One of my old college friends opted out of the school thing and became a blacksmith-- apprenticed to a fancy-wrought-iron master, then spent years mastering the finer points of making really excellent kitchen knives, axes, and other useful bits and bobs. For a long time, it was a hobby, but he was really persistent, and some years ago was finally able to drop the side-jobs and be a blacksmith fulltime, by teaching classes in it. I often wonder if he hasn't got the most primo long-descent-proof job of anyone I know.
I think smiths are going to make a rollicking comeback in the years ahead, and people who have not just already mastered that art, but are willing and able to *teach* it, will be very much in demand. If you have the know-how and setup to take defunct car scrap or rusty garden furniture or old propane tanks and turn it into knives, shovels, scuffle hoes, frying pans, door hardware, and other essential things... I reckon you'll do allright in the long haul.
I don't think we'll fall so far technologically that they'll be the top of the tech ladder, just that there'll be a hopping local market. And the same goes for machinists, as long as the materials supply chain doesn't totally collapse. If you can't get parts anymore, the guy who can *make* a replacement part is in high demand! I'm curious how much of modern machine-shop equipment could be re-fitted to run on, say, foot-treadles, steam, or hydro power the way they did originally.
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Re: Carts survived the fall of Rome
Date: 2024-06-24 01:24 pm (UTC)I think smiths are going to make a rollicking comeback in the years ahead, and people who have not just already mastered that art, but are willing and able to *teach* it, will be very much in demand. If you have the know-how and setup to take defunct car scrap or rusty garden furniture or old propane tanks and turn it into knives, shovels, scuffle hoes, frying pans, door hardware, and other essential things... I reckon you'll do allright in the long haul.
I don't think we'll fall so far technologically that they'll be the top of the tech ladder, just that there'll be a hopping local market. And the same goes for machinists, as long as the materials supply chain doesn't totally collapse. If you can't get parts anymore, the guy who can *make* a replacement part is in high demand! I'm curious how much of modern machine-shop equipment could be re-fitted to run on, say, foot-treadles, steam, or hydro power the way they did originally.