Can we talk about how I used to hammer cold steel like a fool

I spent 15 years just wailing on cold metal because I thought heating it up twice was a waste of time. Then last spring I was working on a set of fireplace tongs and a guy named Carl from the local guild watched me and said "you're just making more work for yourself." He was right, I stopped fighting the steel and started letting the heat do the heavy lifting... has anyone else had that "wait, I've been doing this wrong" moment?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew79124d ago

That Carl sounds like he saved you a lot of elbow grease. Cold hammering was the reason my wrists gave out at 28, I had a set of farrier tools I mangled for years before a veteran smith took pity on me and showed me the right way to work the steel. What was the hardest part for you about breaking that old habit of cold hammering?

riley_king1623d ago

Unlearning that speed illusion was the worst part, because cold hammering always felt faster even when it wrecked your tools and body.

keith11624d ago

Had a buddy who couldn't stop cold hammering no matter how many times I told him his wrist was gonna give out. One day he cracked a brand new anvil face and that finally scared him into changing his ways. Took him months to unlearn the habit because he kept saying it felt faster, even though he was ruining his tools and his joints.