Randy McDaniel

First a confession, I don't know anything about blacksmithing, and as I live in a tiny apartment without a garage or even a proper yard, it's unlikely I'm going to be taking it up. When I think of a blacksmith I think of frontier towns in the old West, or even Medieval villages--I didn't realize people still did this kind of thing. It is, according to the author, an art that was dying out before it was revived.

So, I am totally unfamiliar with the subject matter, and acquired the book out of show more curiosity. I don't know the subject, but I do know good instructional writing when I see it, and it is the hallmark of this book. The first part of the book is an introduction, in clear, simple steps, of the basic tools and techniques, including how to build a forge, aquire and make forging tools, create a work area, and get started. Safety is strongly emphasized throughout. The book is illustrated with simple line drawings, and I had some trouble imagining what the things actually looked like--the author makes it clear that the book is not a replacement for hands on instruction from an actual blacksmith, but an information foundation for doing so.

Once the author has covered the basics, the rest of the book is a series of projects of increasing complexity that the reader can try at their own pace. The front inside cover features a sample layout for a work area, and the back inside cover has a color key for tempering and forging. I think this would be a superb text book for a beginning student of the craft, and also a book that someone with some experience might consult in their daily work. It's also a lot of fun to just sit and read, and peppered throughout with good natured humor. show less

My husband is a beginning blacksmith, so we reviewed this book together. It starts with the very basics, and the explanations include the whys as well as the what and hows, which is one of the hallmarks of a great instructional book. With any new endeavor, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the variety of tools and equipment available, but we appreciated the clarity on what was essential for getting started, and what can wait. The author explains the more obscure tools, what they are good show more for, and why you may or may not want them. The project walk-throughs also include instructions on how to make tools for future use. The graphics are very helpful, with enough detail to show what is needed, but not so much to distract. The back cover even includes a color chart showing tempering and forging colors. The text was clear and conversational. Overall, the book seems to be a comprehensive collection of the sort of gems that would drop out of the mouth of an expert craftsman while you were watching them work. We were very glad to add this one to our library and highly recommend it! show less

Seeing as I'm the definition of a beginner smith and found 'A Blacksmithing Primer' to be incredibly helpful, I'm giving this five stars. Randy McDaniel does an excellent job of covering a ton of standard situations, tools, and techniques in a very approachable manner. I have a few other books on smithing that require a pretty solid grasp of the craft to really understand. McDaniel helps guide you into and through these subjects. The writing style is akin to having someone stand there and show more explain the subject to you instead of reading an owner's manual to a forge. The diagrams are simple and straightforward and mostly helpful. A few were almost over simplified, but not unhelpful. It's a testament to the book that I found them unnecessary considering how well it was explained in text. The inclusion of simple plans in the back is great. Even if the reader doesn't try and make the items, it's a nice way to see how plans should look in case they get some in the future. It's just one more educational, but also useful, portion to the book.

A few of my friends that are intermediate level said the book was geared more toward the basic side of the trade, but even they found it a great resource and want to try some of the plans in the back. If you or anyone you know has an interest in starting or improving smithing, this is a great book to grab. show less

I requested this book mainly because I'd like to try blacksmithing, but it's not something I've ever done. However, I feel like after flipping through this book, I'd be pretty well prepared to give it a try and be relatively successful. The table of contents of the book is laid out clearly and thoroughly. Topics start with tool descriptions, safety, techniques, different types of material, tips about the fire itself, and how to set up a shop. From there the book moves into numerous projects, show more from very basic to intermediate projects. The author states that order of the project is such that the initial projects involve basic skills that you need to master before moving on to later projects, so even though a project seems simple, perfecting it will help when moving on to later projects. The text of the book seems clearly written and fairly large-type, which makes reading easy. There's also numerous line drawings to illustrate the projects, material position, and how to strike the material, that are very clear. Overall, these seems like a good guide for beginners, and a handy set of instructions for anyone looking for a variety of projects. show less