Ever since high school, I’ve had this romantic ideal in my head of a smith at his forge. The hammer, the anvil, the hiss of hot steel in cold water – it was all so dramatic and fascinating to me. Whenever a renaissance faire came to town, I would go out of my way to make sure I could watch an artisan at work, or at least admire the wares they had brought.
This craft seems like it would be very fulfilling. After some hard work, you’d have created something that would last for decades. If I could’ve made some tools or jewelry in high school instead of a stupid bird house and a flimsy chair in woodshop, I probably would’ve had a career when I was sixteen.
Today, I was doing some Christmas shopping online, when I came upon a jeweler who made his wares by simply inscribing shaped metal. While I did like a lot of the products, I thought to myself, “Why is this stuff so expensive? With the right tools, I could make this stuff myself.” And then it dawned on me: I truly COULD make this stuff myself. I immediately set about searching for blacksmithing and metal working classes online.
Luckily, there is a guild that has a basic weekly class at a museum near where I live, and I’ve inquired about attending it. I hope to hear back from someone before their next class on Saturday, because I can’t wait to start this new hobby.
