r/Blacksmith_Forge

Hello! I am a historical romance author writing about a blacksmith with inattentive ADHD (though of course, he wouldn't have that label back in the 1830s).

I'm curious, if you have ADHD, how that affects your blacksmithing experience. Are there things you forget? Are you clumsy with anything in particular? Does hyperfocus show up for you?

Super special bonus question - my blacksmith forces himself to spend time with the love interest in order to desensitize himself to her. Her passing by the forge led to some kind of accident that left the blacksmith with a scar. When he was apprenticing, he heard so many horror stories of accidents killing or maiming people. So, to keep them both safe, he decides that spending more time with her one-on-one should mitigate the situation (spoiler, it really won't).

I've written out several bullet points that I'm working through, but having the input of real blacksmiths like you would be amazing.

• What does his current state of being overly sensitive to her look like? How does it manifest in the forge?
• How would he know he would succeed in desensitizing himself to her? What would "winning" look like?
• What does progress look like?
• What does a mistake look like?
• What does the worst case scenario look like? (I'm assuming some kind of accident that hurts them both).

Mods, I know this is probably not the normal content, but I'm so hoping that this can be allowed and that real blacksmiths (and especially blacksmiths that have experience at living history museums/reenactments!) can weigh in.

Thank you for reading this post!

Hi everyone! I know that forging is a personal decision, and is not easily addressed by general decisions. However, I am going to ask some opinions to get insight.

When I think about a good, pro-level type of forge, I know that I could save money if I were to build my own. But what if money is not the object here? What advantages could I have by building my own versus buying something like a ChileHabanero or Cayenne? I think that the efficiency and heat management of a reputably designed and built product like the Chile would have to exceed anything I could do myself, right?

Please let me know how you would handle this if cost is not the issue but you still want the most efficient and effective forge (without getting ridiculous).

Thanks

D88