I lived in Albuquerque for 10 years. The wood they burn there is all pinõn juniper. This is a light and very soft wood and most of the flame comes from the resin. You can't disturb the wood too much if it's been burning long or it will just fall apart. Hence the plain point.
Your poker was inspiring and brought back memories of New Mexico and Taos in particular. I made a number of trips to the area when I lived in the Four Corners. I've learned from you while I study blacksmithing here in Sweden. Many thanks for sharing your obvious passion for blacksmithing and teaching!
I'm working on a gate for my final phase of my apprenticeship. After I plan on trying my hand making this style poker. Here in Sweden I'm fairly certain that this style is unique. Curious if you have posted any other videos of other NM style projects. You have me missing Taos again!
I agree it is lovely. I acquired a similar piece 20 years ago, yet much smaller but there is a tip on the end turned up. it looks like a scribe possibly for metal work/marking. Awesome project for sure thanks again John for your channel!!
Afternoon , John I loved the Video ! Also the narration , and knowledge that you always include ! Simple , But Elegant ! Please continue on your present course of giving us all the Wonderful experience of your gift of Blacksmithing ! Take Care and Be Safe !
You’re up early Mr. John! I really appreciate the lessons. You have been a great inspiration to me as a new smith. Been about a year and a half. Keep up the great work!
I like it. It seems elegant in its simplicity and thinking back over the years, a straight poker will do about 85% of what you need a fire place or stove poker to do.
I remember Bob Ross. I've not thought of it before, but now I can't help but agree. Like him you do well in explaining your craft to the 'everyday man' and giving easy to follow directions.
Mr. John, I have been watching you for quite some time, but have never commented. Very nice poker, I forged one several years age but welded a horseshoe on the end with about one inch 90 degree bend on the end of the shoe. This thing is very effective in a wood stove or fireplace. John
John, you only remind me of Bob Ross in the fact that you are very patient and explain the process very well... I prefer to watch you work more than Bob Ross.... just sayin'
That a great little project. I bought a few cheap stamps on eBay to use as a touch mark but there not clean where do you have yours made. I no I heard you say where but I don’t remember. DF in the shop Dennis he does a video on making one but that is a little much for me. Thx again for sharing your time with us....Paul.
The last few seconds of the video are obscured by thumbnails for other videos, so its hard to see the finish shots. Otherwise, great video as always. : )
Great video again John! These are great for beginners like myself, and im sure even people that have been doing this trade just as long as you! A couple questions for you, if ya don’t mind.. How heavy is the hammer that you use on regular basis? Also, where is a good place to acquire tools such as a Flatter and top fullers? I’m having troubling finding these. Thanks again!
The hammer i use moist is about 3 pounds. For flatters and fuillers the used tool market is a good start. New ones can be found at places like www.centaurforge.com/Flatters/products/215/ or www.piehtoolco.com/contents/en-us/d715.html
Nice. I wonder if you could leave the end thick,and do a split to get the side leg of the poker. I'll give it a try. Love the simple handle. Never thought of doing pokers out of flat stock.
Do you wear ear protection? I saw over the ear protectors hanging. Your anvil also seems quieter than other RUclips blacksmiths. Does the size matter on sound? Or are you reducing the sound in the editing process? Are you narrating in real time or dubbing over? Really nice videos.
I have made a rel effort to quiet my anvil ruclips.net/video/Z3365vFHXhw/видео.html I do wear hearing proitection when using power equipment, but rarely at the anvil
I blame you Sir. I blame you for being a host on your show and a good teacher. I blame you for inspiring me. I finished setting up my forge and had my first fire last night and I am hooked so far. I still catch an intoxicating smell of the coal burning every so often. I made my first two happy little pieces of squished mild steel yesterday. I blame you for being awesome! Keep being awesome!!
the camera angle you did along the face of the anvil is amazing! you can really see the steel flowing. ive never been so inspired! such an excellent teacher. i think it’s your calling.
i had to go and try this one, WOW! not only does it look nice but it is also great to practice the basics. instead of just drawing it out to a point i a tapered a section of the middle, leaving a few inches at the end in which i split in 2 for the log turner!!!
Man you just can't beat simple, functional design! I can see the Bob Ross thing too....although in the forge there are no "Happy little accidents" when working with fire). Thanks for the great video....going back to look at your video from your visit to New Mexico.
Thankyou for your videos, it’s great seeing these videos as they are great projects for beginners to hone skills with simple tools. I also get a massive amount from your other videos, but you make them so fast that I have a big list of projects I want to try still from your demonstrations, but please keep it up
Nice one John👍. I tried to do a flat twist other day... it collapsed and the twist went crazy. 👎 Looks like I just need a softer touch😑thanks for the vid.
I am old enough to have watched Big Ross, and I can't see much similarity. You do remind me of many other instructors Image had. I would say you are one of the better instructors.
BOB ROSS! That's it. I've had a feeling before that your teaching style felt familiar. That's a great comparison to get. Your in good company. Keep up the great teaching John.
Love your work John, like you say it is basic blacksmithing. But don’t underestimate how much you help us novices. Thanks for making the effort, always appreciated.
I recently was in taos for vacation, went white water rafting there on the Rio Grande. We stayed in Angel Fire at a cabin. Was a really nice stay, new mexico is pretty.
It has always amazed me, that when you see a good smith doing simple work, it all looks to be in the "I can do that" range, until that last minute or two when they just idly give it a few more taps / clean up, they hardly look to be paying attention, yet those final few blows everything falls in to place / lines true up / the piece starts to flow, and your left floundering wondering just what the heck they did to go from "I can do that" level to a piece of art.......and you realise they probably just did that on muscle memory / autopilot. This piece today was a fine example of that!
Sounds like I need to think about those last few blows more so I can describe what I am seeing and why I chose to correct it the way I do. Thanks for the observation
Hello sir I remember you telling us where you purchased your touch Mark stamps. I however do not remember the name could you please let me know the name. Thank you for all the information and entertainment.
I have yet to hear you say, "We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents!" Bob Ross was a very good teacher and you remond many of us of him simply because you, too are a very good teacher that manages to tell each of us exactly what you are doing all, while you are doing it! KUDOS on another very good video!
Does Mrs Blackbear have videos of her work? Would she consider letting you do a workshop tour of her studio? Maybe there is an artist collaboration that could be done between you?
Black Bear Forge Excellent. I am sure that we would all love to see her work. I made a wall hanger for a wall quilt once. Maybe you could have a similar project.
I've Been meaning to Comment on the new style formal intros. I've been a bit absent compared to my previous dogged watching (slow to watch or missed since the dragon had vids, compared to watching withing 3 hours of posting. Have been woodworking and making beehives). So I may have missed the discussion about it, so sorry if I'm covering old ground. its kinda more formal and dare I say it infomercial like. Any particular reason for the change?
I certainly wasn't going for infomercial. I am finding that as I study the data there is a large initial drop off. looking at more successful channels they seem to start with a fairly clear statement of what they are doing and what the channel is about. So I thought I would try something along those lines.
Black Bear Forge by drop off you mean a user views one video and doesn't return? Definitely don't take just my comment too strongly on this. (others please chime in) it's probably just where it felt suddenly more formal and I'd been used to the very informal format. In the end new subscriber retention is a good thing for us early bird subs, as it keeps you going, if it works. We can't keep you to ourselves forever ;) Also I may have miss spoke with infomercial, more like a dvd tutorial. In my opinion keep doing it and watch to see if your stats change.
If I look at the stats for any given video I see about 20% of the viewers leave the video in the first twi minutes. The hope is ti get to the point and into the project just a bit faster and smoother.
Black Bear Forge you always explain well enough what the video is about we'll before that. It's possible it's what in the Web shop world we call bounce back. People who are rapidly content browsing and made a mistake in clicking on your video . I. E. Nothing wrong with your content, just they weren't looking for what you do. Definitely stick with the intros, if they leave quicker that's what it was, if it improves you were right.
I will certainly make some simple drill bits. I suspect augers were not something typically made in a general blacksmithing shop, but rather were made by specialty shops that did nothing else.
John, in my g-grandfather's smithy (that was/is over 300 years old), there are examples of augers and he - and my other forebears, were just country blacksmiths in Northern Ireland, they really did everything. I brought some stuff back with me last time I visited, I'll see if I can dig them out and show you.
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Sometimes the simplest of design is the design that speaks the most :-) God bless you John in all your endavours...
I've been going back through all your videos from the beginner playlist and the bob ross reference made me smiel, youre a treasure john!
Bobb Ross. I see it now. ITS THE HAIR! you are very informative, insightfull and have a calming demeanor.
I lived in Albuquerque for 10 years. The wood they burn there is all pinõn juniper. This is a light and very soft wood and most of the flame comes from the resin. You can't disturb the wood too much if it's been burning long or it will just fall apart. Hence the plain point.
The angle when drawing out the hook was amazing the focus was perfect.👍
BOB ROSS SHOUTOUT!!!!
Made my day, John. Thanks for another great video!
I like this, simplicity is so beautiful to me.
Your poker was inspiring and brought back memories of New Mexico and Taos in particular. I made a number of trips to the area when I lived in the Four Corners. I've learned from you while I study blacksmithing here in Sweden. Many thanks for sharing your obvious passion for blacksmithing and teaching!
I'm working on a gate for my final phase of my apprenticeship. After I plan on trying my hand making this style poker. Here in Sweden I'm fairly certain that this style is unique. Curious if you have posted any other videos of other NM style projects. You have me missing Taos again!
Now you have to make some happy little trees.
I like the intro to this one the best, with you sitting at the bench and then doing the new intro. I also like the fire poker.
Thanks for the input
It is not an accident that this poker looks so elegant: put a guard on it, and it is essentially a sword or even a rapier. :)
I agree it is lovely. I acquired a similar piece 20 years ago, yet much smaller but there is a tip on the end turned up. it looks like a scribe possibly for metal work/marking. Awesome project for sure thanks again John for your channel!!
Afternoon , John
I loved the Video ! Also the narration , and knowledge that you always include ! Simple , But
Elegant ! Please continue on your present course of giving us all the Wonderful experience of your gift of Blacksmithing !
Take Care and Be Safe !
Yeah a likeness in your voice to Mr Ross awesome Artist i grew up watching him thanks for your time.
Thankyou for your great teaching skills.
You're welcome
That’s awesome!!!!
You’re up early Mr. John! I really appreciate the lessons. You have been a great inspiration to me as a new smith. Been about a year and a half. Keep up the great work!
Sometimes the videos take all night to upload.
I like it. It seems elegant in its simplicity and thinking back over the years, a straight poker will do about 85% of what you need a fire place or stove poker to do.
I agree
I like the poker a lot! Thanks, John.
Dave
I remember Bob Ross. I've not thought of it before, but now I can't help but agree. Like him you do well in explaining your craft to the 'everyday man' and giving easy to follow directions.
Very nice!
Nice looking poker John. So simple yet really a nice looking piece. Ever been to Bent's Old Fort and checked out the iron work there?
It isn't far, but i have never been there.
I really like most of your projects. This one looks easy enough for me to do :-)
Thank you John.
I like that! Very nice!
You move metal with the best of them.
Muchos buenos
Nice poker John.
Mr. John, I have been watching you for quite some time, but have never commented. Very nice poker, I forged one several years age but welded a horseshoe on the end with about one inch 90 degree bend on the end of the shoe. This thing is very effective in a wood stove or fireplace. John
Does that function sort of as a rake then?
Yes, it's great for moving logs & raking hot coals. John
John, you only remind me of Bob Ross in the fact that you are very patient and explain the process very well... I prefer to watch you work more than Bob Ross.... just sayin'
That a great little project. I bought a few cheap stamps on eBay to use as a touch mark but there not clean where do you have yours made. I no I heard you say where but I don’t remember. DF in the shop Dennis he does a video on making one but that is a little much for me. Thx again for sharing your time with us....Paul.
I buy my stamps from Henery A Evers company. You can find them online
The last few seconds of the video are obscured by thumbnails for other videos, so its hard to see the finish shots. Otherwise, great video as always. : )
Great video again John! These are great for beginners like myself, and im sure even people that have been doing this trade just as long as you!
A couple questions for you, if ya don’t mind..
How heavy is the hammer that you use on regular basis?
Also, where is a good place to acquire tools such as a Flatter and top fullers? I’m having troubling finding these. Thanks again!
The hammer i use moist is about 3 pounds. For flatters and fuillers the used tool market is a good start. New ones can be found at places like www.centaurforge.com/Flatters/products/215/ or www.piehtoolco.com/contents/en-us/d715.html
Вы великолепны!!!
Nice. I wonder if you could leave the end thick,and do a split to get the side leg of the poker. I'll give it a try. Love the simple handle. Never thought of doing pokers out of flat stock.
You could, but the long simple taper was the common feature for the pokers I saw that inspired this one.
Do you wear ear protection? I saw over the ear protectors hanging. Your anvil also seems quieter than other RUclips blacksmiths. Does the size matter on sound? Or are you reducing the sound in the editing process? Are you narrating in real time or dubbing over? Really nice videos.
I have made a rel effort to quiet my anvil ruclips.net/video/Z3365vFHXhw/видео.html I do wear hearing proitection when using power equipment, but rarely at the anvil
showing my age lol i know who Bob Ross is
Kiss. Less is more
I read fire poker not a fire poker.
It really baffled me how can fire poker be played.
It never really caught on. Hard to play once the cards burn up.
HEHE!
I blame you Sir.
I blame you for being a host on your show and a good teacher. I blame you for inspiring me. I finished setting up my forge and had my first fire last night and I am hooked so far. I still catch an intoxicating smell of the coal burning every so often. I made my first two happy little pieces of squished mild steel yesterday.
I blame you for being awesome!
Keep being awesome!!
the camera angle you did along the face of the anvil is amazing! you can really see the steel flowing. ive never been so inspired! such an excellent teacher. i think it’s your calling.
I agree with you, John. There is a real beauty in the simplicity of that fire poker. Great job, as always, in explaining your work.
i had to go and try this one, WOW! not only does it look nice but it is also great to practice the basics. instead of just drawing it out to a point i a tapered a section of the middle, leaving a few inches at the end in which i split in 2 for the log turner!!!
heck yah, come on down, I'll meet yah for the best Green and Red chile in the world haha
Thanks John, simple and straightforward. I'm going to use your idea for a demo because it is easy for folks to get the idea. Peter
I liked the shot with the finished product at the end. Felt very complete with that capping it off.
Thanks
Bob Ross..... must be the hair. Happy little poker 👍👍
Man you just can't beat simple, functional design! I can see the Bob Ross thing too....although in the forge there are no "Happy little accidents" when working with fire). Thanks for the great video....going back to look at your video from your visit to New Mexico.
'Consistant'
Thankyou for your videos, it’s great seeing these videos as they are great projects for beginners to hone skills with simple tools. I also get a massive amount from your other videos, but you make them so fast that I have a big list of projects I want to try still from your demonstrations, but please keep it up
Nice one John👍. I tried to do a flat twist other day... it collapsed and the twist went crazy. 👎 Looks like I just need a softer touch😑thanks for the vid.
It wont take to many twists
there are no mistakes in blacksmithing just happy accidents!
Really I think smashing my finger was a mistake
John, do you have a listing of basic tools needed to get started in blacksmithing? Size and type of hammer? Size and types of tongs? Hardy tools?
Bob Ross...hmmmm...
Maybe...
Enjoying the New Mexican blacksmithing vids.
Thanks for the efforts.
I am old enough to have watched Big Ross, and I can't see much similarity. You do remind me of many other instructors Image had. I would say you are one of the better instructors.
I have 6 shishkabob skewers that belonged to my grandparents in a very similar style to these but scaled down in size
BOB ROSS! That's it. I've had a feeling before that your teaching style felt familiar. That's a great comparison to get. Your in good company. Keep up the great teaching John.
Your most Bob Ross are your 2" blacksmith challenge's. Awesome poker style
Great morning sitting back and watching you make something neat and of course useable. Thanks my friend !
Very nice thank you John
I've been wanting to make a fire poker for my wood stove and I really like this style. I never really liked the hooked or barbed kinds.
Great video! Thank you for your time and videos.
Great project, I like simple, thank you.
I really like this simple design. Like you said, simple, yet elegant.
Haribol!
Great idea for a series. Looking forward to it.
Love your work John, like you say it is basic blacksmithing. But don’t underestimate how much you help us novices. Thanks for making the effort, always appreciated.
Thanks 👍
Simplicity at its best.
The intro is really looking sharp. Thanks for all the hard work. Great video. Do you find the lizard symbol on iron much.
I have seen a little of that type of decoration, but not lots.
I recently was in taos for vacation, went white water rafting there on the Rio Grande. We stayed in Angel Fire at a cabin. Was a really nice stay, new mexico is pretty.
It is quite spectacular in the fall.
It has always amazed me, that when you see a good smith doing simple work, it all looks to be in the "I can do that" range, until that last minute or two when they just idly give it a few more taps / clean up, they hardly look to be paying attention, yet those final few blows everything falls in to place / lines true up / the piece starts to flow, and your left floundering wondering just what the heck they did to go from "I can do that" level to a piece of art.......and you realise they probably just did that on muscle memory / autopilot. This piece today was a fine example of that!
Sounds like I need to think about those last few blows more so I can describe what I am seeing and why I chose to correct it the way I do. Thanks for the observation
Hello sir I remember you telling us where you purchased your touch Mark stamps. I however do not remember the name could you please let me know the name. Thank you for all the information and entertainment.
I buy mine here www.henryaevers.com/new_page_3.htm
Does your wife have a video for her rugs me and my wife watch your videos and she was wondering.
No, she hasn't embraced video yet. I did show one of hers in this video ruclips.net/video/YAZIfpuseio/видео.html
Very nice fire poker, love those basic projects from time to time.
I have fun doing this type of project. Just plain and straight forward forging.
I have yet to hear you say, "We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents!"
Bob Ross was a very good teacher and you remond many of us of him simply because you, too are a very good teacher that manages to tell each of us exactly what you are doing all, while you are doing it!
KUDOS on another very good video!
Does Mrs Blackbear have videos of her work?
Would she consider letting you do a workshop tour of her studio?
Maybe there is an artist collaboration that could be done between you?
I am afraid she isn't interested in videos. I may have to sneak a quick look at her weaving studio some day.
Black Bear Forge
Excellent.
I am sure that we would all love to see her work.
I made a wall hanger for a wall quilt once. Maybe you could have a similar project.
I've Been meaning to Comment on the new style formal intros. I've been a bit absent compared to my previous dogged watching (slow to watch or missed since the dragon had vids, compared to watching withing 3 hours of posting. Have been woodworking and making beehives). So I may have missed the discussion about it, so sorry if I'm covering old ground. its kinda more formal and dare I say it infomercial like. Any particular reason for the change?
I certainly wasn't going for infomercial. I am finding that as I study the data there is a large initial drop off. looking at more successful channels they seem to start with a fairly clear statement of what they are doing and what the channel is about. So I thought I would try something along those lines.
Black Bear Forge by drop off you mean a user views one video and doesn't return? Definitely don't take just my comment too strongly on this. (others please chime in) it's probably just where it felt suddenly more formal and I'd been used to the very informal format. In the end new subscriber retention is a good thing for us early bird subs, as it keeps you going, if it works. We can't keep you to ourselves forever ;) Also I may have miss spoke with infomercial, more like a dvd tutorial. In my opinion keep doing it and watch to see if your stats change.
If I look at the stats for any given video I see about 20% of the viewers leave the video in the first twi minutes. The hope is ti get to the point and into the project just a bit faster and smoother.
Black Bear Forge you always explain well enough what the video is about we'll before that. It's possible it's what in the Web shop world we call bounce back. People who are rapidly content browsing and made a mistake in clicking on your video . I. E. Nothing wrong with your content, just they weren't looking for what you do. Definitely stick with the intros, if they leave quicker that's what it was, if it improves you were right.
John, seeing your poker made me think of a woodworking auger, what's the chance of you making one of those?
I will certainly make some simple drill bits. I suspect augers were not something typically made in a general blacksmithing shop, but rather were made by specialty shops that did nothing else.
John, in my g-grandfather's smithy (that was/is over 300 years old), there are examples of augers and he - and my other forebears, were just country blacksmiths in Northern Ireland, they really did everything. I brought some stuff back with me last time I visited, I'll see if I can dig them out and show you.
Do you shut off the gas while you are hammering?
Milan yes he does. Only because it's loud for the videos.
What Shifty said. I don't do it if I am not making a video.