Workmanship of Risk

As I recall it was at the Saltfork Craftsmen conference in 1999 when I heard Peter Ross suggest reading David Pye’s books on craftsmanship and design.  I took his advice and read them  both.

Recently I started thinking about those subjects again and decided to take another look at the books.

Pye was a skilled wood artist. He suggested that craftsmanship might mean “using any kind of technique or apparatus, in which the quality of the result is not predetermined, but depends on the judgement, dexterity and care which the maker exercises as he works.  The essential idea is that the quality of the result is continually at risk during the process of making;”

He designated the process of craftsmanship “the workmanship of risk.”  The contrasting idea is “workmanship of certainty.”  Quality machine manufacturing certainly has it’s place.  The wide availability of inexpensive standard machine screws and other hardware is an obvious example.  Hand-crafted can’t compete in that venue.

Pye goes on to discuss quality of workmanship and how finished work can vary from idealized designs and to discuss craftwork in terms of being free or regulated.  In all of this there is a lot of middle ground and the ends of the spectrum are essentially theoretical.

In my forging and other metalworking projects I am responsible for both the design and the forming - the craftsmanship.  I like working that way.  As I work through a project from design to finish work I think about the visual impression I’m targeting.  Every project involves modifying some parent metal stock using various tools.  It is often my intent to arrive at a finished piece in which it is not easy to determine what the parent stock was and what tools and techniques were used.  Some element of mystery seems to increase interest.

I was recently engaged in a conversation with some members of an art-craft co-op gallery regarding what types of work could be displayed.  I think one firm criteria was that skilled hand work would be obvious in the finished piece.  I think Pye would agree with that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pye_(furniture)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Art-Workmanship-David/dp/0713689315

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Aesthetics-Design-David/dp/0713652861/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y/192-5497689-0151811

More About Hammer Care

While thinking about hammers some thoughts came back to me from over 30 years ago when I first read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. It is one of the few books I have read more than once. It explores the notion of quality from the perspectives of romanticism and rationality. It seems to conclude that striving to combine the views may result in the greatest satisfaction. I suppose it appealed to me because I regard some concepts such as art/craft metaphorically as poles of a bar magnet. The poles can be stretched very far apart yet the field is never broken. Art isn’t worth much unless crafted well and craft is worth much is not artful.

So part of any project is forming the creative vision of the tactical goal and part is planning the strategic approach. I was thinking about an extension of the “Choosing a Hammer” ideas and the maintenance issues crept in.

It didn’t take long for me to learn to treat my forging hammers with special care and not use them for demolition, chipping slag, driving and stamping which are better accomplished with hammers whose face polish isn’t as critical. Appropriate segregation of use for each hammer is a starting point for maintenance.

Keeping the head solidly connected to the handle hasn’t been any problem for me since I switched to the Gorilla super glue bonding technique.

With use the handles of my forging hammers get worn slick and hard to grip so I lightly sand them to increase the friction. I like the flexible pads about 1/4” thick and 4.5” x 5.5”. Some handles have been spray painted for identification and that seems to do about the same thing as sanding.

The faces of the frequently used hammers get dressed about monthly. Sometimes I have to use a zirconia flap wheel or sanding belt but usually only the silicon carbide wheel and hard felt wheel with chromium oxide buffing compound will do the job.

With the tools in good shape I can turn my imagination loose to do some creating.

http://www.persimmonforge.com/