"Old" is not necessarily outdated. "New" is not necessarily better. These statements underscore the reasons for reprinting Practical Blacksmithing. The techniques and tools illustrated and their application to the hand-made object are as valuable to the modern blacksmith as they were to his forefathers of the late 1800s. Blacksmithing, as a craft, had a rapid demise when industrialization, mass production, and modern technology set in, but it didn't die. Rather, it smoldered, as did the coals of the forge. Today those coals are once again being fanned into brightly lit flames as craftsmen take up blacksmithing as a hobby, as an art form, and as a creative endeavor for any variety of reasons and satisfactions. No matter what the form, the approach and the techniques have not changed appreciably from those of Richardson's era. The four original volumes that have been combining unabridged into this single new volume are offered as a basic resource for the modern blacksmith. It will lead him to a discovery of old tools that may no longer be in existence, to learn how they were shaped and why. It will help him recreate such tools, especially tongs, hammers, and chisels, for his own further forays into smithing. The collector of old tools will welcome the information and find it an invaluable aid for identifying items found at flea markets farm sales, and in antique shops.Practical Blacksmithing begins with an account of the early history of blacksmithing and goes on to describe the tools used from ancient days through to the time the book was written. There are descriptions of all the important smithing processes: welding, brazing, soldering, cutting, bending, setting, tempering, fullering and swaging, forging, and drilling. As well as clearly describing the processes above, the book is heavily illustrated with precise drawings of blacksmithing tools, plans of blacksmithing workbenches, and diagrams demonstrating the various methods of working with steel and iron.