The Art of Blacksmithing by Bealer, Alex W. (2009) Hardcover

This book is in great shape, exactly as advertised. Arrived fast and well protected.

This is one of those works that gets overlooked, but is a must for writers aside for anyone wanting more information on metal working and smithing. I especially recommend this as a foundation for anyone wanting to know more about forges in the Middles Ages and a prep for understanding how swords and armour were made. This is a starting point, but also a wealth of information I have not found elsewhere.Beaton's book starts with a discussion about the Blacksmith. Quickly moves on to the black metal. He discusses the set up of the Blacksmith shop, then into a more details coverage of his tools, tricks and techniques. Once he has that established he go into rich writing how how the metals are formed. Especially helpful, is the home utensils chapter, a back to basics that will be invaluable to writer. Also handled are iron decorations and winds up with weaponry.This is a must for period writers. You cannot get a better study of this subject. It will add so much to your writings to fully understand the role of this very vital master of the trade who kept people safe and provided them with the means of defence, right down to the care of horses that were so valuable to a man's very life.

This book is a terrific introduction for those interested in working metal. It gives a wonderful historical perspective of the smith and his keystone position in the development of European and American cultural identity. It traces the history of European iron and steel manufacturing and gives a detailed description of the processes as they developed from the beginning, with large fires and iron ore mined from the ground, all the way through the 19th century, focusing on antiquated processes. It scarcely covers modern, industrial steel manufacturing, however this book is a historical understanding and absolutely fascinating for those interested in becoming artisan metal smiths. While reading the book there was almost an olfactory sensation, and my head was left ringing with the pulsation of the ringing anvil.

My grandfather was a blacksmith and I wanted to pursue the craft myself but raising a family and military obligations kept me fro trying my hand in it. Now that I'm retired I'm going to give it a shot and this book is chockful of great information. Won't be too long before I'm hammering metal. Mr. Bealer writes well and explains the ins and outs of metal working so well that even I could follow his explanations. The only negative was some of the illustrations, they looked rushed and didn't show a lot of detail. Otherwise quite happy with the book and the information therein.

PositiveHistorically fairly accurateChapters are well laid outLanguage is easy to understand if the you already know a little about blacksmithingThe book was made well

I've just started to get into blacksmithing and this is a great book that I enjoyed very much. My only negative comment would be about the illustrations, most if not all are line drawings and they really don't do much to further the content, some real pictures would have been much better. But other then that it is a well researched, extensive history on the different facets of blacksmithing throughout history and a great background book that was enjoyable to read. Highly recommended for someone that is brand new or is just interested in the history of the art.

Whether you are a hobbyist, a tinker, or just want to know how stuff used to be done, this is the book for you. In warm tones, it will walk you, step-by-step, through the process of setting up a forge, learning the tools of the trade, and performing tasks from the most basic to the intermediate. In a world where everything seems to move at a breakneck pace, this work calls you back to a time when a craftsman placed a personal stock in each piece he fashioned and did it with a sense of pride! Though not a rare book, by any estimate, I consider it among my most treasured volumes.

This is a very nice book with great information but many pages throughout book are blank or so faintly printed that are unreadable and make parts of book useless. Have ordered two separate copies trying to get one in complete readable condition but several pages are so faintly printed that they are beyond difficult to read. Be prepared for an imperfect book- the information provided is excellent if you can get past the missing pages. Amazon says to just keep returning the bad copies and getting refunds and to reorder to try again- but this requires multiple trips to UPS and frustration of waiting and hoping the next copy will be complete.

nice old school book with nice illustrations.

produto excelente.

Bom livro

excellent work

Buen libro pero le faltan imágenes ilustrativas de algunos procesos no es para principiantes