The Blacksmithing Instructors Guide

Blacksmithing skills are greatly in demand in many rural areas, for making agricultural implements and other metal tools. This book is designed to help skilled blacksmiths who have little or no teaching experience to train others in forge work techniques, using easily obtainable equipment and scrap metal to produce tools such as hoes, sickles, hammers and axes. The book is divided into two parts, the first outlining an approach to teaching, including planning and structuring a lesson, demonstration and questioning techniques, and the learning environment – methods and ideas which were developed and tested during the author’s work with rural blacksmiths in Africa. Part two contains a selection of illustrated lesson plans which set out clearly the time, tools and equipment required for each lesson, and the key points which should be emphasized to trainees at each stage of the demonstration. These guidelines should be useful to anyone with practical skills who would like to help in running a training course, and the lesson plans aim to assist blacksmiths everywhere to make their techniques accessible to students.

Author Biography

David Harries has been involved in development technology for the past eight years, and during this time has lived and worked in West and Southern Africa.