#echoesineternity

Not the best picture, but at least it shows the new forge well underway.  While it looks rather cavernous now, the whole thing will be lined with 2-1/2″ of insulation in another day or so and that’ll really shrink down the inside.  Hopefully, when all’s said and done, the finished chamber dimensions should be something close to 8″x10″ with a peak height around 5″.  Plenty of width to get a large scroll in there, but not nearly as long as most commercially available forges are designed.   Next up, a good clean and then some Haze Grey paint.  Maybe some pin-striping.  If all goes well, she’ll be ready to light this Friday!

Many years ago, my brother gave me my first cordless drill as a Christmas gift.  The whole family thought it was an awesome innovation and I used it all the time.  It was just so handy!

Imagine my dismay, then, when years later the batteries just stopped holding a charge.  Not long after that, the batteries wouldn’t take a charge at all.  Years after I got it, I finally had to throw the gift away because the manufacturer no longer supported that model and the second-hand batteries I had bought weren’t working properly.  

I could tell you were every nick and ding in the body had come from.  I had stories, memories, in that drill.  It was a gift from a dear brother, something that should have lasted me until my last breath.  But, no.  It became landfill material simply because the batteries died and the manufacturer decided to re-design how their newer batteries clipped into their tools. 

Compare that to my latest purchase - a 70′s-era die grinder.  All-metal body, with easily accessed brushes, and a nice long electrical cord to plug in.  Not the handiest thing in the world, but it looks good and functions perfectly even though it’s at least thirty-five years old.  When it has a problem, I can disassemble the whole thing, repair the entire mechanism, and have it back up and running before the day’s out.

Of the two tools, which do you think is better for the environment and for our culture?

As a blacksmith, my work revolves around the central idea that iron abides.  I make things that are solid, that will last a thousand years.  There’s a spirit of peace about the work because you know that it will endure.  If you take care of it, your grandchildren will be able to enjoy it just as much as you do.  As nice as the ironwork is, it’s the memories they evoke which makes them a real value.  

Okay, this is what absolutely makes my month!  As a blacksmith, I don’t always get to see what folk are doing with the ironwork I hammer out.  Debby, though, is what I like to call a “gold star” customer.  She’s super to work with, happy to wait months for her project to get done, and just all around amazingly supportive. To be blunt, she’s awesome.

When she asked me to make decorative corner brackets for it, I was honored, and I’m so incredibly happy that she’s glad to have them.  As an heirloom item that she’ll pass down to her children as it was passed to her, I take it as a heavy responsibility and want to produce the best work that I know how.  And, thank heavens, it all came out exactly as she was envisioning.

Looking at the magnificent craftsmanship that is everywhere in Westminster Abbey, this window really stands out.  It’s not only praise for the craftsmen, but a reminder to the craftsmen to do their very best with every piece they lay hands on.

What you do today echoes in eternity.

If you’d like to help support the work here at Three Rivers Forge, please consider the following options:

https://www.storefrontier.com/three-rivers-forge

Well, no sooner do I talk about one wood-n-iron project then another customer sends me pictures of her wood-n-iron project!

Who doesn't love wood and iron together?

AJ found me on Etsy and asked if I could shorten some of the standard hooks that I offer. Of course I said I could, and then it was off to the races trying to figure out how to make the hooks to the dimensions she needed.

At the last minute, she let me know the hooks were going to be mounted on thin slats, so I couldn't send the hooks out with the screws I normally include.

With more details on her plan, something I'm loathe to ask for, I decided to use solid brass screws and antiqued them to get rid of the factory shine.

When I finished all of the hooks, I was very unhappy with how they turned out, so....  back to the bandsaw to cut them to a more uniform overall length.  This meant I had to reforge all the countersink divots, ruining the finish I’d already applied and killing my profit margin entirely, but it was well worth it in the end. Greater uniformity is one thing, but getting the hooks to fit nicely on the slats was the real winner.

It was only today when I got her email with the pictures that I got the whole story behind this project.

AJ & Hubby are big coffee aficionados and their most of those mugs were collected while on their honeymoon, traveling through the Great Parks out west. This isn't simply a rack to hold some cheap mugs on the wall. Each piece is an irreplaceable memento from their shared history, a big moment in their lives, and my ironwork had to be absolutely spot on or it would have ruined the whole vibe.

No pressure!  

I shudder to think how I'd be feeling right now if I'd taken the shortcut and sent her the original hooks. The first iteration was good, but not as good as I wanted. There was that little voice in the back of my head telling me to fix what I saw wrong, and I'm so glad I listened to it! I couldn’t do what I do if it wasn’t for the very kind support of customers like AJ.  If you’d like to help keep the iron flowing, consider stopping by to pick up a shirt or maybe some ironwork of your very own.  Every bit helps! https://www.storefrontier.com/three-rivers-forge

Bernkaste-Kues, a small courtyard that hasn’t changed since the 17th Century. Cobblestones, public spring, outdoor cafe.... who wouldn’t want to spend a lifetime here?

This is a great example of European history because it shows us something from the ordinary world of that time.  Usually, all we see is the castle and cathedral, places of great wealth accumulated over centuries.  With this vignette, however, we can see how the average person embraced

art in the everyday

.  

In the little details, like the corbels in the top left corner, we can see how the average craftsman was adding embellishments to decorate their work, taking pride in what they did even though it wasn’t some grand building.  

This is Europa.  This is the legacy that we get to try and live up to.  This is what happens when you demand quality, teach your children to appreciate quality, and work tirelessly to do the best that you can.  When each man takes pride in his work, doing the best he can, this is what you create and then have to maintain down through the ages. 

It starts with one person and grows from there, but it also needs the support of the whole, of the community.  If the craftsman can’t pay his bills because every customer is flocking to the big box stores to save pennies, you don’t get this kind of beauty.  Mass-produced items are designed to be quickly produced by machines and stack flat so they can maximize cargo space for shipping. 

I work every day to help bring this sensibility back to the forefront of the public consciousness because I can see how people are hurting for it’s lack.  We are creatures of art, aspiring to something greater, but have been convinced that art is a thing found only in museums.

TRF Shirts:  https://www.storefrontier.com/three-rivers-forge

Of all the doors I’ve seen in my day, this has got to take the cake!  The number of forge-welds required to join all the pieces and get a continuous sheet from one hinge to the next... ugh!  Then to mirror that for the other door... double ugh! The symmetry is genuinely amazing!

Just uploaded another hoodie, too.  I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the quality of shirts I’ve bought through this outlet and now have a full wardrobe of them.  The larger sizes fit larger men better than I can find in the big box stores!

www.storefrontier.com/store/three-rivers-forge

Having the lady in the picture gives you a great sense of just how big the doors and ironwork really is.  

Amazing work from blacksmiths past.  We’ll never know they’re story, but we can see the quality of their work and the obvious pride they took in doing a good job.