Most Appealing Shapes for the Nail Designs

In an article for Smithsonian Magazine by Megan Gambino, Do Our Brains Find Certain Shapes More Attractive Than Others, humans tend to prefer curves. For a host of reasons, proved by experiments, humans like soft curves in objects from architecture to sculpture to objects for daily use. Organic shapes of nature and life seem to resonate. This leads the knifemaker's aunt to consider her designs with curved shapes to be the ones she'll attempt in her next session at the forge with a pile of nails.

...Back to Cut Nail Possibilities

Metal is the backbone of many products for daily living, from the utility of knives (necessary for food prep, survival, and a whole world of uses beyond) to ornamental decoration. The knifemaker's aunt began her metalworking education with cut nails and a forge. She moved through the process of making knives from blade to sheath. She moved from making boxes for shop product to using a handheld grinder to cut old screws from crumbling deck boards. Metalworking crosses lines from carpentry to hunting to cooking. Remarkable!

Back to the cut nail project: what other ways can these nails be purposed using the metalworking knowledge attained so far?  The knifemaker's aunt now moves on to ideas for metalworking nails besides knives. She retreated to the cool of the air conditioned showroom and let out a breath of relief as she dropped down onto a stool with gel pen and paper in hand. Considering the shape of cut nails and what metal does when it is in a forge and hammered afterward, she sketched up some initial ideas.

A nail can be elongated and broadened as it is hammered. An anvil has a horn, a flat face area, and a step for right angles. With that information in mind, designs with long areas of nail that can be curved has possibilities! The fattest part of a cut nail is the head and can be broadened for a multitude of purposes.

The initial designs included simple shapes common to most craft projects: hearts, stars, 4-leaf clovers, a hook, a tree, an apple.  The point was to get a design that can be done with limited number of episodes at the forge and anvil. For example, if the nail head is broadened and hammered to a leaf shape and the nail part is elongated enough to be wrapped (hammered) around the horn tip so the end comes back to the leaf shape, it can be hammered into an apple shape.

These are refined designs from the initial ideas.

Even simple-er, is broadening the head into a leaf shape and make the elongated nail part into a hook. Put a hole through the leaf and there's a leaf hook to hang stuff upon.

Using a jig to wrap the elongated nail around while it is still red hot offers more possibilities. The knifemaker's aunt took the tree and hook ideas from the initial sketches and refined them to be simpler.

The tree can be made from 2 cut nails bent to a right angle at the bottom third of the nail at the head. A series of leaf hook can be lined up on a presentation board. The leaves will all be different anyway, so the unique view of natural leaves will look like they are waving.

It is exciting to take knowledge and work with it to make something new and original!

Finished Ramp

The new ramp is the rampiest!  It was 100+ degrees and everyone went through water and Gatorade like crazy, but the knifemaker's crew successfully finished the project -- with sunburns as a bonus for working hard.

Almost immediately there was a noticeable increase in foot traffic. Did the new ramp and decking appear more inviting to the public? It seems so. The tools were still on the upper deck and nothing has been swept yet, so the knifemaker's aunt jumped on her sweeping skills -- luckily she has had several weeks to perfect her technique! Now, she can actually sweep up wood pieces and stones into her dustpan with one motion. Education takes several forms!

Ramping Up

Day 2 of the great ramp-rebuild. The weather was sunny, hot, and hot and sunny! The boards went down though. The knifemaker's aunt did her best to shuttle water, hold boards to be cut, parcel out screws and hold a beach umbrella over the knifemaker as he positioned, measured, and screwed piece by piece until the mid-deck and entry ramp floor was done. Tomorrow morning brings the railing and vertical posts....just in time for re-opening the shop and the first two students who arrive to build railroad spike knives at 10am. In the knife world, that's considered cutting it close!

In the Cool of the Afternoon

Going inside on a hot afternoon is not only wise, it is a necessity! There is a point when a person's core gets too hot to function, you know?  The knifemaker's crew adjourned to the showroom where the air conditioning was a welcomed relief. Cold water, the hum of cold air moving around, and deep breaths of relaxation brought the knifemaker's aunt's temperature back to normal!

While relaxing and cooling off, she began to think about nail knives and what other metalworking projects can be produced with cut nails. A religious cross is common among crafters and involves tying or wiring cut nails together to make a crucifix-type cross. There is the single nail tied with a red ribbon and hung deep within a Christmas tree as an ornament. These are both steeped in religious meaning and can be beautiful reminders of a person's Christian faith.

What about other ornaments? or everyday items? The knifemaker's aunt is considering taking her nail knife project to another level -- objects for everyday purposes. The knifemaker makes wall hooks with them as seen in a previous post. His aunt is planning to make some sketches to present and see if she can experiment with the nails in the shop. There might be a brilliant idea in the old girl's head!

Interesting. What projects indeed?

Hot Day for a New Ramp

The couple of days right after the Gatlinburg Craftsman's Fair was designated as 'new ramp' day. The ramp leading to the front door of the shop has been a deteriorating collection of boards since the knifemaker and his dad moved into the old brick building in front of Smokey Mountain Knife Works. This was the time set aside for repairs.

First the rotted boards were taken off and loaded onto the knifemaker's truck. The underlying support beams were still good, so the knifemaker's aunt used a grinder to cut off the nails at the boards' surfaces. The back two corners were re-leveled and lag-bolted into place. By then the sun was directly overhead and the temperatures were soaring. Time to call it a day until evening when it cools off and the load of new lumber can be picked up for tomorrow!

Spreading the Metalworking Info

Sunday in the Smokey Mountains. Driving to the shop, the knifemaker's aunt was struck by the dense fog enveloping the whole area surrounding the Smokey Mountain Knife Works and the shop. From the road approaching the area, it was difficult to see anything but by 10am that phenomenon had passed and a heat wave moved in.

The knifemaker's aunt had a chance to use her accumulated knowledge today when a gentleman stopped by. He had been sent over from Smokey Mountain Knife Works for information about heat treating blades. The aunt talked with him about the processes, recommended the text she refers to, the Wayne Goddard $50 Knife Shop, and suggested classes. He left with a card, an iPhone picture of the book cover, and very excited about taking a class to learn from the knifemaker. It was surprising how much she knew!  ...and how comfortable she felt talking about metalworking and processes.

Success!