Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Colin Braun.

So, you borrowed your father-in-law’s boat for your weekend at the cabin, or you bought a RV to take the family camping for this year’s vacation. You got to where you were going and realized you now had to back up to get that trailer where you needed it. Maybe you hadn’t anticipated this (but really, how did you expect to get that boat in the water?), or maybe you didn’t think it would be a problem. How hard could it be? It’s not like you need a special license to do it, and you’ve seen other guys at the boat launch do it, and they look like lesser men than your manly self. Right?

A few years ago, during a break between years at university, I got my truck license and went to work driving a big rig. What man hasn’t wanted to get behind the wheel of one of those machines? They’re big, they’re noisy, you can see over everyone else, they can haul just about anything, and they have a horn to rival a locomotive. The part of the job I didn’t count on when I started was the fact that I would be spending a large amount of my time in reverse while going around corners. I was not exactly what you’d call a natural at backing up. In fact, I almost lost that first job because I had such a hard time. With some coaching, and a lot of nervous practice, I eventually became quite good at it, and now I can back a trailer around corners and into little garage doors on the first shot.

Reading this article is not going to substitute for practice, but it should prepare you to start. The principles are the same whether you have a 53’ tractor/trailer rig or a rented 8’ U-Haul.

A Solid Approach

Backing a trailer into a specific spot at a specific angle is mostly in the set-up. Like most things, preparation is key.

First things first: roll down your windows. Driver’s side and passenger’s, and it doesn’t matter if it is raining. If you have a passenger, it is best to kick them out before you even approach the actual boat launch, driveway, or campsite. You are probably going to want a spotter anyway, and they will either distract you or block your view if they stay in.

Forget about your rear view mirror, and don’t turn around and try to look out the back window. Chances are, you can’t see much over your trailer, and who cares what the front of that trailer is doing? You want to make sure your side mirrors are adjusted properly, because they are going to show you where the sides of your trailer are, allowing you to deduce what the back is doing. It may be more showy to do the big turn around and hug the back of the seat thing, but how much cooler to pull up and back that baby in without turning around? Appearances aside, it really is the proper way to do it. Proper mirror adjustment means when your rig is straight, your trailer is visible in about the inside third of your mirror. It is good to be able to see your trailer tires. This gives you a good view of where you are going and how you are doing.

Now you are almost ready to approach. For the sake of a consistent example, let’s say you are backing a camper into a campsite. It is coming up on your right-hand side. Stop short and get out of your truck. Go check for obvious obstacles that you will have to avoid. Don’t forget to look up. Even if you have a straight shot to the back of the site, will you clear all the tree branches? This sounds like retentive health and safety advice, but backing over a stray chunk of firewood or someone’s leftover wire roasting stick is going to be a rough start to your weekend. Try to make a mental map of where the picnic table is in relation to the fire pit and the back of the site. Pace off distances if you need to (you do know how wide your camper is, don’t you?). Have your passenger(s) stand near major obstacles so they can shout if you are too close. You may not always be able to see them, but your windows are already rolled down, right?

The Right Set-up

The moment of truth is at hand. If you do this next part wrong, it doesn’t matter much what you do after. Get it right, and you will look like a pro. It is the S-turn. You are in a forward gear with your campsite coming up on the right. Get that vehicle over to the right as far as you can without hitting something or rolling into the ditch and pull up alongside the entrance. How far along you go really depends on how long your rig is and what kind of hitch you have, but probably somewhere around when your truck bumper is coming up on the far end of the entrance, you want to swing out left. Don’t go all the way. Before you drive into the left side ditch, crank it back to the right. This will make the smaller angle between the truck and trailer be on the right-hand side. Stop with your truck somewhere around midway between road shoulders. Congratulations, your trailer is ready and begging to be backed into the sweet spot.

The Moment of Truth

The next part is where everyone gets nervous. People will offer “helpful” advice here, about how the steering wheel works in reverse now, but I’ve seen people start thinking everything in their vehicle works backwards and forget which pedal does what. So, take a deep breath and imagine you are a kid playing with toy trucks. You will probably need to make your turn angle a bit sharper, especially if you have a narrow entrance or a longer trailer. To accomplish this, turn your wheels as though you were going to steer to the left if you were going forward. Don’t turn it all the way. Put the truck in reverse, and let off the brake. Stay really calm at this point and constantly ask yourself “Is the right thing happening at this instant?” If the answer is yes, don’t change anything. As soon as the answer is “No,” stop. You aren’t going fast (I hope), and hopefully you didn’t choose a busy spot for your first attempts.

So, you are in reverse, with your wheels pointed left, causing your trailer to turn sharper. You won’t be able to keep that up for long before you fold your rig like a jack knife. It only takes a little distance to do what you need here. It is kind of like putting a crease in a piece of paper, where you only need that instant of pressure to kink it over. After that, you can lighten up and it will stay. So, after a couple feet (literally), start turning the wheel to the right. Think of following the trailer with the truck. My trainer always told me once I had the kink to “follow the trailer around.” Turning your wheel to the right will begin to straighten out the whole rig. I always think of it as “unsteering.” How soon you do this, and how sharply you turn depends on the relative sizes of everything. One of the biggest mistakes people make in reverse is over-correction. If the trailer starts going one way or the other, don’t crank the wheel all the way over. Unless you are in a really technical spot, needing to crank the wheel more than 180 degrees probably means you need to pull ahead and try again. Never shout when a whisper will do.

Words of Warning

Throughout this exercise, keep an eye on what the front of your truck is doing. Watch for ditches and obstacles. I once blew a steer tire on a set of stairs because I was too focused on the back end. This is another reason to back up like a man, using your mirrors, not wrapped around your seat trying to see out the back window.

Don’t be afraid of taking multiple runs to get into your spot. Obviously it is better to take a few runs and get it right than to hit something first shot. Some spots require multiple runs no matter how good you are. Also, don’t be afraid to put it in park, get out, and walk around to see what the back end is doing and how close you are to that fire pit. I did this constantly, even once I had some skill and confidence.

A word is necessary here about having someone “guide” you into a spot. Don’t. Having people to help is great, but give them specific jobs. Just like you have a limited perspective from the driver’s seat, they will have a limited perspective on what the far side of the trailer is doing. Tell your helper something like, “Stand so you can see my face in the side mirror of the truck and let me know if it looks like I’m going to hit the fire pit.” If they can’t see you, you can’t see them. Give them a specific signal that is verbal (your windows are still rolled down, right?) and visual. Inexperienced guides will usually run eagerly to the back of the trailer and start waving incomprehensibly while standing somewhere you can’t see and then yell after you’ve run over the picnic table.

Please practice this before you get to the boat launch with your new boat. Get your wife or your kids to come out and practice spotting you while you back up. How great will it be to pull up and have everyone know what to do? Don’t be that guy with the shiny new boat weaving and winding your way down the boat launch stressing everyone else out.

This isn’t comprehensive, but it’ll get you started. Comment if you’ve got a good tip.

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

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Crom is pleased with Gus the Barbarian's epic sword. Thulsa Poopy Diapers will be vanquished!

Last year, I went to the Craftsman Experience shop in Chicago for a blogger summit. I played with tools and learned how to make several easy projects, such as a sawhorse. The project that was the biggest hit among all the participants, however, was definitely the demonstration on how to make a wooden sword, put on by professional prop designer Holly Conrad.

Simple, quick, and cheap, this is a great project to do with the kiddos on the weekend. And when they’re done, they’ll have a sword they created with their own hands (and a little help from dad) that can be used for hours of imaginative fun. Even if you don’t have any children, I still recommend taking on this project. If you’ve never really worked with tools, but have always wanted to try, making a wooden sword is a great starter project. Plus, you’ll have a freaking sword when you’re done!

Last weekend, I invited my brother-in-law over to my garage to make some swords for our respective boys. We cataloged the steps with my trusty camera, so I could share how to do it with you all. My thanks to Holly Conrad for passing on the instructions to me at the Craftsman Experience.

Tools & Materials

Tools

• Bandsaw (Jigsaw or coping saw could work too)
• Sandpaper
• Rotary tool (Optional for sanding)
• Scissors

• 1/4″ MDF board (plywood could work too)
• Blank paper
• Marker
• Two-part epoxy
• Gray primer
• Leather strips/fake jewels

Assuming you already have the tools (or assuming you borrow them), this is a pretty cheap project. The wood, epoxy, and leather strips set me back $15. Even after making two swords, I still have some leftover wood that I could use to make some throwing stars or something.

Total time to complete sword: 40 minutes

Design and Draw Your Sword Pattern

Sword of Awesomeness by Brett McKay, age 29.

On a blank piece of paper, draw your sword design. This will serve as our pattern on the wood. Get as creative as you want with it. You can go with a traditional straight blade or make your blade curved like a pirate sword. My brother-in-law made his sword look like Link’s wooden sword from the NES version of The Legend of Zelda.

After you draw the outline of your sword, draw a line inside the sword dividing the blade from the hilt.

This is a good step to let your kiddos do. As you can see, I have the drawing ability of a 10-year-old.

I guess technically, because my sword design fits on a single piece of copy paper, I’m making a dagger or knife. In the hands of a toddler, it would be a sword. It’s all relative. Feel free to make your sword blade longer for a more sword-like sword.

Cut Out Pattern

Take a pair of scissors and cut out the entire sword. This is our pattern.

Trace Full Sword Onto Board

Trace your sword pattern onto the MDF board with a marker.

Cut Pattern, Detaching the Blade From the Hilt

After you’ve traced the sword onto the board, take your pattern and cut along the line you drew earlier, dividing the blade from the hilt. We want to detach the blade from the hilt.

Trace Two Sword Hilts Onto Board

Trace an outline of your hilt on the board two times. I repeat, two times. When we cut the pieces out, we’re going to sandwich the entire sword piece between the two hilt pieces.

Use Bandsaw to Cut Pieces

Now the fun part. Rev up your bandsaw and cut out the three pieces. Why a bandsaw? The blade’s flexibility makes cutting irregular and curved shapes a breeze. I’m using a small benchtop bandsaw that’s great for small projects like these. If you don’t have access to a bandsaw, a jigsaw could work. If you don’t have access to a jigsaw or you’re a luddite who prefers using elbow grease, a coping saw will work, too. If you’re doing this project with your kids, let them use a coping saw. It will build some character.

Don’t worry if the cuts aren’t perfect. As you can see, mine are horrible. We’ll clean everything up when we sand.

Glue Hilts Onto Main Sword

Squeeze some epoxy out on a piece of paper and mix it together. Work quickly. This epoxy sets in 5 minutes.

Apply a thin layer of epoxy to the hilts and attach them to the main sword. Remember, we’re sandwiching the main sword piece between the two hilt pieces. 

Let Epoxy Dry

The epoxy sets in about five minutes, but I’d give it about 20 minutes to dry before you start sanding the sword. Go wrestle an alligator while you wait.

As you can see, my sword looks rough. Really rough. The hilts aren’t lining up, you see my marker outline, etc. Nothing a little sanding can’t clean up, which brings us to our next step…

Sand!

Get some sandpaper and sand down all the rough edges. With the hilt, the goal is to make the three separate pieces look like a single piece of wood. I’m using a rotary tool with the sanding attachment to make quick work of this job.

We want our sword to look sharp, so create a bevel by sanding the side of the blade at an angle. Here’s how it looks up close:

Repeat on the other side.

Spray With Gray Primer

Spray your sword with gray primer. Spray one side, let dry. Flip over, spray the other side.

Modify If Needed and Add Finishing Touches

As you can see, my finished sword looks a bit different than the original design. After I finished my sword, I realized the handle of the hilt was way too wide. I could barely get my man-sized paw around the handle, so there was no way a kid would have been able to grip it. I took the sword to the bandsaw again and thinned the hilt down some. Modify your sword if needed.

Now we can add some finishing touches. I bought some scrap leather pieces at Hobby Lobby and gave my sword a leather grip. You could also let the kiddos glue on some plastic jewels or paint it however they want.

There you have it. Now it’s your turn. Happy sword making!

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Creek Stewart of Willow Haven Outdoor.

**Disclaimer: This post contains a graphic step-by-step depiction of the skinning, slicing, and disemboweling of a real squirrel. If you’re eating, have always felt a deep affinity for woodland creatures, or faint at the sight of dismembered squirrel gonads, please skip this post. Seriously. You can watch this video of an adorable water skiing squirrel instead.**

For most reading this article, food is readily available on nearly any street corner.  Securing our next meal takes very little thought, effort, and time. The hunter-gatherer spirit inside each of us is slowly vanishing and so are the important self-reliant skills associated with hunting, gathering, and preparing our own food.  These skills sustained our ancestors for millennia before us, and now, in our modern society, are almost nonexistent.

But there are no guarantees in life.  Our cup may not always runneth over.  If the time ever comes when you need to summon the hunter-gatherer spirit inside of you, it is important that you know a few basic skills.  One of those skills is how to field dress wild game.  In this article I will teach you how to field dress a squirrel.

Squirrel is a very viable and practical survival food.  If you can find trees, there is a good chance you will also find squirrel.  They are easy to find, easy to hunt, and easy to prepare.

First, let me say that there are numerous ways to field dress a squirrel.  This is the method I have found to be the cleanest and most efficient.  As you will see also, the hide is not destroyed just in case you choose to have it preserved or tanned for future use.  With a little practice, you should be able to go from forest to frying pan in under 5 minutes.

As with any similar project, a sharp knife will make this process much more efficient.

How to Field Dress a Squirrel

The first step in this very simple process is to turn the squirrel on its belly and cut through the underside of the tail about ½” to 1” from the base.

After you’ve cut through the tail, slice through the skin a couple of inches on each side as shown in the photo below.

Now, for the part that makes this method so simple.  Lay the squirrel down on a solid surface.  While holding onto the back legs, step on the tail and skin that you have opened up in the previous step and firmly pull straight up on the back legs.  This process will begin to pull the hide from the body.  As you are pulling up you will need to work out the back legs.  Firmly work your fingers between the muscle and the hide around each leg.  This takes a little practice so don’t get frustrated if it feels a little awkward the first time.

Once you’ve freed the back legs, continue to firmly and steadily pull the back legs straight up.

As the hide comes to the front legs you will need to pull them out in the same way as the back legs.  Work them out with your fingers and a swift tug will separate the hide from the feet at around what would be considered the “wrist” area.

Once both front legs are out, continue to pull the back legs until the hide is up to the head and around the neck.  Notice that up until this point my hands are completely clean.

Then, go ahead and cut off the head.  I do this by slicing through the meat around the neck and then snapping the bone with my hands.  I don’t recommend cutting through bone with your knife.  It dulls your knife and also creates little shards of bone in your meat.  I use the same process around the “ankles” and “wrists.”  You can also trim the feet off at this point too, if you wish (I do that later).

Now, it’s time to remove the entrails.  This is a very simple process.  Simply pinch the stomach and make a small slit with your knife to open up the body cavity.  Note: With male squirrels like this one, you will need to trim back the penis and gonads.

Now, insert two fingers into the slit and run your knife between them (cutting edge up) toward the neck of the squirrel.  Doing it this way gives a little clearance so that your knife doesn’t accidentally penetrate any of the entrails such as the bowels or bladder.  Cutting open the bowels or bladder can taint your meat so be very careful with this step.  It is very easy when gliding the knife between your fingers.  Continue this motion through the center of the rib cage all the way through the neck.

Then, simply split the pelvic bone in the center to open up the entire middle of the squirrel.  You can easily do this with your knife.

Finally, it’s time to remove the entrails.  There is a membrane that encases the chest cavity.  By sweeping two fingers from the neck down and catching this membrane you can pull everything out in one fluid motion.

Don’t toss everything out just yet, though.  I always inspect the liver to make sure it looks nice and healthy.  The liver should always be a rich, deep, solid red color.  An off-color or spotted liver might be an indication that the animal has some health problems–in which case I would recommend not eating it.  This liver looks absolutely perfect–a sign of a very healthy squirrel.

I then slice around the “ankles” and “wrists” with my knife and snap off the feet just like you would imagine breaking a pencil in half.  I keep the heart and liver to prepare with the rest of the squirrel and discard the other entrails.  I now have a perfectly dressed squirrel that can be prepared to eat in a variety of ways.  On this day, I decided on an open flame spit-roast.

If you’ve never field dressed a squirrel before, don’t get frustrated if you run into a few hiccups.  As with most life skills worth learning, it takes a little practice.  For those of you who might be interested, I shot this squirrel with a Ruger 10/22 rifle and the knife used is a Marttiini Lynx Lumberjack.

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek
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Creek Stewart is a Senior Instructor at the Willow Haven Outdoor School for Survival, Preparedness & Bushcraft.  Creek’s passion is teaching, sharing, and preserving outdoor living and survival skills. For more information, visit Willowhaven Outdoor.

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Editor’s note: This post was written by Bryan Black and originally ran on ITS Tactical.

So why should you climb rope? First of all, if you’re not including rope climbing in your workout routines, you’re missing out on one of the best forearm and grip workouts around.

Climbing rope is also a core component of building functional strength. Every man should be able to physically save himself, and rope climbing trains many of the same muscles you’d need to pull or lift yourself to safety.

Sourcing a Rope to Climb

If you’ve never attempted to climb a rope before, don’t worry; I’ll address that below. The first step in progressing into rope climbing is an obvious one. Get yourself a rope! There are a couple of options I’ll recommend here.

Manila Rope

The first option is to purchase a good natural fiber Manila rope that’s at least 1 1/2″  to 2″ in diameter and 20 ft. long. I found a fairly good deal on Amazon for a 30 ft. 2″ diameter Manila rope for $150. The only issue I see with buying something like this is the attachment method, for which I’d recommend cutting one end off and creating an eye splice.

Eye Splice

Creating an eye splice in one end will allow you to climb a tree in a park or your backyard and girth hitch it over a branch to start climbing. The downside to using a Manila rope is that it will fray over time, as you can see in the picture of the climbing SEALs above!

Fast Rope

The second option, which I highly recommend, is to make your own Fast Rope. By making your own Fast Rope, you’ll not only gain the practice of tying a multitude of knots, save money, and build something awesome, you’ll end up with a climbing rope that will last much longer than a natural fiber rope.

There are sometimes auctions on eBay too for used Military Fast Ropes, but they’re usually very worn, and you won’t know the history behind the rope or how stable it is.

Climbing Techniques

There are three different techniques I’m going to address today, and below you can watch a video of each of these being used and see why I prefer to climb with the brake-and-squat technique I was taught in BUD/s. You should also climb in pants and boots to save your shoes and legs from rope abuse.

While any of the techniques I’ll explain below will allow you to climb a rope, there’s only one I’m going to recommend based on speed, fast reacquisition of the rope, and energy savings.

Gym Class Technique

The first technique I’ll address is the typical way I see people climb rope that have never been properly taught how to climb. I call it the “gym class technique,” because if you’re like me and went to elementary school before schools were afraid of being sued, you probably used this technique to get up the rope.

Gym class technique is where you pinch the rope between your feet, reach up with your hands to pull up on the rope, and then repeat. While you can manage to get up a rope using this method, you’re working twice as hard. With any technique, the goal should be to use your legs to get up the rope without depending on upper body strength.

That’s not to say upper body strength isn’t important or needed to climb, it’s just to say that your legs should contribute and not just hold the rope.

Brake and Squat (Marine Style)

Marine-style brake and squat is what the Marines teach in boot camp; while effective, it’s not a very quick technique, and it can create extra work by forcing you to reacquire the rope if you lose the wrap. With any brake and squat technique, the goal is to work your way up the rope by using your feet to put the brakes on the rope in a squatted position, and simply standing up, reaching as far up as you can, and repeating.

The technique for the Marine-style brake and squat is as follows: First you jump up with your arms extended, letting the rope either fall between your thighs or to the outside (I’ve seen both). From there you single wrap the rope around one of your legs and across the top of your boot. The boot of the unwrapped leg clamps down on the other boot, trapping the rope. You can now support your weight without using the power of your arms and hands.

I don’t personally care for this method, because as mentioned above, you have to re-wrap the rope around your leg if it’s not feeding through your legs as you climb up. This can lead to extra work and getting beat when racing a buddy.

Brake and Squat (BUD/s Style)

During BUD/s I was taught to use a very simple brake and squat technique that’s extremely fast, makes it easy to reacquire the rope, and will beat any other technique for speed. We’d have team rope climbing races all the time, and it would always be the guys using the Marine-style brake and squat technique (despite being taught otherwise) that would slow a team down and cause them to hit the surf. It pays to be a winner!

All there is to the BUD/s style technique is to jump up to grab the rope high, letting the rope fall on the outside of a leg. Using the leg that the rope falls to, simply step on it by using the opposite foot to help. The combination of the rope falling across the top of the opposite foot and stepping on the rope with the other foot will lock the rope in place.

The idea here is to always reach up as high as you can before you “squat” your feet back up the rope and stand up to gain more height. The quickest guy I ever saw climb rope at BUD/s seriously looked like his feet would reach all the way to his chest before he’d stand up. It was truly amazing to watch.

You can stand in this position all day and take some of the work off your arms. Coming down from the rope is super simple as well–just relax the tension with your feet as you descend and the rope will flow through your feet easily.

Beginner’s Tips

If any of these techniques are more than you can physically master, start slow. You can work on the upper body strength needed to climb rope by using your rope to do pull-ups or even throwing a towel over a pull-up bar and doing towel pull-ups, as this will work the same muscles. For technique work, simply get on the rope and practice locking it in with your feet.

Advanced Techniques

A few other techniques you can use to climb a rope are climbing without your legs, climbing without your legs from a L-Sit position at the bottom of the rope, and even climbing two ropes side by side without your feet. I find that I have the hardest time with the L-Sit technique, as I figure my core is weak in that area or my technique just sucks!

Climbing without your legs is an intense forearm, bicep, and back workout. It requires excellent grip strength and not being afraid of heights! I’ve successfully climbed two ropes without using my feet, one in each hand. Let me tell you though, it’s not an easy thing to do! I had a few close calls trying to climb like this and nearly fell twenty or so feet attempting it. Be careful if you decide to attempt the advanced techniques!

Workouts

While pretty self-explanatory, in terms of workouts, the best thing to do is to incorporate a number of rope climbs into your workout routine. When I have access to a rope, I’ll usually throw push-ups, sit-ups, dips, air squats and a rope climb or two into 3-5 sets. Doing other thick rope and grip exercises can build your climbing muscles as well.

On days where you don’t have a rope available, you can also figure on subbing in 15 pull-ups for every rope climb; it’s definitely not the same movement as a rope climb, but it’s the closest movement and repetition count to climbing a 20 to 30 foot rope.

Video

Disclaimer

Climbing ropes is inherently dangerous should your grip give out while you’re on the rope. Use caution and know your limitations before you get too high and can’t hold on any longer!

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ITS Tactical (Imminent Threat Solutions) is an awesome website run by Military Veterans and those serving in the Special Operations community that covers skill-set information, tactical gear reviews, and DIY projects that can help you live better and survive any scenario. Check ‘em out and become a member! Since AoM and ITS admire each other’s work we’ve agreed to swap one article each month to share with our respective readers.

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Awhile back, we covered the fundamentals of blacksmithing.

Those fundamental are interesting in concept, but now let’s try out some real-life applications to make something simple and useful for around the house.

So we’re going to make three hooks.  That’s because a hook is often the first thing you make when you start to become a blacksmith.  It’s a cool project because no matter how ugly the hooks turn out, they’re still functional.  My early work graces the walls of the darkest closets in my friends’ homes.

Because this is a pretty fluid medium and static pictures aren’t able to convey the process very well, I’ve composed a short video showing the elements of the skills and forces needed to create a hook (not necessarily in order). There are captions to keep you oriented.

The reason things may not be in order is because I often had three irons in the fire.  Yep, that’s where the saying comes from.  Get too many (three is my limit, maybe four) and you can’t do a decent job at any of them.  The smaller the stock, the harder it is to work because things heat up so fast.  Larger stock (say, 5/8 or 3/4″ or larger) is easier to manage.  You’ll notice on the video how quickly the 1/4″ stock cools, especially when it thins out.  That anvil is a big heat sink.

Hook A (a scroll tip – the middle one) is what you’d make if you want a little more surface area so if you hung a coat on it, the hook wouldn’t dig into the fabric or liner.  Hook B (a nail-point with a small curl – on the right) is what you’d want if you’re hanging something from it like a cast iron pan.  You don’t want a fat tip, but that little curl makes it safer (you don’t want a fish hook), as it will hold the piece in place.  No sharp points unless you’re a butcher in southern Europe.

Hook C (on the left) is a different sort of hook with a big, bulbous top that is just plain cool, but it also is a safe hook as it has the largest surface area.  This one would be well-placed on a post inside a barn, holding a bridle or an extension cord.

The steps are all the same for each hook.

Step Zero:  Get it hot.  Propane, coal, coke, charcoal.  Doesn’t matter.  Get it hot.

Step One: Create and shape the tip of the hook.  Scrolled, pointed or worked over the edge of the anvil like Hook C, it’s the first thing you do.  The video covers this step extensively.

Step Two: Create the radius of the hook.  Narrower for smaller items, larger to accommodate bridles or extension cords.  Big extension cords.  The problem is that we’ve created this lovely point, and now we have to mash it to get the curve in the hook.  But wait!  What if we cool the tip first?  Easy to do.  A quick quench of just the tip will allow you to work it without distorting the work.  The video demonstrates this several times.  Below you can see the curvature of the hook is hot, the tip is cool.

This is where you use the horn of the anvil.  The horn has an infinite number of radii to choose from.  Close to the face, a large radius; close to the tip, a very small one.  You want to hammer in the same place all the time, moving the work.  In this case, I’m hammering on top and dropping my left hand to create the curve.  Otherwise you’re doing what my mentor called “chasing your work.”  I can hear his Alabama drawl: “You can chase it, but you’ll never catch up.”  This is very obvious in the video.

Step Three: Decide on a top.  These three are finished in a classic fashion, just a simple drilled tab.  You can create coils, leaves and finials, or any other shape you want.  Just so long as the hook is 90 degrees to the wall, and the back sits flat, go crazy.

Step Four: Finish it.  I use paste wax.  It will let the metal texture show through.  Some use a clear polyurethane paint or Rustoleum.  For wet areas (towel bars, for example), clear poly’s a good idea, but it does make things a little too shiny for my taste.

Twisting work is not necessary but boy, it sure is fun.  Some of the hooks beg to be twisted; some of them you leave plain.  It depends on your aesthetic.  I like to twist some stock and then pound it flat.  That’s also demonstrated on the video.

This little tutorial isn’t meant to be comprehensive, of course.  It’s just for having some fun and giving you a good idea of what blacksmithing actually looks like (and sounds like).  To me, it sounds like fun.

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