About

Hello and welcome to my humble website! My name is john and I'm an aspiring blacksmith from the midwest. I made this website to share my enthusiasm about this wonderful hobby and I hope to inspire other people with my ramblings. I'm not a master smith, nor would I ever claim to be. I hope you find some of my articles useful. I find that many articles on the internet today are waaay too long. I don't need a small novella on how to do something when a quick page or two will give me the answer just fine. This idea of brevity is a simple part of a larger philosophy that I have been slowly tacking together over the years. Brevity is the soul of wit as the old saying goes. I believe that quick small articles that get straight to the point and explain concept simply illustrate that the author is competent and know his or her subject well. I'm well aware of the irony of me blabbing endless about brevity in an about page but....everyone knows about pages are self-promotional fluff anyways...

Another component of this philosophy is simplicity. This love of things that are simple but effective is part of what has drawn me to blacksmithing. A Blacksmith makes strong, durable items that can last lifetimes if properly cared for...and he does this without the headache of modern machines that break down every other day and cause constant headache. And I do mean machines in the broadest sense. A lot of handy people will bemoan the pain in the neck that is modern computing, but they are more at peace with their shop equipment or car breaking down regularly. Now I want to make it clear, I'm not a luddite, and I'm not suggesting we all go live as the amish do. But I will say that I greatly appreciate the simplicity of the blacksmith's craft. I like that I don't have to learn radically new technology every 5 years. I like knowing that the techniques I learn today will still be useful 40 years from now. People need steel for all sorts of purposes. Being able to make projects out of steel that is both beautiful and useful will always in demand regardless of modern fads and fashions.

The final component of my philosphy is simply hard work. We live in a world that constantly chases after the quick fixes and it seems everyone is looking for a shortcut. I believe in sitting down and simply doing the work. I know it sounds cheesy, but it seems the simple things are the things need to be repeated the most. It's so easy for people to take tried and true wisdom for granted. I want to constantly remind myself and others just how important it is to keep your nose down and to do the work.

I know jamming life philosophy into an about me page seems a bit odd, but I believe that telling you my guiding principles will tell you waaaaay more about me than a list of facts on a bio page ever could. One day, once I get more comfortable with myself as both a blacksmith and website administrator, I may even post a picture of my ugly mug on here. But for now you will just have to endure reading articles by another online faceless stranger.

If you read all this you are a champion. Thank you for taking time out of your day to check out my little site; I hope you found something useful. Anyways, stay safe yall, and go out and make something cool!