Hit 5000 forged hooks last week and had to stop and think

I've been a hobby blacksmith for about 12 years now, mostly making utility stuff like gate hooks, pot hangers, and shed hardware. Last week I cleared out my scrap bin and counted up all the hooks I've made for friends and neighbors. It came out to just over 5000 pieces, which blew my mind because I never thought of it as a big number. Each one took maybe 10 minutes at the forge, so that's a lot of hammer swings and coal burning. It made me realize how much simpler things were when I started in my garage with a brake drum forge. Does anyone else keep track of what they've made over the years, or am I just weird about my inventory?

3 comments

3 Comments

veraj531mo ago

That's awesome, man! Five thousand hooks is a solid number, and I bet every one of them is still hanging out in someone's shed or garage doing its job. I do the same thing with my inventory, but for me it's all the custom brackets and latches I've welded up over the years - I've got a mental tally going in my head that keeps surprising me too. Feels good to see how many functional pieces came out of just a little hobby time.

lucasw821mo ago

That five thousand hooks number probably means you've indirectly become part of thousands of daily routines without even knowing it lol. Every time someone grabs a coat or hangs up a tool, your work is making that split-second decision easier for them. Kinda wild to think about all those little functional moments adding up like that.

the_wyatt28d ago

Wait, did you say you welded up custom brackets and latches by hand? That's serious metalwork. How long did it take you to dial in the process for those? I can't imagine getting the angles right on a latch without some serious trial and error.