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I have been watching Alec Steele videos and others for awhile now. Just this weekend I took my first lesson, before it was all over I had traded a handgun and M4clone for a Forge, anvil and pole vise and basically drove back with the tools needed to set up my first home smithy.

I have no real explanation as to why. My daughter states I am having a midlife crises, my colleague thinks I plan to forge the ring of power. Maybe they are both right. Maybe I am afraid I will spend my life teaching in a classroom, grading papers online and in the end have nothing to show for my life of work. But all my life I have considered carpentry, roofing, construction, being a pastor, government work, military and somehow I ended up being a professor. But I am more excited about learning blacksmithing than I was to get my PhD. There is a MasterSmith that lives near me and I take my first 'formal' class with him later this month. The next few weeks will be spent mostly trying to strengthen my arm so I can get more out of the class. Ok, I will stop rambling now and let you get back to the article.

David

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The Revival of American Masculinity Starts at Home
If traditional notions of manhood are becoming obsolete, a return to traditional notions of domestic life can save them.
By C. R. Wiley — May 6, 2017
I don’t watch much cable television; I’m not even into Netflix. Instead, I subscribe to a dozen or so channels on YouTube.

One of my favorites features a bespectacled 19-year-old blacksmith from the United Kingdom named Alec Steele. (Yes, that’s his real name.) He puts out a smartly crafted episode each weekday. His enthusiasm is quite marvelous, and his craftsmanship even more so. I just finished watching his four-part series on the making of a Damascus-steel straight razor. It is beautiful, if somewhat useless — the kid is barely old enough to shave. Besides, who needs a straight razor when you can get those disposable plastic jobs with five blades down at the CVS?

Nevertheless, I think I’d like to try his razor. I stopped using those disposable razors a while back. They were so stinking expensive, and they gave me razor burn, to boot. I’ve been using an old-fashioned safety razor ever since and I even use a badger-hair brush to lather up. Now, I’m not a hipster. I made the switch to save money, and my face. But the straight razor may even make for a better shave, and since it eliminates the need to throw anything away that would end up in a landfill, it’s the socially responsible way to go. Yet most people consider straight razors (and blacksmiths) obsolete.

In a roundabout way this gets me to something that I’ve been thinking about for a while: Are men-as-men obsolete?

Some people think so. Hanna Rosin published a book with the help of her husband a few years back entitled The End of Men: And the Rise of Women. I’ve not read it, but I am familiar with how the story ends. It ends with traditional guys like me winking out of existence. According to the story, if we ever served a purpose, which is doubtful, we’ve been replaced by things like robots and the internet. Then there’s the welfare state, which magically meets the needs of women and children better than men ever did.

Of course I think she’s wrong, but not because she’s silly or short-sighted. I’m not even angry with her; many intelligent people see things her way, even some men. Instead, I think Hanna Rosin and her friends are getting scammed.

They’re getting scammed for the same reason I was scammed by Gillette into buying those expensive disposable blades. I thought the disposables made my life easier, that I was in effect buying convenience. It was only the pain of a burnt face and an empty wallet that got me to try the obsolete technology known as the safety razor.

Traditionally, men-as-men made things. And of all the things they made, households in the old-fashioned sense were the most important.
One of the supposed benefits of convenience is freeing up time. That’s what we’re really after in the end: more freedom to do as we please. And we have more choices than ever today. But while we like choices, we don’t like having to choose, because a used choice is a lost choice. The freest man of all is the guy on the sofa who won’t put the remote control down because he’s afraid of missing something. Except he’s not.

I don’t think Alec Steele watches much television. I don’t think he has the time; he’s too busy making stuff. And he’s free to do so because he can. But this is a very different kind of freedom than that guy on the sofa enjoys.

The 19-year-old blacksmith has agency, the freedom to do something worth doing. This freedom is not so much a right as it is an achievement. It has no doubt cost him something else, which limits him in a way. But there’s one thing I’m sure of: He’s happier than our theoretical sofa guy.

We used to depend on men with agency like Alec Steele. Today we depend upon the machinery of the welfare state and forms of employment more fit for insects than for people. True, we have more choices. But are we happier?

There’s a revival of blacksmithing going on. Alec Steele is just one of many. Who could have imagined such a thing, obsolete technology coming back this way? Paradoxically, the revival is made possible by high-tech firms such as PayPal and UPS. I’m not a Hegelian, but I wonder if there is a new synthesis in the making. I think men-as-men and women-as-women are poised for a comeback, too. Choosing the freedom of convenience has made us dependent on large and impersonal things. But the old arts made us dependable, and good for something. They freed us to make a difference, not in something as incomprehensible as the global economy, but in the lives of real people.

Traditionally, men-as-men made things. And of all the things they made, households in the old-fashioned sense were the most important. What I mean by old-fashioned is this: An old-fashioned household was a going concern, rather than the recreation center we see today. It demanded things of the people, because it was productive, like blacksmithing. In return, it also enriched both the men who raised houses and the women and children who were sheltered by them. I have written a little book to help bring such households back.

To women who believe men-as-men are obsolete, I suggest you reconsider. Choosing the easy way has made you dependent and vulnerable in ways you do not seem to be aware of. I’m not going to try and tell you that you can have it all. But I do suggest you depend on something else for a change. The men I’m talking about need you, because building an old-fashioned house isn’t something they can do alone.

Congratulations brother - we all seek different things at different times in our lives - you time and money is better spent on what you have chosen than a million other worthless things out there.

Enjoy the experience and let us know how it goes!!!!

ETA - my midlife crisis was a little more dramatic than yours, however it showed me that women, even younger, more liberal women, find a real man far more desireable than the beta male provider they are hanging around with. At first it doesn't make sense to them, why they'd be attracted to the guy who does stuff they aren't supposed to like (hunt, shoot, build shit, break shit, etc) - the guy who doesn't chase after them and pander to their every whim. But it drives lots of them crazy, in a good way.

That's very cool. I've been hooked on Forged in Fire and several other similar shows for some time but haven't gotten to the point of taking any classes. It sounds like you're well on your way to having a new hobby.

This Alex guy is certainly high-energy, isn't he. Amazingly prolific as well. I was shocked at how many videos he has out there at such a young age.

I look forward to seeing you build a knife on Forged in fire ,love that show.

It's always good to build a new/marketable skill. The skills you're seeking could be good for many things (SHTF, extra income, retirement money). I know a guy who spent a lot of time and effort becoming a gunsmith. He lives in a neighborhood where there's a gunsmith, an ammo guy and a security guy. Should things go south, I'd want to be in their neighborhood.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
I look forward to seeing you build a knife on Forged in fire ,love that show.

I am not sure I will make it, but it will not be for lack of teachers. My neighbor is a mastersmith. He doesnt really do knives but is a Artisan Blacksmith. However, my friend (who I traded with and gave me my first beat down . . err lesson) is a Army Ranger and has been on the show and made my Bowie a few years ago. His apprentice is on the show now, and made the final cut. I look forward to seeing his episode in the next few weeks.

I plan on making Bowies, but learn some others as well.

I am relocating my 10x12 tool shed this weekend and then will build a awning on the side (it has always been my workshop, so it has 20 am wiring and lights etc.). It will house the forge, anvil and vise. The rest will be inside as a get more tools. I only have one angle grinder and one bench grinder.

I am selling everything that isn't tied down.

My ex (long term GF) once asked me "Why can't you be a liberal, living in NYC, and then said Don't answer that."

That's awesome!

Check out my son's company and some of their work:

https://www.facebook.com/huckleberryironworks/

http://www.huckleberryironworks.com/

He started this about a year ago. He started dabbling in it for fun several years ago and slowly started making more doing his 'hobby' and took the full time plunge with a partner. He is loving it.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Congratulations brother - we all seek different things at different times in our lives - you time and money is better spent on what you have chosen than a million other worthless things out there.

Enjoy the experience and let us know how it goes!!!!

ETA - my midlife crisis was a little more dramatic than yours, however it showed me that women, even younger, more liberal women, find a real man far more desireable than the beta male provider they are hanging around with. At first it doesn't make sense to them, why they'd be attracted to the guy who does stuff they aren't supposed to like (hunt, shoot, build shit, break shit, etc) - the guy who doesn't chase after them and pander to their every whim. But it drives lots of them crazy, in a good way.

Oh now you done went and took the red pill did ya?

Congrats, and good luck. You're a little head of me, I'm looking to take the plunge this summer. I got ahold of a free belt sander a few weeks ago and it's serving to get me off the bench and into the game. For months, I've been doing research on setting up a smithy in the garage. Figure I'll start small with a soup can forge and go from there. Knives and knick-knacky farmer's market garden deco is about the limit of my intent right now, the end goal for me is the process and not the product. I wanna forge steel.

You're going to keep us updated, I hope?

He does some quality work. I love the pic on facebook of the camper that he converted to a trailer. Great rescue and good work.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
That's awesome!

Check out my son's company and some of their work:

https://www.facebook.com/huckleberryironworks/

http://www.huckleberryironworks.com/

He started this about a year ago. He started dabbling in it for fun several years ago and slowly started making more doing his 'hobby' and took the full time plunge with a partner. He is loving it.

I purchased Alec's class on beginning blacksmithing ($29) and he sets it up for the guy who has nothing and can do the basics with just 90$ in tools. I have enjoyed the videos and will start forging this weekend.

Begin Blacksmithing