Went to a Ren Fair in Ohio and the blacksmith demo was hilariously bad

I stopped by the Ohio Ren Fair last weekend and watched their blacksmith demo. The guy was trying to make a simple hook but kept hitting his own thumb every 3 swings. He told the crowd "that's why they call it a forge, because you forge-t your safety training." His apron had like 20 burn holes in it. The anvil he was using was rusted and wobbled on a log stump. I gotta ask, has anyone else seen a demo that made you cringe more than learn?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_brian1mo ago

Nah @cole_flores44, that demo sounds way more entertaining than a polished one honestly.

cole_flores441mo ago

Bro that demo sounds like a total train wreck. I've seen some rough blacksmithing stuff at fairs but hitting your own thumb that much is just sad. The rusty wobbling anvil thing is honestly dangerous, not even funny. And a bad pun right after you mess up? That just makes it worse. The burn holes in his apron tell me this guy has been doing this wrong for a while. Did he at least finish the hook or did he give up and walk away?

elliotm571mo ago

Pff, man that reminds me of a friend who tried welding once at a workshop. He set his glove on fire twice before the instructor just sighed and handed him the fire extinguisher. He still brags about that "rustic" finish on his first project though.