ray136•2mo ago

Finally forged my first usable knife after 8 tries last Saturday

I've been messing around with a coal forge in my garage for about 6 months, and last week I actually made a blade that holds an edge and doesn't look like a twisted spoon. Has anyone else had a breakthrough moment where something just clicked after a bunch of failures?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_perry2mo ago

Yeah but that first decent blade is probably still junk compared to what you'll make in a year.

claire_gibson2mo ago

Oh man that feeling is the best! I think there's something about failing over and over that actually teaches you more than having it work the first time. I'm not a blacksmith but I've noticed this pattern with so many things in life like learning guitar or even just figuring out how to cook a decent steak. You mess up a bunch and then one day your hands just sorta know what to do without thinking about it. @hannah_perry said that first decent blade is junk compared to what you'll make later but she's missing the point - that first success is the proof you can actually do it at all. It's like when you finally hit a baseball off a curveball after striking out ten times, your brain just clicks into a new gear. The failures built the foundation and the success just showed you that foundation is solid. Keep going, you'll be making stuff you're proud to show off in no time.

milaw141mo ago

Hannah might have a point though, that first "usable" knife is often just the beginning of a much longer road. In my experience, getting something to barely work can sometimes make you complacent and stop you from really pushing your skills further. @claire_gibson's baseball analogy works, but striking out ten times usually means you need to change your approach, not just keep swinging the same way.