Steel ivy.
On Sunday, I watched a blacksmith make this on an ancient forge. It’s about the size of the ball of my thumb.
He took a quarter inch mild steel bar and hammered the end into a sort of arrowhead shape.
Folded in half.
Part straightened again (this made the big vein down the middle).
Beat the little veins into the sides of the leaf.
Nipped it from the rod, leaving a nub of the rod behind.
Turned it and hammered at the nub, over and over, until it became a long, thin stem.
Hammered the stem around the nose of the anvil until he’d tied it in a knot.
Not much more than five minutes. It was awesome. We asked to see more examples of his work, and the blacksmith reached his blackened and callused paw into his pocket…and pulled out his iPhone.
Heh.
Posted: May 6th, 2014 under art, britain, personal.
Comments: 13
Comments
Comment from Janna
Time: May 6, 2014, 10:19 pm
I love to see an artist at his work, they always make it look easy. I doubt that he considers himself an artist, but, I do.
Did you buy it from him?
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: May 6, 2014, 10:21 pm
Certainly did. I’d’ve paid £5 just to watch him do it.
Comment from Janna
Time: May 6, 2014, 10:28 pm
What kinds of things does he make? Need a garden gate for your house?
Comment from QuasiModo
Time: May 6, 2014, 10:28 pm
Some future archaeologist will dig it up and make up a story to suit it…maybe you should bury it in a time capsule with a note 🙂
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: May 6, 2014, 11:41 pm
I like the bit about the iPhone. It is a smart man who knows how to use good tools.
(I’m not specifically lauding the Apple brand, it is just great that he hauled out a smart phone.)
Comment from Stark Dickflüssig
Time: May 7, 2014, 1:06 am
Would a steel duck still be lighter than wood?
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: May 7, 2014, 1:40 am
@Stark Dickflüssig:
Would a steel duck still be lighter than wood?
My first thought was whether the steel duck was hollow, and what wood (e.g. balsa, oak, ironwood)? But then I thought perhaps you were making a cultural reference with which I was unfamiliar, so I used duckduckgo (of course!) to search for “duck steel lighter wood”.
I just thought you all ought to know that one of the top hits was for a page at http://www.funkytownmall.com with the nav heading
Home > Body Jewelry > Tongue Rings & Barbells > Donald Duck Stainless Steel Logo Tongue Ring Barbell
I was extremely relieved that it then said Product not found!
Comment from JuliaM
Time: May 7, 2014, 6:58 am
“We asked to see more examples of his work, and the blacksmith reached his blackened and callused paw into his pocket…and pulled out his iPhone.”
Blimey, I thought they were made in China by orphans!
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: May 7, 2014, 11:57 am
I love you people.
Comment from Deborah
Time: May 7, 2014, 1:21 pm
I love artistic tidbits like this.
Comment from Stark Dickflüssig
Time: May 7, 2014, 2:50 pm
The more I look at it, the more I think it’s a metaphor explaining capitalism, especially the beating part.
Comment from .
Time: May 7, 2014, 6:11 pm
If Britishers had any small inkling of resistance to displacement from their own isles, the blacksmith could whip out hundreds of bodkin points.
No inklings, no resistance, no upper body strength, just alkypop, tats and complaining.
I thought S. Weasel used to date a blacksmith as a scrawny elongated ermine.
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