I can not fathom how blacksmithing is LOWER on the list than reading. “The dude with the hammer looks nice, but that other one over there is sitting on a sofa for HOURS on end”
Reading demonstrates culturing, education, pursuit of knowledge, and willingness for good conversation. It’s also a hobby that can be practiced together (my wife and I have even devised a technique for how to best read books together)
Blacksmithing is one of the few hobbies that a guy probably can’t teach his girlfriend because women usually use a different technique to make up for strength differences. It’s hot for sure, but it’s hot in a “I’m going to watch you but it’s expensive in time and money, and I may wind up stuck selling at ren faires forever” way as opposed to a “even when we’re old we’ll still be discussing literature” way
Blacksmithing is one of the few hobbies that a guy probably can’t teach his girlfriend because women usually use a different technique to make up for strength differences.
Me, a woman who tried blacksmithing before: Don’t use spring steel or other metals that are hard to manipulate/hammer into shape when starting off. Don’t start with a sword, start with bending and twisting a nail into… whatever. If they like the hobby they’ll stick to it and the muscle will build over time. And if it doesn’t: power tools.
Good to know, I’m a woman who’d apparently been misinformed but it is one of those things I’ve always wanted to try, but it’s not an ADHD “pick up every hobby” friendly one
but it’s not an ADHD “pick up every hobby” friendly one
That’s true. I was in luck and there was a blacksmith in town who opens his workshop to kids on occasion or travels to job conventions and brought his tools with him. Maybe there are comparable activities/ offers near you, which I can highly recommend. Not only will you not have to worry about tools and materials, most importantly there will be a “teacher” around.
If you find something and decide to check it out, have fun! :)
Lol, no. First person reads one chapter than we take turns reading two and passing the book. It keeps us excited and lets us talk about it as we go without major spoilers
I’m a woman, I can definitely learn to smith, and have done it a few times (I do reenactment, there’s basically guaranteed to be a few blacksmithsin every friend group). I definitely couldn’t do it for a living, but as an occasional hobby, sure.
And I haven’t met a guy into smithing who didn’t also like a fit partner, so hey.
Oh I’m not disagreeing that we can learn. I’d just heard we tend to use a different technique than men, but I’ve never tried and none of my friends that are into sca are smiths so I was never taught otherwise.
Smithing is a hobby I’d love to take up if I had a lot of time, money, and trust from my wife that I won’t hurt myself
Yea, I would wonder why hobby engineering isn’t on the list, or something like ‘maker’ I think 3d printing as a stand alone is more of a support, it would be like, instead of woodworking, the hobby is ‘sawing’ it’s part of it, but engineering is what the hobby is actually.
Because a blacksmith, woodworker or a metalworker are all makers. Ultimately what matters is it is a highly skilled thing that triggers imagination and creates something out of “nothing”. Differentiating between those as hobbies is a matter of how often the hobby is chosen / represented online. There are more woodworkers than metalworkers. Less blacksmiths, so you think of “blacksmith” less when asked what’s “hot”.
I only know one guy who is into blacksmithing and - being a nerd myself, I saw this with kindness - but this dude is a super nerd. He’s also one of the scrawniest dudes I know. I’ve heard him tell women that he’s into blacksmithing before and it definitely does not have the desired effect that this chart would imply.
You always have to consider Rule #1 when taking these things into account.
I’ve met a TON of blacksmiths and they usually just look like normal guys but slightly more buff, often overweight. The machinery does most of the work.
If you did it in the olde fashioneded way with a manual hammer, manually stoking the forge with a bellows, etc., then sure. But AFAIK modern blacksmithing is pretty similar to modern carpentry or welding or any other hobby where the machines do most of the work. It’s still a somewhat active hobby, compared to doing something with a computer. But, I don’t think a modern blacksmith is going to get huge arms from doing it.
Blacksmithing is 88% Was this list made by a metal shop kid?
“Oh babe, I love your soda lime mix. You’re not like those other brittle iron bitches out there”
“Brittle iron bitches” has been added to my dictionary of insults.
Sincerely
The Big Ductile Energy gang
I can not fathom how blacksmithing is LOWER on the list than reading. “The dude with the hammer looks nice, but that other one over there is sitting on a sofa for HOURS on end”
Reading demonstrates culturing, education, pursuit of knowledge, and willingness for good conversation. It’s also a hobby that can be practiced together (my wife and I have even devised a technique for how to best read books together)
Blacksmithing is one of the few hobbies that a guy probably can’t teach his girlfriend because women usually use a different technique to make up for strength differences. It’s hot for sure, but it’s hot in a “I’m going to watch you but it’s expensive in time and money, and I may wind up stuck selling at ren faires forever” way as opposed to a “even when we’re old we’ll still be discussing literature” way
Me, a woman who tried blacksmithing before: Don’t use spring steel or other metals that are hard to manipulate/hammer into shape when starting off. Don’t start with a sword, start with bending and twisting a nail into… whatever. If they like the hobby they’ll stick to it and the muscle will build over time. And if it doesn’t: power tools.
Good to know, I’m a woman who’d apparently been misinformed but it is one of those things I’ve always wanted to try, but it’s not an ADHD “pick up every hobby” friendly one
That’s true. I was in luck and there was a blacksmith in town who opens his workshop to kids on occasion or travels to job conventions and brought his tools with him. Maybe there are comparable activities/ offers near you, which I can highly recommend. Not only will you not have to worry about tools and materials, most importantly there will be a “teacher” around.
If you find something and decide to check it out, have fun! :)
It’s the first one isn’t it?
Lol, no. First person reads one chapter than we take turns reading two and passing the book. It keeps us excited and lets us talk about it as we go without major spoilers
Awwwwwwww
😍
I’m a woman, I can definitely learn to smith, and have done it a few times (I do reenactment, there’s basically guaranteed to be a few blacksmithsin every friend group). I definitely couldn’t do it for a living, but as an occasional hobby, sure.
And I haven’t met a guy into smithing who didn’t also like a fit partner, so hey.
Hehe
Oh I’m not disagreeing that we can learn. I’d just heard we tend to use a different technique than men, but I’ve never tried and none of my friends that are into sca are smiths so I was never taught otherwise.
Smithing is a hobby I’d love to take up if I had a lot of time, money, and trust from my wife that I won’t hurt myself
Maybe because reading is a sign of being intelligent/cultured in people’s mind, and people on average value that slightly more than physical fitness
Being handy is attractive. Getting a nice unique present is cool. And blacksmiths / woodworkers are the ones that do that kind of stuff.
So explain why IS 3D printing not higher on the list then?
Because downloading an stl and hitting print isn’t really craftsmanship
Yea, I would wonder why hobby engineering isn’t on the list, or something like ‘maker’ I think 3d printing as a stand alone is more of a support, it would be like, instead of woodworking, the hobby is ‘sawing’ it’s part of it, but engineering is what the hobby is actually.
Because a blacksmith, woodworker or a metalworker are all makers. Ultimately what matters is it is a highly skilled thing that triggers imagination and creates something out of “nothing”. Differentiating between those as hobbies is a matter of how often the hobby is chosen / represented online. There are more woodworkers than metalworkers. Less blacksmiths, so you think of “blacksmith” less when asked what’s “hot”.
I’m also willing to bet that the blacksmith they are picturing looks very different from your average blacksmith.
I only know one guy who is into blacksmithing and - being a nerd myself, I saw this with kindness - but this dude is a super nerd. He’s also one of the scrawniest dudes I know. I’ve heard him tell women that he’s into blacksmithing before and it definitely does not have the desired effect that this chart would imply.
You always have to consider Rule #1 when taking these things into account.
I’ve met a TON of blacksmiths and they usually just look like normal guys but slightly more buff, often overweight. The machinery does most of the work.
To be fair my limited experience with blacksmithing has given me the distinct impression that I would have magnificent arms if I did it regularly
If you did it in the olde fashioneded way with a manual hammer, manually stoking the forge with a bellows, etc., then sure. But AFAIK modern blacksmithing is pretty similar to modern carpentry or welding or any other hobby where the machines do most of the work. It’s still a somewhat active hobby, compared to doing something with a computer. But, I don’t think a modern blacksmith is going to get huge arms from doing it.
While there’s some outliers especially thanks to power hammers, a dedicated blacksmith looks a lot closer to a strongman competitor than mr universe.