Blacksmithing for a sustainable future

Jusd a mad idea of mine i am trying to find a way to quit my day job and do somthing good for the world i am looking for ideas i gave been blacksmithing for 10 years and in that time i have learned to make just about any tool you might need on a homestead. So i was wondering what tool / tools do you all need that you simply cannot find at the local hardwear store i have a few ideas like you just cannot find a fro nowadays but i was wondering what you all want that you simply cannot find?

In today's Amazon world,  i find very little that cant be found.

Having said that, there is a market for custom pieces by people who want to support local artisans, not buy imported junk, etc. If you can tap into this market, your custom orders may reveal new items that can be exploited.

As an example, i shoot blackpowder. Rather than buying an imported belt/holster,  i used a local leather crafter. I not only got a heirloom quality piece, but was able to get a knife sheath that matched the belt/holster. This wouldn't have happened in the import offerings.

If i were to reach out for custom blacksmithing, I'd get a cedar cutter. I light weight staff with a blade at a slight angle that i could jab down (not swing like a machete) at baby cedar trees and thorny vines. Light enough to carry like a cane/staff while im walking my property, and tall enuff to jab at the baby cedars without bending down.

If your interested in making one, let me know. I can add the handle myself so its not such a big item to ship.

Where you thinking swept back like the barb on a hapoon or more straight across like a mutt or ice chisel?

Trying to picture it i could use one to we have allot of multiflora. Rosa on the farm to chop and drop at will

Let me know i would be happy to take on ghe commision

Jenny

Like a 3 to 4 inch chisel with a pole holder like a shovel would have. Message a price to me. See if we can make this  happen

A tool I find extremely useful for brush is a brush hook. It's like a short wide axe blade that extends into a short hook, mounted on a handle similar to an axe. It is swung and pulled to get brush up by the roots instead of leaving the roots in the ground. It is thick and blunt enough to be okay digging into dirt, unlike a regular axe.

I also have a lightweight version of the same thing which is like a curved knife blade set into a light axe-length handle, good for pulling/chopping weeds and thin brush.

Mine are all antiques, and I have never seen the like for sale new.


A froe is something I would be interested in buying. I have not seen one for sale for a reasonable price (tool vs. collectible), and do not have the experience with forge-welding to make my own at this point. I, too, would not need a handle, just the blade.

Froe's are simple. Just cut and sharpen a truck master leaf spring. You can weld the opening of the eye closed if desired, but mostly you don't need to. You can also drill a hole through the eye, then run a bolt through eye and handle, to be really strong.

As for making money blacksmithing, not so much call for it (in N. Ohio) these days. People just buy new. But what people do want is hand made, craftsman made, folk art, garden art, ...art. I sell as much as I can make. I make pieces to hang on the wall, simple garden art on stakes, all kinds of fancy "Victorian" looking outdoor art, masks, stick people and animals, and so on. I also do custom work if folks bring me drawings of what they want. It's possible to make a lot at shows and festivals. Most of mine I sell at the farm in the Gen'l Store. Very remunerative.

I agree with jim on froes as both of mine came from an old truck if you turn a handle out of ash that is too thick to pass through the eye of the froe it can be removed and reversed if necicary

No need to bolt it in as a froe is twisted in use

I agree that it seemes silly they don't seel them in a modern hardwear store they are really useful for splitting kindling

If you are shy a leaf spring i do have one laying around