BACKGROUND AND REFLECTION

Why? Why become so taken by the fire, i know it is not the frustration that is so evident, even amongst experienced Smiths and students alike, definitely experienced by myself at least every 20 minutes. Why?...............................................
Put simply - As frustrating as can be, it is equally satisfying and rewarding at the same time! The highs outweigh the lows easily, the feeling of triumph and reward when a finished piece is shown to others, the inner feeling of knowing how much work went into the shaping and sculpting of the metal.

I never opted for Metalwork at school, somehow never setting foot into the metals classroom during the 5 years of secondary school. I did however opt for Woodwork, probably a natural choice at the time having grown up around a Sawmill, plenty of Oak and a very handy Father with a love wood. A love we both, still share to this day. Do i regret not discovering Metalwork earlier?
Strange as it may seem, no i don't. If i had discovered Metals earlier, would i have the appreciation for the craft, would i be able to watch a skilled Smith at work, and marvel at there required skills and dedication, probably not!

If a person is of a practical nature i do believe they can embrace other disciplines, of course skills have to be learnt, from the bottom up, but in a lot of respects for me this is a whole new learning curve. The forge, how do you light the damn thing? Can i remember how to operate the oxy, not always(hardly ever).

My greatest passion is to cook, one of the reasons for my starting the courses in the first place was to require enough skills to be able to make practical cooking tools, explore methods of cooking. How does this relate to Blacksmithing. In every way really, the idea that i could eventually design or redesign bbq's, look into methods of open fire cooking, thus be able to design and make spits, trivets and assorted cooking appliances. My love of street food around the world was another reason, someone somewhere makes charcoal grills,special food carts with 50cc chicken chasers attached and griddles, not all of these are mass produced! Many years down the line i would like to be able to design cook knives. To be able to explore the ergonomics of the knife handle. Could i eventually make a beautifully hand crafted cooks knife, custom made for the user? I sure know that in the past i have spent a small fortune on cooks knifes, mainly blinded by looks and not whether or not they are comfortable to use.

10 months down the line, has my emphasis shifted. Maybe, maybe not. What i can say for sure is that a whole new universe has opened. All the time we are encouraged to design and make are own pieces, at home we sketch an idea, not all of the sketches are ever seen, but the point is, we start to take on the persona of a designer/ maker. To think differently.
While this craft is firmly rooted in the past, it has never been so modern. Could the main attraction be the diversity of the blacksmith. The routes that could be followed are many and varied, i have a sudden interest in engineering and of course the art aspect is always evident. To question why? What are we trying to say?