Black Flag Forge takes us from building up the coal fire to creating an S hook. The blacksmith talks about the benefits and learning curve associated with an electric blower head vs. a hand-crank blower.
Using 5/16 Inch Mild Steel to Forge an S Hook
The blacksmith in this video has a nice rhythm and utilizes the horn of the anvil to create the bends for his S hook. He manages to do the entire hook in one shot. That kind of speed and skill is helpful when you’re trying to create a lot of hooks to fill an order.
If you take a look at his forge setup, you notice that he has two fire bricks at the front that he can move around. My guess is that he uses those two bricks to close off his opening to build more heat. Also, check out that viking shield on the wall.
Forging a Simple S Hook
Blacksmith Harry Burdett takes us through the steps to forge a simple “S” hook in a coal forge. While this is a marketing video for Arapahoe Community College, it’s valuable for a few reasons:
- The tutorial is clear and the audio is good.
- It shows that there are still institutions teaching blacksmithing.
- It uses captions to reinforce what Mr. Burdett is saying.
Things to watch for are how the blacksmithing maintains the shape of each end of the hook and how you might correct a “mistake.” With S hooks it’s easy to bend the finished side while you’re working on the unfinished one. Fixing little bends like this is a common part of blacksmithing.
Go to Wall Hooks or See more S Hook Tutorials