? Well, we drove up the cost of doing business here in the West. Everyone thought they were "sticking it to the man!" with what they supported and voted for, never realizing that they were really sticking it to the little guy. The West used to be chock full of small shops producing all sorts of things, but they got ran out of town on a rail with ever-increasing taxes, regulations, policies, and other costs.

Today, I can't even buy the metal and fuel for what I can pay to get a set of these tongs shipped halfway around the world, right to my door. How's that possible? How did we blind ourselves to this reality? $30 is a fair price in my estimation, but to make them here in the States would cost me at least that much just for the materials and consumables.

Something to think about, I guess.

[threeriversforge]

When Hurricane Helene passed through, she knocked down one of the giant pecan trees that'd been growing here for a century or more. I've never seen Pecans of this stature before, so i was a sad moment when she was toppled.

As my time at the forge comes to an end, this downed tree seems more prophetic than I like. I'm sure she also thought to have more days under the sun, and now she's gone.

So this is my lesson for all the young folks out there -- I know it seems like there's plenty of time, but there really isn't. You get to a point where you just don't have any way of fixing your mistakes and making up for lost time. Your goal should be to have things on track by the time you're 30. And certainly by 40. This doesn't mean that you won't have ups and downs, but you absolutely need to always have the long-term goal in mind and be working towards that even if it means hopping jobs or getting part-time work. You can relax after you're retired. You can ease off the gas after you've built things up a bit. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can get started tomorrow because there comes a time when there just aren't enough tomorrows to repair the damage of bad decisions.

[threeriversforge]

Hello,

I watch a YouTube video you made on Aug 1 2019. It was on slitting and punching metal. Near the end you used a an all square punch to make the hole more square to fit a square bar tighter. You called the punch by name but I did not quite get it. It sound like Para -something? Would you mind telling me the name of that particular punch and where I can get one.

Thank you for your time.

Rick Browne

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out. That means a lot more than I can put in to words, honestly.

Sadly, that wasn't my video. I've not put any videos out on any social media as I'm somewhat terrified of the notion. Maybe it's just that my shop is a mess and I don't want folks seeing it!

Anyhow, a "square punch" used to make a hole more square and accept a square tenon is generally called a "Drift". As far as I'm aware, nobody is selling square drifts on a larger scale. You might be able to find some smaller shops making them as there seems to always been someone filling the niche. The good news is that there are square punches for sale and those can be used to stretch a round hole open and square it up. https://www.centaurforge.com/Centaur-1_8-Square-Punch/productinfo/CENTPUNCH/ https://blacksmithsdepot.com/square-punch-wooden-handle.html A "drift" is meant to be pounded all the way through your workpiece and has no handle. The punches require you to flip your work if you don't want a heavy taper to the hole, but I do like having the handle there just to keep my poor hands away from the heat on larger stock. If I can help further, please don't hesitate to ask.

[threeriversforge]

My Feuerhand 280's flanking a Meva 863. Hurricane lanterns are a valuable asset to have around the house in case the electricity goes out, but they are also great just to create a wonderful ambiance. The warm flickering light is infinitely more pleasant than the harsh brilliance of modern lighting, so why relegate the lanterns to a life stuffed away somewhere until an emergency? When Hurricane Helene passed through here and made a mess of things, I was very glad to have oil lamps. Everyone else was scrambling for batteries or praying that the sun would peak through the clouds long enough to charge their solar jive.... but I was perfectly content with my aptly-named Hurricane Lanterns.

I didn't think of it at the time, but I had been inadvertently participating in my Culture, keeping those lanterns around, and it paid big dividends when the storm came through. I didn't have to scramble to find a way to bring light to the darkness. Culture is the collection of a million little things that you do every day. We cannot wait to celebrate the culture on one particular day of the year, throwing it on like a costume. The Hurricane Lanterns are a great example of one of those little ways we can participate. It might not seem like a big deal, but consider that no one brick in a wall seems like a big deal. I do have to admit that it's a little odd to see whole stores dedicated to selling candles, but people hesitate over using the much safer hurricane lanterns. This is especially true when you consider that Feuerhand offers their lanterns in a wide range of colors that are sure to match your decor.

[threeriversforge]

I love hurricane lanterns as much as I do a good story, and if some forged iron gets thrown in the mix.... well, all the better!

When I ran across this unique bit of work, I wanted to make sure to collect the story so it wasn't lost to time. Far too often, we find contraptions like this on the table at a flea market or estate sale and scratch our heads trying to figure out what the item was meant to do, imagining all sorts of amazing possibilities. Sadly, most times the truth remains a mystery because the story wasn't kept.

This hanger shows great ingenuity. The design might be simple and the forging rather basic, but there's not a hint of wasted movement anywhere. After suffering a tragedy, the folks involved got to work making the best of their situation, and that attitude shows in the ironwork they produced. I can see me lighting the forge to make a few of these Yankton hangers to hang my Feuerhand lanterns in the shop. It'll be real nice to spend an evening in the warm glow of those trusty lanterns adding to the ambiance. "This handy holder was made in the 1900's in Yankton, South Dakota ~ after one of the Lumber Yards had a fire, which destroyed a large part of the inventory. The lumber yard tried to salvage merchandise & started making these lantern holders from the iron strapping that had formerly been used for strapping the old wooden wagons."

[threeriversforge]

A working smithy and cobbler's shop in Tasmania. He might be on the other side of the world, but we speak the same language.

[threeriversforge]

Culture is the collection of little things.

Culture is what sets your group apart from other groups, and I think this photo really showcases exactly that.  

We too often fixate on the grand things like Notre Dame and forget that those great places were only possible because they came from a culture that celebrated craftsmanship in a million tiny ways.  It was only possible because the people insisted on what I call  “Art in the Everyday” - the idea that quality should reign over quantity, and you should surround yourself with beauty no matter your station in life.  

Look at the quality in this image.  From the birdhouse to the garden to the masonry to the carpentry.  Even that small iron bracket that holds up the light.

Everything is a celebration of what mankind can achieve.

There’s a reason images like this really grab our attention.  Celebrate your craftsmen every day.  Invest in them so that they can be there when it’s time to build the next Grand Thing.

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[threeriversforge]

An avenue in Spain.  

As a blacksmith, my eye’s drawn to the ironwork, but every part of this vignette simply boggles the mind.  You have to wonder if the craftsmen knew they were doing something amazing, that would be appreciated even centuries later.

It’s work like this that motivates and inspires.  

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[threeriversforge]

A gent in the UK is working hard to keep some of the old ways alive and when he posted this nice collage, I thought it was a perfect illustration of why tradition, heritage, and culture are so very important.

I know a lot of people think that doing things “the old way” is a trivial thing, a cutesy pastime or something that entertains people at the local fairs.  But how many actually stop to think about the bigger picture?  How many of us have taken a minute to think outside the box and really consider what happens when you do, or don’t, keep to the Traditions?

Hedgerows and Tended Woodlots have been a part of our history for more years than we can imagine, but we weren't doing such things just because it struck our fancy. No, we did it because the woods and hedges served our needs just as we served their needs. It was a symbiotic relationship until it was rent asunder only a short while ago.

Of course, by that time, most people had completely forgotten all that the hedgerows did for them, they’d long since taken it all for granted.  The fancy good coming from the giant factories seemed simply too good to pass up.  Too cheap.  Too “affordable”, they said.  

Sadly, it's not that life is all the poorer for having fewer coopers and bodgers around, but because of the opportunities lost. Lessons of life learned by our youngest as they build skills and confidence in themselves. Pride in their people, in their accomplishments and abilities, developed over long hours spent listening to the old men grumble and groan while working under a small roof.

That's what's lost when the Traditions are abandoned.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, let this collage from a gent in the UK speak to you. We can speak of the benefits of revitalizing the hedgerow or thinning the woodlot. We can wax poetic about the benefits of a "lower carbon footprint" that you get by using a wooden rake rather than a mass-produced plastic and steel contraption.

However, the true value is there in that boy's eyes. It's the pride in himself and his family, in the memories he'll make and the tales he'll hear. It's the skill and the patience which, now learned, he can carry with him for the rest of his life.

When you support the craftsman, this is what it means. You're not buying a product but investing in the future of your culture. And that smiling boy is the Return on your Investment. Plus, you get a pretty neat rake!

[threeriversforge]

3,330 Followers....

And I’m going through the list to see how many are empty/spam/porn bots.  No idea why a bot would benefit from following a page.  Out of the 3000 followers here, maybe a dozen ever actually interact with the things I post.  I appreciate all the real people who thought this was a good blog to follow!

[threeriversforge]

The glory of a workshop cannot be easily put in words.  A testament to man’s ingenuity, the drive to build and create, workshops like this are a vital part of the culture.  Often unappreciated, sadly, but so very important to who we are!

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[threeriversforge]

This is culture and tradition.  I often talk about the importance of supporting the craftsmen because they are at the heart of heritage, but I think we miss a lot of the meaning there.  The artist who painted this scene was a master of their trade, we owe them a great debt.  What they couldn’t convey, though, is little things that were going on.  What stories were being told?  How many laughs rang through the air?  

It was a simpler time, we say, but I wonder if it really was.  They had all the same issues we face today, but they also had closer ties to their culture through the million little traditions they upheld.  And it was that which gave them the anchor they needed for trying times.

I’m not sure why this painting sparked that thought in my mind, honestly.

Even if we put all that aside, we can focus on the simple craftsmanship seen here.  The artist did us a great favor in capturing the quality of the craftsmanship in all the little details - including the wedged mortise-n-tenon on the legs of the bench.  Not a single word spoken, yet the painting pulls you in nonetheless.

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[threeriversforge]

A detail of the boots of Mars, carved in very fine stone and will a level of detail that’s simply amazing.

This level of craftsmanship simply boggles my mind.

[threeriversforge]

you seem to be a really skilled craftsman, and i would have loved to support you, but all of the #europa #culture #tradition, reject the global, fake news talk that you do is really concerning and repulsive, and it makes me not want to support you. i hope that you can see that you are alienating many people and potential customers by espousing white supremacist rhetoric, it’s really sad.

Thank you for your rather lengthy message. 1st, do you realize that your message actually paints you as a racist? You saw those tags and a few posts, and your first thought went to the color of peoples skin. That's racist by every definition. You could have simply embraced diversity, celebrated the wonderful cultural heritage demonstrated in the photos I curate here, and sent a nice 'thank you'. Instead, though, you went straight to hate. 2nd, using logical fallacies, like ad hominem attacks, isn't going to bolster your position. You are the one who assumed evil in the innocence, as the French say, and that makes you the one with the issue. Again, you could have simply enjoyed the content I've put up here, but your first instinct was to see only evil. And your response was to what? Threaten me? You would support me if only I bow to your way of thinking? You hide in anonymity, yet I'm supposed to think you were a hair's breadth from ordering thousands in ironwork or buying a t-shirt? 3rd, while I support your right to speak your mind and appreciate you reaching out to me, I would suggest that maybe you spend some time in quiet reflection. As Sigmund Freud once said, sometimes a piece of cake is just a piece of cake.

[threeriversforge]

A Toast To The Craftsmen!

They rest in peace forever the men who built this Town 

But their names not on a memorial wall to honor their renown 

And not one mention of them when we honor the dead 

We glorify monarchs and presidents but nothing of them said. 

They built the homes and factories and sweated for their every pay 

But with the long forgotten dead forever they must lay 

And they made this Town a better place to live in for us all 

Yet their enormous contribution we never do recall. 

To the men who built this Town tonight my toasting glass I'll raise 

And though others of them don't wish to hear I feel obliged to sing their praise

Their ought to be a dead workers day to them a debt we owe 

Though of their contribution to society far too few wish to know. 

The heroic men who built this Town at rest forever more 

They built the factories and the homes old Joe who lived next door 

Was one of the men who built this town he died a year ago 

A grand old bloke and one that I felt privileged to know. 

Francis Duggan

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[threeriversforge]

Oooh, look at me being all artsy-fartsy with the camera!

Making your own tools is half the fun of being a #blacksmith. Sometimes your ideas work out. Sometimes they don't. The journey of discovery is always a good time! If you'd like to support powerful, intense, evocative imagery like this, consider joining the team over on Subscribe Star.  :D https://www.subscribestar.com/three-rivers-forge

[threeriversforge]

A Nice Little Bundle Of Hand-Forged Goodness!

Getting quality ironwork into the hands of people, reminding them that quality is always better than quantity, is a big step in restoring the idea of craftsmanship in the public consciousness.

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