Autorentext

**Nicholas Wicks is an artist blacksmith based in Maine. His family has been metalworking for five generations, starting with Nick’s great-great-grandfather, who worked on the Statue of Liberty. After apprenticing under the master blacksmith Jim Whitson in Scotland, Nick started Wicks Forge in his grandfather’s garage using homemade tools and his great-grandfather’s anvil. Wicks Forge quickly expanded as audiences responded to Nick’s products and philosophy—everyday pieces that combined a formal background in blacksmithing with an accessible, DIY mentality. Nick started helping others join the Maker Movement as a contributing editor for Popular Mechanics, where he writes how-to articles and reviews about which work pants are least likely to catch on fire. Wicks Forge has been featured in numerous galleries and publications, including Yankee Magazine and Connecticut Magazine. Nick is a member of the New England Blacksmiths Guild and the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America. He is the author of The Everyday Blacksmith.

Klappentext

Forge smarter, not harder. This modern guide to blacksmithing provides the practical systems, techniques, and mindset you need to master your craft.
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**Blacksmithing is one of humanity’s oldest trades—and one of its most adaptable. In The Master Blacksmith, Nicholas Wicks offers an unprecedented look at blacksmithing as a modern production practice, merging centuries-old techniques with lessons drawn from manufacturing and design.

Rather than treating blacksmithing as an isolated art, Wicks approaches the forge as an evolving system: a workshop where time, heat, and material must be managed as efficiently as any industrial process. He will teach you how to think in heats, optimize tool setups, and apply “shop ecology” principles to eliminate waste and increase consistency.

Part philosophy, part manual, and part toolkit, the book covers:

• The science of heat and time in forging
• The economics of handmade value in a mechanized world
• Systems thinking for workshop management
• Tool- and jig-making for repeatable production
• Design strategies for scaling handmade work
  Throughout, Wicks balances technical expertise with a craftsman’s sensibility. He shows that “production” and “handmade” need not be opposing ideals—one can build sustainable business practices while preserving the integrity of craft.

From hobbyists scaling up to professionals refining their workflow, The Master Blacksmith provides a new model for the twenty-first-century smith: informed by tradition, grounded in efficiency, and focused on longevity.

Expertly written, beautifully illustrated, and deeply practical, this book reframes blacksmithing as a craft of systems—a field where every heat counts, every tool has a purpose, and every hammer blow is part of a larger rhythm.

Inhalt

INTRODUCTION: Wrought Value—The Case for Better and Faster

PART I: Principles of Production Blacksmithing

Chapter 1: Understanding the Heat

Chapter 2: Forging Value

Chapter 3: Lessons from Natural Systems

Chapter 4: Tools and Equipment

Chapter 5: The Production Shop

PART II: Production Tools and Equipment

Chapter 6: Jigs

Chapter 7: Power Hammer Dies

Chapter 8: Fly Press Tooling

Chapter 9: Swages

Chapter 10: Batch Finishing

PART III: Production Flow

Chapter 11: Production Basics

Chapter 12: Scaling Production

CONCLUSION: The Necessity of Handmade

Glossary of Terms

About the Team

Acknowledgments

Index